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Coin Locker Babies (Paperback)

by Ryu Murakami (Author) "The woman pushed on the baby's stomach and sucked its penis into her mouth; it was thinner than the American menthols she smoked and a..." (more)
3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
RRP: £11.99
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Coin Locker Babies + Almost Transparent Blue + Sixty-nine
Price For All Three: £22.08

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Product details

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Kodansha International Ltd; 2nd edition (22 Aug 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 4770028962
  • ISBN-13: 978-4770028969
  • Product Dimensions: 19 x 13 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 110,538 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #5 in  Books > Fiction > Cult Authors > Murakami, Ryu
    #33 in  Books > Fiction > World > Japanese

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Product Description

Review
"The third of this prolific Japanese author's 30 novels to appear in English, this is a cyber-Bildungsroman of playful breadth and uncertain depth . . . The settings seem lifted from Japanese animation epics: an abandoned mining town, an underwater tunnel and a retreat in the mountains. . . .a lush and frantic imagination . . . expansive and exciting." -Publishers Weekly
"A knockout ... a great big pulsating parable." -Washington Post
"Deliciously grotesque." -Philadelphia Inquirer
"The work of Murakami who is also a filmmaker begs comparison with film. Robocop comes to mind as bearing the closest resemblance to this novel." -Library Journal
.,." an amazing, imaginative adventure." -Beverley Curran, The Daily Yomiuri
"Its power grabbed me by the heart."-Banana Yoshimoto, best selling author of Kitchen
"Devilish and brilliant." -Oliver Stone, filmmaker
"Startlingly hip, frighteningly inventive." -Roger Corman, filmmaker
"A writer with talent to burn." -Gary Indiana, author of Rent Boy


Banana Yoshimoto, author of Kitchen
"Its power grabbed me by the heart." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
The woman pushed on the baby's stomach and sucked its penis into her mouth; it was thinner than the American menthols she smoked and a bit slimy, like raw fish. Read the first page
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Coin Locker Babies
44% buy the item featured on this page:
Coin Locker Babies 3.3 out of 5 stars (7)
£8.39
In The Miso Soup
17% buy
In The Miso Soup 4.1 out of 5 stars (23)
£5.49
Piercing
17% buy
Piercing 3.9 out of 5 stars (10)
£5.99
Audition
11% buy
Audition 3.3 out of 5 stars (3)
£6.00
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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Weird, stylised and intriguing modern fiction, 4 Feb 2002
By L. C. Jones (Oxford, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Coin Locker Babies (Japan's Modern Writers) (Paperback)
In the 1970s there developed in Japan a very disturbing trend whereby young mothers would abandon newborn babies in coinlockers. Most of the babies died. Coin Locker Babies is the story of two who survive. Adopted and raised as brothers, their lives are, nevertheless, fated to diverge quite alarmingly and not entirely happily. The bulk of the novel is set in a semi-real Tokyo, the surreal addition being the existence of 'Toxitown', an area so polluted that the authorities relocated all its residents and shut it off from the outside world, only for the underclasses to move in and set up residence. The underbelly of Tokyo is suddenly concentrated in one location and a fair chunk of the action takes place here. Murukami, one of Japan's most renowned modern authors, considers much of the weirdness and conflict of modern Japan, with a particular emphasis on sexuality (bisexuality and homosexuality receiving far more treatment than any other Japanese novel I have read, and certainly portrayed as far more open and prevalent than is actually the case in contemporary Japan), but there is a strong surreal and psychological streak to the work. Coin Locker Babies contains much that is entertaining, even educational, but is, in the end, a tragedy with a somewhat abrupt ending that will probably leave most readers faintly dissatisfied, a sentiment one is rather unhappy with, given the overall excellence of the bulk of the work. Recommended, nevertheless.
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6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars cyber-terror, with feelings, 11 Dec 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Coin Locker Babies (Japan's Modern Writers) (Paperback)
I don't know about the english translation, but i can say that the french one is not bad, and that it is an apocalyptic view of japan, a bit cyber, with those strange feelings that you can't explain. The most achieved of murakamis books. But I prefer Totally Transparent Blue. (sorry for the mistakes, but i don't write english perfectly.
Julian
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7 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Coin Locker Babies, 20 May 2003
This is potentially the most enthralling and all encompassing of Ryu Murakami's novels. it explores the very depths of the human psyche and what it means to be an individual. it vividly colourful discriptions and unstoppable narative provide the reader with a journey of a lifetime. this book is perfect for keen readers of Oriental Literature or just individuals with a interest in a good read with an emotive storyline. let me finish by saying that the experience of the book stays with you, and your perception of normality and rationality for, life
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Depressingly Dire
I've read the reviews by people on amazon, because a detailed book review is hard to find online, and I cannot fathom how anyone can see this book as being good. Read more
Published on 17 Jun 2007 by S. Crowder

4.0 out of 5 stars translation isn't great.
I would've given this five stars, as it is imaginative, deep and shocking in all the right measures, but it fell down with a disappointing translation. Read more
Published on 7 April 2007 by Lucy M

1.0 out of 5 stars Reads Like a Novelization of a Bad Cartoonish Action Movie
I bought this book because the premise of the babies abandoned in lockers sounded interesting. Aside from a few good moments it was a big disappointment. Read more
Published on 10 Jul 1998

3.0 out of 5 stars a thouroughly top-notch bad book.
ryu murakami's best to date, coin locker babies segues from a very strong opening to a truly odd and baffling conclusion. Read more
Published on 8 Mar 1998

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