The Birthday (anthology)

is an anthology by Japanese writer Koji Suzuki first published in February 5, 1999 in Japan. It is the fourth and last installment of Suzuki's "Ring" series.

Plot

The book consists of three short stories occurring each in a different timeframe, and are all related to the "Ring" universe:

Floating Coffin – This covers the last moments of character Mai Takano’s life, which were omitted in the second novel of the series, "Rasen" (published in the United States of America and United Kingdom under the title "Spiral"). The story is told from her perspective.

Lemonheart – The second story of the anthology, and the basis for the screenplay of film "" (2000). The majority of it takes place during central character Sadako Yamamura’s time with the Hishio acting troupe at the age of 19. The focus of this story is Sadako's intimate relationship with fellow acting troupe member, Hiroshi Toyama, and her social alienation from the rest of the members. It also reveals the full story of her death and "rebirth" in the cursed videotape.

Happy Birthday – The final story of the anthology. It further develops the storyline of the last novel, "Loop", while incorporating new information disclosed in the previous two short stories. It depicts the last events taking place in the "Ring" universe chronologically, and is also the conclusion of the series.

Book information

Vertical Inc. published the English translation of "Birthday" in December 2006.

Sources and external links

* [http://www2.tba.t-com.ne.jp/ymkazu/t-loop.html Loopkai Project] - (Japanese)
* [http://www.sarudama.com/japanese_books/birthday.shtml "Birthday" review] at [http://www.sarudama.com SaruDama.com]
* [http://www.theringworld.com/ the ringworld] - Contains detailed information on the Ring cycle.
* [http://www.obrasilero.com/ring/ the Ring AREA] - Contains of the cursed videos of the Ring cycle and their scene-by-scene analyses, as well as lots of other useful information.
* [http://www.vertical-inc.com/ Vertical Inc.] - Publisher of English translations of the Ring novels.