Audition

I finished it. So I guess there's that. But what a trite, boring little book. Local man decides to get a wife, much in the same way one decides to get a new car, and bloodshed follows. If any of the characters had depth, or if the female lead had a complex motivation, maybe it would be tolerable. As it is, it's just a snoozefest.

Audition by Ryū Murakami is an oddity. It's a dark revenge story starring a pair of despicable characters who target the wrong person to play a part in their fantasy world. Let's set the stage for a second.

Aoyama is a documentary film producer who lost his wife a few years back. His colleagues and his son have been pushing him to remarry, but Aoyama has just not been able to find love again. So what would a normal person do in this instance, you say? That's right. Set up an audition for a fake movie so that you can interview your future wife. Sound creepy? Well, it is. Very, very creepy.

Yamasaki Asami tried out for the part, and Aoyama instantly fell for her. She's beautiful, young, and a pleasure to be around. The only thing that Yamasaki asks of Aoyama is that he never lie to her. So when the movie inevitably falls through and he must tell her the truth about the bogus movie deal, sinister things start to happen.

Okay, so that's kind of the quick outline of the story. It's a decent little setup, but it has some issues. Minor spoilers ahead

One: the first half is extremely misogynistic. I know this theme is present to depict the main characters in a certain light, but it was incredibly hard to get through.

Two: red flags. C'mon, Aoyama. I mean, I know love makes you put on blinders, but this relationship was clearly going to be a car crash in slow motion.

Three: The inevitable sex scene was described in the most unsexy way imaginable. The length and technicality of it were about as interesting as me describing how a fuel injection system works on a car. It was kind of weird and off-putting. Maybe that was the point.

So, the book does very little in the thrill department, and it kind of meanders its way to the conclusion. It's something you could see pitched as a story in a horror anthology but passed up because it was a bit too ordinary.

❖ Category: Horror
❖Rating: 2.5/5

One of my favourite books I had seen the film before I read the book.Both are as good as each other, although I think maybe some people might be disappointed if they watch the film first then read the book and vice versa. However for me, since I have a very vivid imagination, I could picture the film in my head while I was reading this book.
The film/book each have a slow pace, that builds the tension.
This leads to one of the most memorable scenes in a book/film. (In my opinion, the part of the book/film at the hotel on-wards is the best part)
I love this book, and I really enjoyed reading it, for a full day, because at the time, I was really ill, so this helped a lot. If you like Japanese cinema/culture or just Japanese or Korean Literature in general then I think you will enjoy reading this book, and watching the film. Although the pace sometimes, might be a little slow, for some people.
Personally I am a huge fan of foreign literature, especially if it is set in Japan, Russian, Germany and it involves a crime, or it is a horror story. I also really like the dark humor in these types of books, when the main character is considering doing something out of character, and thinks of it in a funny way.
I recommend this book, to fans of Japanese culture or foreign literature. I just ordered another book by this author, and I can't wait to read more of his work.