When Koji Suzuki wrote “Ring,” the novel behind the film that brought the J-horror genre to the world, he apparently had a baby in his lap, and he went on to write not only horror fiction but also parenting books. “Death and the Flower” brings these two sides together nicely.
The six short stories are united by themes of family and of fear. The world is full of threat when you are responsible for a child’s life, and so Suzuki’s characters — a father who learns the peril of risk when he cheats death in a road accident, a helpless husband who frets nervously over erratic hospital equipment as his pregnant wife lies comatose, a dad whose joy in his children only exacerbates the loss he feels for their dead mother — illustrate just how fragile family can feel.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.