The only word that comes to my mind after reading this book is odd. While it's most definitely very well written and original there is no denying that this book is probably the strangest book I have ever come across.
Kitchen follows a young woman, Mikage Sakurai as she struggles to adjust to life all alone when her last living relative her grandmother passes away. Mikage meets a young man at her grandmothers funeral who offer to help her in any way he can... within a short time she moves in with him ( no romantic relationship involved) and his mother. The first impression we get of the young man's mother is that she is a very beautiful, elegant and charming woman who owns and runs her own night club. The reader is later told the the mother is actually a transvestite and is in reality the boy's father. Mikage lives with them for almost a year before getting her own apartment. 6 months after moving out Mikage gets a call in the middle of the night from Yuichi ( the young man) saying that his mother/father has been brutally murdered by a man who become obsessed with her. Mikage and Yuichi now must once again adapt to living a lonely life having only each other to rely on. The story is abruptly cut off after Mikage has a revelation that no matter what happens between her and Yuichi she will never see his mother (who she has become very close to) or her grandmother again.
This book made an impression on me before I even opened it. Everything about it screams weird even the authors name, Banana. Perhaps there is some deep message behind the story that I'm missing but at the moment all I see is a depressing and strange story. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for something unique to read. However if you are into the more traditional books where the plot actually makes sense then stay away.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
METRO 2033, Dmitri Glukhovski
This modern science fiction novel by Dmitri Glukhovski has caused a lot of excitement among Russian science fiction lovers. It is not only original and horror filled but it is truly a work of art and has been critically acclaimed as “genius”.
The plot of the novel is twisted and sometimes a bit confusing but it truly makes the reader sit up and think about what the world could turn to if people do not realize their mistakes before it is to late.
It is 2033, decades after a nuclear war on the Earth has wiped out most of the human population. Some survivors managed to hide in Moscow's underground system, the Metro. Their descendants still remain there after many years, unable to go up to surface as the air has become poisonous and many strange and terrible creatures have evolved there. One type of these creatures simply called by the inhabitants of the underground “black” or “death” due to their tough black skin that protects them on the surface and due to their murderous ways now threaten to destroy the Metro and wipe out the remaining human population.
The story follows a young adult called Artem who is currently living on the most affected station in the whole of the underground. There he meets a man called “hunter” who gives him a mission that will change his whole life. Artem must make his way to the centre of the underground, go up to the surface and destroy the lair of the “deaths” before they wipe out everyone he loves. Artem has no other choice but to take up this mission and throughout his travels encounters many different people, horrors and secrets.
The end of the novel has a surprising and definitely unexpected twist that once again makes the reader sit up and think about human ways and how they will eventually lead to their own downfall.
This book is definitely a great read for horror lovers everywhere. Personally I believe it would make a great motion picture. Original. Powerful. Terrifying till the end.
The plot of the novel is twisted and sometimes a bit confusing but it truly makes the reader sit up and think about what the world could turn to if people do not realize their mistakes before it is to late.
It is 2033, decades after a nuclear war on the Earth has wiped out most of the human population. Some survivors managed to hide in Moscow's underground system, the Metro. Their descendants still remain there after many years, unable to go up to surface as the air has become poisonous and many strange and terrible creatures have evolved there. One type of these creatures simply called by the inhabitants of the underground “black” or “death” due to their tough black skin that protects them on the surface and due to their murderous ways now threaten to destroy the Metro and wipe out the remaining human population.
The story follows a young adult called Artem who is currently living on the most affected station in the whole of the underground. There he meets a man called “hunter” who gives him a mission that will change his whole life. Artem must make his way to the centre of the underground, go up to the surface and destroy the lair of the “deaths” before they wipe out everyone he loves. Artem has no other choice but to take up this mission and throughout his travels encounters many different people, horrors and secrets.
The end of the novel has a surprising and definitely unexpected twist that once again makes the reader sit up and think about human ways and how they will eventually lead to their own downfall.
This book is definitely a great read for horror lovers everywhere. Personally I believe it would make a great motion picture. Original. Powerful. Terrifying till the end.
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