Золота маска

明智小五郎事件簿 #6

by Edogawa Rampo, Едогава Рампо, Анна Бондар (Translator)

«Золота маска», один з найяскравіших творів японського майстра детективів Едоґави Рампо, розповідає про протистояння детектива-аматора Акечі Коґоро та загадкового крадія у золотому. Розв’язування загадок, фізичні й інтелектуальні змагання, непередбачувані витівки та фокуси, які видаються справжньою магією. Пародія на добре відомі українському читачеві західні детективи в атмосфері Японії першої половини ХХ ст.

Genres: Mystery, Japanese Literature, Japan, Crime, Fiction, Detective, Classics

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

Hirai Tarō (平井 太郎), better known by the pseudonym Rampo Edogawa ( 江戸川 乱歩), sometimes romanized as "Ranpo Edogawa", was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery fiction.

Reviews

[Geevee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a disappointment. I had enjoyed Rampo's The Black Lizard but the Gold Mask was a long way off that.

The plot had some interest but then great crime master who is the Gold Mask (no spoiler as it is all clearly signposted) and the great detective, Akechi Kogoro, spar many times and yet the reader is supposed to believe the near superhuman deeds and tricks where Gold Mask wriggles out of being arrested/captured many times. Moreover, Kogoro is never quite outwitted, and seems able to become anyone at anytime by disguising himself, and in turn manages to create great masterstrokes that see him triumph.

Overall, a lengthy ramble that could have been a reasonable short story.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

First things first: if you're a fan of Lupin the Third (either the anime or Monkey Punch's original manga), you should really give serious consideration to reading this novel. It's really where the whole thing begins - Edogawa Rampo borrows Maurice Leblanc's gentleman thief Arsene Lupin and pits him against his own serialized detective Akechi Kogoro. There's even a love interest for Lupin named Fujiko (Otori, not Mine, but still).

But what's almost more interesting is the way that Edogawa seizes on one moment in a specific LeBlanc novel, Les dents du tigre, where the normally pacifist Lupin guns down some native Moroccan men. Edogawa reads this as evidence of Lupin's own racism against non-whites, and he uses it to make a statement about prejudice against Japanese (or possibly all Asian) people in the early 20th century. In this respect, the book makes an interesting companion to Superman Smashes The Klan, which deals with a similar topic.

There's definitely more of a caper feel to the novel than most of the Akechi stories, but Edogawa's knowledge of LeBlanc's works is apparent and the translation and its footnotes are both good. It's worth reading for fans of Lupin, Lupin III, or Golden Age mysteries.

[Ana Pau Carbonell · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*

I don't think there is any issues with this book, I think the genre and writing style is just not for me at all.

[Luk-Wa · Rating 2 out of 5]

เล่มนี้คอนเซปต์ดี จอมโจรหน้ากากทอง แต่เนื้อเรื่องดำเนินไปสะเปะสะ ไม่ใช่แนวที่ชอบเลย

[Ad · Rating 2 out of 5]

A novel which pits Japanese master detective Akechi Kogoro against Maurice Leblanc's gentleman thief Arsène Lupin (see Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief). Lupin featured in 17 novels and 39 short stories by Leblanc, starting with "The Arrest of Arsène Lupin" from 1905. In 1906 Leblanc pitted his master thief against Sherlock Holmes in the story "Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late" - the name Sherlock Holmes was for copyright reasons later changed into "Herlock Sholmes." Later also appeared the story collection "Arsène Lupin Contre Herlock Sholmes." So Ranpo repeats Leblanc's trick by bringing on Leblanc's Lupin, a Lupin who displays something of a a colonial and racist attitude and is castigated by Ranpo for his lack of chivalry. As he wrote in Japanese, Ranpo apparently didn't have to worry about copyright matters... Lupin would later be transformed into "The Fiend with the Twenty Faces," the master thief from Ranpo's children's books (see The Fiend with Twenty Faces). And again much later, he would keep Japanese minds occupied as Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, whose adventures form a manga (and anime) series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch (see Lupin III, Vol. 1).

It is clear that Ranpo was rather strongly influenced by Maurice Leblanc: with both writers, the master thieves announce their crimes in advance and escape by a certain trick which is soon after explained. In both cases, there is no real mystery – we know the thief will get away by a trick and we know that trick will be discovered, and that this will be repeated an X number of times. There are no real puzzles, and the novels read more as adventure stories for children than detective novels...

Gold Mask is episodic and light – Ranpo said of himself that he was not good in writing novels, he was in the first place a short story writer, so in his longer works there is no overarching structure, but he just strings several short stories together. Ranpo’s style of writing in this particular book also seems rather uninterested – as if he wanted to tell his story as quickly and with as little details as possible so that he could soon finish it. There is little "showing," but almost only quick "telling." There is also none of the fascination we find in Ranpo's "ero-guro" productions.

One could wonder why this book has been translated, while so many better stories (such as "Maggots", "The Monster Worm", "Playing Two Roles", "The Masked Dancers", "Unearthly Love" and "Pomegranate") and even novels like "The Demon of the Desert Isle" and "Wriggling in the Dark" are awaiting English translation. The publisher seems to be concentrating on the figure of Ranpo's detective Akechi Kogoro, but unfortunately, Ranpo’s Akechi stories are not his best work (with the exception of the first story, "The Case of the Murder on D. Hill" (translated in The Early Cases of Akechi Kogoro). Akechi Kogoro's character was initially not planned by Ranpo. In that first story of 1925 he is an amateur detective with a young, collegiate image. In the four next stories in which he appears (until and including "The Stalker in the Attic", see The Edogawa Rampo Reader), all still from 1925, he functions as a sort of plot device, appearing only towards the end of the stories to explain the solution (in fact, the stories would be better without him). His personality remains rather vague. Then in "The Dwarf" from 1926 (translated in The Early Cases of Akechi Kogoro) he appears as a professional detective who has spent time in Shanghai and wears Chinese robes. At the time of his next appearance, in "The Spiderman" of 1929, he has English-colonial or Indian looks and now is called a "master detective." In this capacity he will return in five more stories and novels: "Who" (1929), "The Limits of the Bizarre," "The Magician," the present "Gold Mask" and "The Vampire" (all 1930). And finally, from 1936 on, he is transformed into the dandy-like detective hero in the 27 volumes of the Boys Detective Club series of juvenile books. It is only there that he finds his final and stable form, with a twelve year old boy called Kobayashi and the Boys Detective Club as helpers (those "boys detectives" call a contemporary manga (and anime) to mind, "Conan the Detective" in Case Closed, Vol. 1).

But that is kid’s stuff – for the reader interested in literature, Edogawa Ranpo is in the first place the author of a number of fascinating "ero-guro" (erotic-grotesque) stories. I’m sure more of those in translation would find a welcoming public!

Two stars because I generally applaud translations from Japanese literature.

(Also see my blog at https://adblankestijn.blogspot.com/)

[Tobias Buller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this really quite tedious compared to The Beast in the Shadows. I will try some more Rampo but it all felt quite repetitive

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Luxembourg · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as Akechi's stories go this one is one of the most entertaining, I have a great fondess for the great detective and in that regard this book was 10/10. Besides that the story was plenty interesting, I will admit there are parts where it feels too stretched, as in Rampo was thinking of twists along the way just to make this book decently sized. It was still a good read but those certain pages made me kind of want to skip them because they took me a bit out of the world.

[Sem · Rating 3 out of 5]

This edition should have had another read-through before it was sent out into the world.

[sunflower · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,67

[laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

i enjoyed this but my god was it stupid

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gold Mask was a follow up to my first Edogawa Rampo novel, The Demon of the Lonely Isle. And it was quite a disappointment. Whereas Lonely Isle is a sophisticated, multi-layered work, focusing on psychology, mystery, and even sexual allure, Gold Mask, comparatively, is low brow. The actions of the police and the private detective, Akechi Kogoro, lose all plausibility, because they are so downright dumb. How many times do you capture a suspect and fail to handcuff them and pat them down for weapons? For Akechi and the police, the answer apparently is every time. And how many times do you stand around stunned while allowing a suspect to walk up to a door or window and run away? Again, every time!

Too, the novel is a bit disjointed. It's basically divided into four episodes: with Gold Mask climbing a tower and escaping the police who have surrounded him, Gold Mask assigning his agent to steal a work of art and hiding away in a wrecked house, Gold Mask's reveal at a party set up to mirror Poe's "Mask of the Red Death," and the final reveal of Gold Mask's secret remote hideaway on a Japanese mountain. The reveal is two layered: the first one is effective and shocking. The second one, however, again, lacks plausibility. Rampo realizes this, because he's forced to introduce a minor, secondary character all of a sudden to try and help explain away the massive incoherence caused by the second reveal.

Why so bad? I waited to read the two introductions until after reading the novel. Both of them explained that Rampo was seeking a "wider audience." Make that a stupid one, and it's more accurate. He also stated he wrote the story episodically, because it was serialized and he didn't himself know where the plot was going from week to week. It shows. Still, there are things to admire. I like Rampo's continued short chapters that make use of cliffhanger endings. He writes in a style over the two novels I've so far read that would make for easy film adaptations. His visual imagery is exceptional. His sense of Japanese atmosphere is an exotic treat for a foreign reader. He could have ditched, however, the idea of a crazy criminal mastermind and his minions running around in capes and gold masks. They make the Green Hornet, the Shadow, and Batman seem almost sophisticated.

[Anton K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Läst en del Rampo på sistone så det här får bli någon sorts samlad recension. Ganska märklig blandning av brittisk pusseldeckare och gotisk skräck, där motiv och undersökning nästan alltid kretsar kring någon sorts sexuell perversion eller våldsam avvikelse snarare än arvsrätter och fastigheter, någonstans mellan Edgar Allan Poe (säg författarnamnet högt, det är en pseudonym) och en mer freudiansk Agatha Christie. Mycket dubbelgångare, låsta rum och synbara vålnader.
Det mesta är skrivet på 20- och 30-talet och lagom slömisogynt, där alla kvinnor som har några som helst romantiska eller sexuella ambitioner utanför äktenskapet nästan oundvikligen slutar som förövare eller offer som i vilken slasherfilm som helst. Ger dock som all daterad populärkultur en ganska fascinerande inblick i tidens ideologiproduktion, speciellt den bit av Guldmasken där både översättaren i sitt förord och Rampo i texten tar Leblancs romanfigur Lupin och gör gentlemannatjuven till en sadistisk mördare, baserat på att han i en av sina noveller låter honom frångå sin vanliga motvilja mot våld när han skjuter ner marockanska soldater under en flykt. I boken gör han samma sak mot sina japanska motståndare och anklagas för att vara delaktig i "den vite mannens rasarrogans" - men han är det för att han behandlar japaner som "marockanska vildar".
Här är alltså den dubbelhet som lät japanerna framställa sig själva som antikoloniala förkämpar samtidigt som de koloniserade Korea, Kina och Sydostasien och utvecklade en egen rasism lika grotesk som sin europeiska motsvarighet för att klara av konsekvenserna av de väldiga brott som krävs för att driva ett kolonialimperium.
Överlag ett intressant författarskap som pekar fram mot senare japansk populärkultur, men inte tillräckligt intressant för att rekommendera ovillkorligt.

[SH · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mysterious thief wearing a gold mask is terrorising Tokyo. Akechi Kogoro is enlisted to help catch the thief who brazenly steals tightly guided treasures like the great pearl, the "Queen of Shima", from under the police's noses.

Borrowing Arsene Lupin: The main twist of the novel is that the main criminal is actually the French master thief, Arsene Lupin, who has come to Japan disguised as the French ambassador. I feel that I don't really like this; it feels like fan fiction to an extent and also a little lazy in that Rampo can borrow the reputation of Lupin without establishing himself the reputation of the villain.

There are a number of interesting set-pieces in the novel, all of which are very cool but some of which are very unbelievable. For example, the Masque of the Red Death party and the gigantic elevator are cool but completely unbelievable. Other examples - the lair inside the Giant Buddha, hijacking the aircraft of a man travelling around the world, Fujiko Otari's deep love of AL and her conflict with her family...

I feel like this story is probably very influential - Phantom Kid in Detective Conan seems to be entirely inspired by this story - and there are cool bits, but I found myself irritated when reading the novel because it felt a little too illogical.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gold Mask was the first book I’d read by Edogawa Rampo, so I can’t claim to be familiar with his works.

Akechi Kogoro is the amateur detective on the trail of a mysterious villain and thief who is terrorising Japan. The latter’s identity is hidden by his colourful costume, which gives the novel its name - a gold cape and a gold mask.

Gold Mask is an entertaining crime caper - with lots of twists and turns and elements which may seem familiar to readers of other early 19th Century crime novels. There was just enough here to keep my interest - the main protagonist is a colourful character - and not just due to his costume. He also employs ingenious little methods he employs to keep the public and the law guessing. The ‘hero’ of the novel - Kogoro - is also clever in that way classic detectives are without becoming too annoying.

Translator’s notes in this edition plus some notes from Rampo himself add interesting context to the novel and Kogoro’s development in other stories. I’d try another Rampo novel!

[Marged · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was honestly pretty disappointing - the author had a really irritating way of losing any tension he’d built up by sort of whispering to the reader how a scene would play out before we had the chance to experience it. It was a lot of, oh don’t worry, because that man in the hat wasn’t actually Akechi Kogoro, so later on when the building he’s in explodes it’s actually fine! It felt like such a waste of what could have been an exciting story.
The book was episodic, and I think the author was known as a short story writer more than a novelist, which makes sense.
The descriptions of Gold Mask in action were genuinely creepy at times. I loved the descriptions of him sort of hovering in windows and his gold cloak flying in the breeze. In a better book, the Gold Mask villain would have been a classic.
The Lupin tie-in didn’t work for me either, but to be fair I’m not familiar with the character. It was confusing when the French/Japanese dialogue started getting all mixed up, and I think that’s where the story fell apart for me.

[Cherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did. Bought on a whim because the cover caught my eye, this book starts out as your standard, almost magician like book. A trick occurs, it’s then explained, rinse and repeat. But I have to say, as I got further and further into the book, the more enamoured I became.

The narration is clumsy at times, in how it tries to encourage the reader, or help them remember things. But Rampo’s detective, Akechi Kogoro, is capable and charming, and I can’t wait to read more by this author, especially with this detective at the helm.

(What’s more, I have to say that, in borrowing someone else’s thief character for use, Rampo does not do the villain a disservice at all, instead showing him to be on his own detective’s level right until the very end.)

[Julien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gold Mask is a Japanese take on the Sherlock Holmes-style mystery, though the culprit is fairly obvious. That said, the plot is packed with more twists than the road to Genting Highlands. The writer takes a somewhat paternalistic tone toward the reader, but in a playful and cheeky way. A charming and entertaining read from a great Japanese crime writer.

——

Gold Mask est une sorte de Sherlock Holmes à la japonaise, bien que l’identité du coupable soit assez évidente. Pourtant, l’intrigue réserve plus de rebondissements qu’une route vers les hauteurs de Genting Highlands. L’auteur adopte un ton un peu paternaliste avec ses lecteurs, mais toujours avec malice et espièglerie. Une lecture agréable et attachante d’un excellent auteur de romans policiers japonais.

[Sasha Portelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and gripping detective novel where the main protagonist is on an endless hunt to catch the infamous ´gold mask’ thief and sometimes killer. Spoiler alert: it quickly is revealed that the man behind the gold mask is none other than Arsene Lupin, currently visiting Japan under the cover of the position of ambassador. I had honestly hoped the author would have done something other than this kind of high caliber fan fiction, but it remains fun and surprising throughout, delivered in short chapters that come across as these kind of cliff hanger episodes. I loved the style the book was as written in, but I think I would enjoy maybe some of his other works more. Will give them a try.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

สนุกมากเหมือนเดิม

เล่มนี้พิเศษตรงเอาจอมโจรลูแปงมาปะทะกับอาเคจิโกโร่ พล็อตเรื่องแปลกใหม่และน่าติดตาม แม้ว่ามีบางตอนที่เราพอจะเดาเนื้อเรื่องได้ แต่นั่นไม่ได้ทำให้รู้สึกเบื่อเลย กลับทำให้เราอยากอ่านมากขึ้นเรื่อยๆเพราะอยากรู้ว่าเนื้อเรื่องจะดำเนินไปในทางไหน จอมโจรจะโดนจับตอนไหนและจะมีทริกอะไรโผล่ออกมาอีก

เหมือนได้เห็นการประลองฝีมือและมันสมองของจอมโจรฝรั่งเศสกับนักสืบจากแดนอุทิตย์อุทัย

สนุกมาก ซีรีส์นี้ไม่เคยทำให้ผิดหวังเลยจริงๆ

[Joane Rogall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think Rampo Edogawa is just not my author. I like his horror short story ‘The human chair’ but the kogoro akechi stories are not mine. I got really annoyed with the book. Kogoro Akechi has a way to solve his cases that is so annoying to me. Normally I like people in books that are very or over confident. But I dislike it when you good told in the first chapters. Obviously he already know the really name of Gold Mask but you will know soon enough… there is a lot stuff like this in the book.

[John Kensel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old detective fiction, through the lens of Japan at the time. William Varteresian 's translation and notes are awesome. Edogowa Rampo was I think a very simple writer, but there's still a great sense of adventure in his stories, and Varteresian also provided notes to give context to some of the thing Rampo was making references too, as well as historic context going on in Japan at the time this book came out in the 30's. Please Check it out.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting as an historical artefact but I struggled with this! It was written originally as a serial and felt to me that the author was just making it up as he went along! (Which maybe the definition of an author! But you’ll see what I mean!)

[Pawit Mahattanasing · Rating 4 out of 5]

- รู้สึกเหมือนอ่านมังงะ เพลินดี
- ดำเนินเรื่องกระชับฉับไว แบ่งเป็นตอนสั้นๆ อ่านง่าย
- เหมาะสำหรับตะลุยอ่าน แทบไม่ได้มีปริศนาให้ขบคิดอะไร อ่านจบแล้วก็แล้วกันไป
- อุดมไปด้วยมุกเก่าแก่แต่ก็ยังสนุก

[Jaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

อ่านได้เรื่อยๆ แอบเบื่อนิดหน่อยบางช่วงเลยอ่านช้า

[Anida · Rating 4 out of 5]

สนุกดีนะ อยากอ่านเรื่องอื่นๆในชุดนักสืบอาเคจิ โคโกะโรด้วยจุง

[KunPunnawat · Rating 5 out of 5]

เหมือนดูหนังโจรกรรม แอบหักมุมเพราะปกติโจรหลักของรัมโบต้องเป็นคนนั้นสิ
แต่พอเป็นคนนี้ก็ยังรักษารสดั้งเดิมไว้ได้

[Book Beforebed_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

ในเรื่องไม่ได้มีปริศนาอะไรมากมาย ไม่มีปมของตัวละคร การดำเนินเรื่องมุ่งเน้นมาที่การเฉือนคมระหว่างโจรกับตำรวจ และโจรกับนักสืบ มันสนุกตรงที่อยากรู้ว่าทั้ง 2 ฝ่ายจะงัดกลลวงอะไรขึ้นมาสู้กัน

[Marzia_Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not finished. I got bored.

[Dylan Rock · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine cross over between the master Japanese detective Akechi Kogorō and French criminal master mind Arsène Lupin