HALF-DROWNED HOUND

Birthday

Birthday is a collection of three short stories: Coffin in the Sky, Lemon Heart, and Happy Birthday.

Coffin in the Sky:

Lemon Heart: I was really, really looking forward to a story with a Sadako POV ... annnnd then it didn't have a Sadako POV. Which is fine, I guess, but still a disappointment.

Happy Birthday: While the Ring series has its problematic aspects, Happy Birthday is the only entry that made me truly go "wow, that is fully incompatible with my morals". I'm sorry, man, but I really can't root for the destruction of an entire group of people (the Sadako clones) based off of the circumstances of their birth. Why is Suzuki expecting me to approve of ... I mean, I guess I'd have to call it genocide, as much as i hate to sling such a serious word around? I dunno. Maybe I'm just too sensitive for stories about onryō. (Well, I guess Sadako's not an onryō in the books, but you know what I mean.) Anyway, the rest of it was kinda just "meh", so. 2/5 Stars.

Final rating: 3/5 Stars