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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Sadako Yamamura‘s presence is felt more often than seen, but she is one of the greatest horror protagonists in modern literature.
One of the few instances I've come across where the movie adaptation is better than the source material.
It wasn't particularly scary, and I didn't feel any connection to or compassion for the main characters because they were so freaking misogynistic. The story about the curse was a little interesting, but beyond that the book wasn't very compelling.
I give this book a solid "meh".
It wasn't particularly scary, and I didn't feel any connection to or compassion for the main characters because they were so freaking misogynistic. The story about the curse was a little interesting, but beyond that the book wasn't very compelling.
I give this book a solid "meh".
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
First and foremost HEAVY HEAVY SA TRIGGER WARNING. It was NOT handled well and was reoccurring throughout. Super uncomfortable in the worst way.
I almost DNF’d this one but I wanted to know what happened. Was it worth it? I don’t know, I don’t think so.
When this novel isn’t brutalizing and dehumanizing literally every woman in the story (the open contempt for women is so palpable throughout) it reads like GPS instructions. It felt like 80% of this book was just two deeply unlikable characters having annoying conversations in the car or on a boat. So so much detailed, dry description of transportation.
I didn’t enjoy the writing style, I felt the author took too many mid-scene tangents and constantly deflated the suspense.
The best, spookiest part was the last like 3 pages which is soooooo annoying
I almost DNF’d this one but I wanted to know what happened. Was it worth it? I don’t know, I don’t think so.
When this novel isn’t brutalizing and dehumanizing literally every woman in the story (the open contempt for women is so palpable throughout) it reads like GPS instructions. It felt like 80% of this book was just two deeply unlikable characters having annoying conversations in the car or on a boat. So so much detailed, dry description of transportation.
I didn’t enjoy the writing style, I felt the author took too many mid-scene tangents and constantly deflated the suspense.
The best, spookiest part was the last like 3 pages which is soooooo annoying
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Suicide
The concept was interesting and I liked the reflective endings. The characterization fell flat. Stars knocked off for Men Writing Women Horribly, Rape as a Character Trait, Transphobia
DNF, I lost interest at 143 pages in due to the pace slowing down an lack of engagement with the horror elements in the story. Dang, it really felt flat having his wife and child see the cursed tape unceremoniously that I was turned off from wanting to continue... and didn't like Ryuji at all. If Asakawa was a more engaged narrator, maybe I could have excused slower pacing.
(If I make any comment about the movie, it's about the The Ring (2002) movie, not the one from 1998.)
So... I finally read this book. I remember knowing this book's movie by hand. The american version though, with the girl who needs to save her own life because there's a strange VHS on a cabin. Oh, and the TV. And the water. And the girl with the ugly hair coming out from the well-known... well, well. I wasn't brave (or old enough) to watch the original version. And it's not on my plans right now... it won't be. Too much by now.
Anyways, the book is nothing like it. Yes, this is the book that inspired the movie, I read somewhere that the writer helped write the two movies, but some details changed. The main character is a man, not a woman. Unless otherwise explained, everyone in the story is Japanese, but the story is nothing like the movie adaptation. You may be thinking: Well, duh. Yeah. But I didn't even know there was a book! Did you? When I found out about this book I went into full-curious mode and tried every way to get it. So I did and started a bit slow. Everything is different. From the main character to the plot. There are things in the movie that remain unexplained. I'm not comparing every single thing to the movie, I'm just saying I expected something like the movie. But everything in the book was so different. That's why I felt uneasy. I didn't know if it would make me feel real terror or leave me on bed with eyes wide open, not wanting to shut 'em, afraid of... well, anything.
It didn't, not completely. The book talks about fear, demons, islands and their own popular stories, rumors, psychic powers (yes!), and a bunch of things that I don't want to spoil for you, but words are well used, descriptions are (even when translated to spanish) precise, and it's catchy when you get to a 20% of the story.
And yes, I liked it better than the movie, even if it sounds like a clichéd review for a book that has a movie adaptation. Why 4 stars out of 5, then? It mixes science with paranormal, theories, and a bit of biology and that is really, really something I didn't expect. Maybe I'm not being fair with my rating, but I just don't feel like giving it five whole stars.
So... I finally read this book. I remember knowing this book's movie by hand. The american version though, with the girl who needs to save her own life because there's a strange VHS on a cabin. Oh, and the TV. And the water. And the girl with the ugly hair coming out from the well-known... well, well. I wasn't brave (or old enough) to watch the original version. And it's not on my plans right now... it won't be. Too much by now.
Anyways, the book is nothing like it. Yes, this is the book that inspired the movie, I read somewhere that the writer helped write the two movies, but some details changed. The main character is a man, not a woman. Unless otherwise explained, everyone in the story is Japanese, but the story is nothing like the movie adaptation. You may be thinking: Well, duh. Yeah. But I didn't even know there was a book! Did you? When I found out about this book I went into full-curious mode and tried every way to get it. So I did and started a bit slow. Everything is different. From the main character to the plot. There are things in the movie that remain unexplained. I'm not comparing every single thing to the movie, I'm just saying I expected something like the movie. But everything in the book was so different. That's why I felt uneasy. I didn't know if it would make me feel real terror or leave me on bed with eyes wide open, not wanting to shut 'em, afraid of... well, anything.
It didn't, not completely. The book talks about fear, demons, islands and their own popular stories, rumors, psychic powers (yes!), and a bunch of things that I don't want to spoil for you, but words are well used, descriptions are (even when translated to spanish) precise, and it's catchy when you get to a 20% of the story.
And yes, I liked it better than the movie, even if it sounds like a clichéd review for a book that has a movie adaptation. Why 4 stars out of 5, then? It mixes science with paranormal, theories, and a bit of biology and that is really, really something I didn't expect. Maybe I'm not being fair with my rating, but I just don't feel like giving it five whole stars.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a GREAT story; I really wish I could read Japanese to experience it as the author wrote it.
Unfortunately, due to the language and translation barrier to English, some aspects of the author's writing style that would have lent to creating a creepier atmosphere were lost. For that, I am truly sad.
I came into this with the unfair advantage of having seen both the Japanese and English film adaptations. Still, both were very different from the actual novel, so I was able to get immersed in the story better than I imagined. I will definitely be continuing to the second novel, and I recommend this to any horror fan.
*POSSIBLE SPOILER BELOW*
My only real complaint about the book is the protagonist's partner Ryuji. He was portrayed as this awful scoundrel (you'll see what I mean). The fact that I hated Ryuji made it nearly impossible for me to connect with the leading man Asakawa. The fact that he qualified this scummy human as a friend made me dislike him as well so, for the entire novel, I never really grasped onto a sense of affiliation with our hero. I quietly hoped he and his whole family would die to be honest!
The author tried to add a sense of redemption to Ryuji's character in the form of his student saying he was a man that wore many skins, and he changed based on who he was with at any given time. There was this supposed DUN DUN. Is he actually not a craptastic excuse for a human?! But by that point, I already didn't care enough.
From reading the insert for the second novel, I gleaned that there may be further development into the facade that Ryuji put up, so perhaps the author wrote it with purpose in continuing the series.
Unfortunately, due to the language and translation barrier to English, some aspects of the author's writing style that would have lent to creating a creepier atmosphere were lost. For that, I am truly sad.
I came into this with the unfair advantage of having seen both the Japanese and English film adaptations. Still, both were very different from the actual novel, so I was able to get immersed in the story better than I imagined. I will definitely be continuing to the second novel, and I recommend this to any horror fan.
*POSSIBLE SPOILER BELOW*
My only real complaint about the book is the protagonist's partner Ryuji. He was portrayed as this awful scoundrel (you'll see what I mean). The fact that I hated Ryuji made it nearly impossible for me to connect with the leading man Asakawa. The fact that he qualified this scummy human as a friend made me dislike him as well so, for the entire novel, I never really grasped onto a sense of affiliation with our hero. I quietly hoped he and his whole family would die to be honest!
The author tried to add a sense of redemption to Ryuji's character in the form of his student saying he was a man that wore many skins, and he changed based on who he was with at any given time. There was this supposed DUN DUN. Is he actually not a craptastic excuse for a human?! But by that point, I already didn't care enough.
From reading the insert for the second novel, I gleaned that there may be further development into the facade that Ryuji put up, so perhaps the author wrote it with purpose in continuing the series.