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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
This is my second read, 17 years later. It’s a good trash novel. The movie was only overly compelling because for its told of was something different. The misogyny gets to be a LOT but I enjoy that the movie did a very good job as telling an enclosed story. I enjoy the book because it opens the idea up to the possibility of more.
Me ha gustado mucho cómo se desarrollan la trama y el misterio de esta novela, y su atmósfera y su ritmo me han parecido brutales. No me esperaba, eso sí, que la misoginia estaría tan presente en ella, tanto como uno de sus temas principales como en sus protagonistas.
Es precisamente eso lo que más me ha chirriado. Que el machismo presente en la sociedad japonesa y lo encorsetados que están los roles de género en ella sean un punto clave en la novela y que sus protagonistas sean considerablemente misóginos. No tengo claro si es intencional y busca reforzar dicho tema o no, pero puede costar bastante empatizar con estos personajes. El caso es que me ha pillado desprevenida.
Pese a este hecho (que veo importante remarcar) he devorado sus páginas. Me ha gustado muchísimo cómo construye el misterio, lo visuales y sensoriales que llegan a ser algunas escenas y su desenlace (la resolución me ha parecido brillante). El manejo de la tensión y la atmósfera me han encantado.
Es precisamente eso lo que más me ha chirriado. Que el machismo presente en la sociedad japonesa y lo encorsetados que están los roles de género en ella sean un punto clave en la novela y que sus protagonistas sean considerablemente misóginos. No tengo claro si es intencional y busca reforzar dicho tema o no, pero puede costar bastante empatizar con estos personajes. El caso es que me ha pillado desprevenida.
Pese a este hecho (que veo importante remarcar) he devorado sus páginas. Me ha gustado muchísimo cómo construye el misterio, lo visuales y sensoriales que llegan a ser algunas escenas y su desenlace (la resolución me ha parecido brillante). El manejo de la tensión y la atmósfera me han encantado.
Thank god i’m finished with this book. Regret buying it. The only time I enjoyed it was the beginning -I was intrigued by Asakawa’s nieces death and had high hopes for the book.
After that…I don’t know. First of all, the minute Ryuji mentions rape and Asakawa is like “huh that’s not great but oh well” I just didn’t give a fuck. I know a lot of Japanese fiction has a lot of misogyny -I like Haruki Murakami but still struggle with the themes in there. But I don’t think Suzuki’s writing redeems itself enough to overlook the problematic themes. From the minute Ryuji says that, I knew that I didn’t care about these characters and did not care if they died. And as the book continues, they have no redeeming qualities. Asakawa is not confident in himself and looks up to Ryuji like a little boy -not a terrible quality to work with and develop, but it isn’t developed. And he also treats his wife like shit. So. His love and devotion for his family is never really shown to us and I have a hard time believing it’s really there. Ryuji could have been an interesting character, but again, he sucked. I was quite glad he died. And what was that at the end? With the whole “oh he’s never been with a woman” “he lied about raping” what was the purpose of that?
Aside from that, I was just so terribly bored. I think if this book had been any longer I would not have finished it. It is described as a horror book so I thought it would be horror, and it really isn’t. It’s just a mystery rabbit trail type of novel. And there really isn’t any urgency for me because I don’t care if the characters live or die. I thought figuring out the charm at the end was pretty cool. I was enjoying learning about Sadako. But what was the point of adding her being intersex and then randomly being transphobic? I’m so tired of just having to randomly come across pointless transphobia and misogyny, and anything to do with being okay with rape -no. I’m immediately turned off from a book.
I can realize I may not be judging this book in an unbiased way, but I truly hated so much of this experience. I didn’t care about the characters. I was bored. The writing did not captivate me. I thought it was a cool idea that didn’t live up to itself. And I’m angry that I wasted my money. I know it’s hard with translation, but I think there are a lot of translated works where you can still tell how beautiful and well-written it is. I thought Suzuki’s writing was very basic, the dialogue uninteresting, the characters not developed and difficult to care about. I’m just so relieved to be done with it
After that…I don’t know. First of all, the minute Ryuji mentions rape and Asakawa is like “huh that’s not great but oh well” I just didn’t give a fuck. I know a lot of Japanese fiction has a lot of misogyny -I like Haruki Murakami but still struggle with the themes in there. But I don’t think Suzuki’s writing redeems itself enough to overlook the problematic themes. From the minute Ryuji says that, I knew that I didn’t care about these characters and did not care if they died. And as the book continues, they have no redeeming qualities. Asakawa is not confident in himself and looks up to Ryuji like a little boy -not a terrible quality to work with and develop, but it isn’t developed. And he also treats his wife like shit. So. His love and devotion for his family is never really shown to us and I have a hard time believing it’s really there. Ryuji could have been an interesting character, but again, he sucked. I was quite glad he died. And what was that at the end? With the whole “oh he’s never been with a woman” “he lied about raping” what was the purpose of that?
Aside from that, I was just so terribly bored. I think if this book had been any longer I would not have finished it. It is described as a horror book so I thought it would be horror, and it really isn’t. It’s just a mystery rabbit trail type of novel. And there really isn’t any urgency for me because I don’t care if the characters live or die. I thought figuring out the charm at the end was pretty cool. I was enjoying learning about Sadako. But what was the point of adding her being intersex and then randomly being transphobic? I’m so tired of just having to randomly come across pointless transphobia and misogyny, and anything to do with being okay with rape -no. I’m immediately turned off from a book.
I can realize I may not be judging this book in an unbiased way, but I truly hated so much of this experience. I didn’t care about the characters. I was bored. The writing did not captivate me. I thought it was a cool idea that didn’t live up to itself. And I’m angry that I wasted my money. I know it’s hard with translation, but I think there are a lot of translated works where you can still tell how beautiful and well-written it is. I thought Suzuki’s writing was very basic, the dialogue uninteresting, the characters not developed and difficult to care about. I’m just so relieved to be done with it
2.75 ⭐️ very slow for a while and the characters are pretty unlikable, but I love the premise and it was fun to read the basis/inspo for one of my favorite movies
((((the movie is better))))
((((the movie is better))))
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Suzuki does a masterful job of invoking the feeling of absolute dread. Really well done horror with good pacing overall and some interesting twists.
a deeply unpleasant reading experience!! an absent father and husband, rape apologist, BORING.... his crimes are many and varied. incredibly dry. just absolutely no flavour or depth here. movie magic is real...
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes