Reading is my ESCAPE from Reality!

It was human nature to want to know what was around the next corner, regardless of what might await you.

- Chapter 4

 

Death isn't picky, doesn't play favorites. It doesn't care in which country you were born or how much money you had amassed in your brief existence or how happy you are. It's supremely patient and rightly so, for it knows you can't escape its reach.

- Chapter 27

 

An English teacher in Japan, off with his friends and his girlfriend, to climb Mt. Fuji. The weather intervenes, so as an alternative, they decide to camp overnight in Aokigahara, also known as Suicide Forest. I'm sure you're thinking, "Wow, that's a great idea!" Well, turns out that camping in Suicide Forest is not the best idea. In my opinion, Honda is the only smart one as he refused to go camping there.

How many people die, how many survive, is it really ghosts that are after them? You will have to read the book to find out. The book is creepy and suspenseful. It didn't keep me from sleeping at night, but not much does. I think reading Stephen King as a teenager made me sort of immune to scary stories...

I did enjoy the book, even though some of the decisions made by the characters were a bit suspect. But, I can't imagine what I would feel if I was lost in a dense forest (nicknamed Suicide Forest) with no way out.

I found the villians a bit unbelievable and might have preferred a different ending, but a good book anyway.

I read this for the "In the Dark, Dark Woods" square for Halloween Bingo. Since 90% of the action takes place in a very creepy forest, I think it fits.