Dark Water (Paperback)

by Koji Suzuki (Author), Glynne Walley (Translator)

2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

List Price:	CDN$ 18.95
Price:	CDN$ 13.83 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
You Save:	CDN$ 5.12 (27%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Ordering for Christmas? To ensure delivery by December 24 to Toronto, Ottawa, or Montreal, choose Express at checkout. Read more about holiday shipping.

10 new from CDN$ 8.38 6 used from CDN$ 9.58

Frequently Bought Together

Product Details

Paperback: 279 pages
Publisher: Vertical (Jun 6 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1932234225
ISBN-13: 978-1932234220
Product Dimensions: 20 x 13.4 x 2.2 cm
Shipping Weight: 282 g

Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #406,524 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review

"An excellent short story collection... The stories are not easily classifiable, verring between fantasy, horror, and mystery, but I can guarantee the level of suspense will give your heart a good workout." - The New York Sun

"Suzuki is called the Stephen King of his country, but that's not really accurate; King isn't nearly as adept at creating complex characters, explaining scientific principles or writing the kind of dialogue that might actually be spoken by humans." - Las Vegas Mercury

Product Description

A haunting collection of short stories from Koji Suzuki, author of the smash thriller, Ring, which spawned the hit film and sequels. The first story in this collection has been adapted to film (Dark Water, Walter Salles), and another, "Adrift" is currently in production with Dimension Films.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

2.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Watery grave, Dec 31 2005

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dark Water (Hardcover)

Water. It gives life, but can take it away. We need it, but it can also kill us in countless ways. And it's the center of "Dark Water," Koji Suzuki's collection of short stories. While the now-legendary "Ring" author has a knack for visceral horror, he just isn't in his element when writing shorts.

The most prominent story is "Floating Water," which has already been made into the film "Honogurai mizu no soko kara" and is being remade for American audiences, starring Jennifer Connelly. Newly-divorced Yoshimi and her daughter Ikuko move into a run-down apartment building, where a little girl vanished two years before.

But Suzuki doesn't descend to cheap ghosts here. Ikuko finds a "Hello Kitty" bag, which Yoshimi forces her to get rid of. But the bag keeps reappearing on the roof, and Ikuko has started talking with an imaginary playmate. Yoshimi starts to wonder -- what happened to that little girl, and where is she now, if she is haunting the building?

The other short stories continue the "water" theme: a young teacher discovers a cruel friend left something on an abandoned island. An abusive fisherman finds that he did something terrible while he was drunk -- and his victim takes her revenge. Spelunkers, boats and sailors take parts in the other stories... always near water.

Koji Suzuki is rightly called Japan's answer to Stephen King. In fact, he may well be better than King is. Where other horror authors use cheap chills and gore, Suzuki's stark storytelling keeps it clean. He frightens us with cruelty, with delusions, with looming curses, and with ghosts that the lead characters never actually see.

Unfortunately, "Dark Water's" short stories just don't gel. Suzuki doesn't get any time to build up suspense or character development, making the stories feel hollow. And most of them -- most glaringly the first -- ends abruptly. It's like walking down a sidewalk, only to suddenly fall into a pit. Perhaps only "The Hold," one of the most unpleasant stories, has a satisfying finale.

However, Suzuki's excellent style makes it worth reading. Everything and everyone is muted and understated, except for the sense of impending disaster and/or suspense hanging over each story. If fans of Suzuki read it solely for his style, then this is definitely a winner.

Unfortunately, "Dark Water" is not up to the standards of Suzuki's full-length novels; the short story is not his forte. However, it's still a creepy, watery experience.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Stephen King of Japan?, Aug 29 2006

By	Artlover "Artlover" (Canada) - See all my reviews

I should have been warned off by a book jacket that referred to the author as the "Stephen King of Japan." Much like SK Suzuki is not content to tell a creepy story. It seems that every story must inevitably end with the author spelling everything out for the dimmer readers.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 2 customer reviews...