Audition

Written by Ryu Murakami

Narrated by David Shih

The long-awaited translation of the novel behind the cult classic Japanese movie.

In this gloriously over-the-top tale, Aoyama, a widower who has lived alone with his son ever since his wife died seven years before, finally decides it is time to remarry. Since Aoyama is a bit rusty when it comes to dating, a filmmaker friend proposes that, in order to attract the perfect wife, they do a casting call for a movie they don't intend to produce. As the resumes pile up, only one of the applicants catches Aoyama's attention-Yamasaki Asami-a striking young former ballerina with a mysterious past. Blinded by his instant and total infatuation, Aoyama is too late in discovering that she is a far cry from the innocent young woman he imagines her to be. The novel's fast-paced, thriller conclusion doesn't spare the reader as Yamasaki takes off her angelic mask and reveals what lies beneath.

Contains mature themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Translator: Ralph McCarthy
• Release date: May 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9781977346131

Ryu Murakami

Renaissance man for the modern age, Ryu Murakami has played drums for a rock group, made movies and hosted a TV talk show. His first novel, Almost Transparent Blue, written while he was still a student, was awarded Japan's most coveted literary prize and went on to sell over a million copies. His most recent novel to appear in English was In the Miso Soup, published by Bloomsbury in 2005.

Reviews for Audition

[Angela Vigo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

overall the story was good personally just a little disappointed with the ending

[Shayla Hansen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyed this! My only gripe is that each chapter cuts off which is a little jarring.

[aug3zimm-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Parts are interesting, especially at the beginning due to some interesting social commentary, but the father I got into the book, the more disconnected I felt. Everything is too obvious and there’s just no tension. Add to that “onscreen” animal death and I’m just not into this one at all.

[Jamie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable, although it seemed like a lot of build up to well... not a lot.

[whatalicesaw · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A middle aged man holds a fake audition to find a new wife. It goes horribly wrong.

Aoyama is a widower who is finally ready to find a new wife. His friend convinces him that a good way to do this is to create a fake movie, hold auditions for leading actresses with Aoyama’s preferences. What could possibly go wrong.

This one is a slow burn. A lot of dating & a little hanky panky. A lot of red flags. Then Asami (the woman half his age that he “loves”) gets angry.

[london_stj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Audition tells the tale of a widower who, seven years after the death of his wife, holds auditions for a new wife. While the actresses lining up to audition for a film don't know that's Aoyama's intent, he and his friend Yoshikawa reason that this is the best way to find a woman who is accomplished, confident, and single. Of course. And, of course, Aoyama falls mindlessly in love with a former ballet dancer who seems too good to be true.I enjoyed Audition, but not for the thriller Murakami seemingly intends it to be - rather, I found it to be a highly amusing farce. The author has absolutely no confidence in his reader, and treats the reader as if he is the same kind of idiot as his protagonist. The blatancy of the plot hits the audience in the face from the very beginning, and continues through to page 167, when the true "horror" begins. The final few pages are appropriately squirm-worthy, but the remainder of the novel is good for a laugh.

[judycroome_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A tightly controlled, very funny book which, unfortunately, suddenly descends into extremely graphic and gratuitous violence in the climax. I stopped reading at the point the poor dog was attacked and skipped ahead to read the last paragraph only. In a book that was so well-written, with both humour and tension expertly woven into the pages, the detailed description of the violence was unnecessary.

[missizicks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Breathtaking. Everything seems normal, with hints of darkness, until one weird scene about two thirds of the way through the book, when the fact that all is not as it should be is confirmed, and then the final scenes ramp up the tension. Having been warned that the final scenes were graphic, by someone who has seen the film but not read the book, it was a relief that they weren't quite as bad as I was expecting. Not on the same level as the violence in In The Miso Soup, anyway!

[book8fidelity · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Audition is a short book (less than 200 pages) that packs a surprising story within its pages. It draws you in with how an individual could possibly find him/herself in this type of situation and then takes you on a roller coaster ride for its riveting conclusion. I had not read any books by Ryu Murakami and all I really had to go on was the fact that I had watched the film adaptation (more about that later) years before. Typically, I don't like seeing the movie before the book, but in my defense, I didn't know it was based on a book! Either way, the fact that I saw the movie first did nothing to deter me from picking up the book. I believe that it is the male point of view that makes this book out to be as interesting as it was - that and its final ten pages. Readers of this blog (you are out there, aren't you?) already know that I don't like to give spoilers (and yes I'm aware that there's probably so much I've already said or shown that it's also inevitable), so just take my word for it: if you like Asian horror, horror in general or simply appreciate a great suspense/thriller, this is for you. It's also a quick read (it just takes me forever because its me lol).

[catsmeowski · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really thought this would be another smug "the book is so much better than the film" for me, but no! I actually prefered the film because of the additional backstory. It was a good read, but I felt with the other books of his I've read, the best part is the suspense, of which there is none when you know what's going to happen.

[cameling_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Seven years after his wife's death, Aoyama has rebuilt a life with his son, Shinge. The teenager suggests his dad remarry, and his dad considers this and consults his friend, Yoshikawa, who suggests putting out an advertisement for auditions for a film they will go through the motions of developing. His plan is to use the lure of auditions to attract women who may be aspiring actresses for Aoyama to 'interview' and hopefully find someone he'd be interested in dating.From the hundreds of resumes that flood in, Aoyama is drawn to the resume of Yamasaki Asami, a beautiful ex-ballerina. During the auditions, Aoyama is smitten with Asami but Yoshikawa feels that there is something odd about her. But his friend has become obsessed with this woman and will not listen to observations and warnings from his friends.The tension builds gradually but consistently in this suspenseful thriller.

[melaniehope · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The nice thing about this book, was it is only 190 pages long. It tells the story of a middle aged widower looking to remarry. A film maker friend proposes that they do a casting call for a movie that they never intend to film. In this manner, they hope to find a perfect wife for Aoyama. What follows is a very slow but a gradual, suspenseful build up toward a horrific conclusion. I normally don't watch horror films or read horror novels, now I remember why..at least in the movies I can cover my eyes...not true with a book. I recommend this story to those who are ok with a few pages of "horror," otherwise it was a good, interesting short read and I was pretty absorbed in the story from start to finish. I had to keep reading to find out what danger lies beneath beautiful Yamasaki.

[jimelkins · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

It's supposed to be shocking that an ordinary girl can commit such a horrible crime. It's supposed to be shocking that when she commits the crime her face remains impassive. (We're told it's shocking about five times.) It's supposed to be shocking that she uses a wire saw to cut of a man's foot. That is surprising and disgusting and painful to think about, but it is not interesting or insightful or engaging or expressive or rewarding.It's not shocking, it's old. Remember "In Cold Blood"? Remember "American Psycho"? Both those novels had far more psychological insight than this one, which presents cold-blooded psychosis as if the form of it, the shock, it enough. Roland Barthes disposed of the entire aesthetic of shock in a couple of essays and in "Camera Lucida": "shock," he said (always keeping it in quotation marks), wears off quickly, leaving the sour and uninteresting feeling of having been manipulated for no good reason. Remember Flaubert's anxiety about writing "Madame Bovary"? He was worried that it had nothing spectacular in it, that he wold have to try twice as hard to write it. It's a lesson that Murakami has never thought about.

[ocgreg34 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Seven years after the death of his wife, Aoyama's son Shige makes the suggestion -- "Why don't you find yourself a new wife, Pops?" He doesn't take his son too seriously, at first, but the idea takes root, and he tells his friend Yoshikawa about it. Yoshikawa, who works in the film industry, thinks that a new wife is just what Aoyama needs, and to help him find one, he pitches the idea of holding auditions for a fictional movie. He can screen each of the young women as a potential bride. Hesitant at first, Aoyama eventually gives in and goes with the idea.With the project underway, the two men begin skimming through the responses to their call for actresses, and almost immediately, the picture and brief blurb from Yamasaki Asami catches Aoyama's eye. A one-time ballerina in training, she proffers just what he's looking for, and he becomes infatuated with her.But Yamasaki isn't quite what she seems to be, as Aoyama finds out much too late.It takes a bit too shock me, what with all the horror novels in my collection and movies I've seen, and Ryu Murakami's tale delivers. Even though hints appear throughout the story that something may not be quite right with Yamasaki, the last chapter of the book takes an unexpected and truly gruesome turn. And I couldn't put the book down once I started. "Audition" takes what should be an story of a man's search for love into a story of surprising horror.

[noblechicken · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There is no copyright date when this was originally released, at least on the advance copy, but I believe it came out first in 1999 or 2000. This is the long-awaited English translation release and I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I don't think the translation is very good. It is hard to get past it in the beginning, the prose being very stilted, but as you get to a point of when the actual audition gets underway, you kind of overcome it. Another reason for getting though the plodding translation is the 2002 Takashi Miike film. It is really hard not to read this novel and think about the film constantly. Miike did such a creepily fantastic job with the material that getting an English language version of the novel which it is based, nearly 10 years after the fact, you find yourself (if you have seen the film) envisioning every scene like in the movie. It's nearly the opposite of what we usually expect to say as readers when we see a movie: "the book is way better than the movie". I think it would be hard to say the opposite considering the translation, but I would rather say that after seeing the film, then reading the book, it almost HELPS this book. Because of the uninspired translation, we can already fill the gaps with the Miike vision, and frankly that works well for me. Like most Ryu Murakami novels, there is always a dark side as you work your way through his story. Audition is perhaps his most realized slow creeper, and that partially must be from the cultural pulse of the Miike movie, which is quite excellent. I really am glad that this was finally issued in an English version, and I would put this up there as one of Murakami's best works for the style he does, but dock it a point for the length of time to get an English language release and the wooden translation. Great story though.

[klmesoftly · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I'm not sure whether to blame the original author or his translator for the mess this book's turned out to be. Ultimately, I'm sure it's a mix of the two. Where the author is definitely concerned, the book's ending is weak and poorly-paced, the characters are all flat (It's as though Murakami heard the adage "show, don't tell" in reverse - I found myself picturing cardboard cutouts with characteristics scrawled on their backs in place of real people), and the ham-fisted attempts at foreshadowing and suspense-building are laughably obvious. I'm willing to place blame tentatively on the translator for other issues: the simplistic, uninteresting (though granted, readable) prose; the horrifically bad descriptions of sex ("lolling," "sluicing," and "oozing" are three of the least erotic verbs I've ever read); and the sudden narrative shift from restricted third person (Aoyama) to apparent third person omniscient and then back again, in order to conveniently clarify Asami's motivation, to name a few. I wouldn't call this novel terrible, but it's by no means a masterpiece, and I won't be recommending it to any of my friends. Even cult horror fans are better off preserving their memories of the far superior film version.

[tocar_2 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Hardly suspenseful or interesting. If this were to be the views of a man jilted by an ex-lover, it shows. While the story follows the narrative of a middle aged man, it gives little reason for what happens to him but his rationalization of what little development for the motive of the crazy love of his life has to kill, let alone kill his dog. She has issues with violent childhood abuse from her step father, who was in a wheel chair, so she is compelled to remove mens feet when they 'lie" to her. The entire book is written in the first person present tense, so that in order to explain the murderess's modes and operandi he has to think of it all after he's been drugged to the point where he can't speak. He is so drugged up at one point he doesn't even know that he's jilted her after a night of love making. No clues, only brief foreshadowing doubts from the narrators friend, so that you know what you're in for. And she doesn't have anything to make when she strikes symbolic. She cases his house so she can break in when he's alone to drug his yogurt and do the deed. Ridiculous. If the movie is anything like the book then I recommend also the movie 'The Room' by Tommy Wiseau. It's just as weak.

[intrinsiclyme · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome book, the characters are so real. Holding covert auditions to find a future wife may have it's drawbacks, but it just shows that there's no way to tell what is in someone's heart.

[yamamura_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A dark ride as one man's desire for the perfect new wife blinds him to an elemental force of nature personified in the antagonist of the story. Aoyama wanted a someone to love to replace in his heart his deceased wife Ryoko. It has been seven years and at the urging of his son Shige, Aoyama begin a quest to find a new wife. Initially he had no clue but when his friend Yoshikawa suggested running an audition for movie as front for meeting the lady of his dream, he jumps at the chance. Of course this is where the unreal beauty Yamasaki Asami comes in as person looking for a role in the movie they are doing. But as the movie is unlikely ever to come about, it is an illusion to trick these young ladies so Aoyama can get what he wants. It is this charade that will cause Aoyama great pain.Yamasaki Asami is that force of nature. A cold and calculating menace that is hard to read other then something being off about her. Through out the remainder of the books as readers we see glimpse into what she really is, all the while Aoyama is blinded by her. You could almost say that Yamasaki Asami represent a new face of femininity in Japan made up to be very frightful especially when one consider that in a lot of ways Aoyama represents the ideal Japanese male. It is through this conflict, that we see that transition from a male dominated society to one that scares those who are part of the old guard.I did find Yamasaki Asami a little under developed but to give more depth would move her from a monster to a more sympathetic character. What little we do see of her is as much as we would any innocent that has had a traumatic experience that transform them into the monster that has to be stopped. Aoyama on the other hand is fully realized but because of this, he may not be identifiable with unless one shares similar outlook. On a whole very dark but interesting read even if I did not completely identify with any character.

[jmgold_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've been waiting years for an English translation of Ryu Murakami's Audition to be released. I became familiar with it through the Takashi Miike film, which has picked up the reputation of being one of the greatest horror movies ever. That's pretty well deserved too.So I came into the book with certain expectations, and found it to be a bit less terrifying, but a better example of horror. Now this is a book that can't really be described without a spoiler, but its one that is pretty obvious based solely on the book jacket so I'm going to go for it. The story is told from the perspective of Aoyama, a widowed single father who has just decided that he is ready to remarry. In order to find a wife he joins forces with a friend at a video production company to hold an audition for a film that will likely never be made. That way he can come in to the casting sessions as a producer and hopefully find the woman of his dreams amongst the runners-up. The plan works, and he becomes hopelessly infatuated with Yamasaki Asami, a former ballerina with an unknown past.All of Aoyama's friends warn him away from her throughout the book, but he remains blinded by her, and as this book is told in the first person, so is the reader. It's a nice approach to take for the story, which makes the famed torture scene at the end of the book all the more horrifying. But unlike the film which gets its terror from the unexpected story twist, the book relies on the Aoyama's inability to comprehend the situation to achieve its horror. And this works admirably! Murakami takes love, which lets face it, can be pretty incomprehensible at times, and twists that into the sort of horror usually found in a Lovecraft story. Well done.

[lookitisheef · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"...an almost unnatural sort of beauty, the sort of beauty that made you wonder if it hadn't been nourished by all the misery and misfortune in the world. The sort of beauty that can destroy a man. And of course that sense of danger too seems to drive men wild."An interesting story warning of the hazards of sudden head-over-heels love. Full disclosure, I saw the movie before reading the book so the ending was not a new surprise, but still felt certain pangs of suspense as I saw hints, foreshadowing, and other suggestions that things might not turn out the way that Aoyama dreams of. This could certainly be a re-readable book - once you know where the story is headed, reading it again allows you to better see the slow fuse burning down in the relationship between Aoyama and Asami.This is a very short read, which works as both a pro and a con in my book. It is amazing how quickly Murakami makes the reader connect with Aoyama and his quest for love after the death of his wife. On the con side, the book reaches its conclusion very, very abruptly. The book almost feels like it is missing one last chapter - you get the feeling that something more should be there and yet you're left to tie up the loose ends and draw final conclusions on your own.

[hyper0melida · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Audition was a fast read, and I set it down feeling fairly unfulfilled, as I was undisturbed. Unlike during reading Coin Locker Babies and Piercing, I had no, "Get me out of this person's head/universe" moment. But I was still thinking of the story the next day...and the next. The disturbance was an aftershock. One that started off small and swelled. What if we are irrevocably damaged by the horrors of our childhoods? Forced to recreate the scenario inbto more than memory? And do we then become instant karma for those who we attract? So the story does continue and become in the end satisfying, at least to the Ryu Murakami fan. Dip your toe into Murakami's world here, and then wade out a little farther, if you like the chilly water.

[jacey25 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This latest translation of Ryu's work is a great read and I feel it a perfect introduction to his work for new comers, the great majority of this slim volumes lures you into Aoyama's story and you become rather fond of the middle aged widower. There are undercurrents of what's to come through out the book but you probably won't guess the startling end to the story. The end is where Ryu shows more of the style which is prevalent in his other books such as [In the Miso Soup] & [Piercing] which is why I reccomend this as a jumping off point. A great quiet little read that I feel did well in translation. I suppose judging by other reviews that it's worth noting that I as well have not seen the film but also plan to, it's been on my netflix queue for ages but will be shooting to the top now!Reccomended for fans of thriller, suspense, horror, J-horror & light novels.

[ninarucker · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book. The story was very interesting and kept me wanting to read more, while the characters were well developed and easy to become attached to.

[phoenixterran · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Imagine my delight and surprise that, when after more than a year went by without receiving any books through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program, the Almighty Algorithm has blessed me two months in a row. I was particularly interested in reading Ryu Murakami's Auditions, translated into English by Ralph McCarthy, and so was excited to be chosen to receive an advance copy from W. W. Norton. Now, I haven't' actually read any of Murakami's work before, although he has been recommended to me several times. Nor have I seen Takashi Miike's controversial cult horror film Audition which was based on Murakami's novel (though I do plan to). Murakami began his writing career with Almost Transparent Blue in 1976. Since then, he has been nominated for, and has won, numerous awards for his work. Only a handful of his books have been translated into English so far, and I get the impression that some people are pretty excited that Audition has finally reached the U.S.Seven year ago, Aoyama's wife Ryoko died of cancer. Since then he has continued to live out his life as a documentary filmmaker and has deliberately cultivated a meaningful relationship with his son Shige. He has shown little interest in remarrying until his son encourages him to consider it. But being a middle-aged widower, Aoyama's options are somewhat limited when it comes to meeting women he would be interested in for a long-term relationship. Then Yoshikawa, his good friend and fellow filmmaker, comes up with a scheme--they'll hold an audition for a film they have no intention of making, ensuring that Aoyama will have plenty of opportunities to meet young and interesting women. Aoyama reluctantly agrees to the plan, not entirely convinced it will be worthwhile until he sees the resume and photograph of Yamasaki Asami out of thousands of applicants. Many of his friends are uneasy about her, but Aoyama is determined that Yamasaki Asami is the perfect woman for him, despite the unusual circumstances that surround her.The first thing I noticed when I received Audition was how short it is; the book can easily be read in a few hours. Although it was shorter than I expected, there is nothing wrong with this. I didn't really know what to expect when I started reading Audition other than it was supposedly horror fiction. I say supposedly because most of the book only has a vague, low-key sense of foreboding; it's not until the last chapter or so that the book turns highly disturbing, gruesome, and intense. It is certainly not a story for everyone. Another thing that might be off-putting or offensive to some readers is the largely (but not completely) negative portrayal of women in the book. But, it is appropriate for the story in which many of the characters hold women in disdain to one extent or another, particularly those women working in the entertainment industry.It wasn't until late in the book that I had a strong inkling about where Murakami was taking the story. The beginning of the book could have easily led into a romantic comedy rather than horror. There are hints along the way, but Audition is mostly told from Aoyama's point of view and he tends to be blinded to most of the situation by his obsession with Yamasaki Asami. The narrator does occasionally let something slip through, almost explicitly directing comments toward the reader which I found to be disconcerting and inconsistent with the rest of the book. Generally, the writing is sparse and direct and while not exactly crude it can be rather blunt. Aoyama himself at times comes across as somewhat of a jerk, but I still liked him and ultimately found him to be a sympathetic character. I particularly enjoyed his easy relationship with his teenage son Shige (who I also liked quite a bit). Overall, I found Audition to be an absorbing albeit uncomfortable read (it really is horror, after all) and I'm interested in trying some of Murakami's other books and films. Experiments in Reading

[raistlinsshadow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Now, I came into this book knowing how it was going to go (or at least with a rough idea) because I'd watched the movie with some friends about a year ago. I knew there was a twist, which was great, but I'd forgotten what it was, and oh was it fantastic. Receiving this book through Early Reviewers made me absurdly excited because I'd liked the movie so much—but I digress.I wish I knew Japanese so that I could read it in the original language, but this seemed like a wonderfully well-done translation. It was a very tight storyline and the writing style was thoroughly enjoyable. There were only a few parts where it was obvious that it was a translation—the writing slipped a few times where it seemed like there was a word that simply may not have translated well from Japanese. But overall, it's flowing and easy to read.Murakami does a good job of building tension in spite of the readers' knowledge that there's going to be a twist. Once it gets going, it's a thrilling ride to the conclusion; I'll freely admit that the last half of it only took me about an hour to read because it was so enthralling. He has a gift for description and making the reader uncomfortable in an interesting fashion. I read this right after finishing something by Palahniuk, and the styles are relatively similar. Palahniuk, however, is much more into the shock factor, whereas Murakami seems to be able to play it off as something that's really just quite ordinary, which is admirable in someone who writes in this particular genre of outré fiction.

[ansate · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Perhaps I've been reading a bit too much of the other famous Murakami, but the tone at the beginning led me in utterly the wrong direction - which worked WONDERFULLY for springing the gotcha on me.It's definitely a thriller. I can imagine it easily as a movie. I'd love to see the English version made by Tarantino. It's a little slow to start, but since it's so short, that's not a big deal. I wish the characters were more likable, but that would have changed the tenor of the story. It does a great job of telling the story it wants to, and it doesn't give away too much too fast. The tone changes with the gotcha, but I think that worked well. It's a well done little piece of literature, but the hook of characterization isn't there for me, so I can't rate it higher than a 4.

[krakmunky69 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Received this through the early reviewer program. Before i go into the review i do have to say that i saw this movie a few years back and am a big fan of the movie and it's director takashi miike, because of this it can be a little hard not to compare the two. Going into this book already knowing the base story and especially the sucker punch of an ending did take some of the pleasure out of it. But in the book the characters are more fleshed out and you do feel more of a connection with the main character where in the movie he wasn't as sympathetic. The translation is good, not perfect but better than most. Overall it's a good quick read (took me about 2 hours to read it all) that is worth your time if you haven't seen the movie or if you are a fan of the movie and want more of the main characters story. But you will probably enjoy this more going into it blind and not knowing how it ends because the last chapter is really what the whole story is built around.

[orangewords · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An interesting book. I saw the movie before reading the book, (gasp!), but feel that I can be forgiven for that faux pas because the English translation is only now being published.The book was far more enjoyable than the movie, in my opinion. Murakami's descriptions are wonderful, and simply didn't translate as well in the film version. That being said, I found the ending to be incredibly abrupt and very strange, which was the impression I took away from my prior cinematic experience.In short, this is an enjoyable, though very strange, read.

[titania86_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Audition is at first a romance. Aoyama, a widower, decides get remarried after many years of being alone and raising his son. His friend comes up with the idea of creating a movie that will probably never be made to host an audition. Then Aoyama can specify what kind of woman he wants and have his choice in that group. It's a bit misogynistic, but sounds like a typical sweet romance set up. Aoyama meets Asami, a former ballerina with a melancholy air about her. They go on a few dates and then she disappears. This is also when the novel descends into madness.I love Takashi Miike's film adaptation of Audition, so I was really excited when I found out it was finally translated into English. I thought it was interesting that the book excelled where the movie failed and vice versa. In the first fifteen pages in the book, the reader knows more about Aoyama and his family than in the entire movie. Giving Aoyama a realistic background endeared him to me and made me forgive his shortcomings more than in the film. The courtship between Asami and Aoyama was much more interesting and believable in the novel. There were many more dates than in the film and it involved more normal conversation, plus Aoyama fussing about what to do like a teenage boy. The first three quarters of the film were extremely boring, but provided a great contrast to the last quarter of the film. The only thing I'm going to say about the ending of the story is that the film was much better and much more effective. I wish I could combine the good parts of both versions of the story.Overall, the book was very good. The crazy ending seems pretty out of the blue and abrupt, unlike the film, which has more of a lead into it. I loved the fleshing out of all the characters into people I can relate to and care about. I would especially recommend this book to fans of the film.