#felt this way abt this one & tender is the flesh & brainwyrms

[kithj]

finished in the miso soup.... i've never read anything from this author before (though i have seen the audition movie) but i'm kinda disappointed that the back blurb on the book literally tells you exactly what happens. i was expecting this to be a bit more of a thriller i suppose with at least some mystery but it's much more of a philosophical book. which is fine, just not what i was expecting 😭 readjusting my thoughts about it tho, i do like the cultural comparisons as well as the kind of... unraveling of it in the 2nd and 3rd chapter where the similarities are revealed as well, and i think the use of the gore and graphic violence really nails the point home. the 3rd chapter gets a little heavy handed with it and was the weakest part of the book but overall i think it's an interesting exploration of this strange kind of.. obsession and intertwining of cultures. as an american i definitely felt myself agreeing with kenji's observations of his american clients and i also liked how kenji goes from "americans are a unique kind of lonely" to recognizing a similar kind of loneliness in the locals and himself as well, only realized after an extreme act of violence peels back the layers for him.

the Scene in chapter 2 is very graphic, so i can't really recommend it unless you're already familiar with extreme horror literature, but it is contained to that single scene (for maximum impact). the author is very patient and builds up a good bit of suspense through the first chapter before springing it on you. the third chapter kinda fumbles it a little in my opinion, the tension is gone and it gets a bit repetitive and tiresome. it definitely has a dream-like quality after ch2 compared to the fast pace of the first chapter, even kenji starts to wonder if it was just a bad dream (which makes me think it was potentially done purposefully). the beginning is also a little sleazy, but nothing totally offensive or that you won't normally find in this genre, especially from a book published in the 90s. overall 3/5 i tore through it pretty quick and appreciated the (unexpected for me) philosophical & cultural musings.