A review by icebearg
In the Miso Soup by Ryū Murakami

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The story's mystery and suspense were good until halfway into the story where it just becomes a heavy-handed metaphor for the parallels and differences between American and Japanese society and culture--though, I will admit that Murakami gives fascinating insights from a japan-centric perspective. The author also delves into the subject of the nature and origin of evil on the level of individual and then societal, however that's all the story is concerned about as the characters do nothing but become talking pieces for the author until the end of the book.
I can see that this was done because Kenji developed an understanding for Frank and his ideology, but it took away from the psychological thriller aspect that made me initially interested in this book.
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