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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
Un thriller muy curioso en cuanto a que describe cómo funcionan los procedimientos policiales en Japón y tiene ese punto extraterrestre que siempre acompaña a las particularidades incomprensibles para un europeo de la cultura de ese país. Un libro largo y no demasiado sencillo de leer, pero a mí me ha gustado.
I entered expecting more of a twist-based crime thriller, but got more of a description of police culture in Japan, and other aspects of their life. The overall story of solving the murder had its moments, but I was definitely slogging through parts to get to the end. I think this is a great book for what its genre may be (not sure exactly what that is), but maybe just not my style.
It is my second time reading Six Four, this time I read the Dutch translation. Although it took me some time to get into it, I really enjoyed it the first time I read it. It’s been a while since that time, so I didn’t remember too much of the story.
In 1989, a ransom case ends in disaster, with the young girl who was kidnapped found dead, and the culprit getting away with the money. 14 years later the case is still unsolved, something that haunts prefecture D’s police department. Mikami, who worked on the ransom case all those years back, is now press officer. The relationship between the police and the press is becoming more and more strained, and he finds his own colleagues increasingly challenging to communicate with. People are keeping secrets, and Mikami is determined to find out what is going on beneath the surface.
Once again, I really enjoyed Six Four. It takes some time for the story to really get going, but once it gets going I was hooked. The story is quite lengthy, it really goes into depth when it comes to the work structure of the Japanese police, as well as the communication between the police and the press. The book balances between Mikami trying to get information from his colleagues (and failing most of the time), as well as trying to salvage his department’s relationship with the press, as well as his daughter running away. I personally thought it was really interesting to see all these different dynamics, and seeing how all these people deal with the difficult situations they have to face.
The cold case itself was put together very well, I thought the way it was set up and solved was very clever. Especially the reveal that
I also thought that Mikami was a compelling main character to follow. We get to know him very well through his work, the decisions he makes, his mistakes, etc. Life keeps throwing him curveballs, putting him into some very difficult situations, but he keeps going. It is interesting to see how he deals with different situations, not everything goes well for him, it gets rather stressful at times. Throughout the book, we get see him grow both as an officer, as well as a person. We see him learn from him mistakes, and take other people’s feedback into consideration which was great to see. The ending of the book, in which he I thought it was a perfect way to end the book.
One thing that would have been helpful for me throughout the story, would have been a character list. There are many characters, some with similar names, at times I found it hard to keep track of them. It got a little confusing at times.
I really enjoyed reading this one again, I think it’s a great mystery book. This time I changed my previous rating of 4 stars to 5 stars. I’m also really looking forward to reading Yokoyama’s newest book [b:The North Light|102226076|The North Light|Hideo Yokoyama|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675683772l/102226076._SY75_.jpg|87353919], hopefully I can read that one soon!
In 1989, a ransom case ends in disaster, with the young girl who was kidnapped found dead, and the culprit getting away with the money. 14 years later the case is still unsolved, something that haunts prefecture D’s police department. Mikami, who worked on the ransom case all those years back, is now press officer. The relationship between the police and the press is becoming more and more strained, and he finds his own colleagues increasingly challenging to communicate with. People are keeping secrets, and Mikami is determined to find out what is going on beneath the surface.
Once again, I really enjoyed Six Four. It takes some time for the story to really get going, but once it gets going I was hooked. The story is quite lengthy, it really goes into depth when it comes to the work structure of the Japanese police, as well as the communication between the police and the press. The book balances between Mikami trying to get information from his colleagues (and failing most of the time), as well as trying to salvage his department’s relationship with the press, as well as his daughter running away. I personally thought it was really interesting to see all these different dynamics, and seeing how all these people deal with the difficult situations they have to face.
The cold case itself was put together very well, I thought the way it was set up and solved was very clever. Especially the reveal that
Spoiler
the silent phone calls had been Amamiya, who had been calling every phone number in the prefecture in hopes of identifying the kidnapper’s voice, was very good, it surprised me again.I also thought that Mikami was a compelling main character to follow. We get to know him very well through his work, the decisions he makes, his mistakes, etc. Life keeps throwing him curveballs, putting him into some very difficult situations, but he keeps going. It is interesting to see how he deals with different situations, not everything goes well for him, it gets rather stressful at times. Throughout the book, we get see him grow both as an officer, as well as a person. We see him learn from him mistakes, and take other people’s feedback into consideration which was great to see. The ending of the book, in which he
Spoiler
greatly improves his relationship with the press and his team, sees the breakthrough in the Six Four case, and finally resolves the tension between him and his wife, felt very cathartic.One thing that would have been helpful for me throughout the story, would have been a character list. There are many characters, some with similar names, at times I found it hard to keep track of them. It got a little confusing at times.
I really enjoyed reading this one again, I think it’s a great mystery book. This time I changed my previous rating of 4 stars to 5 stars. I’m also really looking forward to reading Yokoyama’s newest book [b:The North Light|102226076|The North Light|Hideo Yokoyama|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675683772l/102226076._SY75_.jpg|87353919], hopefully I can read that one soon!
Demasiado lento, la historia nunca me enganchó y yo personalmente creo que debió tener la mitad de sus páginas.
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
‘Six Four’ is the code name for an abduction case that happened in 1968. Young Shoko was kidnapped and her parents received a ransom call. Over the duration of seven days the police and the parents worked together to bring Shoko home. The parents even paid the ransom money, yet the girl was never returned or found. The case remains open and people never let the law officials forget their failure in the case. In 2002, Yoshinobu Mikami, a cop, visits the girl's father with an agenda of his own. With his own daughter on the run and a new kidnapping case with a ransom call happening, Yoshinobu is attracted to this old case. As he discovers a certain incongruity in the case, he digs further. What he discovers surprises him, but can he solve this case and bring his own daughter back home at the same time?
The blurb somehow reminded me of Keigo Higashino’s books. In some ways, the long drawn out case does have a similarity to his books as does the detail oriented treatment of the novel. But that is where the similarities end and Hideo Yokoyama holds his own with this book.
The plot is multi layered with multiple angles that it can be looked at from. For instance, there is the old case of Shoko, the new kidnapping case and the case of Ayumi, Mikami’s daughter. As things unfold there are layers of secrets and twists that are uncovered keeping the readers busy guessing what turn the novel may take next. There is a plethora of characters involved and they are developed well in order to assimilate with the plot.
The book, along with telling us of a mystery, also tells us a lot about the Japanese culture and police procedure. The only thing that irked me a bit was the pace. But telling a story in detail can do that to the pacing. As such when I finished reading the book, I found myself pretty happy to have had the patience in the beginning. It is after all a big book.
Recommended to Mystery lovers.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book feels criminally underrated. Yes, there're some glowing reviews, yes, it's widely considered his magnum opus - and yes, it is unmistakably denser than other cozy procedurals one might sift through, but it's three-point-something status can definitely use some re-examination.
Of course, every review comes with its biases. I was grappling with the perils of overconsumption, too, when I picked up this book on a whim - the cover felt like the right mix between eerie, foreboding and intriguing and its minimalism made some sort of subconscious demand within the confines of my mind. Hell, let's just open it.
But back to the overconsumption - OTT platforms are all too happy to keep pumping out the same style of investigative content year after year and every story seems oddly predictable. Subtlety and slowness aren't necessarily rewarded when we're trying to cram a 6-8 episode season/miniseries/limited series within a night or two, before we move on to the next middling affair. Perhaps, this is the context that's necessary to appreciate a book like this?
I had no idea about the 'Prefecture D' universe that Yokoyama has spent years crafting, so there was the sense of a fresh plunge. Jonathan Lloyd-Davies does a masterful job when it comes to translating Yokoyama's *procedural* language; full of little details that keep piling into neat, compartmentalized boxes as we move on to the next trove. Admittedly, there are bits where some more editing (can't possibly comment on the core Japanese) in English would've added some more flow to an otherwise compelling read, but it's a small price to pay for the twists and arduous turns the book keeps taking you through.
McMillan's website tells us that Yokoyama worked as an investigative reporter - that his work ethic is 'exhaustive and relentless' and mirrors his characters' own proclivities and that he was even hospitalized after a heart attack after working for 72 straight hours(O__O). Now I don't know about his other books (yet) but Roku Yon definitely has its protagonist, along with the entirety of the police force and the press club get into this 'relentless flow' almost in every other chapter. This flow consumes them feverishly as they unravel strand by painful, obfuscated strand which presents them with persistent dilemmas up until the last page, and only reflective, tired silence remains.
Now, is this praise? To me, it is. Roku Yon is not for the easily fatigued reader. And so be it. Books that pretend to be for everyone seem to be for no one at all, regurgitated and forgotten in the sheer aggregation of this deluge we have today. The curious, dogged readers take on front-man Mikami's (and perhaps Yokoyama's) burdens on their own shoulders, where we get a profound socio-cultural insight into Japanese bureaucracy, and conflicting motives of duty, thrill-seeking and office politics all rolled into an intricate web through his haggard gaze. Each chapter taps into a different seismic plate until the main twist causes the intended topographic upheaval that was long coming and come it does. Yokoyama is almost gentle in his persevering prose when he lets the reader in on details they'd possibly never bother getting into otherwise. Look at this, he says, and this, and that, and get the complete picture because I'm going to show you ALL of it - take it or leave it.
And many do leave. Six Four, at the end of the day, has been *falsely* promised by some to be your next fix if you were looking to satiate your itch for procedural, easy-to-follow-and-digest crime, and it is ANYTHING but. The virtue of patience is rarely what we're looking to be taught in our otherwise minute-to-minute contemporary existences, but if that sort of sadistic thing does something for you (as it does for me), go ahead and open this book. The age-old proverb does come through. Patience IS rewarded as you plough through its numerous pages.
Fantastically, the length actually allows for other things to be fleshed out. Written in the long-forgotten year 2012 (I joke, but do I?) Six Four manages to include some things we take for granted in today's genre staple. Victims are given their due, despite being narrated through Mikami's viewpoint. Yokoyama weaves in a deep understanding of familial relationships while also vivisecting tensions on all fronts: intra, inter-departmental and inter-institutional ones. But then, he's also asking a very curious question: if the police force is *too* pridefully committed to the citizenry while being culturally entrenched with principles of loyalty, honor, saving face and all the good stuff - what happens then? Does that cause them to clutch their cards too close to their chest and only reveal things when they're pitch perfect? Does the statue of transparency ironically cast in a completely opaque shadow?
As I naturally trawled the net searching for visual adaptations, I found one - and at a glance, the reception's pretty poor. Reviewers generous enough to write in its favor are content with 'decent' as the watchword, but I imagine translating such a Japanese work and setting it within a Scottish context cannot possibly be an easy thing to do. But then, there's always this book - and for me, definitely worth all the time I spent with it.
Of course, every review comes with its biases. I was grappling with the perils of overconsumption, too, when I picked up this book on a whim - the cover felt like the right mix between eerie, foreboding and intriguing and its minimalism made some sort of subconscious demand within the confines of my mind. Hell, let's just open it.
But back to the overconsumption - OTT platforms are all too happy to keep pumping out the same style of investigative content year after year and every story seems oddly predictable. Subtlety and slowness aren't necessarily rewarded when we're trying to cram a 6-8 episode season/miniseries/limited series within a night or two, before we move on to the next middling affair. Perhaps, this is the context that's necessary to appreciate a book like this?
I had no idea about the 'Prefecture D' universe that Yokoyama has spent years crafting, so there was the sense of a fresh plunge. Jonathan Lloyd-Davies does a masterful job when it comes to translating Yokoyama's *procedural* language; full of little details that keep piling into neat, compartmentalized boxes as we move on to the next trove. Admittedly, there are bits where some more editing (can't possibly comment on the core Japanese) in English would've added some more flow to an otherwise compelling read, but it's a small price to pay for the twists and arduous turns the book keeps taking you through.
McMillan's website tells us that Yokoyama worked as an investigative reporter - that his work ethic is 'exhaustive and relentless' and mirrors his characters' own proclivities and that he was even hospitalized after a heart attack after working for 72 straight hours(O__O). Now I don't know about his other books (yet) but Roku Yon definitely has its protagonist, along with the entirety of the police force and the press club get into this 'relentless flow' almost in every other chapter. This flow consumes them feverishly as they unravel strand by painful, obfuscated strand which presents them with persistent dilemmas up until the last page, and only reflective, tired silence remains.
Now, is this praise? To me, it is. Roku Yon is not for the easily fatigued reader. And so be it. Books that pretend to be for everyone seem to be for no one at all, regurgitated and forgotten in the sheer aggregation of this deluge we have today. The curious, dogged readers take on front-man Mikami's (and perhaps Yokoyama's) burdens on their own shoulders, where we get a profound socio-cultural insight into Japanese bureaucracy, and conflicting motives of duty, thrill-seeking and office politics all rolled into an intricate web through his haggard gaze. Each chapter taps into a different seismic plate until the main twist causes the intended topographic upheaval that was long coming and come it does. Yokoyama is almost gentle in his persevering prose when he lets the reader in on details they'd possibly never bother getting into otherwise. Look at this, he says, and this, and that, and get the complete picture because I'm going to show you ALL of it - take it or leave it.
And many do leave. Six Four, at the end of the day, has been *falsely* promised by some to be your next fix if you were looking to satiate your itch for procedural, easy-to-follow-and-digest crime, and it is ANYTHING but. The virtue of patience is rarely what we're looking to be taught in our otherwise minute-to-minute contemporary existences, but if that sort of sadistic thing does something for you (as it does for me), go ahead and open this book. The age-old proverb does come through. Patience IS rewarded as you plough through its numerous pages.
Fantastically, the length actually allows for other things to be fleshed out. Written in the long-forgotten year 2012 (I joke, but do I?) Six Four manages to include some things we take for granted in today's genre staple. Victims are given their due, despite being narrated through Mikami's viewpoint. Yokoyama weaves in a deep understanding of familial relationships while also vivisecting tensions on all fronts: intra, inter-departmental and inter-institutional ones. But then, he's also asking a very curious question: if the police force is *too* pridefully committed to the citizenry while being culturally entrenched with principles of loyalty, honor, saving face and all the good stuff - what happens then? Does that cause them to clutch their cards too close to their chest and only reveal things when they're pitch perfect? Does the statue of transparency ironically cast in a completely opaque shadow?
As I naturally trawled the net searching for visual adaptations, I found one - and at a glance, the reception's pretty poor. Reviewers generous enough to write in its favor are content with 'decent' as the watchword, but I imagine translating such a Japanese work and setting it within a Scottish context cannot possibly be an easy thing to do. But then, there's always this book - and for me, definitely worth all the time I spent with it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes