Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of In the Miso Soup

In the Miso Soup
perryfran avatar reviewed on + 1223 more book reviews


Several years ago, I read Murakami's AUDITION, a very disturbing story about a young woman with a troubling past. After reading it, I happened upon a copy of Miso Soup at a thrift store and decided to read it as well. However, it has been sitting on my shelf for several years unread. I finally got around to reading it and it was just as disturbing, if not more so, than AUDITION. It's the story of a young Japanese man, Kenji, who has a business showing tourists around Tokyo's red-light district. He is hired by an overweight American tourist named Frank for three nights touring the sleazy areas of Tokyo just before New Year's. But soon after Kenji meets Frank, he becomes suspicious of his lies and behavior and thinks he might be a serial killer who is currently terrorizing the city. As Kenji and Frank tour various types of clubs and peep shows, Kenji becomes more and more sure that Frank is the killer. Be forewarned that the book contains some very graphic gore and violence but it also includes themes of how foreigners cope in other countries, sex, and how people relate to one another and ultimately delves into the mind of a very psychotic killer.