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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a Japanese police procedural that focuses mostly on interdepartmental politics and the police force's relationship with the press while remembering a cold case. Also, it is very long.
At that description, you could be forgiven for thinking you'd never want to read the book. But. What if it was the absolute apex, the most perfect version possible of a Japanese police procedure that focuses on interdepartmental politics, media relations, with a dash of cold case investigation? Like, the best one that could ever exist, and also a book that you'll read until 3am, rolling forward through nimble prose, finding yourself physically present with the main character? That's what this is.
Six Four. Recommended. Those who know, know.
At that description, you could be forgiven for thinking you'd never want to read the book. But. What if it was the absolute apex, the most perfect version possible of a Japanese police procedure that focuses on interdepartmental politics, media relations, with a dash of cold case investigation? Like, the best one that could ever exist, and also a book that you'll read until 3am, rolling forward through nimble prose, finding yourself physically present with the main character? That's what this is.
Six Four. Recommended. Those who know, know.
The best I've ever read where the title is also my height.
Woah, long time I was so unsure what to think of a book!
Do you know that feeling, when you are reading while already being tired? After reading a page or paragraph you stop and think: What just happened? Did I miss something? Better read it again!
That was how I felt a lot reading this book, without being tired at all!
This wasn't because of a boring writing style or such, no. It was because of what was happening in the book!
My expectation was to get an exciting detective novel set in Japan. What happened instead was a lot of bureaucracy. Instead of solving a kidnapping, there was a lot of fighting between different departments of the police, Journalists vs. Press Department, Press Department vs. Investigators and so on. Not exactly what I would call exciting.
Yet! It was interesting!
For a very very long time - the book has over 700 pages - I was bewildered and confused why the different parts of the police where acting the way they did. This was absolutely not what I imagined the police to be like, all that fighting and not talking to each other. Maybe this is due to cultural differences? As the story progresses some of these hostilities become more clear, yet that feeling of missing something did never go away entirely.
So 64 is not a fast book, but at some point it does start to come together, the pace picks up and there is a page turning finish I really would not have expected at all.
And while I am not sure to which kind of reader I would recommend this book, I can say I enjoyed it a lot and I may even read Yokoyamas other books.
Do you know that feeling, when you are reading while already being tired? After reading a page or paragraph you stop and think: What just happened? Did I miss something? Better read it again!
That was how I felt a lot reading this book, without being tired at all!
This wasn't because of a boring writing style or such, no. It was because of what was happening in the book!
My expectation was to get an exciting detective novel set in Japan. What happened instead was a lot of bureaucracy. Instead of solving a kidnapping, there was a lot of fighting between different departments of the police, Journalists vs. Press Department, Press Department vs. Investigators and so on. Not exactly what I would call exciting.
Yet! It was interesting!
For a very very long time - the book has over 700 pages - I was bewildered and confused why the different parts of the police where acting the way they did. This was absolutely not what I imagined the police to be like, all that fighting and not talking to each other. Maybe this is due to cultural differences? As the story progresses some of these hostilities become more clear, yet that feeling of missing something did never go away entirely.
So 64 is not a fast book, but at some point it does start to come together, the pace picks up and there is a page turning finish I really would not have expected at all.
And while I am not sure to which kind of reader I would recommend this book, I can say I enjoyed it a lot and I may even read Yokoyamas other books.
I received a copy of this via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
Six Four is unlike any crime novel I have every read before. In a very very good way.
The story revolves around the Japanese police force, specifically Mikami who currently works in media relations. The title 'Six Four' is the codename given to a cold case relating to a kidnap of a young girl in 1989 which has continued to haunt the police force.
The story is a little tough to get into in the beginning as it is a slow burner. Unlike most crime novels, there is no action to keep you gripped, instead Yokoyama relies on brilliant storytelling and a wonderful array of intriguing characters to keep you enthralled.
This was the first of Yokoyama's novels to be translated to English. If they are all of this high standard, I hope we get to read more of them soon!
Six Four is unlike any crime novel I have every read before. In a very very good way.
The story revolves around the Japanese police force, specifically Mikami who currently works in media relations. The title 'Six Four' is the codename given to a cold case relating to a kidnap of a young girl in 1989 which has continued to haunt the police force.
The story is a little tough to get into in the beginning as it is a slow burner. Unlike most crime novels, there is no action to keep you gripped, instead Yokoyama relies on brilliant storytelling and a wonderful array of intriguing characters to keep you enthralled.
This was the first of Yokoyama's novels to be translated to English. If they are all of this high standard, I hope we get to read more of them soon!
An extremely enjoyable novel, that while rough at the beginning, still managed to enthrall you onto the edge of your seat!
It was a quite a long read for a thriller but encompasses what i love and hate about Japan- the petty politics and hierarchy in every aspect of life and the twisted thinking of the people! The twist was really good and well set-up. But where the hell is Ayumi???
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Read this in my reading spree on all things Japan.
I believe that the author used to work as a journalist in Tokyo, and I'm guessing he covered the crime beat. Initially I enjoyed the story well enough. The main character is struggling with the fact that his daughter has run away and that he and his wife don't know if she's okay. The book opens with the two of them viewing a body to see if it is his missing girl. (Spoiler; it's not.)
Then the book grinds into the minutiae of the main character's life as a public relations officer in the police department. He has ended up in PR after working as a detective for years, and a lot of writing is devoted to how PR is perceived by the rest of the department, by reporters, and the political infighting that the character is beginning to engage in so that he can get back to where he wants to be- solving murders. It feels like the author may be mining his own memories, because there is a LOT of detail about who likes whom, who is manipulating whom, and which way the political wind might be blowing at any given time as evidenced by the latest conversation two characters have. This is why I ended up DNF'ing the book. It's a long book at over 500 pages, and I got tired of plowing through the analysis of every single social interaction, which would then be overturned by a new bit of information. It may be an interesting insight into Japanese internal internecine politics, but it grew tedious. There is also a cold case to be solved, but that also felt lost in the details about which newspapers were lead in questions to the police that day, what the press hoped to gain by hardballing the police PR department, and how the main character was whipsawed back and forth between the press and his superior officer.
And finally, this is a very male-POV book. There is one pretty officer in the PR department, and the main character won't let her do anything because he doesn't want her to be taken advantage of by any men. His daughter has gone missing because she has severe body dysphoria, to the point of hating her mother for being attractive, to the point of trying to scratch and disfigure her face. His daughter ran away because she wanted plastic surgery at the age of 16 and her parents refused. The fact that this girl's whole identity revolved around a dysfunctional idea of her appearance bothered me. Maybe this is another Japanese thing I'm not familiar with, but ALL the female characters were described by their appearance and none of them seemed to have much depth. YMMV.
I believe that the author used to work as a journalist in Tokyo, and I'm guessing he covered the crime beat. Initially I enjoyed the story well enough. The main character is struggling with the fact that his daughter has run away and that he and his wife don't know if she's okay. The book opens with the two of them viewing a body to see if it is his missing girl. (Spoiler; it's not.)
Then the book grinds into the minutiae of the main character's life as a public relations officer in the police department. He has ended up in PR after working as a detective for years, and a lot of writing is devoted to how PR is perceived by the rest of the department, by reporters, and the political infighting that the character is beginning to engage in so that he can get back to where he wants to be- solving murders. It feels like the author may be mining his own memories, because there is a LOT of detail about who likes whom, who is manipulating whom, and which way the political wind might be blowing at any given time as evidenced by the latest conversation two characters have. This is why I ended up DNF'ing the book. It's a long book at over 500 pages, and I got tired of plowing through the analysis of every single social interaction, which would then be overturned by a new bit of information. It may be an interesting insight into Japanese internal internecine politics, but it grew tedious. There is also a cold case to be solved, but that also felt lost in the details about which newspapers were lead in questions to the police that day, what the press hoped to gain by hardballing the police PR department, and how the main character was whipsawed back and forth between the press and his superior officer.
And finally, this is a very male-POV book. There is one pretty officer in the PR department, and the main character won't let her do anything because he doesn't want her to be taken advantage of by any men. His daughter has gone missing because she has severe body dysphoria, to the point of hating her mother for being attractive, to the point of trying to scratch and disfigure her face. His daughter ran away because she wanted plastic surgery at the age of 16 and her parents refused. The fact that this girl's whole identity revolved around a dysfunctional idea of her appearance bothered me. Maybe this is another Japanese thing I'm not familiar with, but ALL the female characters were described by their appearance and none of them seemed to have much depth. YMMV.