1996 story
written by Koji Suzuki
To bookend the seven tales of his collection, Suzuki gives us an interesting character study of an elderly woman named Kayo, who takes daily walks along the beach, dreaming up stories to go with debris drifting along the shore. In the opening piece, her granddaughter tags along during a visit. Kayo promises she'll give the girl a treasure if she'll walk with her all seven days and listen to seven stories. Cute, but a bit unnecessary.
The closing piece is much better as we dig into Kayo's past and learn of a debilitating operation which gives further strength and meaning to her daily walks. We also learn an amusing anecdote which ties into the final story, FOREST UNDER THE SEA. It's quite nicely done.
I must say, thinking back on when I first read this book a couple years ago, I didn't remember this story and thought it should be eliminated in order to bookend the collection with the two-part FOREST UNDER THE SEA. This reread has given me new appreciation for the tale. Sure, the opening half is a bit of a forced way to set up the anthology, but the closing piece was so strong with such solid characterization, I'm glad to have it here.
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February 24, 2008
February 17, 2008
[The Works of Koji Suzuki] Forest Under the Sea
1996 story. Written by Koji Suzuki.
Ah, Suzuki, Suzuki, Suzuki. I don't know what to do with you. You give me so many mediocre horror tales that you become easy to dismiss, then something as beautiful as Paradise, or Loop, or this marvelous little gem comes from your mind and leaves me conflicted. Sure, the ghastly ghost stories sell better and get people chatting on message boards, but I feel your true talents are going to waste.
Sorry to go off on a little sidetrack here, but I can't help but regret that Koji Suzuki isn't living up to his fullest potential. Out of all the works I've read so far, only three rise to the ranks of greatness. And it's not hard to see why as they primarily focus on two elements where Suzuki shines: real settings and human characters. Now, to be fair, all of Suzuki's stories feature these elements, it's just that most have the unfortunate tendency of throwing in a poorly thought-out spectre of the supernatural that causes everything to unravel. But in this story, Paradise, and Loop, Suzuki manages to hold onto realism and build it to a firm conclusion. (Well, Loop can't entirely be considered reality, but at least the element of fantasy was better integrated.)
I'm sorry to keep bringing up Paradise and Loop, but both are so closely mirrored by this story in terms of a future generation having to retrace and complete a mission from the past. Hell, the way the story is broken in two segments, set years apart, with a cliffhanger in between, is identical to the structure of Paradise. It worked there and it does just fine here, too.
Our story opens as Fumihiko Sugiyama and a friend find a cave while hiking one day. Being professional spelunkers, neither can resist the opportunity to explore. As shafts and chambers unfold (all lushly described), tragedy suddenly strikes and Sugiyama finds himself trapped and alone. Twenty years later, his fate is revealed as a group of university students set about to retrace his expedition.
Now, I know I've been gushing and gushing, but it's not perfect. There's a minor revelation regarding Sugiyama that didn't quite make sense and some of the translation was a bit awkwardly worded. But, still, it's a marvelous, beautiful story that's well worth a read. If you're new to Suzuki, this might not be a bad place to start. Granted, it may leave you disappointed in most of what follows.
This story is collected in the Koji Suzuki anthology Dark Water, which is available in English in trade paperback and hardcover formats. For more information, visit the anthology's page at the Vertical, Inc. website, or its Wikipedia page.
Ah, Suzuki, Suzuki, Suzuki. I don't know what to do with you. You give me so many mediocre horror tales that you become easy to dismiss, then something as beautiful as Paradise, or Loop, or this marvelous little gem comes from your mind and leaves me conflicted. Sure, the ghastly ghost stories sell better and get people chatting on message boards, but I feel your true talents are going to waste.
Sorry to go off on a little sidetrack here, but I can't help but regret that Koji Suzuki isn't living up to his fullest potential. Out of all the works I've read so far, only three rise to the ranks of greatness. And it's not hard to see why as they primarily focus on two elements where Suzuki shines: real settings and human characters. Now, to be fair, all of Suzuki's stories feature these elements, it's just that most have the unfortunate tendency of throwing in a poorly thought-out spectre of the supernatural that causes everything to unravel. But in this story, Paradise, and Loop, Suzuki manages to hold onto realism and build it to a firm conclusion. (Well, Loop can't entirely be considered reality, but at least the element of fantasy was better integrated.)
I'm sorry to keep bringing up Paradise and Loop, but both are so closely mirrored by this story in terms of a future generation having to retrace and complete a mission from the past. Hell, the way the story is broken in two segments, set years apart, with a cliffhanger in between, is identical to the structure of Paradise. It worked there and it does just fine here, too.
Our story opens as Fumihiko Sugiyama and a friend find a cave while hiking one day. Being professional spelunkers, neither can resist the opportunity to explore. As shafts and chambers unfold (all lushly described), tragedy suddenly strikes and Sugiyama finds himself trapped and alone. Twenty years later, his fate is revealed as a group of university students set about to retrace his expedition.
Now, I know I've been gushing and gushing, but it's not perfect. There's a minor revelation regarding Sugiyama that didn't quite make sense and some of the translation was a bit awkwardly worded. But, still, it's a marvelous, beautiful story that's well worth a read. If you're new to Suzuki, this might not be a bad place to start. Granted, it may leave you disappointed in most of what follows.
This story is collected in the Koji Suzuki anthology Dark Water, which is available in English in trade paperback and hardcover formats. For more information, visit the anthology's page at the Vertical, Inc. website, or its Wikipedia page.
February 12, 2008
[The Works of Koji Suzuki] Watercolors
1996 story. Written by Koji Suzuki
As with many Suzuki stories, we open with a realistically described little piece of Japan. In this case, a former S&M disco where a small theatre troupe is staging a play. And, also like many of his previous parables, Suzuki populates it with morally grey, everyday people. Our main focus today is on the overbearing director and his disgruntled sound technician, both of whom have the hots for the leading lady. It's mainly a bit of throw-away melodrama that Suzuki would rework to slightly better effect in his Ring related short, Lemon Heart.
It's not long before dripping water interrupts the show and Yuichi Kamiya (the aforementioned sound technician) rushes up to find the source. As usual (notice a theme here?) Suzuki's realistic tale of everyday Japan gives way to a poorly thought-out ghost attack. At least this one is a little trippier, a tad more bizarre than usual.
Sadly, though, we come to the ending. It's an interesting idea, but the execution leaves it feeling like a cheat. Through the device of newspaper articles, Suzuki tries to add an extra dimension to the proceedings, but their writing comes off like a heavy-handed way for him to pat himself on the back for cleverness and lay out in full detail what the story was supposed to mean.
It's an interesting failure, but a failure nonetheless.
This story is collected in the Koji Suzuki anthology Dark Water, which is available in English in trade paperback and hardcover formats. For more information, visit the anthology's page at the Vertical, Inc. website, or its Wikipedia page.
As with many Suzuki stories, we open with a realistically described little piece of Japan. In this case, a former S&M disco where a small theatre troupe is staging a play. And, also like many of his previous parables, Suzuki populates it with morally grey, everyday people. Our main focus today is on the overbearing director and his disgruntled sound technician, both of whom have the hots for the leading lady. It's mainly a bit of throw-away melodrama that Suzuki would rework to slightly better effect in his Ring related short, Lemon Heart.
It's not long before dripping water interrupts the show and Yuichi Kamiya (the aforementioned sound technician) rushes up to find the source. As usual (notice a theme here?) Suzuki's realistic tale of everyday Japan gives way to a poorly thought-out ghost attack. At least this one is a little trippier, a tad more bizarre than usual.
Sadly, though, we come to the ending. It's an interesting idea, but the execution leaves it feeling like a cheat. Through the device of newspaper articles, Suzuki tries to add an extra dimension to the proceedings, but their writing comes off like a heavy-handed way for him to pat himself on the back for cleverness and lay out in full detail what the story was supposed to mean.
It's an interesting failure, but a failure nonetheless.
This story is collected in the Koji Suzuki anthology Dark Water, which is available in English in trade paperback and hardcover formats. For more information, visit the anthology's page at the Vertical, Inc. website, or its Wikipedia page.
February 5, 2008
[The Works of Koji Suzuki] Adrift
1996 story. Written by Koji Suzuki.
When the Wakashio VII - a fishing boat headed home with a full berth of tuna - come across an abandoned yacht, Kazuo Shiraishi volunteers to man the derelict while they tow it to shore. Pouring over the log, Kazuo reads the unfinished tale of a wealthy family who shared dreams of murder and felt a strange presence after the daughter plucked a mysterious object from the sea.
It's not long after Kazuo discovers a severed towing cable has left him abandoned that the mysterious dreams and presence take hold of him.
A wonderful ghost story in the grand pulp traditions. Nice, slow buildup with a relateable character, suspense and tension as we gather exposition, then a full-on psychological barrage to the clever conclusion. Finally, a supernatural Suzuki tale that works!
This story is collected in the Koji Suzuki anthology Dark Water, which is available in English in trade paperback and hardcover formats. For more information, visit the anthology's page at the Vertical, Inc. website, or its Wikipedia page.
When the Wakashio VII - a fishing boat headed home with a full berth of tuna - come across an abandoned yacht, Kazuo Shiraishi volunteers to man the derelict while they tow it to shore. Pouring over the log, Kazuo reads the unfinished tale of a wealthy family who shared dreams of murder and felt a strange presence after the daughter plucked a mysterious object from the sea.
It's not long after Kazuo discovers a severed towing cable has left him abandoned that the mysterious dreams and presence take hold of him.
A wonderful ghost story in the grand pulp traditions. Nice, slow buildup with a relateable character, suspense and tension as we gather exposition, then a full-on psychological barrage to the clever conclusion. Finally, a supernatural Suzuki tale that works!
This story is collected in the Koji Suzuki anthology Dark Water, which is available in English in trade paperback and hardcover formats. For more information, visit the anthology's page at the Vertical, Inc. website, or its Wikipedia page.
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