Twists and turns lead to murder

Once, while on an aeroplane, I was sitting by the emergency exit. Mid-flight, I started to think about what would happen if I tried to open the door.

There was an information sheet about the door in the compartment in front of me. No other passengers or staff near me. I had no reason to open the door, so I didn't and I was soon thinking of other things.

In Ryu Murakami's novel, Kawashima Masayuki does not have the luxury of distractions. Each night, he delays going to bed, on the pretense of work pressures - he is a successful graphic designer.

When his wife is asleep, Masayuki gets an ice pick out from the kitchen drawer. He sits beside his baby and hopes that the desire to stab her will not become too strong.

Our man has previous. Ten years ago, in another relationship, he stabbed a woman with an ice pick. She did not press charges.

Masayuki is not beyond the stage of logical reasoning, so he decides to stab someone else instead.

He decides upon attacking a prostitute, someone who might not be missed, hoping to find a situation that will allow him to escape the clutches of justice.

Piercing is the story of Masayuki's attempt to find a woman to kill, as he details his preparations. It also entwines the narrative of his victim, Sanada Chiaki, a survivor of child abuse by her father.

Like a sharp instrument plunged into a body, this story twists and turns.

Murakami's works each have their own dream-like qualities and, despite the detail, this one is no nightmare.

The words flow gently and sympathetically across the page, culminating in an act of piercing that satisfactorily concludes this tome.

JEZ SMITH