Book Review: "Strangers" by Taichi Yamada

This book was part of my Amazon Recommendations and though I have heard of the author before, I will be taking this as one of my random books of the week by an author I have never read before. The truth is, I have actually been meaning to read this author for about a year, but have never got around to it. I know that this book has been made into a film but even though the book was fairly good, I have no intention of actually watching the movie. This is not out of any dislike, I just do not want to start any new TV shows and films at this moment in time. Perhaps I will someday and then, I will let you know how good it is in comparison to the book.

Set in the 1980s, Hideo is divorced, his son is estranged from him and he's all alone. The book starts off being actually quite depressing as we learn about this tragic character of a TV writer. He remembers recent memories of his divorce, spends time alone and pays attention to the silence and the noises around him. The sensory introduction to the character makes good on the promises presented in the rest of the novel: this is a character who pays attention to the shifts in atmosphere throughout. Though tepid and by some accounts, fairly slow - this beginning draws the reader into a world of exhaled sighs in depression and loss as we learn about a character who is much more complex than just a divorce.

Hideo's parents died when he was twelve in an accident and, when he has to live with his grandfather - he eventually loses his older relative too. However, it is his uncle that becomes the main figure of help in his life, trying to get him off his feet where he can. Hideo is disillusioned yes, but then he meets Kei. I'm not going to lie, the whole love story situation was more than simply predictable - it seemed to me that the writer actually stopped giving the writing much thought about here as well. I don't know what it is, but when romance becomes the central plot of the novel I tend to get bored. There isn't much you can do with romance unless it is a side-plot and it becomes much too centralised here for me to enjoy. Most of it felt like it was dragging its heels.

But then things get weird. Hideo meets a man who resembles his father - but resembles his father at the age he was when he died. Then, there is a woman who looks like his deceased mother at the same time. He begins to spend time with them, thinking of it as a macabre new opportunity to make up for all this lost time. At 47, these people are in their mid-30s and though he is confused and there are shifts in the atmosphere, he tries to make it as wholesome as he can. Then Hideo begins to physically deteriorate: his hair turns grey, he's losing weight, he's turning skeletal - and Kei is noticing it all. All of these changes are odd and don't make sense. The question about what Kei wants, what Hideo wants and whether anyone truly can put what they need before what they want pulsates through the novel.

The ending is a little less extreme than what I would have liked, but I think all the questions we had were answered so I won't deduct any marks there. However, I do wish that the whole love story situation was left out, the author could have simply stated that there was a love story that grew and then, we get on more with the main story. This would have (hopefully) made this weird third act to the story a little bit longer and more horrific. Advertised as a horror, or a thriller, or even a psychological drama, I feel like though it is not a polished book, it definitely has the qualities that we require when looking for a new-age thriller novel. It is different to a lot of what is on the shelves and has some very well-written qualities, descriptions and characters.