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utahmomreads's review against another edition
4.0
Audition by Ryu Murakami was listed as a give-away on Goodreads.com a few months ago. I was intrigued by the story and entered to win a copy. It sat on my shelf for awhile but I grabbed the other day on my way out the door.
The novel begins as a romance. Aoyama's wife died seven years earlier and his teenage son suggests that his father finally start looking for another wife. During a conversation with his close friend, a film maker, about the difficulties of meeting the right kind of woman, they decide to stage an audition for a movie that will never be made. With thousands of applicants to go through, Aoyama fixates on one woman. He starts to date the stunningly beautiful Yamasaki Asami and falls madly in love with her.
Aoyama is so blinded by his love for Yamasaki Asami that he completely ignores his friends and his son's warnings that something about her doesn't seem right. And they're correct. Yamasaki Asami is not who and what she seems to be.
I was sucked in by this thriller. The story is so short and the ending so intense that I almost feel out of breath reading it. Besides the goose-bump raising story, I enjoyed the brief introduction to the culture of a Japanese city. The food at the various cafes Aoyama and Yamasaki Asami visit is described so well, that it made me hungry. Until the ending. Not hungry any more. Just saying.
There were a few moments when the language seems stunted and not quite right. It might be a problem with the translation from the original Japanese or possibly just a cultural difference.
This novel and the movie it spawned (I think I will skip it) were big hits in Japan and now it is available to scare the pants off the English speaking world.
The novel begins as a romance. Aoyama's wife died seven years earlier and his teenage son suggests that his father finally start looking for another wife. During a conversation with his close friend, a film maker, about the difficulties of meeting the right kind of woman, they decide to stage an audition for a movie that will never be made. With thousands of applicants to go through, Aoyama fixates on one woman. He starts to date the stunningly beautiful Yamasaki Asami and falls madly in love with her.
Aoyama is so blinded by his love for Yamasaki Asami that he completely ignores his friends and his son's warnings that something about her doesn't seem right. And they're correct. Yamasaki Asami is not who and what she seems to be.
I was sucked in by this thriller. The story is so short and the ending so intense that I almost feel out of breath reading it. Besides the goose-bump raising story, I enjoyed the brief introduction to the culture of a Japanese city. The food at the various cafes Aoyama and Yamasaki Asami visit is described so well, that it made me hungry. Until the ending. Not hungry any more. Just saying.
There were a few moments when the language seems stunted and not quite right. It might be a problem with the translation from the original Japanese or possibly just a cultural difference.
This novel and the movie it spawned (I think I will skip it) were big hits in Japan and now it is available to scare the pants off the English speaking world.
milk0829's review
3.0
One of my favorite Japanese horror movies was based on this book - and I will be honest with you: If you have seen the movie, you might want to stay away from the book. You might be as disappointed as I was. I rarely say this, but the movie was better.
Was this the best thing I ever read? Absolutely not. Was it the worst thing I ever read? Also no. It was just... So-so.
Unfortunately, the ending feels "disturbing just for the sake of being disturbing", which is off-putting for an unintended reason. It also felt rather rushed at the end, compared to how slow things were in the previous part of the book. It was honestly not scary, disturbing "horror" until the end.
Also, as a woman, I can say that I hated how the female character (and women in general) were written about in this book. It may have been a translation issue, but (without spoiling anything) the adult parts of the book just sounded disgusting and not appealing at all. I've been wondering for a while if this is a problem that most Japanese male authors have, or if I'm the problem.
Was this the best thing I ever read? Absolutely not. Was it the worst thing I ever read? Also no. It was just... So-so.
Unfortunately, the ending feels "disturbing just for the sake of being disturbing", which is off-putting for an unintended reason. It also felt rather rushed at the end, compared to how slow things were in the previous part of the book. It was honestly not scary, disturbing "horror" until the end.
Also, as a woman, I can say that I hated how the female character (and women in general) were written about in this book. It may have been a translation issue, but (without spoiling anything) the adult parts of the book just sounded disgusting and not appealing at all. I've been wondering for a while if this is a problem that most Japanese male authors have, or if I'm the problem.
ambrose_7's review
5.0
I think a suspense novel's goal is to read like a rollercoaster. You tick yourself slowly up the hill getting closer and closer to the top and then BAM you go over the top and zooming down the backside. That's what this book felt like, and it was WONDERFUL. Murakami writes suspense the best that I've ever read. He also writes about trends in society very well, and groups of people. All of the conversations between characters are fascinating.
Page turning takes on a whole new meaning when reading this novel. I couldn't put it down and ended up staying up way later than I should have. He writes outstanding properly f'd characters. I have to wonder if he'd met a few to write such creepy ones. I liked this one more than "In the Miso Soup" it checked all the boxes for me. When I finished it, the one word that popped out of my mouth was "f***". And I think that about sums it up.
Ya'll should give 'er a shot.
Page turning takes on a whole new meaning when reading this novel. I couldn't put it down and ended up staying up way later than I should have. He writes outstanding properly f'd characters. I have to wonder if he'd met a few to write such creepy ones. I liked this one more than "In the Miso Soup" it checked all the boxes for me. When I finished it, the one word that popped out of my mouth was "f***". And I think that about sums it up.
Ya'll should give 'er a shot.
ghostface's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
jroberts3456's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Torture
littlespookysmut's review
4.0
I wanted to read this cause my boyfriend told me the movie was really gross and I ended up enjoying this more then I thought I would.
It’s a fast paced thriller that keeps you guessing
Tw: animal death, gore
It’s a fast paced thriller that keeps you guessing
Tw: animal death, gore
emilywest21's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5