This is the second novel I read by the Japanese writer, Ryu Murakami. The first being In the Miso Soup. That one was a real doozy. Anyway, for those unfamiliar with Ryu Murakami, it's necessary to note that he's not the celebrated Japanese writer, Haruki Murakami. In fact, they are not related at all. By closely examining the body of their works, however, one might notice the similarities between them, considering the fact they come from the same background and the same generation. (Haruki was born in 1949; Ryu in 1952).
Personally, I always felt that Ryu is like the renegade young brother compared to the wise and mild Haruki. While Haruki adopts an objective approach to his narrative, presenting his characters and events as they are to his readers, Ryu, on the other hand, doesn't shy from directly and bluntly saying what goes in his mind. To Ryu, subtlety is a foreign language. It's not something bad in and of itself, being subjective that is. Ryu is just sick and tired of maneuvering through social niceties and being an apologetic about how fucked up today's society is. He's artistically ruthless and bloody when it comes to storytelling. The reason why Ryu diverts from Haruki's magical realism and surrealism to thrillers and horrors.
What I really like about Ryu are his social commentaries strewn here and there in his stories (about depression, consumerism, social dynamism, xenophobia, etc) which Audition stores an example on each. Check out this excerpt:
"Within two or three years of World War II’s end, starvation had been basically eliminated in Japan, and yet the Japanese had continued slaving away as if their lives depended on it. Why? To create a more abundant life? If so, where was the abundance? Where were the luxurious living spaces? Eyesores dominated the scenery wherever you went, and people still crammed themselves into packed commuter trains each morning, submitting to conditions that would be fatal for any other mammal. Apparently what the Japanese wanted wasn’t a better life, but more things. And things, of course, were a form of information. But as things became readily available and information began to flow smoothly, the original aspiration got lost in the shuffle. People were infected with the concept that happiness was something outside themselves, and a new and powerful form of loneliness was born. Mix loneliness with stress and enervation, and all sorts of madness can occur. Anxiety increases, and in order to obliterate the anxiety people turn to extreme sex, violence, and even murder."
Such comments are valuable gems I always cherish.
Another thing that I like about Ryu is how dynamic his narrative style is, how graphic and violent and disturbing it is (not surprising when Ryu's main themes, in general, are about sex, murder, drug use, exploitation in the entertainment industry, etc).
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With that being said, Audition is about a man (Aoyama) who has become a widower after his wife died of cancer. He makes it his life's mission to compensate his son (Shige) for his loss by staying as close to him as possible. After some years pass by, Shige asks his father the dreaded question: "Why don't you find yourself a new wife, Pops?” The question serves as permission from the fifteen-year-old son to his father to get married. Although Aoyama was quite reluctant at first, his friend (Yoshikawa) hammers his head to change his mind. In fact, he thinks thoroughly about a way for Aoyama to find the perfect wife, which is by auditioning female artists for a movie that may/may not see the light.
Since this is a thriller, I'm not going to expose more of the plot. My focus here would be on my impressions. The English translation is coherent and fluid and I found myself leafing through the book at a supersonic speed. Everything was going perfect until I reached the 30~35% mark. I started to have suspicions (thanks to Yoshikawa, my favorite character here) and the repetitions of certain things throughout the chapters. The plot thickened and the tension was real.
The ending was expected (the cover is a real spoiler. Bad choice), but I really didn't care for what happened or the reasons behind them. Like I said, Ryu is no fan of subtlety and leaves nothing for readers to speculate on. That's one of the reasons why (if I were a writer) I would stop the novel right after [spoiler alert] Yamasaki Asami disappears from Aoyama's life after a night of wild, wild sex. In this case, this would leave more room for the readers to think of the worst that could've happened. Imagination is a powerful thing, even more so than graphic descriptions.
Summary:
Audition is a fast-paced read about grief and the cyclical nature of abuse. I'd recommend it to those who want a fast thriller for their weekend.
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