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gasolinecupcake's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I think the movie does the storyline more justice. But the book is still a great read.
The movie is my favorite movie of all time so maybe I'm a bit biased
The movie is my favorite movie of all time so maybe I'm a bit biased
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Body horror, Pedophilia, Torture, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Gore
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
-An animal dies -There is a whole chapter which is dedicated to sex that the characters have. It's pretty descriptiveiamdr_rn's review against another edition
The book introduced a dog, and I checked the spoiler tags to see if animal abuse/death was central to the story. It was; I don’t read book where animals are tortured/killed as a major plot point, so I’m abandoning it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
nightmare_maven's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Team Asami
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Misogyny
cviii's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
i think this might be the worst book i’ve ever read. the only reason i didn’t rate it lower is that i can imagine ways it could have been worse. also there were a few bits of prose that i liked.
the antagonist had potential to be interesting and complex but she isn’t, she’s predictable and her motivations are explained via exposition from the narration. side characters hint at ways she might be more interesting (suggesting she’s lying about her background, describing her almost as if she’s a supernatural entity), but in the end she comes across like a very tired cliche.
the protagonist is also pretty boring. he’s not exactly likeable (going along with a plan to trick young, aspiring actresses into thinking they’re auditioning for a movie when they’re really auditioning to be the protagonist’s future wife is pretty messed up) but he does have some decent qualities. not really enough to make me concerned with whether he’ll live to see the end of the novel but enough to keep me from actively rooting for him to die.
the writing style didn’t work for me for the most part, aside from a couple lines of prose, as mentioned above. a lot of the book comes across as exposition which i didn’t enjoy much. i’m not sure how much of my issues with the writing can be explained by nuance getting lost in translation so i don’t hold this against the book too much.
one thing i’ll give the book credit for is that it can easily be read in one sitting, maybe two, so you’re not investing much effort in reading it only to be let down in the end. i wouldn’t recommend reading it but you won’t lose much by giving it a couple hours of your day.
the antagonist had potential to be interesting and complex but she isn’t, she’s predictable and her motivations are explained via exposition from the narration. side characters hint at ways she might be more interesting (suggesting she’s lying about her background, describing her almost as if she’s a supernatural entity), but in the end she comes across like a very tired cliche.
the protagonist is also pretty boring. he’s not exactly likeable (going along with a plan to trick young, aspiring actresses into thinking they’re auditioning for a movie when they’re really auditioning to be the protagonist’s future wife is pretty messed up) but he does have some decent qualities. not really enough to make me concerned with whether he’ll live to see the end of the novel but enough to keep me from actively rooting for him to die.
the writing style didn’t work for me for the most part, aside from a couple lines of prose, as mentioned above. a lot of the book comes across as exposition which i didn’t enjoy much. i’m not sure how much of my issues with the writing can be explained by nuance getting lost in translation so i don’t hold this against the book too much.
one thing i’ll give the book credit for is that it can easily be read in one sitting, maybe two, so you’re not investing much effort in reading it only to be let down in the end. i wouldn’t recommend reading it but you won’t lose much by giving it a couple hours of your day.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, and Physical abuse
lulsycc's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Child abuse
Moderate: Gore, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Minor: Misogyny
jenncaffey's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
lain_darko's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, and Child abuse
akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I support women’s rights, I also support women’s wrongs.
Similar to Piercing, this book focuses more on the build up to the climax than on the actual climax itself. It’s a well written critique of misogyny in modern Japan, and while I started feeling sorry for Aoyama his attitude towards women reflected by himself and Shige made me worry less about him over time.
I really enjoyed it! I preferred Piercing both story wise and also gore wise, but I’m glad I read this and I’m excited to watch the film too!
Similar to Piercing, this book focuses more on the build up to the climax than on the actual climax itself. It’s a well written critique of misogyny in modern Japan, and while I started feeling sorry for Aoyama his attitude towards women reflected by himself and Shige made me worry less about him over time.
I really enjoyed it! I preferred Piercing both story wise and also gore wise, but I’m glad I read this and I’m excited to watch the film too!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Murder, Sexual content, Body horror, Blood, Misogyny, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Incest, Cursing, Death, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, and Emotional abuse
binks_brew's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Do not come to this book for a cover to cover horror or for something viscerally horrifying. Ultimately, it is more about making you feel uncomfortable, off put, and eventually maybe even feel bad for the antagonist.
After spending time focusing on himself since his wife's untimely passing, Aoyama decides he is ready to find another wife. His friend decides to create an audition for as fake movie to allow Aoyama to have the best chances of meeting someone who fits his criteria. Enter Asami; gorgeous, young, captivating, but mysterious enough to give pause. Perfect for Aoyama.
If you've read other works by Murakami, you know where this is headed from the beginning. Personally, it was very slow and a lot of description compared to action. I find that a lot of Japanese and Korean works from this time are this way, but this one was particularly slow even compared to others. Overall the plot and idea are good, though predictable.
However, if you read this I would recommend watching the movie. It seems to move along a bit faster, but also is just a good cult movie. You can find it with English subtitles easily.
After spending time focusing on himself since his wife's untimely passing, Aoyama decides he is ready to find another wife. His friend decides to create an audition for as fake movie to allow Aoyama to have the best chances of meeting someone who fits his criteria. Enter Asami; gorgeous, young, captivating, but mysterious enough to give pause. Perfect for Aoyama.
If you've read other works by Murakami, you know where this is headed from the beginning. Personally, it was very slow and a lot of description compared to action. I find that a lot of Japanese and Korean works from this time are this way, but this one was particularly slow even compared to others. Overall the plot and idea are good, though predictable.
However, if you read this I would recommend watching the movie. It seems to move along a bit faster, but also is just a good cult movie. You can find it with English subtitles easily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Misogyny
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