Rating: 
Summary: the saltiness of blood
Review: ... If one takes a look at the constant themes of violence, explicit sex, drug use, etc. that commonly appear in Murakami's novels and his screenplays, he wrote the screenplay for Miike Takashi's _Audition_, one would know that this slim novel is not your typical glimpse into "oriental" literature, whatever that might be in this day and age.The reader sees modern Japan through the first person point of view of Kenji, a 20 year old man who through his decent English, acts as a guide for foreigners in the sex districts of Tokyo, mainly the kabuki-cho. He is relatively successful and lives a decent life and his able to keep his young girlfriend happy as well. Then he meets Frank. Frank is an odd individual who has come to Japan to indulge in the water trade. Things go seriously wrong after that. I don't want to go into much detail, but Frank is an extraordinarily brutal individual and some of the scenes in this book will make your stomach turn. Besides being an entertaining read, this book also gives the reader, a picture of contemporary Japan. Many people I talk to say they are interested in Japan because of its culture and stuff, but they know little about the modern society of Japan. This book gives the reader a look at a darker less ideal Japan.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy the hype
Review: A pretentious and self-important exercise. Far too cute for it's own good and a meditation that keeps pounding the head of the reader... ok already; we get it!
Not half as good as it thinks it is and despite some sizzling reviews from the UK, it's made for angst ridden teens and kids with a gothic sense of the world.
Rating: 
Summary: Ques que c'est? Run run RUN AWAY!
Review: Do I have to give it one star? Well I did finish it. But YUCK! Double YU-UCK and NOT in a fun way. Ultra Passive narrator. Cliched
American psychopath. Enucleation - the putting out of the eyes-featured in each chapter in many forms. Forgettable characters forgotten by author. Formless exposition leading to explanatory apologia. None of this would have ever been amusing, even in the 1980's when the author made a terrible film called "Tokyo Decadence". Hard to believe he also worte the remarkable "Coin Locker Babies" Try that, instead, or "OUT" by Kirino. This book...YUCK!
Rating:
Summary: Ques que c'est? Run run RUN AWAY!
Review: Do I have to give it one star? Well I did finish it. But YUCK! Double YU-UCK and NOT in a fun way. Ultra Passive narrator. Cliched
American psychopath. Enucleation - the putting out of the eyes-featured in each chapter in many forms. Forgettable characters forgotten by author. Formless exposition leading to explanatory apologia. None of this would have ever been amusing, even in the 1980's when the author made a terrible film called "Tokyo Decadence". Hard to believe he also worte the remarkable "Coin Locker Babies" Try that, instead, or "OUT" by Kirino. This book...YUCK!
Rating:
Summary: A MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT
Review: Hoping to expand my experience with oriental fiction in a story by a Japanese writer I ordered this impressively recommended novel. It was more than novel. It was wierd, with a story line that wasn't believable even pushing the limits in accepting the supernatural. The amateurish development of the "monster" character coupled with detailed episodes of grisley gore and violence might attract Japanese Godzilla fantasy fans. Not me. It didn't end. It just stopped, which turned out to be one of the better elements of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Cultural Differences?
Review: I think that too many reviewers are expecting this book to be too much like American novels, and this is where the above reviewers are mistaken. Fans of Murakami or not, the above reviews take in none of the fact that Murakami is NOT American. This is a short 180-novella by a master of his art. Having lived in Japan for the past 7 years (and still living here), I can without a doubt in my mind say, that this book is dead on in its characterization of both American and Japanese characters, its vivid scenery, its execution, and its portrayal of the Japanese society at this current point in time. And why shouldn't it be? It was written by a Japanese author who is in the midst of it. If you are expecting Steven King, move on. If you are expecting Hollywood, move on. If you are expecting something to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, read! This book is as realistic as it gets. After all... what would you do if you were confronted with a serial killer? Go to the police? Are you sure?
Enjoy,
Made in DNA
Rating:
Summary: A book that excites you then forces you to think
Review: In the Miso Soup, by Ryu Murakami, is the kind of book that brings up many emotions and stays with the reader long after they have finished it. It is not a long book, although there are long sections that seem to pleasantly drift on for a long time, and there are moments of gripping excitement. Being of half-Japanese descent and having been to Japan twice, I remembered seeing a few seedy districts in the bigger cities and wondering what went on there, but knew to stay away. I am about the age of Kenji, the narrator (he is 20), and this book really offers interesting insight into the two cultures of Japan and The United States. In his relationship with Frank, Kenji learns many things about his own country. The book also offers an interesting look at the sex industry in Japan and the various people who inhabit it. It also offers an interesting look at those who kill others, and of course has an element of one of my favorite topics, the lonely man. This book was one that I thought about when I wasn't reading it and kept me interested throughout. This book has a definite re-read value despite some of its thriller-ish aspects and really made me think about myself, my own culture, and helped me learn more about the Japanese way of thinking. This book is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended as there are viciously detailed depictions of violence and descriptions of the sex industry in Japan.
Rating: 
Summary: A long wait is rewarded . . kind of
Review: It seems like I have been waiting for years, since reading Coin Locker Babies, ATB and Sixty-Nine, for another Ryu Murakami story to read. Now that I have it, I can neither say that I am dissapointed nor wholly satisfied.
I guess that "In the Miso Soup" is categorized as a "psycho-thriller" and other reviews have been negative due to the amount of violence in the book. The story is based in the seedy world of the Tokyo sex trade, so naturally the overall theme is dark and the subject matter for adults. Although there is violence, none of it seemed overly gratuitous to me, and is there mainly to flesh out the characters.
The book is relatively short, which is a let-down after the great saga of Coin-Locker Babies that I enjoyed so much. "Miso Soup" is a good and solid thriller-type story that although not spectacular, is very enjoyable and full of seemingly factual information (on Japanese club/sex/night life).
This book is a must-read for Ryu Murakami fans, since who knows how many years it will be until the next story comes along.
Rating: 
Summary: Literary slasher novel?
Review: Kenji meets a serial killer through his work and spends a couple days with him. There's some slaughter, of course, which Kenji passively observes (maybe he's hypnotized by a Visa card. It's complicated.). Anyway, the serial killer is philosophical (uh-oh) and his monologues (and Kenji's reactions) provide some astonishing psychological and sociological critiques: maybe there is no "real" self! Oh yeah, and a lot of people are lonely and others care only about material goods!
This is a cut above (pun intended) lots of slasher trash, but it's not nearly as profound as it thinks it is. Recommended for moody, reflective teens and young adults entranced by the combination of gore and aimless disaffection.
Rating:
Summary: Literary slasher novel?
Review: Kenji meets a serial killer through his work and spends a couple days with him. There's some slaughter, of course, which Kenji passively observes (maybe he's hypnotized by a Visa card. It's complicated.). Anyway, the serial killer is philosophical (uh-oh) and his monologues (and Kenji's reactions) provide some astonishing psychological and sociological critiques: maybe there is no "real" self! Oh yeah, and a lot of people are lonely and others care only about material goods!
This is a cut above (pun intended) lots of slasher trash, but it's not nearly as profound as it thinks it is. Recommended for moody, reflective teens and young adults entranced by the combination of gore and aimless disaffection.
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