Issue 153

Book Review: In Search of a Distant Voice

26th February 2007

In Search of a Distant Voice, focussing on haunted immigration officer Tsuneo, is Yamada's second novel, following on from the allegedly spooky Strangers. There are good points and bad points about In Search of a Distant Voice and it's only fair to list the good points first. a) It's an enjoyable read. b) It's short. Easily readable in a few hours, it makes the perfect pass-time for the long train journey home between terms and, hardly tough-going, it doesn't require a break halfway through to look at the pictures in Heat.

In all available press, Yamada is painted as a master of Japanese horror writing. He's the creator of subtle, eerie stories, tingling with that old favourite - 'atmosphere'. In reality, the moments of tension lumbered towards with the introduction of a tragic, disembodied voice and impromptu orgasms in the graveyard (yes, impromptu orgasms in the graveyard) read more like the kind of potboilers Stephen King would write in between flashes of Carrie- and The Shining-style genius.

The utterly forgettable subplot about Tsuneo's time in America serves only to make Tsuneo into a complex, depressed, possibly homosexual (he just can't make his mind up) character - gosh, he's deep. The one truly spine-tingling concept, the suggestion that a myriad of friends and relations may have been providing information about Tsuneo is dropped within a chapter and Yamada's simple, detached writing style starts to come across as painfully trite by about the third chapter. With plot twists reminiscent of a slow train visible from a mile down the track, Yamada' novel holds no surprises for the hardened horror reader.

By all means read In Search of a Distant Voice, it's a good distraction from that essay for a few hours, but don't expect to be sleeping with the light on and for God's sake read some King when you're done.

Holly Thomas