Goth

There are a few misleading things about this book to get out of the way first.The structure: This is not a novel. This book consists of short stories with a central unnamed narrator (for the most part) who, along with one other character are a part of every story in some way. The description on the back of the book is HIGHLY misleading, as it only describes the first story. It was a little confusing for me, so hopefully that helps other people!The title: I'm just going to let you know the title doesn't really have anything to do with the book. It is mentioned in one of the stories that one of the central characters dresses in the goth style (black clothes, heavy eyeliner, pale skin—you know the type) but other than that, it really is just a cool title, and honestly, a misuse of the term. The author even quips about it in his afterword, which I highly recommend reading.Now, let's get down to the good stuff. This is a disturbingly creepy book. For the most part, the reader is inside the mind of an unnamed narrator who is obviously a sociopath with strange, violent fantasies. He has a fascination with the dark and macabre, to the point of starting his own amateur investigations into the strange murders, missing pets, and other weird happenings that go on in his town.Sometimes involving the strange girl in class that no one wants to be friends with and sometimes investigating on his own, this narrator has a knack for uncovering other people's weird and dark secrets. But he doesn't want to turn them into the police or really get too involved at all. Instead, he just wants to know the truth or even mess with the person who thinks their darkness is a secret.The cold almost clinical way the narrator views the horrific scenes he encounters creates a stark contrast between expectation and reality. To the reader, it is crazy and gruesome, but to him, it is like watching insects in a glass jar—even as he grapples with serial killers.Otsuichi's writing (and/or the translation) is very clean, not a lot of fluff or overwrought detail. He gets right to the point with clear descriptions of what is going on, and that clarity makes it all the more terrifying.Each story has a mystery element and I enjoyed trying to unravel exactly what was going on, trying to stay one step ahead of the creepy narrator. I never knew how he was going to react to situations, so that made him an even more unlikely antihero.What is interesting is that unlike a lot (or maybe all?) of the J-horror I've read before this, there is nothing supernatural at play in these stories. And what's worse? Imagining that the girl rising up out of the well might actually crawl through your television (unlikely, though still scary) or a real-life psycho like the many between these pages?I don't want to give away any specifics, but one of the reasons I found it so fascinating and terrifying is that sometimes you know the reason behind the horrible actions that people enact on others and sometimes the reason is never revealed—or maybe there isn't one.To me, that's scarier.An interesting book psychologically and viscerally.One trigger warning: one of the stories does include violence toward animals, but that was honestly probably my favorite story. It is narrated in part by a dog and I found it really interesting to think about the different perspectives. It was reminiscent of Ken Greenhall's Hell Hound.

Otsuichi is a genius writer, but I was truly able to properly enjoy Goth thanks to a great translation. A wonderful experience reading it.Even though the author claims this is a mystery light novel, I think these short stories about the protagonist pair is a very solid novel by itself and very worthy of praise.I bought a copy of the manga adaptation several years ago and found myself reading it time and time again, but it never occurred to me it was an adaptation until I stumbled upon the name of the author here in goodreads.*I'll try to avoid spoilers about the story of characters, but due to the nature of the book you may want to avoid reading the following.*I also share the same kind of fascination for death and the grotesque that the main characters show, and also was able to identify with their personalities.Otsuichi is very good at giving that last turn of the screw to the story and twisting the mystery as much as possible. Also tries to empathize with the motives and nature of psychopaths, so the reader doesn't find themselves taking sides during the development of the story.The use of different narrators also plays an important part, little details will trick the reader into thinking the narrator is one character in particular.Also, I highly recommend reading the epilogues written by the author in both volumes of the bunko edition, since he will give further details about Goth.There's also a bonus story, found in the second volume of the bunko edition and at ＧＯＴＨ番外篇　森野は記念写真を撮りに行くの巻, which I believe may have inspired part of the story for the video game Life is Strange.

The book starts off with a promising plot but the suspense ends at right where it begins as there is no story arc. The characters are shallow and the pace of the stories is awkward. It often ends in anti- climax. The writing style is bland , with overused of the passive voice which makes reading frustrating and tiresome. Besides that, the writer often flips back and forth between first person and third person narration, which adds to the confusion in an already convoluted plot. I gave up reading after completing 80% of the book as I felt it wasn't worth my time to finish a lousy book. You have been warned.

I have been reading quite a few Japanese authors recently. They're all good in their own way - but Otsuichi is one of the best writers I've ever come across in my life. I've read "Zoo" and "Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse" as well - "Black Fairy Tale" (included in "Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse") is one of the best things I've ever read. But "Goth" - omg, I wanted to read it again the minute I finished it!! And the addition of a short story (using one of the main characters from the novel) at the end was like icing on the perfect cake. My ONLY problem with Otsuichi is that his other books aren't yet available in English - I want to read everything this man writes. He's my new favorite author - and it would take an amazing writer to knock him out of that position.I'm an old dog, so new tricks are difficult for me - but if I could, I would learn to read Japanese JUST to read the rest of Otsuichi's books!!!

There are several ways you can approach this particular piece of literature- perhaps, like myself, you read the short manga adaptation or watched the film adaptation (separately or both) but regardless of whether you are familiar with the material's prior adaptations this original source material does hold strongly independent from them both.It is an intense read from an un-empathetic and classically sociopathic narrative as we follow the narrator and his companion Morino Yoru in their interest in the macabre and pursuing killers, not to stop them but more to observe and gain greater perspective on their actions. Each chapter contains a new killer being the protagonist's focus to unravel, the elaborate methods of killing and seemingly senseless yet precise measure all reminds me now of NBC's Hannibal adaptation- in that while the story can at times feel grounded in reality it is also very fantastical, like reading a grim highschool melodrama led by two sociopaths or reading up on urban legends. While I've seen this aspect being criticized I would highly encourage readers to consult the afterword to understand that this feeling was intentional on the author's behalf and should be read with that in mind, but to be fair life can at times be stranger than fiction and for however elaborate the character's actions and motivations are I'm sure you'll find something mirroring it in real-life.Overall this is a very intriguing read, perhaps aimed for a more younger teenage audience if they have the stomach for it, it is not a story that you can easily immerse yourself in given the cold nature of the narrator however it is a well crafted piece of storytelling worth the read if you are intrigued by it's premise.

A pesar de estar en inglés es bastante sencillo de leer. Y se convirtió en uno de mis libros favoritos.La trama se desenvuelve de manera magistral, las sorpresas son verdaderas sorpresas pero sin estar injustificada, en este sentido es sencillamente el mejor libro de misterio que he leído. Generalmente los libros de misterios se mantienen bajo ciertas reglas, el misterio está contenido dentro de la historia sin vincularse con las palabras como tales o cómo se proporciona la información, en este caso la forma tiene tanto valor como el fondo. Los personajes resultan extrañamente atractivos.Cuidado, eso sí, porque es un libro fuerte y violento, que coquetea directamente con la sociopatia.

In the afterword the author says he has no idea why the japanese editor decided to make this book into two. Well, this english edition would certainly make him happy.GOTH is about two high school students with somewhat of a taste for grotesque murders, each for it's own reason. Despite the fact that there is a abnormally high concentration of brutal serial killers on the same neighborhood, the story is really good and well written. I did not see the original japanese text, but the translation is coherent and I noticed just some little misstyping errors, so it can be considered a good work. A hardcover edition would be wonderfull, but this brochure edition is also very nice.If you don't have the stomach to read about corpses and, well, parts of it, maybe this is not for you. If you have nothing against it, go for it. Otsuichi knows what he is doing and there are some really awesome developments, even if you already read the manga adaptation.

Inquietante e simpatico, un divertissement macabro e aggraziato che non si prende troppo sul serio, una lettura fresca e godibilissima

Demorou um pouco, mas minha filha adorou, é o que ela queria