Death and The Flower

by Kōji Suzuki

Death and the Flower is a collection of six short stories centered on the themes of family and peril. The title is derived from a Keith Jarrett album of the same name.

Setting a precarious tone reminiscent more of The Spirit of the Beehive than his own mold-busting Ring trilogy, Death and the Flower may be horror-master Koji Suzuki’s most personal offering in English yet. Skirting genre expectations—even as revised by the author—and thus often overseen, all six of the tales herein are available in English for the first time.

In the longest of the stories, “Beyond the Darkness,” a couple with a baby daughter realizes that saving up and moving into a brand-new apartment does not mean that they have shaken off a vicious prank-caller. In “Disposable Diapers and a Race Replica,” a sporty father who is barely making ends meet by tutoring comes by some verities in exchange for a brush with death. In “Key West,” a young girl on a tourist trip with her daddy sees things recede that shouldn’t.

Common to the stories is a resilient affirmation of the place of family in our quest to wrest meaning from the maws of an unkind world. Predating the horror-themed collection Dark Water, whose title story inspired major motion pictures on both sides of the Pacific, Death and the Flower was Koji Suzuki’s first book of short stories.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Japanese Literature, Contemporary, Japan

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1995

About the author

Suzuki Kōji (鈴木光司) is a Japanese writer, who was born in Hamamatsu and currently lives in Tokyo. Suzuki is the author of the Ring novels, which has been adapted into a manga series. He has written several books on the subject of fatherhood. He is currently on the selection committee for the Japan Fantasy Novel Award.

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long before Suzuki became world-famous with Ring, he was a househusband and primary caregiver for their two daughters while his wife worked outside the home. That experience informs the six stories of this collection, published in Japan in 1995 but not in the U.S. until this year.

While the metaphor of a DNA double helix in one story points toward an interest further developed in his Ring trilogy, there's only a nod to the fantastical in this collection -- a possessed ICU respirator in one story and in another a family suitcase that walks away on its own -- elements that reflect the anxiety of an expectant father for his hospitalized wife and that of a widowed father of an adolescent girl. The theme of borders fits all the stories in one way or another, especially the thin boundary between violence and pacifism, and life and death.

I've heard it said that the two strongest stories of a collection should be the first and last. That's not the case here, as those two are the weakest as far as the writing goes (though some of that may be due to translation choices); but as an introduction and conclusion to the collection's overall theme, those two are the best choices. I was despairing of the superfluity in the last story until the startling, almost Flannery O'Connor-like, ending had me completely rethinking the story, thus deepening the impact of the whole collection.

[trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! The last story "Avidya" kind of wandered around at first, but then had the biggest plot twist EVER...oh boy, that was a fun dark ending for this collection!!! "Beyond the Darkness" was very exciting, too, and I liked how the first and last stories tie the collection together, just like Suzuki's other story collection "Dark Water" (which I DO prefer to this earlier collection, though it was still a decent read overall.) The second story "Irregular Breathing" felt unfinished, but the other 5 stories stood well on their own.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing! Possibly the best book I've read so far this year. Death and the Flower is a collection of six short stories about parenthood

I didn't realize that was the theme until I started reading. I'm glad I didn't know before hand because as I'm not a parent myself, it didn't seem like it would be interesting to me.
However, the author is extremely imaginative and each story touches on deep themes like justice, the family unit, and spirituality.

I think my favorite story was Key West, in which a man who is on a road trip with his daughter, decides to swim to a nearby island. A close second was Embrace, which featured a new mom and her deaf daughter.

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

grammar:
p76: "You're the one who used to called me...."

lost in translation:
p136: Fujimura's car had left no streaks on the road prior to crossing over the center line and slamming head-first into an oncoming truck.

Koji's scientific know-how show once again on Irregular Breathing. Could have been gleaned researching the Ring novels so far or he does have some sort of medical background.

Favorites are Disposable Diapers and a Race Replica and Beyond the Darkness.

[J.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six lovely and touching stories focused on parents and children, highlighted with a tincture of danger and a dollop of magic.

[Rebeca F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book and because of that I feel it's unfair of me to write a review that I'm aware won't make it justice but I'm not sure when I'll be able to commit myself wholeheartedly to anything although it seems it won't be soon and this one has waited enough already.
I'm not a short story person, which is funny because I've been reading a lot of collections like that lately, but I think this one of my favorites so far. Suzuki's just brilliant. I had read other works by him but this one is different as he's always been catalogued as an horror author and that's what I had read so far, however, even though this book is still deeply unsettling, it never crosses the boundary to straight out horror. And I think this is amazing. I think this is the kind of genre I like the most, when things seem so normal and daily yet you can catch glimpses of that which lays waiting on the darkness, just at the reach of our hand, those tiny cracks on the surface of the most harmless reality that hint at the horror that's just there a tiny bit deeper, always living with us.
These short stories are wonderfully written and they're disturbing and yet hopeful and kind at the same time. Some are pretty touching and they all focus, sort of, on family and daily circunstantes and affections and at the same time, they all allow us that glimpse into the darkness. There's a short afterword by the author saying life's like that, with ugliness and evil in it, and we shouldn't be naive to ignore that, yet we shouldn't avoid it because of that, it should be embraced with its highlights and deep shadows. I loved that.

[Jaret Ferratusco · Rating 5 out of 5]

'"Only a peaceful and safe world is worth living in"—far too many seem to think so. Even when wrongs proliferate or death approaches, the world is worth it, and I hope to always live by that.'

This collection of six stories from Koji Suzuki is weirdly life-affirming, and my life might be different for a while after reading it. In a world of hustle and bustle, trying to connect with ourselves and each other, we too often get wound up in our own philosophies without taking care to note the broad existence of others also plays a part of how we must live this life. This is the poetry of pain and humility in society, treading through the mire in a search for something to hold onto.

Read this book.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read Kōji Suzuki before, and it was only once I picked this up that I realised he's the author of the Ring novels, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going into this. It's labelled as 'horror' here on Goodreads, but it's not the sort of supernatural horror you might expect from him. This anthology contains six well-written short stories rooted in the joys and fears of parenthood and family. There was something quite odd and unsettling about a couple of the stories (particularly Key West and Avidya), but the main focus was definitely on parenthood, and the fears that often accompany it. The writing style was simple but very impactful, so I'll definitely be checking out more from this author, especially his renowned horror stories!

[Natsu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death and the Flower by Koji Suzuki

It consists of 6 (not-so)-short stories. The story is all about unfortunate events happening to people, so it's not much of a horror story. But most of it were about this 'young reckless energy' of men, I don't know how to phrase it in English xD
From a random urge to do dangerous thing to a seriously fatal prank.

Don't expect to get a climax or twist on this tho. The story was all like peeking at a stranger's part of life. Like riding a bus then the man sitting beside you just randomly telling you a part of his life. It's as short as the bus ride, and sometimes you don't get the full story.

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehh, 2.5.

I love Suzuki, but this just wasn't it. A few interesting passages and twists in these stories, but on the whole I didn't really enjoy them. Certainly not enough to want to revisit them. Also, I can't help feeling that something was lost in translation here. The writing was so clunky it was painful to read at times. While Suzuki's other translated works are sometimes awkward in places, they've never been this bad. Perhaps a better translation could have saved these stories, but since I can't read the original Japanese I'll never know for sure.

[Michaela Piccolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really emotional and moving stories about the struggles of family life and what we do for our loved ones. A great collection.

[Raei · Rating 4 out of 5]

Na-challenge yung imagination ko dun, di na ako sanay 😂 pero yayyy finally enjoyed a Japanese-authored book. Also realized I missed reading suspense

[Kevin Barney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on these stories, you'd never guess that this is the guy who created The Ring movie series. Interesting, but not interesting enough to actually recommend.

[Andy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first story was so bad I couldn't even go on to the second. Calling it a story might actually be too generous. It is completely and totally without any purpose whatsoever.

[ポピ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Yasmine Vega Corrales · Rating 1 out of 5]

Heel vergeetbare short stories

[Gabbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this collection! I don't think I've read a collection of short stories or even a novel from the POV of a father ever - or if I have it's left little mark on my memory. I feel like besides each story featuring a specific father/husband, the main theme is "how far are you willing to go for your family?" Most of the men resort to violence of some kind, which isn't a super progressive portrayal of manliness, but I think in these stories it's different because the majority of the men are more "docile" or "domestic" since they take care of the house and most of the child-rearing. Someone deciding to be the caretaker of the family in a very nurturing role then being willing to throw it all away to protect your family or reunite with them is such a stark difference which I really enjoyed.

My favorite stories were the first and the last, partially because they center around the same family. I liked seeing how the narrator changed over the years between the two stories (around four years I think) and seeing what parts of him stayed the same. Without spoiling anything, seeing the father act one way for the whole story and for the last line to be wildly different was AWESOME.

I highly recommend that people try this book out if they can get their hands on a print copy or ebook. I ended up buying my own and I'm glad that I did because I'll definitely re-read this. I enjoyed reading a story collection from Suzuki that wasn't horror.

Date Read: 06/10/25 - 06/11/25


STORIES:
Disposable Diapers and a Race Replica - A man learns that riding home on a motorcycle with disposable diapers strapped to his bike could get him killed or save his life.

Irregular Breathing - While monitoring his wife on a ventilator, a man notices that the machine itself sounds like it is struggling to breathe.

Key West - After seeing an island he had painted from his own imagination, a man swims over to see what exists on the island.

Beyond the Darkness - Parents to a newborn discover that the wife's stalker has managed to find them at their new home.

Embrace - A newly single mother to a deaf baby has a date spend the night and they discuss their children.

Avidya - As his wife struggles to navigate on the remote mountain roads, a man reflects on his solo trips into nature until they discover the scene of a crime.

[Derek Vasconi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Koji Suzuki and just about everything he's ever put out. I think for me, this book is a nice treat from him, definitely well written, and has several genuine creepy moments in the short stories he offers in this book, of which there are plenty. I think for me, the only drawback is that something was off with the translation. I can't even put my finger on it, except maybe that in some places where a simple word could've described something, the translators seemed to pick an obscure word from a Thesaurus. A good example is this line from the story in the book that is VERY reminiscent of a certain psychological horror movie released in the US a few years back that starred a recently deceased American Comedian:

The Phone trilled.

Why not just write: The phone rang.

And it's a lot of little things like this that sort of build up to the point where I sometimes feel like I'm reading a college dissertation written by an over zealous student. I think when it comes to translations of Japanese works, either the translators get it right or they don't, and with this book, the translations of many of the lines in each story just sort of... get in the way. I hope that makes sense?

Aside from this, the actual stories themselves are typical Koji Suzuki. My favorite story so far is "Key West," as it captures a sense of sadness, fear, and a kind of predictability that you don't mind with the narrative because you are almost hoping it isn't true and when you find out that it is, you just start to shiver all over. This story also was one of the few in the book where the translation of it didn't make me roll my eyes.

Overall, a decent addition from the growing works we are getting translated from Koji Suzuki. I mean, sure, nothing will ever top Ringu, but if you are hungry for anything scary written by a Japanese author, you can never go wrong with Koji Suzuki.

[Kevin Dyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The long and short? This was a good read. Some stories in the sequence surpass others by a fair stretch, but even at the worst of the volume, Koji Suzuki is on point. Two stories in particular stand out as more than worth the price of admission ($20.95 in my case, for a hardcover edition); Key West, one of the most legitimately hair-raising stories I have ever ready; and Avidya, the collection's final, winding story. Both stories nail a single, resounding note of horror, but the fear Suzuki elicits is a far cry from the supernatural, paranormal, insanity prone heights of Ring, Spiral, or Loop. Rather, the fear is something grounded and real, and in that grounding, all the more terrifying.

Don't pick the volume up looking for something supernatural (as you'd expect, given Suzuki's other work), and don't pick it up expecting a long read. Instead, pick it up for six beautiful pieces wherein fear is human and real, and wherein Suzuki's ethos on family in modern Japan is placed front and center.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of short stories, although none of them (except for the last one) were very unsettling. Still, even without a strong horror element, Suzuki is an effective, inventive storyteller and the characters' feelings are immediately recognizable and absolutely human.

[Terese Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hate and Love, Loss and Fulfilment, Death and The Flower

Koji Suzuki is often able to harness the fine line that rests between two opposite emotions felt at once. The theme of violent hatred coupled with pity is impossible to forget.

[E · Rating 1 out of 5]

Doesn't even rate as crap. It's carp.

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

This author is comparable to Stephen King only if King wrote Dick and Jane Do Very Boring Things.