A review by cuppachaii
Piercing by Ryū Murakami

dark reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Loved the tense, timid introspection of the characters in this book. At no point are either of them honest with themselves despite being fully aware of their psyches. This is a great book for running through with a highlighter, taking note when things jump out at you and indulging in "aaah!!" moments when you notice recurring themes. The ending left something to be desired for me, however. Since the book is so theme-heavy, it was hard for it to stick the landing. I loved the exploration of the characters, both are three dimensional enough to be deeply upsetting and yet sympathetic. I'd have liked more time spent on the baby-icepick narrative since that's what pulled me in in the first place; the book is actually about the planning and execution of a murder. This book wastes no time, the pace and writing are gripping. This gets a cool 4-stars for me. I liked it a lot and recommend reading it as a culty book to have interesting discussions about. Loved our time spent together, though it's not exceptional enough for me to get tippytap-handflap-excited about when I tell others about it
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