Piercing by Ryû Murakami

(2007; translated from the Japanese by Ralph McCarthy)

From the back cover

“Kawashima Masayuki is a successful graphic designer who lives with his loving wife, Yoko, and their baby girl. Outwardly, their lives the picture of happiness and contentment, but every night while his wife sleeps Kawashima creeps from his bed and watches over the baby’s crib with an ice pick in his hand an almost visceral desire to use it.

“One particular night, as this struggle unfolds once more, Kawashima makes a decision to confront his demons, and sets into motion an uncontrollable chain of events seeming to lead inexorably to murder.”

Review

Piercing is an immediately immersive, disturbing and sometimes brutal tale of two disturbed individuals and how they─in their strange, violent and otherwise frelled-up ways─seek redemption from their twist-the-knife demons. This is an excellent and perfect read, one of the best books I have read in a long time.

#

An American film version is scheduled to be released stateside on February 1, 2019. Nicolas Pesce scripted and directed it.

Christopher Abbott played Reed (the Americanized version of Kawashima Masayuki). Mia Wasikowska played Jackie (the Americanized version of Sanada Chiaki). Laia Costa played Mona.

Marin Ireland played Chevonne. Wendell Pierce played Doctor.

In the Miso Soup by Ryû Murakami

(pb; 1997, 2003. Translated from Japanese to English by Ralph McCarthy.)

From the back cover

"It is just before New Year's. Frank, an overweight American tourist, has hired Kenji to take him on a guided tour of Tokyo's sleazy nightlife on three successive evenings. But Frank's behavior is so strange that Kenji begins to entertain a horrible suspicion: that his new client is in fact the serial killer currently terrorizing the city. It isn't until later, however, that Kenji learns exactly how much he has to fear and how irrevocably his encounter with this great white whale of an American will change his life."


Review

Miso is an unsettling, excellent and off-beat take on the serial killer theme, with an oddball villain (of sorts), personal and provocative notions of politics and culture, darkly engaging and repulsive points of views, with occasional displays of Grand Guignol splatter. This book is one of my all-time favorite serial killer reads, unafraid to break established horror structures.

Audition by Ryû Murakami

(pb; 1997, 2009, 2010. Translated from Japanese to English by Ralph McCarthy.)

From the back cover

". . . Aoyama, a widower who has lived with his son since his wife died seven years ago, decides that it is time to remarry. Since Aoyama is a bit rusty when it comes to dating, a filmmaker friend proposes that he stage auditions for a movie he never intends to produce in order to cast the perfect woman as his bride. Only one of the applicants catches Aoyama's attention: Yamasaki Asami, a striking young ballerina with a mysterious past. Blinded by his infatuation, Aoyama discovers too late that she is a far cry from the innocent young woman he imagined her to be."


Review

Short, taut and emotionally-effective novel. Audition begins as a personal drama about a lonely man trying to find love, a quest that results in sadistic and horrifying situations.

Murakami wastes no words in Audition. Between the author's deliberate, sharp focus and pacing, and an increasing sense of unease, this disturbing novel is unique and excellent. It is not for the squeamish.

#

This was released as a film in Japan on March 3, 2000.

Ryo Ishibashi played Shigeharu Aoyama. Eihi Siina played Asami Yamazaki. Tetsu Sawaki played Shigehiko Aoyama. Jun Kunimura played Yasuhisa Yoshikawa. Miyuki Matsuda played Ryoko Aoyama. Toshie Negishi played Rie. Yuuto Arima played "Shigehiko as a child". Ayaka Izumi played "Asami as a child".

Takashi Miike directed the film, from a script by Daisuke Tengan.