Lark Benobi's Reviews > Piercing

I was intrigued and then all at once I was bored. The dissociative out-of-body feeling that both of the main characters experience was also a trait used by Murakami in My Annihilation to explain the main character’s ability to endure or inflict pain so it felt repetitive and like a crutch or placeholder rather than a useful explanation of each character’s violent urges. Also both protags had horrific childhoods, full of abuse, and for once I’d love to read a splashy thriller where the protagonist was just a regular joe with a happy home life as a child. The tension dropped for me considerably after the baby was no longer in the picture as the likeliest next ice pick victim and I’m left to ponder why I felt more upset about the bunny’s fate than any human character’s fate. It’s my 4th Murakami book so I guess he’s doing something that interests me. I think it’s these novels’ straightforward simplicity, a recurring strength in all the books I’ve read, as well as what I perceive as the author’s complete willingness to write implausibly if it’s the fastest way to serve his purpose. I admire that.