In the Miso Soup
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Product Description
Daily Mail
‘Probably the creepiest novel I read all year – a dark morality tale set in the red-light district of Tokyo’
Review
'A blistering portrait of contemporary Japan, its nihilism and decadence wrapped up within one of the most savage thrillers since The Silence of the Lambs' Kirkus Review 'Deft and fascinating ... A grisly tour of the darkness and confusion of the human mind' New York Times 'There is no shortage of terrors in this novel ... Atmosphere predominates, and the claustrophobia of the backstreets of Tokyo is intensely imagined' Daily Telegraph 'In the Miso Soup stays with the reader long after the book is finished and Murakami makes his readers as complicit as Kenji in their desire to understand why Frank is the way he is' Guardian
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
What at a glance appears to be a fairly standard concept for a novel - is our protagonists client the serial killer at large? - is taken in a very different direction by the time the story ends. It's a direction that I can only imagine a Japanese author taking it: disturbing but poignant, and maybe a little frustrating in its ambiguity - though it's the frustrating things that are ultimately most rewarding. Of course only a Japanese author could have written it because the novel is essentially about the closed nature of Japan's society: alienating to foreigners and in a state of self-denial.
I'm usually a slow reader but this novel hooked me in from the start and I finished it in less than 24 hours. The writing style is much more fluid and rich than other Japanese novels I've read, such as Haruki Murakami's, though I'm never sure exactly how much of that is down to the translator rather than the original author. The author does, however, clearly have excellent ability when it comes to the pacing. Perhaps around the last third of the novel it loses its narrative drive, but the change to a slower, more thoughtful style is what gives the book its unique edge, taking it from being simply a gripping read to a novel that leaves a lasting impression and screams out to be read again.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the first Ryu Murakami book I have read, though I am more familiar with the other, equally surreal Murakami (Haruki). Once you have read the backcover and then onto first page you instantly find yourself engrossed in this story as it unfolds...
You find yourself in a Tokyo beyond the sushi, anime and hi-tech gadgets - the reader is taken, as if almost on a tour of the red-light districts vibrant, diverse and perverse night-life. But what is central of course are the two main characters - a local night life tourist guide and a fat American tourist.
As the story progresses, it perpetuates the guide's paranoia and eventual fear of this strange foreigner - something about him just doesn't seem right as you will discover the more you read on.
What I found most interesting was the author's brave yet honest, and in many ways justifiable criticism of how - like many nations- are loosing their own cultural heritage and identity in favour of the globally appealing Americanism.
Murakami paints a picture of a highly modern people, more so than the West - yet utterly confused about who they are - and what it means to be Japanese - to such extents that some foreign characters know more about the traditions and culture of the locals than the locals themselves.
Paradoxically, at one point a Japanese character seems to know more about a certain thing or too about American culture than our American tourist.
As many other reviewers and many others who have read the book will tell you - there is "that" one scene - it will stay in your mind perhaps longer than any other aspect of the story, message or plot, etc - I am not sure if this is the intention of the author but it is truly unforgettable.
It truly was one of- if not the most gruesome, explicitly detailed and violent scenes I have ever read depicted in prose. Ashamedly, however you find yourself still carrying on reading with a sort of frown on your face reflecting the natural distaste and disgust at what you are reading. The scene is not even that long - yet it feels incredibly long - even for the character as it were. Though I must say, it surely must require some talent to come up with this - though it does make you question the goings on of the mind that produces such flowery imagery.
One disappointment though, is that toward the end the pace and excitement starts to slow - of course this is because it is drawing to its close - however it starts to take on a whole different tone, focussing more on the life behind this American tourist - in an attempt to explain why he is - like he is. Though I wasn't too convinced and a little disappointed there was no "twist" that would completely knock you off balance from where you thought the plot was taking you. The ending is rather anti-climactic with no real closure- though with a lot to reflect upon about culture and identity.
You find yourself in a Tokyo beyond the sushi, anime and hi-tech gadgets - the reader is taken, as if almost on a tour of the red-light districts vibrant, diverse and perverse night-life. But what is central of course are the two main characters - a local night life tourist guide and a fat American tourist.
As the story progresses, it perpetuates the guide's paranoia and eventual fear of this strange foreigner - something about him just doesn't seem right as you will discover the more you read on.
What I found most interesting was the author's brave yet honest, and in many ways justifiable criticism of how - like many nations- are loosing their own cultural heritage and identity in favour of the globally appealing Americanism.
Murakami paints a picture of a highly modern people, more so than the West - yet utterly confused about who they are - and what it means to be Japanese - to such extents that some foreign characters know more about the traditions and culture of the locals than the locals themselves.
Paradoxically, at one point a Japanese character seems to know more about a certain thing or too about American culture than our American tourist.
As many other reviewers and many others who have read the book will tell you - there is "that" one scene - it will stay in your mind perhaps longer than any other aspect of the story, message or plot, etc - I am not sure if this is the intention of the author but it is truly unforgettable.
It truly was one of- if not the most gruesome, explicitly detailed and violent scenes I have ever read depicted in prose. Ashamedly, however you find yourself still carrying on reading with a sort of frown on your face reflecting the natural distaste and disgust at what you are reading. The scene is not even that long - yet it feels incredibly long - even for the character as it were. Though I must say, it surely must require some talent to come up with this - though it does make you question the goings on of the mind that produces such flowery imagery.
One disappointment though, is that toward the end the pace and excitement starts to slow - of course this is because it is drawing to its close - however it starts to take on a whole different tone, focussing more on the life behind this American tourist - in an attempt to explain why he is - like he is. Though I wasn't too convinced and a little disappointed there was no "twist" that would completely knock you off balance from where you thought the plot was taking you. The ending is rather anti-climactic with no real closure- though with a lot to reflect upon about culture and identity.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Murakami wrote the screenplay for the deeply nasty film "Audition".
I have to say that I didn't know this when I first read this book, which I picked up on the strength of one of his other books "Coin locker Babies" (which I picked up in mistake for a Haruki Murakami novel... a happy error!).
This book is every bit as nasty.
I will give nothing away, except to say that the book gives a completely convincing account of contemporary Tokyo and the place of the outsider within it, be that outsider foreign or one of the many "underclass" who seem to wander the streets of the city, and that once you have started it, you will be reading non-stop to the end.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Strange but a page turner
What a roller-coaster this book was.
Kenji is a taxi driver/tour guide for the sex district in Tokyo. Read more
Kenji is a taxi driver/tour guide for the sex district in Tokyo. Read more
Published 6 months ago by J. Willis
"The ghosts of sad, cheap souls live on in sad, cheap furniture."
Ryu Murakami was born in Nagasaki in 1952. His first book, "Almost Transparent Blue" was first published in 1976 and won that year's Akutagawa Prize. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Craobh Rua
Ryu Murakami - In The Miso Soup
The book begins with our story teller, Kenji, explaining his job role. He is a tour guide, of sorts, for the many foreigners travelling to Tokyo. Read more
Published 9 months ago by molko
Amateurish
This is not a particularly good book, it's not clever, it doesn't make you think much, it's not convincing, and it feels like it was written by a 16 year old student. Read more
Published 10 months ago by G. Andreou
excellent read :)
keeping it simple this was a good read I had previously read 'Piercing' so was expecting a similar enjoyable read from this one; I was not dissapointed easy to follow nice fluent... Read more
Published 11 months ago by David Smith
An interesting one...
Shall keep it brief; couldn't put it down, very interesting. This is my first exposure to Ryu Murakami's work excluding the movie adaption of Audition (Brilliant). Read more
Published 12 months ago by Chib
My opinion of this book
Firstly I have to state I have never read any books by ryu murakami. I saw the book in a book shop and the cover and blurb caught my attention. Read more
Published 18 months ago by V. Tran
More 2, Less 1
A book of 3 chapters. I'll say the first chapter plays out like a rubbish thriller with 20 year old sex tour operator/translator Kenji, instantly and constantly reminding us that... Read more
Published 20 months ago by P. J. Potter
Great psycho fiction
It blew me away with the force of an AK-47 and in it I found my favourite fictional psychopath! Murakami's managed to carry off the difficulty of penning a psychological thriller... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Lily Seltsam
read this a few years back
it's an okay story, but there's not much in the story line
the 'climax' isn't much of a climax though it is creepy a lot of the way through and murakami holds it through the... Read more
the 'climax' isn't much of a climax though it is creepy a lot of the way through and murakami holds it through the... Read more
Published on 24 April 2010 by Zinzi Cambran
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