The Elocutioner Reviews: "Now You're One Of Us" Written By: Asa Nonami
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Although Nonami's macabre thriller was a bestseller in Japan, and the author was won multiple prizes in her native country, American readers may well wonder what the fuss was all about. New bride Noriko is adjusting to her new life as a member of her husband Kazuhito Shito's large family, when she's accosted by a merchant who rents property from the Shitos. The merchant makes an oblique comment before fleeing. The brief, if unsettling, encounter achieves more prominence for Noriko after she learns that the man and his family died in a propane explosion, and she eavesdrops on a conversation that suggests her in-laws were complicit in the tragedy. The plot device of a naïve woman gradually becoming more and more isolated as she's drawn into the suffocating embrace of a sinister family is a familiar one to those who've either read Rosemary's Baby or seen the movie, and Nonami fails to offer anything new to the theme. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
My Review Of "Now You're One Of Us"
I have to say, I absolutely could not put this book down once I started reading it! I love Asa Nonami's writing style, a kind of no-nonsense attitude while still giving all the information you need to fully understand what's going on. I was entirely consumed by this book while I read it, and then I made my husband read it as well and he is saying the same thing! You can almost feel yourself being pulled along with Noriko as she stumbles deeper and deeper into her new husband's family's web, and the story is so believable that it actually scares you. And that's the thing, this book isn't scary in the traditional sense. There are no monsters, ghosts or stalkers with knives, just this group of people who are so warm and welcoming... Who also seem to be hiding something. Nothing is revealed to you entirely until the author is ready for you to know it, and it is absolutely written in such a way that you can believe every single thing that happens is not only possible, but that it has likely happened in real life. And that is truly scary!
My opinion Of "Now You're One Of Us"
Honestly, I have to say that I fully enjoyed this book from cover to cover, and I would not change a single thing about it! I will be keeping an eye out for more of Asa Nonami's work in the future to be sure!
10/10 Skulls! I recommend this book whole heartedly to anyone who enjoys suspense and the creepiness of what one human being can do to another without even drawing a drop of blood!
The information below was taken from the Amazon listing for this book.
About the Author
Asa Nonami is one of Japan's most popular and versatile authors, with dozens of bestselling novels across various genres to her credit. Her acute and accessible critiques of Japanese society have won her the heartfelt support of women in particular. She won the first annual Japan Mystery Suspense Award for debut talent in 1988 and the prestigious Naoki Prize for excellence in popular fiction in 1996.
Review
“This pulpy family psychodrama is hugely entertaining – like watching some filmed version of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test from an adapted screenplay by Mario Puzo and directed by Yasujiro Ozu.” — Time Asia “Asa Nonami's NOW YOU'RE ONE OF US does for marriage what "Jaws" did for a day at the beach, and males and females alike will surly get a chill out of it.” — Fearsmag.com “No unearthly monsters. No ghosts. No curses. Not even a single drop of blood decorates these pages. The tropes of traditional, Western horror are completely ignored in this Japanese novel, and yet it evokes a sense of dread which is nothing less than genuinely disturbing.”- HorrorReader
