I didn’t think I was spooked by The Graveyard Apartment. I really didn’t.
Then I had a dream that I was trying to herd my Japanese family (which I don’t have) out of our high-rise apartment building (which I don’t live in) that’s teeming with ghosts.
THAT’S when I knew this intensely creepy, Japanese horror story had really gotten to me.
It’s easy to understand why. The sense of dread and unease that permeates the The Graveyard Apartment stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page. This is the kind of scary book I love most: the kind that makes you jump at every little sound, that urges you to check over your shoulder for things you know probably aren’t there. It’s really hard to pull your head out of the terrifying world that the Kano family becomes trapped in.
I couldn’t read this book quickly enough. No matter what I did, the lure of The Graveyard Apartment called me back with its haunting refrain. Pick me up. Read me. Scare the living f*ck out of yourself.
In my opinion, no one does horror quite like the Japanese. Take the movie The Ring, for example. Shutter is another good one. And, we all know how The Grudge made me afraid of small Asian boys for life. Up until now, though, I’ve only watched Japanese horror movies. So, it was a real treat to read a Japanese horror novel.
The premise of The Graveyard Apartment is admittedly familiar: a nice, happy family moves into a new home and, right away, creepy things start to happen. Neighbors and friends warn you about where you live, but you ignore them, along with your own instincts about what may be going on around you. Everything escalates until BOOM! You got yourself a bonified haunting and everyone’s traumatized.
The second half of the book gets seriously weird, and, as one back cover blurb promises, the last 30 or so pages are unbelievably intense. We’re talking “hold-your-breath-and-pray-like-hell” intense. The anxiety and terror are palpable as the characters fight for their lives against supernatural entities, and the book actually starts to take on a psychological thriller aspect. It reminded me a little bit of The Cabin at the End of the World – though, make no mistake: it’s the paranormal causing chaos in this book, not deranged humans.
I applaud the author’s Hitchcockian technique of never revealing the demons terrorizing the Kano family. You get tidbits here and there – ghostly handprints, weird black blobs, disembodied voices and laughter – but your imagination is left to wildly speculate, which of course makes everything scarier.
All you’re allowed to see of these demons is what they do. What they allow, and what they don’t allow. The fact that these beings are sentient is deeply unnerving, and it gets worse when you realize that they’re playing a disturbing cat-and-mouse game that can really only end one way. It’s downright diabolical, and it’s a brilliant twist on the haunted house trope.
A lot of other book reviewers ripped The Graveyard Apartment apart because of the writing, but I actually think the writing is very good. Some of the language is a bit formal and stilted, but I think that’s due to a faithful translation into English from Japanese. I thought the different way of speaking enhanced the events in the novel – here you have this civilized, clear-headed family, and they’re plunged into mind-bending, otherworldly turmoil. The juxtaposition is great.
This book, written by Mariko Koike, was originally published in Japanese in 2006, and then translated into English by Deborah Boliver Boehm. While I suspect a few things are edited to conform to a Western audience, a lot of the speech, customs, geography, and beliefs are Japanese, which makes for a really immersive reading experience.
If you’re a fan of supernatural horror, The Graveyard Apartment should absolutely be on your TBR list. It’s right up there with some of the scariest books I’ve read. However, a small warning: you may want to skip this one if you’re claustrophobic. Just trust me. This story won’t do anything to help you overcome your phobia.
Be sure to check back in for my book-inspired reicpe: Veggie Soba Noodle Bowls!
