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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I think i would have enjoyed this more if I understood more about Japanese culture and media.
Un libro muy largo, que se centra poco en el caso a resolver y mucho en los problemas personales de los detectives y de la estación de policía.
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4.5 stars
Huge thanks to Hideo Yokoyama, Quercus books and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
Is it just me or does this book remind anyone else of a Stieg Larsson book? It has the slow build, the extremely in-depth and intricate details of the police in Japan, the complex and well-rounded characters and the twist at the end.
I enjoyed this so much more than The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo! It takes a little while to pull you in but if you persevere it rewards you with such a good story and some threads still to tie up which may mean a sequel!
When it hooked me I could not put it down, it gives you just enough information to keep you hooked as it continues to build to the twist you very well won't see coming.
I highly, highly recommend this book.
Huge thanks to Hideo Yokoyama, Quercus books and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
Is it just me or does this book remind anyone else of a Stieg Larsson book? It has the slow build, the extremely in-depth and intricate details of the police in Japan, the complex and well-rounded characters and the twist at the end.
I enjoyed this so much more than The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo! It takes a little while to pull you in but if you persevere it rewards you with such a good story and some threads still to tie up which may mean a sequel!
When it hooked me I could not put it down, it gives you just enough information to keep you hooked as it continues to build to the twist you very well won't see coming.
I highly, highly recommend this book.
Every so often I turn to a Japanese novel, usually one there's a buzz around and each time I find myself with similar feelings. There is something slightly alien about them. Concepts such as loss of face are different from Western notions of disrespect, such as with LA gangbangers or Colombian/Mexican drug dealers. Notions of deference and respect for superiors, seniors and elders are more formally enshrined in the culture. And yet in this book the main character has bursts of utter disrespect and lack of deference to his superiors and goes on a bit of a rampage throughout the police authority, yet is never pulled up for his behaviour. Perhaps this is to signify a breaking down of such cultural customs & expectations, but no one else in the book is evidencing such a trend. So even within the terms of this novel, the alien has become alienated from itself.
Then there are the names, more confusing than those of an 19th century Russian novel. So many of the names begin with A or M, that it's hard to keep them all separate in your mind. Why couldn't there be more of a spread throughout the alphabet to help the befuddled reader? But then towards the denouement you realise this is actually a plot device and a pretty improbable one at that. So improbable, I didn't feel this was a fair trade off for the work I was expected to do trying to keep the names straight.
The hero is trying to untangle a 14 year old unsolved kidnapping & murder case, with cover ups and incompetence. He comes up with many theories and conspiracies as he progresses, but most of his own theories turn out to be wrong. Perhaps because he too is afflicted by his daughter having disappeared from home. The role of emotion... always a tricky one in Japanese culture where they are supposed to be held firmly in check. None of this is terribly satisfactory, the emotion never really fully fledged until the end, the flawed theories he has just circling around the airport without being able to set down firmly on the runway & taxiing to a successful landing. The whole book is therefore far too long and therefore ultimately unrewarding. For all that there are some interesting portrayals of Japanese bureaucracy, in this case the police & its relations with the media, the sheer length mean that the ebbs and flows of fortune for both groups as they butt heads becomes unsustainable as the reader begins to lose faith that each group would behave as they do after yet another defeat or triumph, because they inevitably lurch on to the next set-piece where their fortunes get reversed. Ad infinitum.
And finally, just to reinforce my sense of being outside of it all, I couldn't pin down the era when this was supposed to take place. It had quite a 80s feel through the primitive technology on show (only at the end is the Media relations department awarded a new computer and does not have one for each staff member). But right at the end when two detectives discuss their favourite Japanese baseball players exported to the US do I realise that in fact it's set in the 2000s.
So I am left with a similar feeling as from previous reads, that I won't be picking up another Japanese title for a while. Ironically the exceptions to this come from UK writers who have spent a lot of time living in japan, like David Peace & David Mitchell, whose novels set in Japan I have enjoyed. Perhaps I need the mediating eye of a Western author to help me navigate Japanese culture, which does remain for me somewhat alien.
Then there are the names, more confusing than those of an 19th century Russian novel. So many of the names begin with A or M, that it's hard to keep them all separate in your mind. Why couldn't there be more of a spread throughout the alphabet to help the befuddled reader? But then towards the denouement you realise this is actually a plot device and a pretty improbable one at that. So improbable, I didn't feel this was a fair trade off for the work I was expected to do trying to keep the names straight.
The hero is trying to untangle a 14 year old unsolved kidnapping & murder case, with cover ups and incompetence. He comes up with many theories and conspiracies as he progresses, but most of his own theories turn out to be wrong. Perhaps because he too is afflicted by his daughter having disappeared from home. The role of emotion... always a tricky one in Japanese culture where they are supposed to be held firmly in check. None of this is terribly satisfactory, the emotion never really fully fledged until the end, the flawed theories he has just circling around the airport without being able to set down firmly on the runway & taxiing to a successful landing. The whole book is therefore far too long and therefore ultimately unrewarding. For all that there are some interesting portrayals of Japanese bureaucracy, in this case the police & its relations with the media, the sheer length mean that the ebbs and flows of fortune for both groups as they butt heads becomes unsustainable as the reader begins to lose faith that each group would behave as they do after yet another defeat or triumph, because they inevitably lurch on to the next set-piece where their fortunes get reversed. Ad infinitum.
And finally, just to reinforce my sense of being outside of it all, I couldn't pin down the era when this was supposed to take place. It had quite a 80s feel through the primitive technology on show (only at the end is the Media relations department awarded a new computer and does not have one for each staff member). But right at the end when two detectives discuss their favourite Japanese baseball players exported to the US do I realise that in fact it's set in the 2000s.
So I am left with a similar feeling as from previous reads, that I won't be picking up another Japanese title for a while. Ironically the exceptions to this come from UK writers who have spent a lot of time living in japan, like David Peace & David Mitchell, whose novels set in Japan I have enjoyed. Perhaps I need the mediating eye of a Western author to help me navigate Japanese culture, which does remain for me somewhat alien.
slow-paced
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
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:
No
In this world of intrigue and paranoia, Yokoyama decides to tell the story of the Six Four and the human characters that drive the case to its limits.
I really found myself in the headspace of Mikami, our protagonist, as every thought process and decision he makes is outlined to the reader, sometimes to its detriment. This double-edged sword extends to its setting, as while the hierarchical politicking and anecdotal dissection of Japanese institutions give the story layers of realism, the frustrations of the quagmire-like texture it subjects the reader to take away from the multiple narratives the book is trying to tell. I just found myself disinterested and unsatisfied come the story's climax and resolution.
It's sad that I feel this way since this book was clearly meant for the Japanese people, and I believe that the little nuances in the characters' behavior and the story's building of the mystery were lost to translation. Despite all of this, there is truly a lot to love about this book; It would just take the right person.
I really found myself in the headspace of Mikami, our protagonist, as every thought process and decision he makes is outlined to the reader, sometimes to its detriment. This double-edged sword extends to its setting, as while the hierarchical politicking and anecdotal dissection of Japanese institutions give the story layers of realism, the frustrations of the quagmire-like texture it subjects the reader to take away from the multiple narratives the book is trying to tell. I just found myself disinterested and unsatisfied come the story's climax and resolution.
It's sad that I feel this way since this book was clearly meant for the Japanese people, and I believe that the little nuances in the characters' behavior and the story's building of the mystery were lost to translation. Despite all of this, there is truly a lot to love about this book; It would just take the right person.