Review of Ring by Koji Suzuki
This is probably the best thriller I have ever read. I read it on a plane from Bangkok to Tel Aviv and finished the more or less 400 pages in 10 hours! Some of you might not be impressed but I am not a fast reader. I like to take my time, but this book really grabs you.
The bodies of four young people are found, all in similar circumstances.
A reporter named Asakawa investigates. It turns out that they all shared a cabin for one night and watched a particularly gruesome videotape together. I really have no words to describe how quickly and intelligently this story moves on, you just can't stop reading it.
I love detective and suspense books, 2 genres that are sometimes indistinguishable. Give me John Verdon from America, Unesbo from Norway, Stieg Larson from Sweden, John Le Carre from Britain (spy books, more or less the same territory I think). I love them all and the list is endless. John le Carre is surely deeper and more sophisticated than Suzuki. Nesbo is more diverse, he lets us meet new cultures (comparing to other writers you could almost always say that Nesbo is darker, but I am afraid that Suzuki is hard competition on this front).
Now, when it comes to the tempo of the book, they can all learn something from Suzuki. Two movies were created based on this book. A Japanese film which is supposed to be good, but I have never seen it and an American version. If you liked the American version, then I do apologize. I think it's a poor excuse. Liked it or not, don't deny yourself the pleasure of reading this book, it's so much better.
This book is the first in a Trilogy. The second and third books are very interesting, but also very different. If you read them hoping for more of the same you might be disappointed. But the first book is a stand alone creation, if you like suspense, don't miss it.
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