Scan barcode
nicholeb84's review
3.0
A powerful and well written story of the psychological issues behind loneliness, murder, and secrets. A complex story of what people expect and what reality has in store for them.
3.5 out of 5 stars. A great read for fans of mystery and human nature stories.
3.5 out of 5 stars. A great read for fans of mystery and human nature stories.
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
4.0
I had no idea what to expect when I sat down to read VILLAIN, although the Japan Book News quote on the back of the book "... lays out a panorama of modern Japanese society, a patchwork composed of people of various classes and occupations..." really appealed. And the book most definitely did not disappoint.
Intricate, telling, tightly woven, tense and yet somehow languid and flowing, VILLAIN was an outstanding read. Not just because of the way that the identity of the murderer slowly creeps up on you, but also because of the way the various voices of the characters grab the reader and hold your attention. I understand from a chat with a friend of mine that the original Japanese version may have used particular dialects or very individual voices for each of the characters that clearly transmits their origins / position in society. That aspect isn't as obvious in the English version, but there are still enough elements in the style to make you realise there are differences.
VILLAIN is not a whodunnit nor is it a book about justice, revenge or resolution. It's more about the life choices that can quickly turn one person into a victim and another into a murderer. It's also a rather telling look at a lot of aspects of Japanese society - pressure on the young to conform, and how so many of those societal "norms" result in a quiet sort of despair - a longing for connection. It also shows how the stratas of society impact that. There are aspects of the life of the elderly which are held up to scrutiny as well - ultimately this is not a book which pulls much in the way of punches as it looks at the lives of most of the characters.
Whilst this book is definitely a thriller, it's a slow burning, dark and quite moving. The action is pushed along in a series of chapters told in the different voices of the characters, frequently in differing timeframes as the reader is taken backwards and forwards before the death of Yoshino and after. Yoshino, a young woman strangely lost somewhere between her daytime job as an insurance saleswoman and her night-time activities which veer closely towards a sort of casual prostitution, but always with this clanging sense of a search for love, acceptance, connection. Her background of loving, albeit marginalised parents, is contrasted strongly by that of the man she meets via an on-line dating service. Yuichi is a young man with much to resent in his life. Dumped by his mother into the care of his grandparents as a very young child, he now works in construction and struggles with the role of support to those now ailing grandparents. Yuichi's expression of individuality is all in his car, his love life as bleak and opportunistic as Yoshino. These two somehow seem to be destined, in other ways you can feel the tension as both of them struggle against the reality of their likely fates versus their ultimate desires.
An overwhelming reading experience that is really going to appeal to readers who like thoughtful, discomforting and quite confrontational reading, VILLAIN is one of those books that will stay with me.
Intricate, telling, tightly woven, tense and yet somehow languid and flowing, VILLAIN was an outstanding read. Not just because of the way that the identity of the murderer slowly creeps up on you, but also because of the way the various voices of the characters grab the reader and hold your attention. I understand from a chat with a friend of mine that the original Japanese version may have used particular dialects or very individual voices for each of the characters that clearly transmits their origins / position in society. That aspect isn't as obvious in the English version, but there are still enough elements in the style to make you realise there are differences.
VILLAIN is not a whodunnit nor is it a book about justice, revenge or resolution. It's more about the life choices that can quickly turn one person into a victim and another into a murderer. It's also a rather telling look at a lot of aspects of Japanese society - pressure on the young to conform, and how so many of those societal "norms" result in a quiet sort of despair - a longing for connection. It also shows how the stratas of society impact that. There are aspects of the life of the elderly which are held up to scrutiny as well - ultimately this is not a book which pulls much in the way of punches as it looks at the lives of most of the characters.
Whilst this book is definitely a thriller, it's a slow burning, dark and quite moving. The action is pushed along in a series of chapters told in the different voices of the characters, frequently in differing timeframes as the reader is taken backwards and forwards before the death of Yoshino and after. Yoshino, a young woman strangely lost somewhere between her daytime job as an insurance saleswoman and her night-time activities which veer closely towards a sort of casual prostitution, but always with this clanging sense of a search for love, acceptance, connection. Her background of loving, albeit marginalised parents, is contrasted strongly by that of the man she meets via an on-line dating service. Yuichi is a young man with much to resent in his life. Dumped by his mother into the care of his grandparents as a very young child, he now works in construction and struggles with the role of support to those now ailing grandparents. Yuichi's expression of individuality is all in his car, his love life as bleak and opportunistic as Yoshino. These two somehow seem to be destined, in other ways you can feel the tension as both of them struggle against the reality of their likely fates versus their ultimate desires.
An overwhelming reading experience that is really going to appeal to readers who like thoughtful, discomforting and quite confrontational reading, VILLAIN is one of those books that will stay with me.
tien's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
2.25
I must admit that I think the book is actually brilliantly executed but my rating merely reflects my enjoyment of the read which wasn't particularly great. That is because this book is more of a psychological thriller which I do not usually enjoy these days. I did get this book in 2012 so I may have enjoyed it back then more than I just did. Everyone... absolutely <b>everyone</b> in this novel was lonely and that was just so so sad.
iztrkfliers's review
2.0
This book...was okay. I liked the slice of life descriptions and around the end the book gets really gripping. The multiple POVs worked well too and I was actually able to keep the characters straight quickly in this, something that is pretty rare for me most of the time. Might write a more detailed review later.
colinhdempsey's review against another edition
3.0
if the ending is meant to be taken literally then i’d bump this down, cause it ruins what was such a sweet lil love story
jeonhikari's review against another edition
4.0
若い女性の変死体発見。容疑者は現在逃走中…タイトルの『悪人』は逃亡中の容疑者のことだろうか。法律上、殺人は重罪だが、感情的に、殺人者が必ずしも悪であるとは限らないし、殺害された者、または間接的に関係のある第三者が必ずしも善であるとは限らない。作者は登場人物の背景や人物の相互作用の織り交ぜ方などの解説が得意で、社会の底辺にいる人々の孤独、戸惑い、葛藤、絶望をうまく描いてしまう。無数の憎むべき人々が可哀想な人々と混ざり合い、最終的に最も憎むべき人々は罰せられず、最も罪のない人々は常に苦しんでいる。悪人は誰？
alexisfromdabooks's review against another edition
5.0
I loved every bit of this.
Shūichi Yoshida’s Villain is not a typical crime novel - I mean, none of his books are, just look at Parade.
Though a murder (the one of a 21 y/o woman who is very much depicted as a liar and a vixen - and semi-rightfully so, I would add?) is at the centre of the narration, the novel is more about everyone else BUT the murdered woman, and damn, it works.
When someone dies, you don't really get their bit of the story. What you get is what's left behind: people, messages, memories. A reality that goes on, while one single person is forever still.
I gasped a couple times, even shed a tear: I became angry at thinking about Yoshino's last moments, even though she was quite unbearable. Well, actually, she was definitely insufferable.
Many mention the writing style as a "turn off" for this novel - the ever-changing viewpoints — third person and first person — might occasionally be confusing, OK, but, given the nature of the story, they are more of a strong point rather than anything else.
Indeed, this narrative structure, paired with a very clear prose, not only gives the reader a well-rounded picture of a group of people struggling to readjust to life after the murder, but also highlights a portait of modern Japan, and shares an insight into the crippling loneliness and melancholy of our times.
Again, loved it. Would read it many more times.
Pick it up, buy it, give it a chance, because it's worth it.
Shūichi Yoshida’s Villain is not a typical crime novel - I mean, none of his books are, just look at Parade.
Though a murder (the one of a 21 y/o woman who is very much depicted as a liar and a vixen - and semi-rightfully so, I would add?) is at the centre of the narration, the novel is more about everyone else BUT the murdered woman, and damn, it works.
When someone dies, you don't really get their bit of the story. What you get is what's left behind: people, messages, memories. A reality that goes on, while one single person is forever still.
I gasped a couple times, even shed a tear: I became angry at thinking about Yoshino's last moments, even though she was quite unbearable. Well, actually, she was definitely insufferable.
Many mention the writing style as a "turn off" for this novel - the ever-changing viewpoints — third person and first person — might occasionally be confusing, OK, but, given the nature of the story, they are more of a strong point rather than anything else.
Indeed, this narrative structure, paired with a very clear prose, not only gives the reader a well-rounded picture of a group of people struggling to readjust to life after the murder, but also highlights a portait of modern Japan, and shares an insight into the crippling loneliness and melancholy of our times.
Again, loved it. Would read it many more times.
Pick it up, buy it, give it a chance, because it's worth it.
briewoodfiction's review against another edition
1.0
I really need to learn to stop reading translations by Philip Gabriel.
natasha29singh's review against another edition
3.0
I wasn’t quite understanding the point of the book, because the mystery is solved about midway through, but I realized it’s very [a:Kanae|6426380|Kanae Minato|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1473896309p2/6426380.jpg]sque crime fiction that focuses more on how different characters react to a crime (I was also reminded of the deliquent-couple-on-the-run arc from [b:Real World|2119409|Real World|Natsuo Kirino|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320479929l/2119409._SY75_.jpg|2124845].) There was a nice little twist at the end, and I enjoyed the novel's take on the essentially morally gray nature of crime and compliance.
saltycorpse's review
4.0
Shuichi Yoshida is an expert at building both sympathy and suspicion for the characters in Villian, and plays an intricate game with the reader with strategic reveals and evidence. The novel is involving and I wanted to gorge myself on it as soon as I was only a few pages in. Yoshida seamlessly moves between characters, expanding his scope around the central murder victim via a game of six degrees of separation. The entire novel questions what it means to be an evil person, a villain, and ends with a chilling question:
"Isn't that what everyone says? That he's the villain in all this? ... Right?"
I highly recommend this novel, it is suspenseful and raw, and parts made me emotional in an unexpected way. This is a novel you will not regret reading, and one of the finest crime novels I have read so far. Yoshida adds another masterpiece proving that Japanese crime fiction is among the finest in a genre that has become world-wide.
"Isn't that what everyone says? That he's the villain in all this? ... Right?"
I highly recommend this novel, it is suspenseful and raw, and parts made me emotional in an unexpected way. This is a novel you will not regret reading, and one of the finest crime novels I have read so far. Yoshida adds another masterpiece proving that Japanese crime fiction is among the finest in a genre that has become world-wide.