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In The Miso Soup (Paperback)

by Ryu Murakami (Author), R Mccarthy (Translator)

3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Penguin Paperbacks (Mar 20 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 014303569X
ISBN-13: 978-0143035695
Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm
Shipping Weight: 182 g

Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #127,085 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category:
#45 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Japanese

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Product Description

From Booklist

Easygoing young Kenji makes good money guiding Americans through Tokyo's seamy nightlife. His teenage girlfriend has no objections, as long as he reserves New Year's Eve for her. But Kenji's latest client, a simmering psychopath called Frank, disrupts those holiday plans. He wants to regale Kenji with crazy monologues as he hypnotizes low-level sex workers. A fat man with superhuman strength, skin that's metallic to the touch, and an unsettling habit of telling contradictory lies, Frank immediately raises the guide's hackles. Kenji even suspects that this ugliest of Americans dismembered a local schoolgirl and immolated a homeless man. But until he can prove his suspicions--and for a disturbing while after--Kenji will keep leading this monster man from one bizarre scene to another. It's a compelling nightmare for Kenji and the reader, who both hope he'll either wake up screaming or escape and alert the cops. Instead, everyone remains in evil's thrall until it's too late. A wicked meditation on the worst traits of American and Japanese society, this is a creepy culture clash indeed. Frank Sennett
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.3 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting and thought provoking, April 12 2004

By	"monkeykarma" (La Grande, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In The Miso Soup (Hardcover)

While not usually a fan of the "slash and trash" genre, Murakami's newest gives a reason to explore the subject of the serial killer. Examining both Japanese and American stereotypes and ideosyncracies, the book gives a fascinating portrayal of the "man on the edge". The book moves quickly and was over way before I was ready for it to end. While not his best work, this was worth waiting for. In many ways I can see this as "American Psycho" done correctly. The violence is a little over the top in some sections, but in a kind of quirky style, so not really offensive. Nice translation, no real issues there.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Literary slasher novel?, April 7 2004

By	kevnm "kevnm" (Costa Mesa, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In The Miso Soup (Hardcover)

Kenji meets a serial killer through his work and spends a couple days with him. There's some slaughter, of course, which Kenji passively observes (maybe he's hypnotized by a Visa card. It's complicated.). Anyway, the serial killer is philosophical (uh-oh) and his monologues (and Kenji's reactions) provide some astonishing psychological and sociological critiques: maybe there is no "real" self! Oh yeah, and a lot of people are lonely and others care only about material goods!
This is a cut above (pun intended) lots of slasher trash, but it's not nearly as profound as it thinks it is. Recommended for moody, reflective teens and young adults entranced by the combination of gore and aimless disaffection.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A long wait is rewarded . . kind of, Mar 29 2004

By	"hemizygous" (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In The Miso Soup (Hardcover)

It seems like I have been waiting for years, since reading Coin Locker Babies, ATB and Sixty-Nine, for another Ryu Murakami story to read. Now that I have it, I can neither say that I am dissapointed nor wholly satisfied.
I guess that "In the Miso Soup" is categorized as a "psycho-thriller" and other reviews have been negative due to the amount of violence in the book. The story is based in the seedy world of the Tokyo sex trade, so naturally the overall theme is dark and the subject matter for adults. Although there is violence, none of it seemed overly gratuitous to me, and is there mainly to flesh out the characters.
The book is relatively short, which is a let-down after the great saga of Coin-Locker Babies that I enjoyed so much. "Miso Soup" is a good and solid thriller-type story that although not spectacular, is very enjoyable and full of seemingly factual information (on Japanese club/sex/night life).
This book is a must-read for Ryu Murakami fans, since who knows how many years it will be until the next story comes along.

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Most recent customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy the hype
A pretentious and self-important exercise. Far too cute for it's own good and a meditation that keeps pounding the head of the reader... ok already; we get it! Read more

Published on Jun 9 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars!
Tight, well-written thriller that takes you into the underworld of the sex industry in Shinjuku, Tokyo through the eyes of a tourist guide who gets involved with a psychopathic... Read more

Published on Mar 25 2004 by Neil MacLean

5.0 out of 5 stars the saltiness of blood
... If one takes a look at the constant themes of violence, explicit sex, drug use, etc. that commonly appear in Murakami's novels and his screenplays, he wrote the screenplay for... Read more

Published on Mar 25 2004 by Daitokuji31