book description:

“It is just before New Year’s. Frank, an overweight American tourist, has hired Kenji to take him on a guided tour of Tokyo’s sleazy nightlife. But Frank’s behavior is so strange that Kenji begins to entertain a horrible suspicion – that his new client is in fact the serial killer currently terrorizing the city. It is not until later, however, that Kenji learns exactly how much he has to fear and how irrevocably his encounter with this great white whale of an American will change his life.”

Page count: 180

❗️spoilers may abound so, tread carefully as you move forward! You’ve been warned…❗️

this book was suggested to me by a friend who loves reading thrillers as well, so I decided to give it a try. I loved how small it was, and I figured after reading the synopsis on the back that it would be sort of a mystery too. I also got two of my library coworkers to read it with me so hehehe we all got to suffer! 🤪😂

i think I skipped the part in the description where Kenji, the main character, is literally touring this American man named Frank around the sleazy parts of Japan 😅 My brain was geared more towards trying to figure out if Frank was a serial killer or not!

there wasn’t a moment in this book that made me feel comfortable; Murakami wrote in such a way that kept you unsettled from the first murder of a Japanese school girl to when Kenji was bringing Frank to the bridge for New Year’s Eve. Pure paranoia. If you’re sensitive, I suggest not making this your nighttime reading before bed.

let’s talk about Frank…

this man was hideous, inside and out. He is the main reason why this book is so unsettling, from his physical appearance to his demeanor and personality. He also has HELLA LONG MONOLOGUES where he’s talking people’s ears off, whether it be to Kenji or one of the prostitutes. I can’t lie, I had to lock in when he was speaking because I found myself drifting while reading.

his life story sort of explained why he was the way he was, but honestly, I wanted more. He does tell us why he is the way he is mentally, I guess, but like…I wanted to know how his face got the way it was, and if it was because someone he was killing was trying to defend themselves, and he ended up surviving. Instead we get the story about him killing a baby goose (FOR SHAME), which ties to the end of the book (I at least won’t spoil that for you).

now let’s talk about Kenji.

my main question to Kenji is: “BROTHER, WHY DIDN’T YOU GO TO THE POLICE?!” He knew almost immediately that Frank was the serial killer, knew the black thing on his door was burnt. Human. Flesh. 🤢 and knew Frank put it there. WITNESSED SEVERAL MURDERS THAT FRANK COMMITTED. And he’s right in front of the police box afterwards, but doesn’t say a thing. I woulda sung like a bird!!! But we realize later why it was sort of wise for Kenji not to snitch…

pause.

i literally just put the pieces together as I was typing this: Frank…might signify a sort of FRANKenstein in this book because he’s honestly hella strong, doesn’t feel pain, can kill people in the most brutal ways like a monster would.

is that what this is?! A SORT OF RE-TELLING OF FRANKENSTEIN?! Now I need to ask my coworkers what they think about this, if they agree. It’s amazing what revelations you come across if you just write about something!

so, is there sex in this book?

i’m honestly grateful there weren’t any actual sex scenes amidst the murder ones. Body horror is a lot on its own; if Murakami put sex on top of it, I feel like it would’ve been way too much. There is the tampon scene though…that was pretty gross DISGUSTING. Just know you’ve been warned.

okay, so what’s the verdict?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the weird little book scale!

simply for the fact that by the end, I was left thinking, “What the hell did I just read?” I love that this was a Japanese book though, because I feel like in American media we tend to lean more towards happy endings and resolution. I’ve leaned after watching a couple of Japanese horror films…that’s not the case in every country.
i was definitely on my toes the whole time i was reading it though! I kept wanting to know what was happening next, so the thriller side of this book was perfect!

Murakami did end it well though (I won’t spoil it). My coworker pointed out that Frank finally revealed something true about himself after all the lies he told Kenji to just get what he wanted. You’ll have to determine if that’s how you interpret the ending though!

And that’s that for my first weird little book review! Let me know in the comments if you’ve become more curious about In the Miso Soup by reading this review, or if you want to stay as far away from this book as possible 😂

Mishy 🦋📖✨