Product Description

Every night, Kawashima Masayuki creeps from his bed and watches over his baby girl's crib while his wife sleeps. But this is no ordinary domestic scene. He has an ice pick in his hand, and a barely controllable desire to use it. Deciding to confront his demons, Kawashima sets into motion a chain of events seeming to lead inexorably to murder.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60310 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
'Equally compelling and disturbing ... a dark psycho-thriller' Daily Mail 'Piercing is a Japanese extension of David Lynch's world: surreal, sexually anguished, highly neurotic, both knowing and naive' Guardian 'Each time a new book by Ryu Murakami is published, the people at the Japanese Tourist Board must hang their heads in despair ... darkly witty' Daily Telegraph 'There are echoes here of Edgar Allan Poe and Dostoyevsky - Murakami shares their fascination with the darkest layer of the soul, and the appalling isolation of the criminal. Creepy and gripping' Kate Saunders, The Times

Financial Times
`If Ryu Murakami's short novel were a film it would be a nasty but effective B-movie chiller ... Written in a faintly ironic style reminiscent of Bret Easton Ellis, Piercing is queasily compulsive ... the plot delivers its shocks efficiently'

The Times
`There are echoes here of Edgar Allan Poe and Dostoevsky - Murakami shares their fascination with the darkest layer of the soul, and the appalling isolation of the criminal. Creepy and gripping'

Customer Reviews

More like 3.5
"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 and climaxes aplenty, but "Piercing", being a much shorter book, quickly moved from A to B and 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.

Gripping
Kawashima Masayuki seemingly has everything a man could ask for - a beautiful wife, newborn baby and a successful career. However, Kawashima has a dark side that his wife doesn't know about. Abused as a child, and guilty of attempted murder, every night he sits next to his baby stroking her face with an ice pick.

I only noticed this book as it was on sale at a local bookshop. I hadn't heard of the author before. However, after reading this I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another of his works.

A gripping tale with nothing but twists all the way through. This is extremely dark, descriptive and gruesome. My only criticism would be that it's rather short, and does conclude rather suddenly. The author could easily have extended the story safely.

Overall however, highly recommended.

Fine but disturbing writing
The 'other' Murakami" does it again. This is darker, pyscho thriller once again set against the seedier side of Tokyo life. The voices in 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 and bold - this can be read at one sitting. every bit as good as his last hit 'In the Miso Soup".