“Je t’aime”
— 14/08/2022 —
Good day ladies and gents of Karakura High (and Community College), Etsuko Saito here back again reporting to you with a new series I have decided to start. In this series, I will be going through the large collection of books generously available on our library shelves. I will be reviewing the books, sharing what I like and dislike about each one and giving them my own personal rating. If you couldn’t guess by me becoming a journalist, I am a bit of a bookworm, so I thought this would be something fun and time consuming for me to do. I will warn you, there may be spoilers ahead so read with caution if you plan to read any of these novels yourself and are avoiding any spoilers.
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I am starting off this series with the book that came first in the book competition held by Karakura High. This novel is named “Till Death”, written by Mikhail “Rei” Seong. This book’s genres are as follows: fiction, mystery and horror. When I first picked up this book, I was blown away by how lengthy the story was. This was unusual for library books in Karakura. However I can definitely vouch for the author when I say that you won’t find this difficult or boring to read at all. I was immediately hooked by the writer within the first few lines of the novel. This book is written from the perspective of a character named Sylvain. I enjoy the way the author fully throws us into the mind of this student, a calmer and ordinary character compared to a friend of theirs. Clovis is the second character we meet, the chirpy and excitable bestfriend of Sylvain who has a fixation for an on-going crime case. This highlights one of the main genres for this novel: horror. Clovis talks about how this murderer/stalker creeps upon their victim via three gifts before their slaughter. Whilst this tale intrigues Clovis, Sylvain is not so interested. I really enjoyed Clovis’ personality throughout the chapters, and would honestly love a friend like this myself. I am also one for being invested in crime cases so this introduction to the story really spoke to me. We also meet another side-character, Christophe. I will be honest, the first time I heard all of their names I was very conflicted on how I was going to remember them all. You would definitely not find their names on the one hundred most common names in Japan list! Christophe asks for help with literature from the two other students, which they agree to do at Sylvain’s home.
We are swiftly led onto the second chapter, this story containing ten in total. Whilst Christophe and Clovis make themselves comfortable in Sylvain’s home, bickering back and forth over a book, Sylvain goes to put his stuff away. An envelope is found in the inside of their bag, which read: “Dearest Sylvain, I’ve had my eye on you for a long time now. My deepest apologies for the wait. You see, I could never find a good time to give you this letter. Think of it as a token of my undying admiration when you accept your first gift from me. Till Death Do Us Part, Je t’aime.” I really enjoyed the subtle hints of horror lurking within the message given to Sylvain, it really sets the tone for how sick whoever wrote it really is. Although Sylvain believes it is a cruel joke planted by their bestfriend, it is revealed that it is in fact, not a prank.
Throughout the next few chapters more hints, gifts and conversations are revealed. One specific hint being the book. The book Clovis and Christophe had been arguing about had ended up being one of the parting gifts to Sylvain. This sets him into utter paranoia, rightfully so. I had my own suspicion of who the murderer could be however I could never myself put all of the clues together during my first read of the novel. As we reach the last chapter, Clovis and Sylvain retreat to home, where another twist is added. A confession, a love confession. One that completely blinds Sylvain’s view on the situation and does not help the paranoia that built over the two days they had left. I found this scene actually heartbreaking, as I myself was starting to question Clovis’ intentions which made me feel even worse after the ending was revealed. Utter shock and sorrow took over me, such a thrilling tale and I fully believe this deserved first place, despite me not reading the other two podium placer’s books yet. I won’t completely spoil the ending, if you want to find out what happens next I recommend heading to the library and picking up a copy for yourself.
Overall, I’d rate this book a ten out of ten. It had really good pacing, and didn’t rush into the climax of the novel. I enjoyed the characters and their different personalities. I believe it is so easy to write the same character over and over with simply different names or faces. This author did a really good job of bringing the story to a close, despite its sad ending. The title of the book is a clever hint in itself and I highly suggest you go and read this book yourself. That is all I have for you today. I hope all of the bookworms of Karakura find this article and give it a read if you haven’t already. I hope to see you in the next one! This was Etsuko Saito reporting and signing out.
