In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami - an unappetising appetiser 

Can confirm, I couldn't finish The Girl Next Door, but got through In the Miso Soup no problem. I'm still haunted by the ear thing though 😖

I still need to read this one, but started with Piercing and Audition and kept reading more. He’s really fantastic!

I really enjoyed this book… so fun meeting Frank and getting a little insight into who he is as we take a tour of the city. Batting cage was quite memorable for me. Cool book, I like the way it ends. Good to have reviews of stuff I’ve read. Cheers always Olly.

I want to revisit all of his work soon. I finally picked up a copy of From the Fatherland with Love, but I've been intimidated by it. I mention this every time he comes up, but Coin Locker Babies is my very favorite of his novels (so far).

The movie you were talking about, Audition, is just amazing. The second half goes full surreal and quite graphic too. And yeah, even though I can't say I'm an avid reader of daring horror novels (love them but I don't have so much free time), Ketchum's novel is by far the most disturbing I've read so far.

Best. Thumbnail. Caption. Ever. 😂

Ready for a reread. I was struck by Frank's interest in the 108 bells and how he found out about them. The only other Ryu Murakami I've read is Coin Locker Babies. What a wild ride.

Thinking about it after quite a bit of time, I remember thinking it being slow slow fast fast and back to slow slow. It was just okay for me.

Just purchased this one recently and I’m looking forward to reading it.

Great review. The only Murakami book I've read is Coin Locker Babies. It is one of those throw everything at the wall (including a crocodile) to see what sticks kind of books. I thought it was a little exhausting.

It's interesting, I just read this book, and I personally didn't found Kenji to be psychologically disturbed at all. Not before the events he experiences on the novel. Of course, he has his own issues, most notably having dealt with grief... And he has an unconventional (perhaps quedtionable) line of work... But it seemed to me that he was overall a pretty normal person, in the sense of being partially a product of his environment... I found most of his emotions and thoughts to be understandable within context. He seemed like an open-minded, adaptable, and practical young man who happened to not fit in with his mother's expectation and have found himself in proximity to more marginalized underprivileged sectors of the population... Someone who knows how to survive and may be at an age when you're still developing your identity and questioning your life choices, but who hasn't lost all his morals nor his sanity, someone who happens to have a lot of social skills and self-awareness. Not too sentimental, but still able to feel empathy, be self-critical and be critical about societal norms/traditions. Nothing too strange about his thoughts. Nothing strange about being confused and in shock when suddenly witnessing horrific crimes.

I trully loved this book, was the first that I read from him.

I went into this book Olly thinking it would be a lot worse than it was, and as a direct consequence I was really disappointed! I had not long read American Psycho and I was hoping it would be more like that but it just felt Luke warm in comparison . Interesting hearing your thoughts on this . I really need to read The Girl Next Door . Agree with you about the tension Fab review - you have made me want to read this again and re evaluate it x

I read Piercing by him. It was pretty twisted. Have you read any Kobe Abe? I would recommend The Face Of Another and Secret Rendezvous, that one is like a fever dream with a wild ending.

I need to pick this one up.

Another incredible twisted mind melting book by him is "Popular Hits of the Showa Era: A Novel"

I just bought this.

His other works Piercing, and Audition are both great. I sort of enjoyed From the Fatherland, with Love but it was far too damn long and lacked the punch of the earlier works.

If you haven't read it yet, read Coin Locker Babies, a far superior novel from Ryo Murakami.

If it’s on kindle I’m in lol

I tend to stay away from authors with the name Murakami 村上 - it's a very snooty name 🤭🤭