BOOK RECOMMENDATION | BOOKS | FICTION
A gory Psychothriller not for the faint-hearted.
In the Miso Soup - Ryu Murakami (Translated by Ralph McCarthy)
⚠️Content Warning: This psychothriller/horror is not for the faint-hearted. If you enjoyed watching movies like Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs, and American Psycho, then this book might entertain you. If you can stomach the violence, then read further.
I had seen these horror movies by skipping scenes and watching only the skeleton of the story. I do not prefer the gory horror genre. There are a few pages in this book that are sickening with overindulgence in violence. Hence, it took me a while to finish this slender book of 180 pages, and my opinion is also conflicted.
The story is narrated by Kenji, a 20-year-old unlicensed ‘tour guide’ for foreigners aiming to make their way through the nightlife of Tokyo. A 35-year-old overweight American tourist, Frank, hires Kenji for three days before New Year’s eve to take him around the seedy Kabuki-cho district. Kenji has a gut feeling that something is amiss right from the moment he sets his eyes on Frank. His instincts get confirmed as Frank’s strange behavior leads Kenji to assume that he might be the serial killer who has been rocking Japanese headlines for the past few days. The story soon spirals down into the dark claustrophobic areas of Tokyo with a graphic bloodbath and unconvincingly placid reaction from Kenji, the witness of the massacre and plausibly a victim of the creepy Stockholm syndrome.
The first half of the book gives a vibrant picture of Tokyo’s red-light area Kabuki-cho with peep shows, karaoke matchmaking bars, and lingerie bars. Soon the darker undertone of the realities of urban loneliness and disconnection emerges through the characters. Frank is the epitome of evil, a compulsive liar, and the archetype of a psycho-killer. Kenji is far from innocent, he unwittingly becomes the silent spectator of the crime and remains nonjudgemental for the sake of his survival.
Apart from the ultraviolence, there are discussions of Buddhism and redemption, social commentary on growing consumerism in Japan following the western world, and also discussion on the cultural stigma surrounding the sex industry. It also throws a negative light on the "compensated dating" culture prevalent among Japanese high school girls in the late 90s. The psychological thriller lost its way and came to an abrupt end with a philosophical monologue.
About the author:
Ryu Murakami is an award-winning postmodern novelist and filmmaker. His works explore human nature against the backdrop of the darker side of Japan.
-Preethi
