An engrossing mystery with a fast pace and an interesting social background. It is mainly based on dialogues and reads quickly but can feel repetitive at times.
Book review: 『点と線』by Seicho Matsumoto
点と線 is a short, easy to read novel that centres the plot around train, timetables and alibis.
Book review:『背いて故郷』by Tatsuo Shimizu
One of the rare hardboiled novels that I enjoyed reading, 背いて故郷 starts with an engrossing investigation which turns into more action in the second half.
Book review: 『殺人犯はそこにいる』 by Kiyoshi Shimizu
In his book, author and journalist Kiyoshi Shimizu recounts in detail how he investigated the Ashikaga murder case and showed that evidence collected against Toshikazu Sugaya was flawed. An engrossing read about one of Japan’s most know wrongful convictions.
Book review: 『六番目の小夜子』 by Riku Onda
Riku Onda is a prolific author who won the Naoki Prize in 2017 for her novel 『蜜蜂と遠雷』. 『六番目の小夜子』 is the author’s debut novel. Review 『六番目の小夜子』 has overall positive reviews on Amazon, but it is hard for me to understand why... Maybe some reviews are from readers who love Riku Onda and enjoyed reading her debut..
Book review: 『ぼくはイエローでホワイトで、ちょっとブルー』by Mikako Brady
『ぼくはイエローでホワイトで、ちょっとブルー』is a nonfiction book published in 2019 (a bunko edition has since been released). It is divided in 16 short chapters (around 15 pages each). Review I bought 『ぼくはイエローでホワイトで、ちょっとブルー』because it had amazing reviews on Amazon, it won prizes for nonfiction, and most of all, because I was interested in (what I thought would be) the..
Book review: 『無人島に生きる十六人』 by Kunihiko Sugawa
When the Ryusui maru run aground in Pearl and Hermes Atoll in 1899, its 16 crew members had to find a way to survive on a small deserted island.
Book review: 『錦繡』by Teru Miyamoto
First published in 1982, 『錦繡』is certainly one of Teru Miyamoto's most popular novels. It was translated into English by Roger K. Thomas under the title Kinshu: Autumn Brocade, and into French, Le Brocart, by Maria Grey. Review 『錦繡』 is an epistolary novel (only composed of letters). Aki and Yasuaki were once a married couple. They..
Book review: 『ボッコちゃん』by Shinichi Hoshi
Shinichi Hoshi is well known for his short short stories and is considered to be the pioneer of Japanese SF. 『ボッコちゃん』is a collection of 50 short short stories chosen by the author himself. Review This is the first time that I read stories by Shinichi Hoshi, and I was very surprised by the author's unique..
Book review: 『首折り男のための協奏曲』by Kotaro ISAKA
This book is a collection of inventive, mysterious and captivating short stories! Recommended!
Book Review: 『わたし、定時で帰ります』by Kaeruko Akeno
This novel has been adapted into a TV drama featuring Yuriko Yoshitaka. It started airing in April this year (2019). Setting As the title suggests, this novel is a story about work and workplace. The protagonist is Yui Higashiyama, she is 32 years old and works for a web company. She is known for always..
Book Review: 『ボクたちはみんな大人になれなかった』by Moegara
Even twenty years of time cannot erase some names from our memory. In 『ボクたちはみんな大人になれなっかた』, seeing one name appearing on Facebook brings back the past, scene by scene. As the narrator let the memories come back, he gives a personal picture of the ’90s.