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Piercing
 
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Piercing (Paperback)

by Ryu Murakami (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Piercing + In The Miso Soup + Audition
Price For All Three: £17.48

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  • This item: Piercing by Ryu Murakami

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • In The Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami

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Product details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (7 Jan 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0747593132
  • ISBN-13: 978-0747593133
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 1.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 144,758 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #4 in  Books > Fiction > Cult Authors > Murakami, Ryu

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Product Description

Review
'Equally compelling and disturbing a dark psycho-thriller' Daily Mail 'Piercing is a Japanese extension of David Lynch's world: surreal, sexually anguished, highly neurotic, both knowing and naive' Guardian 'Each time a new book by Ryu Murakami is published, the people at the Japanese Tourist Board must hang their heads in despair darkly witty' Daily Telegraph 'There are echoes here of Edgar Allan Poe and Dostoyevsky - Murakami shares their fascination with the darkest layer of the soul, and the appalling isolation of the criminal. Creepy and gripping' Kate Saunders, The Times

Financial Times
`If Ryu Murakami's short novel were a film it would be a nasty but effective B-movie chiller ... Written in a faintly ironic style reminiscent of Bret Easton Ellis, Piercing is queasily compulsive ... the plot delivers its shocks efficiently'

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Piercing
58% buy the item featured on this page:
Piercing 3.9 out of 5 stars (10)
£5.99
In The Miso Soup
19% buy
In The Miso Soup 4.1 out of 5 stars (23)
£5.49
Audition
11% buy
Audition 3.3 out of 5 stars (3)
£6.00
Grotesque
6% buy
Grotesque 3.5 out of 5 stars (36)
£5.99
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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars More like 3.5, 13 Mar 2008
By Lucy M "lucy" (yorkshire, UK) - See all my reviews
"Piercing" offers us more gripping, twisted prose from Ryu Murakami. Having paid £8 for under 200 pages, I hoped for something as impressive as my favourite Murakami, "Coin Locker Babies".

The writing is just as good, (if not better, in the translation) but the plot is less intricate. "Coin Locker Babies" had twists, turns and climaxes aplenty, but "Piercing", being a much shorter book, quickly moved from A to B and finished, I thought, quite abruptly.

Nevertheless, it's recommended for those who enjoy the potential for being disturbed by Japanese fiction. But I can't deny I'd have preferred MORE.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Fine but disturbing writing, 8 May 2007
By Andrew Howell "andyhowell3" (Birmingham, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Piercing (Hardcover)
The 'other' Murakami" does it again. This is darker, pyscho thriller once again set against the seedier side of Tokyo life. The voices in a young man's head tells him that he has to kill. He fixes on a victim who is equally unusual. A short book, fast paced, exciting and bold - this can be read at one sitting. every bit as good as his last hit 'In the Miso Soup".
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, 16 Jan 2007
By Anderssen (Bristol) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Piercing (Hardcover)
Kawashima Masayuki seemingly has everything a man could ask for - a beautiful wife, newborn baby and a successful career. However, Kawashima has a dark side that his wife doesn't know about. Abused as a child, and guilty of attempted murder, every night he sits next to his baby stroking her face with an ice pick.

I only noticed this book as it was on sale at a local bookshop. I hadn't heard of the author before. However, after reading this I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another of his works.

A gripping tale with nothing but twists all the way through. This is extremely dark, descriptive and gruesome. My only criticism would be that it's rather short, and does conclude rather suddenly. The author could easily have extended the story safely.

Overall however, highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Simply Piercing
This is the first book that I have read by the author Ryu Murakami. This thriller is very different and the language used to tell the tale is extremely captivating. Read more
Published 3 months ago by C. Valcin

5.0 out of 5 stars Jim Thompson's heir
The best first-person story from the point-of-view of a psychopath that I've read since The Killer Inside Me. I can think of no higher praise. Piercing will freak you out.
Published 3 months ago by Black Mask

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as "In the Miso Soup"
This is only the second book which I've read by this author, the first being "In the Miso Soup", which I much preferred
Published 4 months ago by P. Caulfield

4.0 out of 5 stars Voices from the dark side
Quite a brief book but well worth reading. Murakami pretty much grabs you straight away with voices direct from the minds of some pretty messed up people. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Minkle MacTinkle

4.0 out of 5 stars Murakami goes more Psycho
After reading 'In the Miso soup' I thought of buying his latest, even though as usual his books are short and don't involve much charecters in them, he still manages to take you... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Freddy

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat Dated Commentary on Japanese Society
Originally published in Japan in 1994, this latest translation of "the other" Murakami's works suffers somewhat from its relative age. Read more
Published on 21 May 2007 by A. Ross

5.0 out of 5 stars gripping stuff
Having already read Miso Soup and 69 by the same author, two completely different books, I wasn't sure what to expect from this. Read more
Published on 24 April 2007 by Mr. S. G. Dwyer

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