#IN THE MISO SOUP

[bloweyelashwisher]

[whatcha-reading-today]

In the Miso Soup | Ryu Murakami

Gross, quick, and well-written. Not really a mystery but if you're looking for a nasty thriller this works.

Format: Physical copy

Read in: 2023

[thenineofus]

Never have I had such great experience with the opening of a book as I did with In the Miso Soup. You see I judge a lot first sentences of books, I collect book openings and closings.

So the first sentence of the book is "My name is Kenji" which made me giggle, I though "wow great stuff there, Garcia Marquez" and then came the next sentence. Which elaborates on how simple the sentence is in english and goes on to describe several ways to say it in japanese and I was swung back away. That is actually a brilliant opening for this book. Brilliant.

[aikawa-kazuki]

i love reading non english literature because i get sentences like this

[therefugeofbooks]

In the Miso Soup starts as a typical thriller. It gets you tense and guessing what's coming next. It also makes some interesting commentary about society, relationships, and loneliness. And it has a brutal climax that horrified me! It's full of blood and violence.

But then the ending goes deeper into the more introspective themes of the novel. And I think it's not bad per se, but after the shocking climax, the end felt a bit boring. On the whole, it was a thrilling book with a disappointing conclusion.

[stumpyshocky]

Did some Birthday shopping at barnes and noble over the weekend and picked up "In The Miso Soup" by Ryu Murakami and wtf am I reading????

Its good, short, and gory. Reminds me of Earthlings in the wtf aspect.

[mylifeinfiction]

In the Miso Soup by Ryū Murakami

My First Book of 2023!!

My brother lent this to me on New Year's Eve, and I decided to squeeze it in as my first book of the year so that it didn't get lost in the mix among my planned 2023 reading.

Ryū Murakami's  In the Miso Soup is a peculiar, perverse little thriller about loneliness and the desperate urge to connect with someone else; the need for something outside yourself to remind you this is all real. Its first act is a journey through the seedy side of Tokyo nightlife filled with as much unsure dread as it is a grungy air of authenticity. The second act is an awkward depiction of the masks we wear and the parts of us we’re willing to bare to those around us that comes to a head in a brutally violent, grotesquely surreal manner that hits like a brick. From that brilliantly visceral, over-the-top, desperate moment, the final act takes an unexpected/interesting turn, sacrificing any traditionally suspenseful climax for an exploration of a sick psyche and the world in which it was incubated. The ending leaves a bit to be desired structurally, but is perfectly ambiguous for the themes, characters, and the book they inhabit.

7/10

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

[nothingbutfables]

In the Miso Soup - Ryū Murakami (Review)

Summary: It is just before New Year’s. Frank, an overweight American tourist, has hired Kenji to take him on a guided tour of Tokyo’s sleazy nightlife. But Frank’s behavior is so strange that Kenji begins to entertain a horrible suspicion—that his new client is in fact the serial killer currently terrorizing the city. It is not until later, however, that Kenji learns exactly how much he has to fear and how irrevocably his encounter with this great white whale of an American will change his life.

Review: The first half of the book is a slow-rise build of unnerving tension. At moments, I had never felt such unease while reading something. The narrative kept me wondering, stringing me along while Kenji spirals to discover the truth behind his client’s nature. Only at the climax does the true horror of the situation finally and fully sink in. However, the events that unfold in the book’s last third feel dissatisfying. The dialogue that ensues may be thought-provoking, but the way it structures the story’s end left me feeling like something was lacking. Even so, I believe this book is an unforgettable experience due to its near-masterful grasp of creating suspense and thrilling the reader up to its peak of events.

3/5

[hyliandude]

New books!

[admiralgiggles]

This is the first book I’ve ever read by the author and I rather enjoyed it. It got a little gruesome in part two and by part three you’ve somehow found yourself feeling empathetic for the antagonist. A weird little read but I’m for sure going to check out some more titles.

*Bonus, I went to a sushi restaurant so I could take this photo. 🍣 🙌

[travelingviabooks]

In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Country: Japan

Review:

I wasn’t expecting much from this book, so I’m not sure why I wanted it so desperately, but I knew I wanted it. I looked everywhere and wound up finding it at Kinokuniya in NYC, on my last trip there.

I’d say it was well worth the effort to find. It was terrifying to me in a way that I was not expecting. I was enthralled and it’s so fast paced which made it even more difficult to put down. I found Kenji and Jun to both be likable characters. And the whole story feels like such a unique plot. It’s truly a fascinating read.

I will say that this book is split into only three parts (chapters?) which makes it rather difficult to find a good stopping point. There’s a lot happening in it at any given time. This didn’t really affect my read negatively though.

Warnings: graphic descriptions of murder, sexual assault, fear, serial killer

Would I recommend this book?: If you are a lover of thrillers, mystery, suspense, and maybe a touch of horror, then I think this would be a great book for you.

[bonniesbookreviews]

In The Miso Soup

Author: Ryu Murakami

Published date: 1997

Plot: 

In The Miso Soup is about Kenji, a just-turned-20-year-old who works as a tour guide of Japan’s nightlife that revolves around the sex industry, ranging from massage parlours, S&M bars and pretty much everything else you could imagine. On New Year's Eve, he meets with a client, Frank a tourist from America who has all the means and cash for his desires. 

Kenji begins his tour with Frank, showing him what the nightlife offers but as time goes on and Frank starts to open up to him showing his personality Kenji starts to get creeped out, be it over Franks's odd inhuman-looking skin and his cold empty eyes. 

In the meantime, there has been a gruesome murder of a young girl that seems to be sexually motivated. Kenji becomes paranoid, thinking of who the killer could be, even feeling them closer than he wished not to.

Review:

*SPOILERS HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW*

I was surprised with how I liked this book and that it was good enough to get me out of a reading draught, the length of the book was good enough that it didnt overwhelm me and suited well for the story and the way Kenji and Frank only knew and spent time with each other for 40 hours, a longer word count wouldn’t have suited this story. 

There is not much character development for Kenji but I feel thats okay for this story as the main focus is on Frank and the disturbing things he is involved with.   

The story itself is creepy and unsettling but Chapter 2 is the so-called money shot of the book with its grandiose and gory indulgence of the reader seeing Frank in action, brutally killing everyone in a bar. Kenji reacts to this by freezing from fear unable to do anything but personally, I feel it could have been more intense and it needed more adjectives to show his fear, but thats just me being picky.

I didn’t find the grand killing scene to be the most scary scene in this book, instead, I felt more disturbed towards the ending when Frank has his monologue on when he started to kill and feed on blood as a child. Seeing where and how it developed, moved me more than the slashing and butchering.  

The ending was effective even giving me chills, I was expecting Kenji to hand Frank over to the police but instead, the only thing being handed over was the feather of the swan most likely from the same swan Frank killed years ago. It's almost like Frank had kept the swan feather all of these years because he was expecting to tell his truth one day to only someone he fully trusted.

Although Kenji is not the villain in this story, is Kenji the second villain in the story for not telling the police about Frank and even letting many more murders come in the future? 

In the ending, during the see final moments between Kenji and Frank and even where the name of the story comes from when Frank says 

“But now I’m in the miso soup, myself just like those bits of vegetables. I’m floating around in this giant bowl of it.” 

I feel like this shows that as he didn't get caught again he will still be floating around drifting, floating in the soup that Japan’s nightlife, leaving pieces of human remains here and there as he floats and dips under hiding from the law once more.

I noticed a somewhat misogynistic description of teenage girls and women that made me pull a 'not impressed facial expression' in real life. Still, I think thats on the writer himself and maybe a reflection of the subject matter of the story but who knows right?

Overall, I really liked the fast-moving pacing of it as I am someone who gets frustrated with slow-paced stories and will easily give up books halfway through if I dont see any hope or reason to finish them. But in this case, I got stuck into the story pretty quickly and that was good motivation for me to finish the book.

Favourite Quote / Highlight: N/A

Rating: 4/5

Keep or sell: Keep

[whatcha-reading-today]

In the Miso Soup | Ryu Murakami

Gross, quick, and well-written. Not really a mystery but if you're looking for a nasty thriller this works.

Format: physical copy

Read in: 2021

[allrecipee]

Lemon Potato with Dill Sauce

[nukune]

me: *throws my book in the grass to get an aesthetically pleasing pic*

3 people asked me for a book review and that’s 2 more than I thought would care so here it is lol

📖 ✨

• Japanese novelist and filmmaker Ryu Murakami shares the perspective of a nightlife tour guide named Kenji. His services are requested by a gaijin (foreigner) named Frank who is reaaaal intrigued to see what Kabuki-cho, Tokyos biggest red light districts has to offer him. While the two explore the underground sex scene, Frank starts giving 🚩🚩when Kenji notices he’s catching him in white lies left and right, and he’s not exactly interested in any sexual activity with the women they were meeting. Kenji also describes “The Face” Frank flashes him for a split second when nobody is looking as hollow and evil, & sure to send a chill down his spine. While this is going on, the morning paper is plastered with a young high school girl who was found murdered. Does this gaijin have anything to do with it? Is Kenji next? It’s definitely worth the read to find out 🤭

This book gives the reader a look into the lost souls of a broken industry, a playful perspective from natives on foreigners and their customs, the way fear shows up in our human bodies, and what friendship can do in even the most absurd situations. Easy read but some scenes are full of gore, and Marukami is so good at painting the picture, it can feel difficult to read, but feels like you can’t look away at the same time.

10/10 would recommend 🍃

[smalltownfae]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge 📚

February 6th, 2023: Red Books