Ring [Paperback]

 

 

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Koji Suzuki could easily be considered the Stephen King of Japanese horror, with several movies (and remakes) of his bestseller novels -- particularly "Ring." Yes, that one. The one where you die in a week after seeing the cursed tape. While not quite the same as either film, Suzuki's original novel is a quiet, understated horror classic.

Four teenagers watch a seemingly cursed videotape, which will kill them in one week's time. Seven days later, all four die of heart attacks, including one young man simply keeling off his motorcycle. The uncle of one girl, Kazuyuki Asakawa, also finds the videotape and watches it. Now he has seven days to figure out the mysterious instructions, which happen to be missing. If he doesn't, he's dead.

Accompanied by a less-than-pristine professor, Ryuji Takayama, Asakawa goes in search of what is going on -- he suspects a virus that causes a heart attack. As he goes hunting through the woods for the secret to the videotape, he discovers a legacy of death and terror, left behind by the malevolent Sadako Yamamura. Asakawa's time is running out -- how can he unravel the mystery of the Ring?

Don't expect a carbon copy of the "Ring" movies: No TV apparitions, the lead is a man, and despite her beautiful female appearance, Sadako is a hermaphrodite. However, the "Ring" book is far more horrifying, solidifying Suzuki's position as a classic horror writer. It's impossible not to shiver when you look at the TV, after seeing this.

Suzuki's skill is in calmly, coolly describing horrific events in simple words. It packs a more visceral punch than if he just had floods of blood and gore in detail. The scene where Takayama sees the curse working on his own body is enough to make your skin crawl. And as good horror writers do, he creates a horrific plot based on something everyday. It's so easy to set off the curse, and that is what is so terrifying.

As Suzuki often does, he doesn't make his characters all sympathetic and noble. Asakawa is a cynical, rather self-absorbed man -- although this is what the plot hinges on -- and Takayama is a nihilistic rapist. It weakens the book slightly to not care much about either. Though in a way, the book is more about the "curse" -- which is more a virus -- and about Sadako than either of these men.

Perhaps that's a part of Suzuki's subtle cultural critiques in here, as well as Japanese supernatural beliefs -- nensha, for example, which is how Sadako created the lethal tape -- and the male and female roles in society. Finally he takes a hard look at this question: Should you allow your loved ones and yourself to die, or risk contaminating the world with the lethal videotape?

There's an almost apocalyptic note to the finale of "Ring," although it resulted in two more books. And Suzuki's original, deeply creepy novel is a must-read.

The movie Ringu seemed so creative and original when I saw it. Now that I've read Ring, the movie seems easy and simple and has so little to offer compared to the book.

When it comes to Ringu the movie, The Ring the Hollywood remake, The Ring the manga, and the original source for this series of runaway hits, Koji Suzuki's novel Ring, straight off I'd classify it more as an investigative suspense thriller rather than horror.

The whole story takes place between 5 September and 21 October 1990, with quite a bit of action taking place during a particular week. Journalist Kazuyuki Asakawa is drawn into the deaths of two teenagers, one of them being his niece Tomoko, the other a boy who suddenly keeled over on his motorcycle and died. The coroner's verdict for both: sudden heart failure. Not only are the causes of death similar but so are the times of death, around 11:00 PM, and the fact that it was as if they were trying to pull their hair out. Soon, he learns of a young teen couple who died the same way in a car, and that all four were friends.

A couple of clues leads him to the Villa Log Cabin resort where he watches a bizarre video full of abstract and real images, which gives him the following message at the end: "Those who have viewed these images are fated to die at this exact hour one week from now. If you do not wish to die, you must follows these instructions exactly..."

The problem is, the rest of the tape has been erased so there is no way to prevent death. And as Asakawa has established that the four teenagers spent the night at the cabin a week before their deaths, he is in panic mode, as he has a wife and child.

He turns to his classmate and Ryuji Takayama for help. Ryuji, now a cynical philosophy professor, may be a bit on the twisted side, as he boasted once that he assaulted young women in high school, and he has a bit of a libertine attitude, but he's intelligent, methodical, and quick to suss out clues from the video. He is quick to take charge, being the more assertive of the two, and there are some actual intelligent conversations about science between them. The situation becomes more urgent for Asakawa when... guess who else accidentally ends up watching the video?

Asakawa seems to have more of a conscience, whereas Ryuji is more jaded. As he tells Asakawa after being asked if he felt guilty about the crime he committed against one of his victims, "Try slamming your fist into a brick wall every day. Eventually, you won't even feel the pain anymore." With the countdown to Asakawa's life ticking away, the reporter's sense of urgency is felt in the book, while Ryuji seems to be taking it all in casual, confident of a resolution.

Having read the original source, I see how so many liberties were taken in even the 1998 Japanese theatrical version--there was even a TV movie version before the 1998 version--notice that it's a woman whose life is at stake in both movie versions. However, Suzuki's writing is accessible, or should I say the people who translated his book, with a contemporary touch.

This is the first in a trilogy, the story being continued in Spiral and Loop, which will doubtless reach the US sometime in the future. As for the title, it has nothing to do with "before you die you see the ring" re the Hollywood remake--it's more conceptual rather than concrete. I read this all in one sitting, a few hours, minus time for lunch, so go figure.

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4.0 out of 5 stars First you see the ring
Koji Suzuki could easily be considered the Stephen King of Japanese horror, with several movies (and remakes) of his bestseller novels -- particularly "Ring." Yes, that one. Read more

Published on Feb 23 2007 by E. A Solinas

5.0 out of 5 stars This is Blood-Curling Horror
This is a great book. Don't worry, in this review, there are no spoilers, unlike those other reviews. Read more

Published on Feb 20 2006 by Movie Freak

5.0 out of 5 stars Added Substance to the Well-Known Plot
Being a big fan of both "Ringu" and its American remake "The Ring," I was intrigued to read the book that started it all. Read more

Published on July 19 2004 by CreepyT

5.0 out of 5 stars Whoa...
Koji Suzuki, Ring (Vertical, 1991)

So you've seen The Ring. Or, better yet, the Japanese film Ringu. Or both. (You should watch both. See Ringu first.) Or you haven't. Read more

Published on Jun 17 2004 by Robert P. Beveridge

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good....
Ring of course the movie is based on this book; in Japan it was released on the title Ringu, and it was remade in America as The Ring staring Naomi Watts. Read more

Published on Jun 17 2004 by Eric

5.0 out of 5 stars A very nice story...
This is a sharply, almost scientifically written horror story. The author manages to offer a modern view of Japan society as it tries to put together a very objective and... Read more

Published on April 29 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars The cutting edge
The book flap describes Suzuki as the 'Stephen King of Japan,' but this cool, ultrasharp book couldn't be less like a Stephen King. Read more

Published on April 12 2004 by Henry Platte

2.0 out of 5 stars Easy read
It is entertaining, but lacks a certain intelectual quality that one looks for in a novel. Drags on a bit, but an easy read.

Published on Mar 1 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars If you liked the movie, you'll absolutely love the book
Koji Suzuki is the Stephen King of Japan! His writing is amazing! I saw the movies; both Ring and Ringu, and had to read the book. Read more

Published on Feb 11 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars I have been unable to put this book down!
This book was definitely worth waiting for! I had watched the movie The Ring, and although it was a good movie I felt like I lacked a great deal in storytelling, i.e. Read more

Published on Feb 6 2004 by Cynthia L. Papin

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