The Red Star of Cadiz

by Go Osaka, Usha Jayaraman (Translator), Amanda Seaman (Preface)

Spain was still under the domination of the Franco dictatorship in 1975, and Japan itself harbored fears of terrorism by the radical left... Freelance public relations expert Urushida Ryo is asked by one of his major clients to help locate a man sought by famous Spanish guitar craftsman Jose Ramos: a Japanese guitarist known as Santos, who had visited Ramos' workshop twenty years earlier. In spite of his outstanding guitar technique, it had proved impossible to find him in Japan's flamenco guitar world. Urushida begins to trace Santos' footsteps from the scarce leads remaining... Author Osaka draws heavily on his own experiences in the advertising industry to portray the intense competition surrounding advertising agencies and their musical instrument manufacturing clients, as well as behind-the-scenes deals with consumer action groups. The story delves into the secrets surrounding the "Red Star of Cadiz," a legendary guitar created by a master craftsman during the Spanish Civil War, and the desires and losses of the people around it. And as Urushida probes deeper he is gradually pulled in a vortex of intrigue involving the Spanish ultra-left and secret police. Multiple story lines intersect, doubling back on one another and weaving a rich tapestry of memories, including Urushida's love for Risayo, at a rival PR firm; the activities of the staff at Urushida's agency; and the search that began as a simple and heartwarming request. The action shifts to Spain and accelerates, drawing the reader into a gripping story all the more real for the stunning visual imagery of Spain, and instilling a newfound love for flamenco guitar. Winner of three prestigious awards: the 96th Naoki Prize, the 40th Mystery Writers of Japan Prize, and the 5th Japan Adventure Fiction Association Prize. The perfect hard-boiled introduction to Japanese crime and suspense fiction

Genres: Japan, Fiction, Spain, Japanese Literature

447 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1986

About the author

The 11th president of the Mystery Writers of Japan (2001-2005)

Reviews

[Tenma · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The red star of Cadiz” is a super fun novel. An entertainment at its best, especially for lovers of corny Hollywood action flicks.

In 1975, the founder of a PR firm was asked to search for a guitar studded with precious diamonds, the most valuable of which was the “red star of Cadiz”. The search begins in Japan and spans almost half the book. This part is similar to, if not better than the detective works of Seicho Matsumoto. The events of the second half of the book take place in Spain where the PR guy finds himself involved with terror cells plotting to assassinate generalissimo Franco. This part reads like a perfect script for a cheesy political thriller with all the cliches of an immortal hero with too many “what the ..” coincidences. Although the novel is definitely not a literary masterpiece, it is very entertaining. The first half is a solid 5 while the second half is 4 stars at best boosted by a couple of melodramatic events at the end to give this novel an overall rating of 5.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Osaka Go's ambitious, multi-award-winning novel, a hard-boiled Japanese PR guy who loves Spain goes on a hunt for a valuable flamenco guitar and gets mixed up with extremists in both Japan and Spain. This book has plenty of action, humor, romance, and flamenco, as well as a mixed race wannabe terrorist. There were a couple of moments of melodrama at the end, but for the most part I found this book highly entertaining.

[隻眼簽到 · Rating 3 out of 5]

卡迪斯紅星。逢坂剛。
以一般小說而言，《卡迪斯紅星》是個好故事。但以偵探小說而言，它的刺激度就稍有不足。所以我給它兩顆星(普普通通)。
為什麼我覺得它刺激度不足？我想，這點彰顯了「人性」。我們的文化，正在逐步「開發」人性中「惡」的無限潛能。好人的典範，即使不說今不如古，至少也可以說，不可能再有任何的提升與令人驚奇的善行了。但人性的惡與惡蹟，卻不斷地在推陳出新。殘酷、冷血指數不斷上飇，刺激閾值也不斷增高。所以，小說令我覺得刺激度不足，不是作者寫的不好，只是我的胃口變大了。哀哉！

[Alex Yang · Rating 5 out of 5]

緊湊劇情 迷人主角 特別的謎題 必看

[mr. 阿創 · Rating 4 out of 5]

《卡迪斯紅星》是日本小說中少見、格局恢紘的動作冒險小說，也因此獲得1986年第96回的「直木賞」大獎。小說大致可拆分成兩個部份，上半部是標準的偵探小說，擔任公關顧問的主人公受客戶所託，追尋逸品吉他「卡迪斯紅星」，在正業裡不務正業地幹起了偵探工作，跟監、探訪展開一段尋寶奇謀，最後尾隨吉他一路追到西班牙，小說也在此風格丕變，逢坂剛筆鋒一轉，下半部主人公再次受客戶所託，莫名其妙化身日本版的詹姆斯龐德，一介公關捲入西班牙革命運動，多少次在刀鋒槍口下舔血，多少次憑藉著堅強意志化險為夷，最後雖然沒有完成任務帶回吉他，卻成就了一段轟轟烈烈的冒險傳奇。

最後的百頁結局是《卡迪斯紅星》的致命敗筆，小說五百多頁浩浩蕩蕩的舖陳，雖有風格不統一、角色刻劃不足這些作者自言處女作「幼稚不成熟」的部分，但是讀者的確能感受到逢坂剛所表達出來的創作熱情，讀得大呼酣暢。最後百頁明顯為了求個草草了事的收尾，就把前面一些不相干的人士（在作者上帝的律令下）強加集結起來，賦予他們一個身份，然後共同演出一齣八點檔才有的狗血完結篇，這點不只不能讓人信服，甚至令我感到可笑，主人公如此敬業，作者卻如此草率，不禁有種遭作者背叛的感受。

《卡迪斯紅星》對我而言稱不上是一部「好作品」，儘管如此，還是一部「好讀的作品」，尤其在西班牙歷險的部分，每每心中會浮現浦沢直樹筆下、天馬醫師犯險歐洲追跡「怪物」那種似曾相識的風格，只不過天馬醫師行前有先經過軍事方面的專業訓練，冒險犯難還能有合理的脈絡，漆田亮則是一身手無搏雞之力的智士，總是二話不說身先士卒、三番兩次往死裡去，實在令人敬佩日本人面對工作不惜肝腦塗地、無論合理與否、雖千萬人吾往矣的工作態度（笑）。可惜逢坂剛聽信編輯所言，把前面近三分之一公司裡勾心鬥角的商戰篇幅全數刪去了，不然讀《卡迪斯紅星》一書風格三變，應該會蠻有趣的。

[Marina Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book took a while to get going: the first few scenes set in Japan introduced perhaps a few too many characters (some of them quite similar) and scenes that seemed trivial. But then, when the action moves to Spain during the dying years of the Franco regime, the story catches fire. An author obviously very knowledgeable about Spain and flamenco music, and able to convey his passion to the reader.

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take a Japanese author who's infatuated with Spain and has watched too many Humphrey Bogart noir movies and you get this book.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: about the secrets of a legendary guitar created during the Spanish Civil War and the desires and losses of people around it.

[Hiroshi Oto · Rating 4 out of 5]

モズシリーズとはまた違う感じで面白い