sspaghettiboness's Reviews (138)

If you’ve enjoyed GOTH by Otsuichi, I will say that this book comes up a little short in comparison, but overall was still a great read. 

The pacing and spread of the different short stories keeps it entertaining and easy to read. I also found that his portrayal of women in this book had a lot more depth than others by him that I’ve read. The prose was also, of course, gorgeous, gross, and I think would be very inspiring for other horror writers or those aspiring to it. 

Overall, I found this book focused more on developing interesting stories as a whole, but still had the blinding plot twists I’ve come to enjoy from Otsuichi. The horror he portrayed in this book had a distinctly more human element, though generally unrealistic, seemed to stem from the real psyche (with his well thought demented twists), and I found myself reflecting on the meaning behind each chapter in a way that was enjoyable and gruesome. 

It took me about 70 pages to get in, but once I was immersed, what a phenomenal book. At times difficult to follow, but overall a fantastic read that touches on so many persistent societal problems. 

I found this book to be very dense, boring, and dry. It was a difficult read, despite being so short. Although I appreciated the commitment to the plight of McGlue and his interesting story, the confusing timeline and odd pacing made me literally fall asleep while reading. 

I really love sharks but I did find the information in this book to be dense and difficult to understand, it’s almost as though the author expects the reader to already be a biologist. In some ways, I appreciated this, but in others it was so dry and boring. He spends a lot of time over explaining things in such minute detail that you almost lose the ability to visualise them. That being said, he’s clearly an incredibly intelligent man and a tremendous asset to the scientific community, and I truly did appreciate reading his work. Even if it was a slog at points. 

I’m adding to this review months later to express how much I loved this book. I have never been the type to have particular emotional attachment to characters, but there was just something here that felt like home. Imagining these horribly awkward initial attempts at parties that slowly become imbued with little rituals and “common” gestures becoming groundbreaking moments of human interaction… If you’ve ever felt like the outcast only understood by your equally outcasted mates, I dare you not to feel immersed in their bizarre lives which Ryū wrote so effortlessly they seemed unremarkable.

Even though you know it’s coming, the build up of absurd violence reminded me of the road runner and Wiley coyote. So silly and crazy, no matter who you are vying for (clearly I was team boys, no matter what), you can’t help but laugh out loud at what they’re doing. Here is where I will add the warning that this book gets gory and does not shy away from the specific details.

I cannot speak highly enough of this book, or of Murakami, who is my all time favourite author. Popular Hits is unexpected, disgusting, hilarious, and very weird. It’s perfect.

And if you’ve read this book, absolutely you should check out From The Fatherland, With Love.