Book Review: 3 of 24

Piercing
by Ryū Murakami
Barnes & Noble link

(This was a library borrow. Two down, four to go. This also will be the last review that will be lacking quotes from the book, since I keep forgetting to do that.)

Ryu Murakami is no stranger to writing novels that will make readers squirm in their seats (please refer to Almost Transparent Blue, Audition [yes, that one], and In the Miso Soup... but with caution). Compared to the more popular Haruki Murakami and his surrealistic settings, Ryū Murakami could be almost the shock jock of modern Japanese literature, especially with his focus on sexual violence, drug addiction, and deviant behaviors. But calling Murakami (referring to the author of Piercing from this point on) that would be missing the point of his work. If readers looked past the violence and sexuality and drugs, they would discover something just as hideous as a growing pool of rich red blood: people can be terrible.



Piercing follows the narrator, a young fellow named Kawashima, and how he decides to deal with a terrible thought. You see, he wants to stab his baby daughter with an ice pick. No reason, he doesn't hate her nor wanting to spite his kind and lovely wife Yoko. He has a good job and makes good money. No reason, he just finds himself with the ice pick in his hand as he watches his daughter sleeping. The thought looms, haunts him every night.

Kawashima is at his breaking point. What should he do? Easy: find someone else to stab. Makes sense, right? The feeling will them go away and he doesn't ever have to worry about him ever getting the desire again. But stop and consider this: what kind of leap in logic is that? As the story unfolds, Kawashima reveals a sad and disturbing childhood, making his decisions all the more chilling. When he decides to go through with it, the story goes deeper into his personal hell (and into that of his potential victim's). As the readers reach the final sentence, they will wonder not if the journey was worth it, but where the characters could go from that point.

The novel is deeply disturbing in its imagery and character backstories (*SMALL SPOILER*: both of them depicting violence against children and sexual abuse  pretty explicitly), so if these are triggering, do avoid this book.

For those interested, expect a character study of troubled people and how they handle their situations, with plenty of violence.

Piercing is a sad reminder of how events from the past can influence ones in the future.