Mariko Koike

Overall, this book was pretty good. It wasn't super-spooky, but I sat up late to read the whole thing in one sitting (with a break to put the kids to bed) because it was easy to read and because I found the deeper issues in the novel compelling.

There were no huge surprises, horror-wise---an apartment next to a graveyard, misbehaving electronics, weird noises, spooky happenings, a trip to check out city records about the history of the site. There were some things that were unclear or just show more dropped without further explanation, like the bird and the dark little figures. Some of the language was cliched or otherwise uninteresting, but I have a higher tolerance for this sort of thing in a translation. I found myself wanting to ask my friends who speak/read Japanese to read this and tell me if the word choice was any more skillful in the original Japanese.

One of the biggest things that gave me trouble was that the motivation of the antagonist(s) was unclear. Did they want to drive out the tenants (if so, why make it difficult to leave)? Did they want to kill the tenants (if so, why drag it out)? Are they targeting the one family specifically (if so, why all the collateral damage)? As another reviewer mentions, are they the spirits of dead people or are they malevolent spirits of some other, mythological type? Are they limited in power, as the beginning of the book suggests, or are they omnipotent, as they seem to be by the end (although they apparently still need the elevator)? It seems like the author can't decide.

Two things kept me interested in this novel. First, the author did an excellent job of maintaining suspense. The action took almost too long for me, but not quite. That's good suspense.

Second, there's this intersection of the personal haunted past of the main family in the story and the haunting of the building. They've attempted to ignore the things haunting them the way they try to keep living in the apartment building after some really scary---and dangerous---stuff starts happening. Even when things get really bad, their major concern is practical---how to have enough food---not how to address the issue directly and solve it. They get indications from their neighbor, from their daughter, and from some odd stuff related to a Buddhist altar they've neglected, but it's almost like they're so accustomed to accepting their punishment, of feeling like they deserve whatever's coming to them because of the guilt and shame they feel for past mistakes, that they can neither save themselves and nor avoid dragging others they love into the danger. That just might explain why they keep using the elevator even when I keep yelling at them in my mind, "Just use the stairs already!" It reminds me of how I feel when I'm dealing with people stuck in patterns of behavior that no longer serve them and that are leading them towards a cliff (or at least in circles). I get stuck in those patterns, too, but it's much easier to see and critique them in other people. With subtlety, the author manages to connect the behavior and the danger not only to the main characters' past but to the historical past of the country of Japan. It left me thinking of the patterns of behavior in the United States that lead us to make self-defeating decisions as a nation.

This is what keeps me in horror novels. The spooky stuff is titillating and after I've closed the book, it's fun, in a way, to try to keep myself from running down the dark hallway to my bedroom, sure there are unseen things following me, but the meat of a horror story for me is how it reflects the deep-down fears we have in real life. In this novel, it's the fear of our past and our feelings of shame and guilt and how this fear can follow us over time and geography, blind us to self-reflection, and perpetuate patterns of behavior that are dangerous to ourselves and that draw others into danger as well. In that sense, we all live in a graveyard apartment. show less

Nicely paced and frequently unnerving tale of the misfortunes of a family who buys a too-good-to-be-true apartment in a building surrounded by a graveyard. The title pretty much tells you what to expect and the story does not disappoint. Neither does it break new ground. This is not the second coming of Kōji Suzuki and. at times, the translation seems uneven, but there are moments that will curl your toes worth your time.

Wow. This book stays with you. I had a couple of bad dreams last night about being lost in a house that was not familiar as something tried to capture me. The only reason why I gave this 4 stars is that it really does start off slow and continues to be slow until the last couple of chapters. There are also some side plots that don't seem to go anywhere, but I didn't mind that actually. The way the book begins and ends shows that there appears to be a never ending cycle that will continue at show more the so-called "The Graveyard Apartment."

"The Graveyard Apartment" follows a married couple, Misao, Teppei, and their daughter Tamao that move into the Central Plaza Mansion apartment. The couple have previously lived in a small apartment and jumped at the chance to upgrade their home for something more spacious for them, their dog, and their finch. Misao immediately though feels that the building is "wrong" and wishes that she had fought harder for them not to move in. One of the reasons why Misao feels so off about the place is that it is next to a graveyard, a temple, and a crematory. Although the area around the building is green and lovely in the spring and summer, Misao still feels dread being so close to the dead. When things in the building start to go wrong and unexplained events happen in the apartment's basement, the family starts to wonder if they should move before it's too late.

I think that one of the main reasons why this book rates so low with people is because many didn't care for Misao and Teppei. Both are arrogant and look down on others. Also you get their story of how they met and how they even ended up together, and it doesn't leave them in the best light. If anything though, I liked it more. It showed that these two people have been living with a ghost for a long time, so maybe it makes sense they ended up in a place where ghosts seem to be trying to break through.

The other neighbors in the building get their own stories somewhat too. And I liked that the book delves into what made everyone move in, but realize that something about the building was off and their hurry to leave.

I thought the writing was solid, though I think there are a few terms like "weasel wind" that maybe got mistranslated or it was translated correctly, but my brain still doesn't get it. The flow as I said was very slow. I think a lot of people will end up putting this one down because they expect a lot of things to happen, but I think Koike did a great job with the slow feeling of dread, the fear that the residents start to feel due to living in the apartment and the every wondering mystery of the place. I love that you are just made to guess why the apartment building is haunted. I know some readers wondered if the place became more active after Misao, Teppei, and their daughter Tamao moved in, but I like to think the place became more aware and malevolent after the residents started to depart.

The setting of this book takes place in Japan in the 1980s. I was very curious about the setting and I think that Koike did a great job with it. Some parts of the book feel very dated though, but it didn't ruin my enjoyment of it.

I know some people didn't like the ending, but I really did. I sometimes think that horror fans have to see blood and gore and if it's not there they think that a book can't be horror. I loved how Koike set up this book and the creeping tension that just gets ramped up more and more as the book goes on.

Read this for Door 4, Book, Japanese Culture. show less

Wow. This book stays with you. I had a couple of bad dreams last night about being lost in a house that was not familiar as something tried to capture me. The only reason why I gave this 4 stars is that it really does start off slow and continues to be slow until the last couple of chapters. There are also some side plots that don't seem to go anywhere, but I didn't mind that actually. The way the book begins and ends shows that there appears to be a never ending cycle that will continue at show more the so-called "The Graveyard Apartment."

"The Graveyard Apartment" follows a married couple, Misao, Teppei, and their daughter Tamao that move into the Central Plaza Mansion apartment. The couple have previously lived in a small apartment and jumped at the chance to upgrade their home for something more spacious for them, their dog, and their finch. Misao immediately though feels that the building is "wrong" and wishes that she had fought harder for them not to move in. One of the reasons why Misao feels so off about the place is that it is next to a graveyard, a temple, and a crematory. Although the area around the building is green and lovely in the spring and summer, Misao still feels dread being so close to the dead. When things in the building start to go wrong and unexplained events happen in the apartment's basement, the family starts to wonder if they should move before it's too late.

I think that one of the main reasons why this book rates so low with people is because many didn't care for Misao and Teppei. Both are arrogant and look down on others. Also you get their story of how they met and how they even ended up together, and it doesn't leave them in the best light. If anything though, I liked it more. It showed that these two people have been living with a ghost for a long time, so maybe it makes sense they ended up in a place where ghosts seem to be trying to break through.

The other neighbors in the building get their own stories somewhat too. And I liked that the book delves into what made everyone move in, but realize that something about the building was off and their hurry to leave.

I thought the writing was solid, though I think there are a few terms like "weasel wind" that maybe got mistranslated or it was translated correctly, but my brain still doesn't get it. The flow as I said was very slow. I think a lot of people will end up putting this one down because they expect a lot of things to happen, but I think Koike did a great job with the slow feeling of dread, the fear that the residents start to feel due to living in the apartment and the every wondering mystery of the place. I love that you are just made to guess why the apartment building is haunted. I know some readers wondered if the place became more active after Misao, Teppei, and their daughter Tamao moved in, but I like to think the place became more aware and malevolent after the residents started to depart.

The setting of this book takes place in Japan in the 1980s. I was very curious about the setting and I think that Koike did a great job with it. Some parts of the book feel very dated though, but it didn't ruin my enjoyment of it.

I know some people didn't like the ending, but I really did. I sometimes think that horror fans have to see blood and gore and if it's not there they think that a book can't be horror. I loved how Koike set up this book and the creeping tension that just gets ramped up more and more as the book goes on.

Read this for Door 4, Book, Japanese Culture. show less