Customer Reviews
Voices from the dark side - By: El Sushi Supremo, 29 May 2008 
Quite a brief book but well worth reading. Murakami pretty much grabs you straight away with voices direct from the minds of some pretty messed up people. The disturbed characters drip feed us their horrific back stories as the main story unfolds, this makes the cold 'logic' of their actions & thoughts even scarier. The plot moves back & forth with the mesmerising backdrop of Tokyo's seedy nightlife. This author has clearly had many experiencesin some dark corners of Tokyo which makes the book infinitely more readable.
More like 3.5 - By: Lucy M, 13 Mar 2008 
"Piercing" offers us more gripping, twisted prose from Ryu Murakami. Having paid £8 for under 200 pages, I hoped for something as impressive as my favourite Murakami, "Coin Locker Babies".
The writing is just as good, (if not better,in the translation) but the plot is less intricate. "Coin Locker Babies" had twists, turns & climaxes aplenty, but "Piercing", being a much shorter book, quickly moved from A to B & finished, I thought, quite abruptly.
Nevertheless, it's recommended for those who enjoy the potential for being disturbed by Japanese fiction. But I can't deny I'd have preferred MORE.
Murakami goes more Psycho - By: Freddy, 01 Aug 2007 After reading 'In the Miso soup' I thought of buying his latest, even though as usual his books are short & don't involve much charectersin them, he still manages to take you into a world where your psychology has to act.
In this book as always shows how the lonliness,emptiness & lack of communication inhibited by the japanese makes them listen to thei ineer voices which gives a great creative writing skill to write.
This is a great book again with twists & always have to imagine the impossible.
Somewhat Dated Commentary on Japanese Society - By: A. Ross, 21 May 2007 Originally publishedin Japanin 1994, this latest translation of "the other" Murakami's works suffers somewhat from its relative age. This is the fifth of his ten or so novels to appearin English, & by now, his paired themes of alienation & ultraviolence are well past their sell-by date. The perspective he offers on Japanese society may have been shocking thirteen years ago, but with the proliferation of J-horror films, media coverage of Japanese suicide rates, & other such indicators of a societyin social distress, his latest serving ends up tasting like stale leftovers.
The story opens with Masayuki, a successful young graphic designer whom we meet as he hovers over his new baby with an ice pick, stifling the urge to pierce the newbor'ns smooth, perfect skin. It seems that Masayuki was abused as a child & has carried all kinds of psychological trauma with him into adulthood, even as he has managed to arrange a very normal domestic life. However, the new baby has brought forth his hidden turmoil, & an inner voice convinces him that the only way to purge his awful yearnings is to actually stab someone, preferably a prostitute no one will miss. Masayuki's meticulous plan brings him into contact with Chiaki, a young S&M prostitute with her own hidden history of abuse (incest) & mental instability (she likes to cut herself).
When the two meetin his hotel room, nothing goes as planned, & after a gruesome battle, the two wounded souls actually manage at least a moment of connection. Murakami appears to be trying to use this vivid tableau to comment on Japanese society, notably how the modern emphasis on the individual can result to complete breaks with reality. However, its a rather flimsy & dated indictment, & the direct line he paints from childhood abuse to psycho adult behavior is far too pat. The interior thoughts of the two damaged souls are well rendered, but on the whole, there's not a whole lot here to engage with.
Fine but disturbing writing - By: Andrew Howell, 08 May 2007 The 'other' Murakami" does it again. This is darker, pyscho thriller once again set against the seedier side of Tokyo life. The voicesin a young man's head tells him that he has to kill. He fixes on a victim who is equally unusual. A short book, fast paced, exciting & bold - this can be read at one sitting. every bit as good as his last hit 'In the Miso Soup".
