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(3.62/5)What to expect of a supernatural prophecy?
Most parts of the story are easy to guess a few sections earlier. Also, what are supernaturalness supposed to feel? Too contrary to readers' image?
Well, I can empathize when reading the author's note.
A little complaint about the audio (Audible), SFX's are too cheaply made. Just simply words, and not so tonal nor piercing.
Content warnings: Murder, suicide
General plot: A group of people go to an island where it is prophesied that 6 people will die on a certain date.
Language learning: There is a LOT of dialectical speech in this book and also a pretty wide stretch of vocabulary. Perhaps if you, for some reason or another, are already quite familiar with the dialects in use, the rating will kick down a notch or two for you - but for the average learner who is mostly reading and hearing Tokyo Japanese it will be more difficult.
Review: Overall I enjoyed this book. The pacing could be better and it never did seem to decide if it wanted to be horror, mystery, or drama. I think it would have been better if it committed to two and left the other a bit, all three ended up leaving each a bit wanting.
There is a big twist at the end of the book, but like omk3, I didn't think it held the punch it was intended to. I've seen similar twists executed better.
All this said it was still a good read, I finished it eagerly to know the conclusion, and would recommend it without qualms because as far as mystery/horror goes the list of content warnings is pretty small!
This book is advertised as immediately needing a second reading the moment you finish, and it is in fact true: the end will make you want to go back and find all the little hints you missed, and all the little hints you caught but dismissed. Unless you feel a bit cheated by the ending, like I did - which is why the book is 4 stars instead of 5.
Because otherwise it was a really good read. For the whole duration of the book, I wasn't sure whether it was a mystery or horror book I was reading, but it was certainly intriguing. And there was unexpected depth to the story - although not necessarily in the places I was expecting. I read it for the cheap thrills of a good summer horror book, but I ended up learning some new things, and thinking more about some others. Was it horror after all? The jury is still out, but there was certainly suspense, and it was certainly entertaining.
There is quite a lot of dialogue in dialect, if you're bothered by this sort of thing, but otherwise I don't think it presents many language difficulties.
方言の島 - A good book ruined by it's ending.
So, after reading the other reviews, I get why this book is not easy to rate. Let's start with the language. The book is probably a solid L34 vocabulary wise, but I certainly get why it is L37 at the time of writing this review. The Kansai dialect is omnipresent, and it can be confusing if you are not familiar with it.
Now, as for the content… well, I think the book was engaging almost from the start. In fact, if we exclude the last 30 pages or so, I would have given the book a generous 5★. However, as the advertising says, there is a "plot twist". Or that was the idea of the writer, to include a final plot twist, in the usual sense of the term. Sadly, instead of a plot twist the author ended up just twisting it's own plot. In fact, the plot was twisted so badly that the ending can be confusing (I've read some Japanese reviewers being as confused as I was).
Yes, I get that when reading the book again you will certainly find clues here and there and bla bla bla, but the whole situation is just ridiculous, and I refuse to accept that the rest of the characters (or anyone) would even act so oblivious about it, much more so when being in such a stressful life-or-death situation.
So, given this, ¿what do I do with a 5★ book with a 1★ ending?
(5★+1★)/2 = 3★.