It is the first time I read Tetsuya HONDA, but I know that he is a very famous author of thrillers and mystery novels. I also think that some of his work is translated into English.
Setting
The police is investigating a shocking case involving abuse, torture and maybe murder. Through questioning and field work, the police tries to understand what really happened in a case where the boundary between victim and persecutor is thin.
Review
I think that 『ケモノの城』is a good novel with a good story and an interesting investigation. However, I was not expecting so much violence and it was at times difficult to read. A lot of scenes describe physical and psychological torture, and I have several times considered giving up the novel because reading it gave me stomach ache.
While you would expect horrible things to happen in a thriller, you also know that everything is fictional. In 『ケモノの城』, the way things were described make them feel extremely realistic, to the point when I was relieved whenever I found unknown vocabulary in the descriptions!
Apart from this, the story is great, with enough suspense to make me want to finish the book in spite of everything. It also raises interesting questions about the victims’ attitude towards their aggressor and their situation. What the book describes is hard to believe (something similar to the Stockholm syndrome), but worth thinking about.
To conclude I would say that 『ケモノの城』is a good thriller, but I don’t personally recommend it, and I would never choose it as a gift for someone. I am used to reading thrillers that stage all kinds of horrible murders, but there is something in 『ケモノの城』that really disturbed me. Maybe this only shows that Tetsuya Honda is a great writer…
About
I’m learning Japanese, Korean and Chinese to read mystery novels and play video games in these languages.
Learning languages has always been one of my favourite hobbies, but I’m not a social person, I don’t like to meet new people and make friends, this is just not me. I keep hearing that languages are meant for communication, that we have to actively use them, talk with natives, etc. and for a long time, I thought it was weird to learn languages just to read books, with zero interest in communication.
Now I don’t really care what people think, and this blog helped me a lot to stop doubting myself and just do what I enjoy doing.
One THOUGHTS ON “Book review: 『ケモノの城』by Tetsuya Honda”