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Villain
A young insurance saleswoman is found strangled at Mitsuse Pass. Her family and friends are shocked and terrified. The pass—which tunnels through a mountainous region of southern Japan—has an eerie a hideout for robbers, murderers, and ghostly creatures lurking at night.
Soon afterward, a young construction worker becomes the primary suspect. As the investigation unfolds, the events leading up to the murder come darkly into focus, revealing a troubled cast of the victim, Yoshino, a woman much too eager for acceptance; the suspect, Yuichi, a car enthusiast misunderstood by everyone around him; the victim’s middle-aged father, a barber disappointed with his life; and the suspect’s aging grandmother, who survived the starvation of postwar Japan only to be tormented by local gangsters. And, finally, there is desperate Mitsuyo, the lonely woman who finds Yuichi online and makes the big mistake of falling for him.
A stunningly dark thriller and a tapestry of noir, Villain is the English-language debut for Shuichi Yoshida, one of Japan’s most acclaimed and accomplished writers. From desolate seaside towns and lighthouses to love hotels and online chat rooms, Villain reveals the inner lives of men and women who all have something to hide. Part police procedural, part gritty realism, Villain is a coolly seductive story of loneliness and alienation in the southernmost reaches of Japan.
Soon afterward, a young construction worker becomes the primary suspect. As the investigation unfolds, the events leading up to the murder come darkly into focus, revealing a troubled cast of the victim, Yoshino, a woman much too eager for acceptance; the suspect, Yuichi, a car enthusiast misunderstood by everyone around him; the victim’s middle-aged father, a barber disappointed with his life; and the suspect’s aging grandmother, who survived the starvation of postwar Japan only to be tormented by local gangsters. And, finally, there is desperate Mitsuyo, the lonely woman who finds Yuichi online and makes the big mistake of falling for him.
A stunningly dark thriller and a tapestry of noir, Villain is the English-language debut for Shuichi Yoshida, one of Japan’s most acclaimed and accomplished writers. From desolate seaside towns and lighthouses to love hotels and online chat rooms, Villain reveals the inner lives of men and women who all have something to hide. Part police procedural, part gritty realism, Villain is a coolly seductive story of loneliness and alienation in the southernmost reaches of Japan.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published April 6, 2007
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About the author
Shūichi Yoshida
64 books162 followersShūichi Yoshida (吉田 修一) was born in Nagasaki, and studied Business Administration at Hosei University. He won the Bungakukai Prize for New Writers in 1997 for his story "Saigo no Musuko", and the Akutagawa Prize in 2002 (the fifth time he'd been nominated for the prize) for "Park Life". In 2002 he also won the Yamamoto Prize for Parade, and for winning both literary and popular prizes Yoshida was seen as a crossover writer, like Amy Yamada or Masahiko Shimada. In 2003 he wrote lyrics for the song "Great Escape" on Tomoyasu Hotei's album Doberman. His 2007 novel Villain won the Osaragi Jiro Prize and the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award, and was recently adapted into an award-winning 2010 film by Lee Sang-il.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 396 reviews
August 14, 2022
5 "The Villainy and Victimhood of Loneliness" Stars !!!
4th Favorite Read of 2018
The simple prose initially lulls you to believe that you are reading a straightforward murder mystery.
You ride along the seaside in suburban Japan and are enveloped in mist, pollution, marital discontent, family dysfunction and a eighty two types of loneliness.
You are introduced to a dozen or so characters who are linked either to the murderer or the victim and their psyches swirl inside of you until the question demands are they all not villains ? Gossip, lies, extortion, smothering, overdependence, thieving, abandonment, misusing and assaults. Villainy in all its forms: masculine, feminine, infantile, aged.
Villainy as an antidote to the victimhood of loneliness that permeates all these characters deep into their core. Villainy that is as deep as the ocean of coastal Japan, as high as the many mountains, so greasy as the sushi in the bento boxes, so cheap like garishly colored polyester scarves, so sordid as the hourly love hotels that dot every highway, so sensationalistic as the talk shows blare and yet the villainy and victimhood continue in their mutually entwined sadomasochistic fashion until many little climaxes are reached and then dissipate with their insignificance.
Who killed Yoshino ?
This really does not matter as these characters enact all their own villainies as a way to stay alive, feel alive and be in love.
A Japanese masterwork of the highest calibre. Shook me to my core and as I stare into my reflection see the villain there as well.
4th Favorite Read of 2018
The simple prose initially lulls you to believe that you are reading a straightforward murder mystery.
You ride along the seaside in suburban Japan and are enveloped in mist, pollution, marital discontent, family dysfunction and a eighty two types of loneliness.
You are introduced to a dozen or so characters who are linked either to the murderer or the victim and their psyches swirl inside of you until the question demands are they all not villains ? Gossip, lies, extortion, smothering, overdependence, thieving, abandonment, misusing and assaults. Villainy in all its forms: masculine, feminine, infantile, aged.
Villainy as an antidote to the victimhood of loneliness that permeates all these characters deep into their core. Villainy that is as deep as the ocean of coastal Japan, as high as the many mountains, so greasy as the sushi in the bento boxes, so cheap like garishly colored polyester scarves, so sordid as the hourly love hotels that dot every highway, so sensationalistic as the talk shows blare and yet the villainy and victimhood continue in their mutually entwined sadomasochistic fashion until many little climaxes are reached and then dissipate with their insignificance.
Who killed Yoshino ?
This really does not matter as these characters enact all their own villainies as a way to stay alive, feel alive and be in love.
A Japanese masterwork of the highest calibre. Shook me to my core and as I stare into my reflection see the villain there as well.
December 7, 2020
One of the my favorite novels of the last 5 years is Willnot by James Sallis. It is marketed as a mystery. The blurb starts thus: the “remains of several people have suddenly been discovered, unnerving the community and unsettling [the MC],” and it closes with a description of a shooting. One is expressly led to expect that the focus of the novel will be those bodies and the fallout of that last crime.
Reviews of Willnot are sharply divided between 5s and 1s with each set of readers looking across the aisle as it were askance at the other. The ones who thought they were picking up a mystery are first annoyed to be reading a meandering tale of a community of a dozen or so characters and the details of their interior lives, weaknesses, relationships with one another, all of which seems to be a distraction from solving the mystery. Finally, mystery-seeking readers who stayed for the entire ride are angered as the author ends the book with the mystery unsolved, because that kind of resolution wasn’t the point of the story. I am on the 5-star side of the Willnot ledger because Sallis’ writing is supremely elegant, his character studies perceptive and poetic, and – much as I love mysteries – I didn’t select it because I was looking to read a mystery. Since 2016, I’ve rolled my eyes more than a few times as I read detractor reviews of Willnot, thinking, in pure, privately-expressed LitFic snob fashion – “oh, those frightful simpletons who lack appreciation for a complex tale told with some of the most breath-taking sentences I’ve encountered.”
Villain is my punishment for those moments of unpleasant condescension, and a bookend to the above-described experience. (Perhaps it’s only a start to God’s plan to teach me greater LitFic humility, but I so hope to escape 2019 without encountering any more novels as moral lessons from on high.) I voted for this book in the Japanese Lit group (heck, I may have nominated it, more’s the shame) on the basis of the blurb, anticipating curling up with a warm blanket and suitable beverage on a cold fall’s eve, prepared for the satisfaction of enjoying an award-winning Japanese crime novel. The blurb for Villain includes the following: “tapestry of noir”, “stunningly dark thriller,” “police procedural,” “something to hide,” “her family and friends are shocked and terrified.” If that wasn’t enough, I took comfort in the brutality implied by the lovely cover, a gun formed by pieces of skeletons, displayed on a black background. It’s a beautiful piece of artwork, but …wait for it: there isn’t a single firearm in this novel. Not lying around. Not in a glove compartment. Not even displayed by thugs threatening an elderly woman to give them all of her savings. No guns. Also no skeletons. The bait-and-switch is on.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
A couple of days ago, I curled up with a warm blanket, a suitable beverage and my copy of Villain. Imagine my surprise when I realized that its police detectives are nameless and only briefly present; the police procedures, if they occur, occur off-screen as it were; the murderer is disclosed early on, notwithstanding the distraction of Keigo, a character whose conduct and attitude of entitlement are so over-the-top that he’s a mere caracature; and approximately 50% in, Villain turns into …. a love story combined with a character study. Yes. The murder is a jumping off point for a tale about finding one's soul-mate, albeit perhaps too late, loneliness, strained and broken relationships, self-absorbed, absent mothers, shallow friends, the cruelty of young adults, sadness, bleakness, anger – any and all of which, explored by a skilled author, have been the focus of many a literary masterpiece. But Yoshida isn’t that author. Villain is sprawling and undisciplined. Pages are spent on describing the behavior of customers in a men’s suit shop. More pages are spent on a recurring side thread wherein Yuishi’s grandmother is the target of thugs selling unregulated medicines for a price that is the equivalent of her life savings. Many more pages are allocated to the thoughts and actions of the murder victim’s friends, but they aren’t close friends and their thoughts are not revealing or interesting. We learn the prices of many things, from the hourly rate of love motels to various food items to a gallon of gas. The core themes in which Yoshida is interested – alienation and loneliness -- are deftly handled by Yōko Ogawa in Hotel Iris. If they interest you, I strongly recommend it. Villain is no Hotel Iris.
Pantheon Books (Random House)’s marketing team earned my full-price investment this once, but it will be some time, if ever, before I trust them again with my dollars. Misleading readers into spending USD $25.95 is a practice most foul. But even readers who want what Yoshida attempts to deliver will be disappointed. I won’t trust Yoshida again with my time.
For an excellent review sans self-absorbed whining, read my GR friend David Haws’ review https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
Reviews of Willnot are sharply divided between 5s and 1s with each set of readers looking across the aisle as it were askance at the other. The ones who thought they were picking up a mystery are first annoyed to be reading a meandering tale of a community of a dozen or so characters and the details of their interior lives, weaknesses, relationships with one another, all of which seems to be a distraction from solving the mystery. Finally, mystery-seeking readers who stayed for the entire ride are angered as the author ends the book with the mystery unsolved, because that kind of resolution wasn’t the point of the story. I am on the 5-star side of the Willnot ledger because Sallis’ writing is supremely elegant, his character studies perceptive and poetic, and – much as I love mysteries – I didn’t select it because I was looking to read a mystery. Since 2016, I’ve rolled my eyes more than a few times as I read detractor reviews of Willnot, thinking, in pure, privately-expressed LitFic snob fashion – “oh, those frightful simpletons who lack appreciation for a complex tale told with some of the most breath-taking sentences I’ve encountered.”
Villain is my punishment for those moments of unpleasant condescension, and a bookend to the above-described experience. (Perhaps it’s only a start to God’s plan to teach me greater LitFic humility, but I so hope to escape 2019 without encountering any more novels as moral lessons from on high.) I voted for this book in the Japanese Lit group (heck, I may have nominated it, more’s the shame) on the basis of the blurb, anticipating curling up with a warm blanket and suitable beverage on a cold fall’s eve, prepared for the satisfaction of enjoying an award-winning Japanese crime novel. The blurb for Villain includes the following: “tapestry of noir”, “stunningly dark thriller,” “police procedural,” “something to hide,” “her family and friends are shocked and terrified.” If that wasn’t enough, I took comfort in the brutality implied by the lovely cover, a gun formed by pieces of skeletons, displayed on a black background. It’s a beautiful piece of artwork, but …wait for it: there isn’t a single firearm in this novel. Not lying around. Not in a glove compartment. Not even displayed by thugs threatening an elderly woman to give them all of her savings. No guns. Also no skeletons. The bait-and-switch is on.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
A couple of days ago, I curled up with a warm blanket, a suitable beverage and my copy of Villain. Imagine my surprise when I realized that its police detectives are nameless and only briefly present; the police procedures, if they occur, occur off-screen as it were; the murderer is disclosed early on, notwithstanding the distraction of Keigo, a character whose conduct and attitude of entitlement are so over-the-top that he’s a mere caracature; and approximately 50% in, Villain turns into …. a love story combined with a character study. Yes. The murder is a jumping off point for a tale about finding one's soul-mate, albeit perhaps too late, loneliness, strained and broken relationships, self-absorbed, absent mothers, shallow friends, the cruelty of young adults, sadness, bleakness, anger – any and all of which, explored by a skilled author, have been the focus of many a literary masterpiece. But Yoshida isn’t that author. Villain is sprawling and undisciplined. Pages are spent on describing the behavior of customers in a men’s suit shop. More pages are spent on a recurring side thread wherein Yuishi’s grandmother is the target of thugs selling unregulated medicines for a price that is the equivalent of her life savings. Many more pages are allocated to the thoughts and actions of the murder victim’s friends, but they aren’t close friends and their thoughts are not revealing or interesting. We learn the prices of many things, from the hourly rate of love motels to various food items to a gallon of gas. The core themes in which Yoshida is interested – alienation and loneliness -- are deftly handled by Yōko Ogawa in Hotel Iris. If they interest you, I strongly recommend it. Villain is no Hotel Iris.
Pantheon Books (Random House)’s marketing team earned my full-price investment this once, but it will be some time, if ever, before I trust them again with my dollars. Misleading readers into spending USD $25.95 is a practice most foul. But even readers who want what Yoshida attempts to deliver will be disappointed. I won’t trust Yoshida again with my time.
For an excellent review sans self-absorbed whining, read my GR friend David Haws’ review https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
December 30, 2012
I have a weakness for Japanese crime novels--Matsumoto, Miyabe, Higashino--and this one, by Shuichi Yoshida, is among the best. What's wonderful is how easily, how naturally, Yoshida slips into various points of view, giving us a full picture of the culture of a contemporary small Japanese city and seaside town. The novel might be subtitled Mitsuse Pass as the treacherous mountain road, the scene of the crime, is always in the background and often visited by various characters. But perhaps the most impressive aspect of the novel is the questions it raises, the issues of morality it explores: is the villain of the title the murderer? Or is the unfeeling wealthy character who leads to the victim's demise the real villain? Or is contemporary workaday world, with its breakdown of family ties, to blame? The novel covers a wonderful cross-section of contemporary Japanese family life: sisters, grandparents, an absent mother, husband and wife (father and mother), and young men. The lives of the characters also interweave in ways that are believable. Finally, there is also a love story here as well as a Roshomon tale.
November 27, 2010
You may have seen Villain touted as "the next Stieg Larsson." Never mind that Steig Larsson is a person and Villain is a book. Probably the people who said this meant Stieg Larsson's books. So aside from the fact that they are both translated into English and involve murder, I noted the following similarities between the two for however many chapters it took for me to get bored of writing stuff down while trying to read this kind of dull book:
- we're repeatedly told what street everything is on, and about characters driving on one street and turning onto another; these kinds of details are meaningless to readers who don't live in Sweden or whatever small city in Japan this book is set in.
- Brand names are mentioned constantly (Tiffany earrings, Louis Vitton purse, Audi A6) along with associated prices; this is not nearly as blatant in Villain as we never learn what kind of cell phone everyone uses.
- whenever characters sit down for a meal, we're told what they eat and how much it cost; they eat fewer sandwiches and drink less coffee in Villain, but there is a stunning description of how the bill was split three ways after a group outing.
That's it. The only other thing in my notes was that in Villain, one? of the characters doesn't smoke, which would never happen in a Stieg Larsson novel. Eh. Maybe if I'd taken more careful notes, this review would continue to be amusing. But like I said, the book is pretty boring, so what do you expect?
So anyway, I read this like two months ago but I keep forgetting to review it, probably because it was largely forgettable. It's a really weird book. It's ostensibly a mystery story, but it tells you who the killer was pretty much right away, then it fakes you out for a while, making you think that no, maybe it wasn't him, but really, who else can it be? And what do you know: it is.
As referenced above, I kind of did read this because I saw it referred to several times as "THE NEXT STIEG LARSSON?!" (interrobang?!) Now that I have finished it, of course, I can see that reviewing it as such is ludicrous, and offers a total misreading of why The Girl Who... books are popular. I mean, yes, this one was also translated, and it's also about a grisly murder mystery, and there is some social commentary (amorality among the youth in modern Japan) and whatnot, but, and maybe I'm wrong, I don't think anyone reads Stieg Larsson for the way it delves into Swedish politics (unless readers actually like to be slightly bored and confused).
No, Stieg Larsson's books are clearly popular because of the title character; it certainly isn't their airtight plotting or, good lord, the writing. So when I pick up a book touted as "the next Stieg," I'm not looking for a sexy mystery, I'm looking for a sexy mystery with interesting characters. Villain... doesn't really have those. There's no real protagonist -- the story follows four or five people that are loosely connected to the murderer and his victim -- and though we find out a lot about each of them, they never feel developed beyond the circumstances of the plot. Which is weird because the half-baked plot seems beside the point; my impression is that the author sees this as a character study first, but aside from forcing me to spend a lot of time reading from the POV of a weak-willed sociopath, he doesn't really do anything interesting in that regard.
And from the "don't judge a book by the cover" files: while this is a neat image, there are no guns in this book, nor are there skeletons. So yeah, that doesn't really makes sense at all. Not even thematically, unless you want to get really obtuse about it ("See, it's about the way VIOLENCE is structured into the society, like a foundation or BONES if you will...").
- we're repeatedly told what street everything is on, and about characters driving on one street and turning onto another; these kinds of details are meaningless to readers who don't live in Sweden or whatever small city in Japan this book is set in.
- Brand names are mentioned constantly (Tiffany earrings, Louis Vitton purse, Audi A6) along with associated prices; this is not nearly as blatant in Villain as we never learn what kind of cell phone everyone uses.
- whenever characters sit down for a meal, we're told what they eat and how much it cost; they eat fewer sandwiches and drink less coffee in Villain, but there is a stunning description of how the bill was split three ways after a group outing.
That's it. The only other thing in my notes was that in Villain, one? of the characters doesn't smoke, which would never happen in a Stieg Larsson novel. Eh. Maybe if I'd taken more careful notes, this review would continue to be amusing. But like I said, the book is pretty boring, so what do you expect?
So anyway, I read this like two months ago but I keep forgetting to review it, probably because it was largely forgettable. It's a really weird book. It's ostensibly a mystery story, but it tells you who the killer was pretty much right away, then it fakes you out for a while, making you think that no, maybe it wasn't him, but really, who else can it be? And what do you know: it is.
As referenced above, I kind of did read this because I saw it referred to several times as "THE NEXT STIEG LARSSON?!" (interrobang?!) Now that I have finished it, of course, I can see that reviewing it as such is ludicrous, and offers a total misreading of why The Girl Who... books are popular. I mean, yes, this one was also translated, and it's also about a grisly murder mystery, and there is some social commentary (amorality among the youth in modern Japan) and whatnot, but, and maybe I'm wrong, I don't think anyone reads Stieg Larsson for the way it delves into Swedish politics (unless readers actually like to be slightly bored and confused).
No, Stieg Larsson's books are clearly popular because of the title character; it certainly isn't their airtight plotting or, good lord, the writing. So when I pick up a book touted as "the next Stieg," I'm not looking for a sexy mystery, I'm looking for a sexy mystery with interesting characters. Villain... doesn't really have those. There's no real protagonist -- the story follows four or five people that are loosely connected to the murderer and his victim -- and though we find out a lot about each of them, they never feel developed beyond the circumstances of the plot. Which is weird because the half-baked plot seems beside the point; my impression is that the author sees this as a character study first, but aside from forcing me to spend a lot of time reading from the POV of a weak-willed sociopath, he doesn't really do anything interesting in that regard.
And from the "don't judge a book by the cover" files: while this is a neat image, there are no guns in this book, nor are there skeletons. So yeah, that doesn't really makes sense at all. Not even thematically, unless you want to get really obtuse about it ("See, it's about the way VIOLENCE is structured into the society, like a foundation or BONES if you will...").
July 8, 2023
2.75
“Bà chẳng biết đó là ai đang sống ở đâu nhưng trên đời thật cũng có kẻ tàn ác quá…"
Trước đây khi mình nhìn thấy quyển sách này mình nghĩ, chắc nó kể về một kẻ sát nhân máu lạnh nào đó. Nhưng thực chất những gì diễn ra trong cuốn sách không phải như mình đã nghĩ.
Ác nhân xoay quanh cái chết của một cô gái trẻ, Yoshino, tại đèo Mitsue - nơi được đồn đại là có ma.
Đan xen giữa nhiều điểm nhìn khác nhau từ nhiều nhân vật - người đọc sẽ có một cái nhìn về chính nạn nhân Yoshino, lẫn hung thủ Yuichi - gã trai công nhân xây dựng sống cùng ông bà.
Shuichi Yoshida có cách viết về tâm lý rất thú vị, xuyên suốt diễn biến mình từ tội nghiệp đến cả ghét nạn nhân Yoshino, mình cũng nghĩ cô ta chết là đáng! Và mình thương cảm cho Yuichi - người vốn trầm tính và có một quá khứ đau buồn; kể cả những phần sau mình chỉ tội cho Yuichi.
Nhưng thật tiếc, trước đây mình đã đọc một quyển khác của Shuichi Yoshida và yếu tố trinh thám của quyển sách đó rất yếu, tệ hơn là yếu tố trinh thám của Ác nhân cũng như thế thậm chí là bình thường hơn. Đan xen nhiều góc nhìn, nhưng có những g��c nhìn khiến mình cảm thấy vô nghĩa và khiến câu chuyện dài dòng. Đến cuối sách, có rất nhiều sự phẫn uất đến từ những nhân vật, nhưng đáng tiếc là nó vẫn rất bình thường.
Đọc xong Ác nhân mình tự hỏi, "Ai mới thực sự là ác nhân?" Yuichi? Nạn nhân Yoshino? Hay bất kỳ ai cũng có thể là "ác nhân"?
“Bà chẳng biết đó là ai đang sống ở đâu nhưng trên đời thật cũng có kẻ tàn ác quá…"
Trước đây khi mình nhìn thấy quyển sách này mình nghĩ, chắc nó kể về một kẻ sát nhân máu lạnh nào đó. Nhưng thực chất những gì diễn ra trong cuốn sách không phải như mình đã nghĩ.
Ác nhân xoay quanh cái chết của một cô gái trẻ, Yoshino, tại đèo Mitsue - nơi được đồn đại là có ma.
Đan xen giữa nhiều điểm nhìn khác nhau từ nhiều nhân vật - người đọc sẽ có một cái nhìn về chính nạn nhân Yoshino, lẫn hung thủ Yuichi - gã trai công nhân xây dựng sống cùng ông bà.
Shuichi Yoshida có cách viết về tâm lý rất thú vị, xuyên suốt diễn biến mình từ tội nghiệp đến cả ghét nạn nhân Yoshino, mình cũng nghĩ cô ta chết là đáng! Và mình thương cảm cho Yuichi - người vốn trầm tính và có một quá khứ đau buồn; kể cả những phần sau mình chỉ tội cho Yuichi.
Nhưng thật tiếc, trước đây mình đã đọc một quyển khác của Shuichi Yoshida và yếu tố trinh thám của quyển sách đó rất yếu, tệ hơn là yếu tố trinh thám của Ác nhân cũng như thế thậm chí là bình thường hơn. Đan xen nhiều góc nhìn, nhưng có những g��c nhìn khiến mình cảm thấy vô nghĩa và khiến câu chuyện dài dòng. Đến cuối sách, có rất nhiều sự phẫn uất đến từ những nhân vật, nhưng đáng tiếc là nó vẫn rất bình thường.
Đọc xong Ác nhân mình tự hỏi, "Ai mới thực sự là ác nhân?" Yuichi? Nạn nhân Yoshino? Hay bất kỳ ai cũng có thể là "ác nhân"?
August 27, 2010
Crime novels are often the best kind of fiction for illuminating a society, and I've certainly found that to be the case with the Japanese crime fiction I've read. They really highlight some of the aspects of Japan that are so completely different from life in America. In this first of Yoshida's books to be translated into English, a sense of isolation and oppression hangs heavily over many of the characters, both young and old, and the overall effect is a portrait of a stifling society at odds with itself.
The story concerns the killing of a young inurance saleswoman along an isolated mountain road, and the people affected by her murder. Moving back and forth in time, we meet the victim and her workmates on the night of the killing, two men she had been involved with and their friends, her parents, the grandparents of a another character, and a few others. The cast of construction workers, insurance saleswomen, store assistants, barbers, and poor retirees is almost a neorealist slice of modern Japan, showing the decided unglamorous side of the country. Through their eyes and voices, the book shifts between the past and present, slowly building a complete picture of victim and perpetrator.
The author is not really concerned with the question of whodunnit, so much as whydunnit. There's only the merest nod to genre convention in terms of keeping the reader guessing as to who the killer is. The book is about the psychology behind the murder and conflence of influences that led to the act. One thing that's kind of nice about it is that it avoids both the familiar big city setting, as well as the really rural areas, instead finding a place of desperation among the medium towns, small cities, highways, and shabby love hotels of sourthernmost Japan. Desperation is probably the key to the novel, as so many of the characters are trying to escape the mundane routines they are stuck in, while the larger society sits ready to judge each and every one of them. It doesn't really work as a traditional crime novel, but as a portrait of modern Japan its well worth reading.
Note: The cover has a really arresting design, but it's kind of an odd and misleading one, since there's no sign or mention of a gun in the story, nor are any bones involved in any way. Doesn't really capture the tone of the story at all.
The story concerns the killing of a young inurance saleswoman along an isolated mountain road, and the people affected by her murder. Moving back and forth in time, we meet the victim and her workmates on the night of the killing, two men she had been involved with and their friends, her parents, the grandparents of a another character, and a few others. The cast of construction workers, insurance saleswomen, store assistants, barbers, and poor retirees is almost a neorealist slice of modern Japan, showing the decided unglamorous side of the country. Through their eyes and voices, the book shifts between the past and present, slowly building a complete picture of victim and perpetrator.
The author is not really concerned with the question of whodunnit, so much as whydunnit. There's only the merest nod to genre convention in terms of keeping the reader guessing as to who the killer is. The book is about the psychology behind the murder and conflence of influences that led to the act. One thing that's kind of nice about it is that it avoids both the familiar big city setting, as well as the really rural areas, instead finding a place of desperation among the medium towns, small cities, highways, and shabby love hotels of sourthernmost Japan. Desperation is probably the key to the novel, as so many of the characters are trying to escape the mundane routines they are stuck in, while the larger society sits ready to judge each and every one of them. It doesn't really work as a traditional crime novel, but as a portrait of modern Japan its well worth reading.
Note: The cover has a really arresting design, but it's kind of an odd and misleading one, since there's no sign or mention of a gun in the story, nor are any bones involved in any way. Doesn't really capture the tone of the story at all.
July 16, 2019
อันที่จริงแล้วพล็อตเรื่องไม่ได้ใหม่เลย แต่คุณนักเขียนไปสุดในทางนี้มากครับ ก้าวข้ามประเด็นการตัดสินคนจาก Stereotype ภายนอก (ผมทอง ตัวใหญ่ นัดมีอะไรกับผู้หญิงแปลกหน้า) ไปยังการตั้งคำถามถึงหลักการประเมินคุณค่าบุคคลจากสิ่งแย่ๆ ที่เขาทำเพียงครั้งเดียว ทั้งที่ก่อนหน้าเขาเป็นสุจริตชนมาทั้งชีวิต
ส่วนตัวเราชอบการดำเนินเรื่อง ผู้เขียนวางให้ตัวเอกตกอยู่ในฐานะผู้ต้องสงสัยที่มีโอกาสมากในการลงมือ สร้างความคลางแคลงแก่ผู้อ่านโดยไม่เล่ารายละเอียดในคืนเกิดเหตุ แต่ปล่อยให้คาดเดาจากสิ่งที่ตัวเอกทำหลังจากเหตุในคืนนั้นแทน ภาพการใช้ชีวิตสุดแสนธรรมดาของผู้ชายปากหนัก มืดมนหม่นหมอง ก่อนจะสลับไปเล่ายังเรื่องส่วนตัวของตัวละครอื่นๆ โดยรอบ ซึ่งโดยรวม พวกเขาก็ไม่ได้แตกต่างจากตัวเอกผมทองของเราสักนิดเดียว หรือถ้าพูดยิ่งกว่านั้น แทบทุกการกระทำล้วนเป็นสิ่งที่คนอ่านอย่างเราๆ ท่านๆ ทำกันเป็นปกติ จนไม่ได้รู้สึกว่ามันเป็นเรื่องผิดแปลก เพียงแต่เราไม่นำมาพูดกันภายนอกเท่านั้น
คล้ายกับว่า ผู้เขียนกระตุ้นให้คิด ตัวละครผู้นี้ไม่ได้แตกต่างจากตัวเราเองเลย อาจด้วยพื้นเพภูมิหลังฝังใจที่ทำให้มนุษย์แตกต่างกัน แต่พื้นฐานยังคงเป็นคนธรรมดาคนนึงที่มีความต้องการตามธรรมชาติ ซึ่งบางครั้งอาจมากเกินไปจากอารมณ์หรือสิ่งกระตุ้นอื่นๆ กระนั้นสิ่งที่เขาประพฤติปฏิบัติมาตลอดชีวิต มันไม่มีค่าเลยหรือเมื่อนำไปเทียบกับเหตุการณ์แย่ๆ เพียงครั้งเดียวที่เขาพลั้งพลาด
เราจะสามารถตัดสินคนจากการกระทำครั้งนั้น แล้วจัดให้เขาอยู่ในกลุ่มคนเลวได้เลยหรือไม่?
ตอนเด็กๆ นี่เคยคิดว่า คนทำผิดกฏหมายคือคนผิดแน่นอน พอโตขึ้นมา จึงได้เรียนรู้ถึงวิธีการหาเส้นทางในช่องโหว่ของกฎระเบียบต่างๆ ได้รู้จักสิ่งที่เราเรียกกันว่าพื้นที่สีเทา ซึ่งการที่ต้องไปตัดสินคนที่อยู่ในพื้นที่นั้นไม่เคยง่ายเลย
ในฐานะที่ติดตามผลงานของผู้เขียนมาสองสามเรื่อง (ส่วนใหญ่จากงานดัดแปลงภาพยนตร์) บอกได้เลยว่าเล่มนี้ไม่น่าพลาดครับ คุณโยชิดะดำเนินเรื่องเรื่อยๆ ค่อยๆ ให้ความหวังคนอ่าน กว่าจะรู้ตัวอีกทีมันก็กลายเป็นเนื้อร้ายกัดกินหัวใจเราเสียแล้ว เลือดเย็นสะใจดี (จะได้อ่านเล่มอื่นรึเปล่าให้ทาย)
ส่วนตัวเราชอบการดำเนินเรื่อง ผู้เขียนวางให้ตัวเอกตกอยู่ในฐานะผู้ต้องสงสัยที่มีโอกาสมากในการลงมือ สร้างความคลางแคลงแก่ผู้อ่านโดยไม่เล่ารายละเอียดในคืนเกิดเหตุ แต่ปล่อยให้คาดเดาจากสิ่งที่ตัวเอกทำหลังจากเหตุในคืนนั้นแทน ภาพการใช้ชีวิตสุดแสนธรรมดาของผู้ชายปากหนัก มืดมนหม่นหมอง ก่อนจะสลับไปเล่ายังเรื่องส่วนตัวของตัวละครอื่นๆ โดยรอบ ซึ่งโดยรวม พวกเขาก็ไม่ได้แตกต่างจากตัวเอกผมทองของเราสักนิดเดียว หรือถ้าพูดยิ่งกว่านั้น แทบทุกการกระทำล้วนเป็นสิ่งที่คนอ่านอย่างเราๆ ท่านๆ ทำกันเป็นปกติ จนไม่ได้รู้สึกว่ามันเป็นเรื่องผิดแปลก เพียงแต่เราไม่นำมาพูดกันภายนอกเท่านั้น
คล้ายกับว่า ผู้เขียนกระตุ้นให้คิด ตัวละครผู้นี้ไม่ได้แตกต่างจากตัวเราเองเลย อาจด้วยพื้นเพภูมิหลังฝังใจที่ทำให้มนุษย์แตกต่างกัน แต่พื้นฐานยังคงเป็นคนธรรมดาคนนึงที่มีความต้องการตามธรรมชาติ ซึ่งบางครั้งอาจมากเกินไปจากอารมณ์หรือสิ่งกระตุ้นอื่นๆ กระนั้นสิ่งที่เขาประพฤติปฏิบัติมาตลอดชีวิต มันไม่มีค่าเลยหรือเมื่อนำไปเทียบกับเหตุการณ์แย่ๆ เพียงครั้งเดียวที่เขาพลั้งพลาด
เราจะสามารถตัดสินคนจากการกระทำครั้งนั้น แล้วจัดให้เขาอยู่ในกลุ่มคนเลวได้เลยหรือไม่?
ตอนเด็กๆ นี่เคยคิดว่า คนทำผิดกฏหมายคือคนผิดแน่นอน พอโตขึ้นมา จึงได้เรียนรู้ถึงวิธีการหาเส้นทางในช่องโหว่ของกฎระเบียบต่างๆ ได้รู้จักสิ่งที่เราเรียกกันว่าพื้นที่สีเทา ซึ่งการที่ต้องไปตัดสินคนที่อยู่ในพื้นที่นั้นไม่เคยง่ายเลย
ในฐานะที่ติดตามผลงานของผู้เขียนมาสองสามเรื่อง (ส่วนใหญ่จากงานดัดแปลงภาพยนตร์) บอกได้เลยว่าเล่มนี้ไม่น่าพลาดครับ คุณโยชิดะดำเนินเรื่องเรื่อยๆ ค่อยๆ ให้ความหวังคนอ่าน กว่าจะรู้ตัวอีกทีมันก็กลายเป็นเนื้อร้ายกัดกินหัวใจเราเสียแล้ว เลือดเย็นสะใจดี (จะได้อ่านเล่มอื่นรึเปล่าให้ทาย)
August 19, 2020
3,5+/5
Di Yoshida ho apprezzato di più Appartamento 401, ma anche L'uomo che voleva uccidermi non è affatto male.
Trattandosi di un mystery giapponese non bisogna aspettarsi colpi di scena, fin da quasi subito sappiamo chi è l'assassino: ciò che importa non è chi ha ucciso ma perché l'ha fatto. In realtà, la narrazione è molto corale, forse anche troppo, i pov sono molti, ognuno con il suo carico di dolori e di solitudine: sicuramente non è un libro allegro!
Tanta attenzione alla società contemporanea e alle sue storture, come da tradizione giapponese.
Uno dei pochi libri che sia riuscito a farmi empatizzare così tanto con l'assassino (un effetto ultimamente spesso tentato dagli scrittori di mystery ma non sempre riuscito).
Ottimo il finale.
Di Yoshida ho apprezzato di più Appartamento 401, ma anche L'uomo che voleva uccidermi non è affatto male.
Trattandosi di un mystery giapponese non bisogna aspettarsi colpi di scena, fin da quasi subito sappiamo chi è l'assassino: ciò che importa non è chi ha ucciso ma perché l'ha fatto. In realtà, la narrazione è molto corale, forse anche troppo, i pov sono molti, ognuno con il suo carico di dolori e di solitudine: sicuramente non è un libro allegro!
Tanta attenzione alla società contemporanea e alle sue storture, come da tradizione giapponese.
Uno dei pochi libri che sia riuscito a farmi empatizzare così tanto con l'assassino (un effetto ultimamente spesso tentato dagli scrittori di mystery ma non sempre riuscito).
Ottimo il finale.
April 16, 2018
siamo soli nell'immenso vuoto che c'è....
chiamatelo thriller, chiamatelo giallo, io lo chiamo racconto di tante solitudini
chiamatelo thriller, chiamatelo giallo, io lo chiamo racconto di tante solitudini
August 6, 2017
I wonder what if Jay Rubin were to translate this book...hmmm.
February 22, 2016
A boy who was abandoned by his mom.
A girl who never found love.
A dad who lives for his daughter.
A grandma who hopes for courage.
And the heartless, the ignorant, the indifferent, the ungrateful, the depressed, the socially awkward, the unconfident, the insignificant...
All the people appeared in this story gave a piece, or all, of their lives, to demonstrate the lives of thousands others in the society. There are social issues, generations gap, reckless lifestyles, materialism, crimes, and more in this book.
I thought this was another sad book. It was lonely, and I felt like everyone's voices just got lost in the middle of the cruel modern society. Until somewhere half way through, their stories start to change. Maybe it was the part about that first time Mitsuyo got a stranger to fill the emptiness of her heart. Maybe it was when Yoshio hopelessly drove to the place where his daughter got killed.
What kind of society that a person is only heard and believed when he tells the story of how he murdered a girl? What kind it is, when a girl grew up in love to be an ungrateful person dreaming of a life she doesn't want to work for, and putting herself out there for money? What kind of society in which people can only find connections through the virtual world, and the majority of unlucky, average, insignificant people are oppressed by the minority of rich, arrogant, and ignorance?
It's the kind we're living in.
However, there is one thing that makes the whole thing worth my sleepless night. And one thing that remains unchanged throughout the whole story. It's unconditional love. If you have to learn about unconditional love, might as well learn it from the father who always believes his daughter is innocent, from the women who spent her life trying to make a home for the abandoned grandson, from the silly girl who ran away with a murderer hoping for just one more day, or the guy who made himself a sick disgusting murderer in public's eye to protect his lover.
I don't compare this book with works of Higashino Keigo, because although sharing similar social themes, they take different approaches and give different perspectives. Higashino's keeps you on the edge to decode the mystery, when Yoshida's walks you through the backstage of the crime scene.
A girl who never found love.
A dad who lives for his daughter.
A grandma who hopes for courage.
And the heartless, the ignorant, the indifferent, the ungrateful, the depressed, the socially awkward, the unconfident, the insignificant...
All the people appeared in this story gave a piece, or all, of their lives, to demonstrate the lives of thousands others in the society. There are social issues, generations gap, reckless lifestyles, materialism, crimes, and more in this book.
I thought this was another sad book. It was lonely, and I felt like everyone's voices just got lost in the middle of the cruel modern society. Until somewhere half way through, their stories start to change. Maybe it was the part about that first time Mitsuyo got a stranger to fill the emptiness of her heart. Maybe it was when Yoshio hopelessly drove to the place where his daughter got killed.
What kind of society that a person is only heard and believed when he tells the story of how he murdered a girl? What kind it is, when a girl grew up in love to be an ungrateful person dreaming of a life she doesn't want to work for, and putting herself out there for money? What kind of society in which people can only find connections through the virtual world, and the majority of unlucky, average, insignificant people are oppressed by the minority of rich, arrogant, and ignorance?
It's the kind we're living in.
However, there is one thing that makes the whole thing worth my sleepless night. And one thing that remains unchanged throughout the whole story. It's unconditional love. If you have to learn about unconditional love, might as well learn it from the father who always believes his daughter is innocent, from the women who spent her life trying to make a home for the abandoned grandson, from the silly girl who ran away with a murderer hoping for just one more day, or the guy who made himself a sick disgusting murderer in public's eye to protect his lover.
I don't compare this book with works of Higashino Keigo, because although sharing similar social themes, they take different approaches and give different perspectives. Higashino's keeps you on the edge to decode the mystery, when Yoshida's walks you through the backstage of the crime scene.
June 15, 2022
Disconnection drives this story. Children disconnected from parents and grandparents. Workers disconnected from their colleagues. Sisters, twins even, disconnected from each other's lives. It reminds me of an Antonioni film. Not only that, but the theme determines the form as well. Shuichi Yoshida creates a modernist masterpiece with this work that shifts its points of view as well as its perspectives in time. Enormously complicated, the character sketches lead into dead ends. Deliberately. For throughout the story evades a centering. Even the final pages turn away from the seemingly sentimental and satisfying ending it looked like the reader was going to enjoy. Instead, everything and everyone is thrown right back into their compartmentalized, separate worlds. Fittingly enough, perhaps the main character (only "perhaps"), Mitsuyo goes back to her job in a department store. Departments. Compartments. What's the difference. The villain here is the disconnection each and every character endures without hope of changing.
June 25, 2019
Era da un pezzo che non leggevo un libro così. Lo definirei poliziesco ma, senza nulla togliere ai titoli appartenenti a questo genere, ma catalogarlo schematicamente in una categoria sarebbe come ridurne la portata dirompente.
Una storia di persone sole che incontrandosi non dovrebbero più esserlo invece in certi casi l'incontro di due persone sole fa...una solitudine al quadrato.
Sulla storia non dico nulla perché chi vorrà lo leggerà, però era dai tempi di Venere Privata del maestro Scerbanenco che non provavo pietà, dispiacendomi, per un assassino.
Una storia di persone sole che incontrandosi non dovrebbero più esserlo invece in certi casi l'incontro di due persone sole fa...una solitudine al quadrato.
Sulla storia non dico nulla perché chi vorrà lo leggerà, però era dai tempi di Venere Privata del maestro Scerbanenco che non provavo pietà, dispiacendomi, per un assassino.
December 31, 2011
This novel presents a bleak picture of Japanese society today, with all the problems Western countries have experienced for years. However, it is written in a very interesting way, by revealing the murderer's identity during the course of the book,as well as describing the main characters and their alienation and loneliness, in relationships, particularly with families.
I did find myself thinking about halfway through the book, oh no, not more new characters, but it was relevant and added to the story a little further on.
It was depressing to discover the same one-upmanship among young women that is usually typical of men, when talking about their girlfriends - the lying and more lying to cover up the first lie, the jealousy about friends' appearance, all the common features of most Hollywood movies about women's friendships. It was also difficult to reconcile this with the groups of young Japanese women who come to NZ for three weeks during their summer holidays, to learn English at the language school I teach at. At what stage do they turn from giggling schoolgirls discussing the latest fashions (which in their case are rather weird!) to girls prostituting themselves at "love clubs"?
The author doesn't seem to like Japanese men much either - they're either so far up themselves, they can't see daylight, or they're inarticulate, bumbling fools (although in one case the reason for this is clearly explained). Or they're head cases who exist by sucking up to the arrogant head-boy types.
All in all, it doesn't sound highly recommended, but it is, really. The pace is good, the writing tight and the scenes at an abondoned lighthouse are very evocative.
I'll be interested to read mor eof this writer's work.
I did find myself thinking about halfway through the book, oh no, not more new characters, but it was relevant and added to the story a little further on.
It was depressing to discover the same one-upmanship among young women that is usually typical of men, when talking about their girlfriends - the lying and more lying to cover up the first lie, the jealousy about friends' appearance, all the common features of most Hollywood movies about women's friendships. It was also difficult to reconcile this with the groups of young Japanese women who come to NZ for three weeks during their summer holidays, to learn English at the language school I teach at. At what stage do they turn from giggling schoolgirls discussing the latest fashions (which in their case are rather weird!) to girls prostituting themselves at "love clubs"?
The author doesn't seem to like Japanese men much either - they're either so far up themselves, they can't see daylight, or they're inarticulate, bumbling fools (although in one case the reason for this is clearly explained). Or they're head cases who exist by sucking up to the arrogant head-boy types.
All in all, it doesn't sound highly recommended, but it is, really. The pace is good, the writing tight and the scenes at an abondoned lighthouse are very evocative.
I'll be interested to read mor eof this writer's work.
February 2, 2017
l'uomo che andava a letto con la solitudine
una ragazza, di cui sappiamo dalla prima pagina che ha mentito alle sue amiche sul tipo che dice di frequentare, viene trovata morta, le amiche riferiscono in parte quello che sanno alla polizia e il ragazzo che era indicato come il suo amico è sparito da giorni...intanto un altro uomo che la frequentava comincia a entrare in agitazione, mentre la madre di questi e le sue vicine si mettono di punto in bianco a mentire alla polizia...
giallo con un sottofondo di leggera tensione, mai realmente un thriller perchè si intuisce da subito quel che è accaduto, il cui unico pregio è quello di scavare a fondo nel senso di isolamento che il giapponese medio vive ogni giorno, le persone sono come ologrammi, nessuno va oltre il contatto occasionale e la cortesia rituale, i rapporti sono tutti di facciata, la ragazza, come anche lo studente che lei raccontava di frequentare, sono persone che fingono con tutti, le loro immagini proiettate hanno maggior consistenza della realtà, mentre il poveretto che viene coperto dalla famiglia è il classico giapponese solo e sfigato che cerca contatti attraverso un sito di incontri, la sua nuova amica è un'altra naufraga nella tempesta della solitudine e i due, più che innamorarsi in realtà finiscono per aggrapparsi l'uno all'altra per sfuggire al vuoto delle loro vite, salvo poi ridefinire il tutto a posteriori
insomma interessante, ma non è un thriller e nemmeno un giallo, è solo una storia di umana alienazione giapponese
una ragazza, di cui sappiamo dalla prima pagina che ha mentito alle sue amiche sul tipo che dice di frequentare, viene trovata morta, le amiche riferiscono in parte quello che sanno alla polizia e il ragazzo che era indicato come il suo amico è sparito da giorni...intanto un altro uomo che la frequentava comincia a entrare in agitazione, mentre la madre di questi e le sue vicine si mettono di punto in bianco a mentire alla polizia...
giallo con un sottofondo di leggera tensione, mai realmente un thriller perchè si intuisce da subito quel che è accaduto, il cui unico pregio è quello di scavare a fondo nel senso di isolamento che il giapponese medio vive ogni giorno, le persone sono come ologrammi, nessuno va oltre il contatto occasionale e la cortesia rituale, i rapporti sono tutti di facciata, la ragazza, come anche lo studente che lei raccontava di frequentare, sono persone che fingono con tutti, le loro immagini proiettate hanno maggior consistenza della realtà, mentre il poveretto che viene coperto dalla famiglia è il classico giapponese solo e sfigato che cerca contatti attraverso un sito di incontri, la sua nuova amica è un'altra naufraga nella tempesta della solitudine e i due, più che innamorarsi in realtà finiscono per aggrapparsi l'uno all'altra per sfuggire al vuoto delle loro vite, salvo poi ridefinire il tutto a posteriori
insomma interessante, ma non è un thriller e nemmeno un giallo, è solo una storia di umana alienazione giapponese
January 18, 2016
One morning in January 2006, the body of a female insurance saleswoman, Yoshino was found dead on Mitsue Pass. A young construction worker, Yuichi is arrested for her murder. Shifting perspectives, Villain tells the story of the events leading up to Yoshino’s murder and the aftermaths.
Kosaku Yoshida is often considered as one of Japan’s best crime writers and as a fan of Japanese Lit, I knew I had to check one of his books out. However I was a little disappointed; the story was interesting but I was not a fan of the execution. I thought it builds up the suspense, then shifts perspective; which felt like it kept stopping and starting and that just felt too clunky. Yoshida explores the idea of alienation, which seems to be a common theme in Japanese fiction. This worked well, however this was not enough to redeem the novel for me.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://www.knowledgelost.org/book-rev...
Kosaku Yoshida is often considered as one of Japan’s best crime writers and as a fan of Japanese Lit, I knew I had to check one of his books out. However I was a little disappointed; the story was interesting but I was not a fan of the execution. I thought it builds up the suspense, then shifts perspective; which felt like it kept stopping and starting and that just felt too clunky. Yoshida explores the idea of alienation, which seems to be a common theme in Japanese fiction. This worked well, however this was not enough to redeem the novel for me.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://www.knowledgelost.org/book-rev...
January 15, 2014
This novel just didn't resonate well with me. I usually devour Japanese crime novels but reading this seemed like a chore and I had to speed read in the end to get it over and done with.
September 12, 2021
Lentezza e atmosfera, protagonisti insopportabili, ma soprattutto angoscia e solitudine
April 9, 2020
Ho pareri contrastanti. Da una parte penso che sia un thriller abbastanza debole perché c'è poca tensione e pochi dubbi sul responsabile del crimine, io almeno non sono rimasta mai sorpresa dallo sviluppo degli eventi. Dall'altra invece sono rimasta spiazzata davanti al quadro sociale che ci viene presentato dall'autore. C'è una forte critica sociale, come era successo in Parade. Ho ritrovato lo stesso mood, le stesse tematiche che fanno riflettere molto sulla società d'oggi e sul comportamento delle persone. Soprattutto per quanto riguarda la superficialità e la fragilità dei rapporti umani.
May 3, 2019
悪人 แปลได้ทั้ง 'คนเลว' (bad man) และ 'คนร้าย' (villain) สิ่งที่คนคนหนึ่งกระทำออกมา บุคลิก และพฤติกรรมที่คนภายนอกรับรู้ แท้จริงแล้วมีที่มาอย่างไร มีปัจจัยอะไรมากกว่านั้นหรือไม่
ชอบความเทาของตัวละคร และการไม่เน้นประเด็นให้คนสงสัยว่า 'ใครฆ่า' มากนัก แต่จะเน้นเรื่องดราม่าและพฤติกรรมประกอบสร้างของตัวละครมากกว่า จริงๆ ที่ซื้อหนังสือเล่มนี้มาก็เพราะคำโปรยด้านหน้าที่ดูคล้ายจะเป็นพูดถึงเรื่องการ judge คนอื่น เช่นคนนี้ถูกสงสัยว่าทำผิด ซึ่งคนภายนอกหลงเชื่อไปแล้ว เพราะลักษณะภายนอกที่ดู 'เหมือน' จะเป็น type ของคนร้าย อะไรแบบนี้เป็นต้น แต่ตัวหนังสือกลับเล่าประเด็นที่ลึกและซับซ้อนไปกว่านั้น คนคนนั้นอาจทำผิดจริง แต่ทำไมล่ะ เขาถึงทำแบบนั้น ซึ่งพอเขาเล่าแล้ว ก็ทำให้เราเชื่อในเหตุผลของเขาและรู้สึกอินตามไปด้วย เมื่อสถานการณ์ดำเนินไปเรื่อยๆ ตัวละครเพิ่มจำนวนมากขึ้น แต่นั่นก็ไม่ได้ทำให้เราเบื่อแต่อย่างใด เพราะเราก็อยากรู้ว่าพวกเขาจะทำอย่างไรต่อไปกับเหตุการณ์ที่เกิดขึ้นนี้
อ่านแค่เล่มเดียวก็รู้สึกว่าน่าจะชอบหนังสือของเขา (ทำไมไม่ดังกว่าเคโงะนะ เฮ้อ) เพิ่งรู้ว่าหนังสือที่เขาเขียนถูกนำไปทำเป็นหนังที่เรารู้จักอยู่หลายเรื่อง ทั้ง Rage, The Ravine of Goodbye รวมถึง The Story of Yonosuke ด้วย
ป.ล. คำโปรยปกหลังสปอยและแย่มาก พอๆ กับหน้าแรกที่เข้าใจว่าเป็น tease ดึงคนให้อ่าน แต่คือมันดึงมาจากหน้าท้ายๆ สุดของเล่มเลย ไม่เข้าใจวิธีการโปรยปก mislead แบบนี้เลย
ชอบความเทาของตัวละคร และการไม่เน้นประเด็นให้คนสงสัยว่า 'ใครฆ่า' มากนัก แต่จะเน้นเรื่องดราม่าและพฤติกรรมประกอบสร้างของตัวละครมากกว่า จริงๆ ที่ซื้อหนังสือเล่มนี้มาก็เพราะคำโปรยด้านหน้าที่ดูคล้ายจะเป็นพูดถึงเรื่องการ judge คนอื่น เช่นคนนี้ถูกสงสัยว่าทำผิด ซึ่งคนภายนอกหลงเชื่อไปแล้ว เพราะลักษณะภายนอกที่ดู 'เหมือน' จะเป็น type ของคนร้าย อะไรแบบนี้เป็นต้น แต่ตัวหนังสือกลับเล่าประเด็นที่ลึกและซับซ้อนไปกว่านั้น คนคนนั้นอาจทำผิดจริง แต่ทำไมล่ะ เขาถึงทำแบบนั้น ซึ่งพอเขาเล่าแล้ว ก็ทำให้เราเชื่อในเหตุผลของเขาและรู้สึกอินตามไปด้วย เมื่อสถานการณ์ดำเนินไปเรื่อยๆ ตัวละครเพิ่มจำนวนมากขึ้น แต่นั่นก็ไม่ได้ทำให้เราเบื่อแต่อย่างใด เพราะเราก็อยากรู้ว่าพวกเขาจะทำอย่างไรต่อไปกับเหตุการณ์ที่เกิดขึ้นนี้
อ่านแค่เล่มเดียวก็รู้สึกว่าน่าจะชอบหนังสือของเขา (ทำไมไม่ดังกว่าเคโงะนะ เฮ้อ) เพิ่งรู้ว่าหนังสือที่เขาเขียนถูกนำไปทำเป็นหนังที่เรารู้จักอยู่หลายเรื่อง ทั้ง Rage, The Ravine of Goodbye รวมถึง The Story of Yonosuke ด้วย
ป.ล. คำโปรยปกหลังสปอยและแย่มาก พอๆ กับหน้าแรกที่เข้าใจว่าเป็น tease ดึงคนให้อ่าน แต่คือมันดึงมาจากหน้าท้ายๆ สุดของเล่มเลย ไม่เข้าใจวิธีการโปรยปก mislead แบบนี้เลย
October 11, 2017
Thật lòng thì đến tận lúc đọc qua trang thứ 300, vẫn thấy đây là một câu chuyện không có gì mới mẻ, tính rate cho 2* rồi, cơ mà đọc đến đoạn gần về cuối và đến tận khi gấp sách lại, trong lòng lại nghĩ nếu mình không rate cuốn này 4* thì thật là dối lòng.
Tình tiết hơi lòng vòng, hung thủ có tuổi thơ sứt sẹo đứt đoạn, bên cạnh vụ án chính đã dễ đoán hung thủ từ đầu thì đúng là hơi gây ngán ngẩm, nhưng hên mà tác giả cũng đã xây dựng thêm những tuyến nhân vật phụ
Và, không phải chỉ nhờ vào hung thủ, các tuyến nhân vật phụ được chăm chút cẩn thận này là một điểm sáng to oành cho cả tác phẩm.
Nạn nhân nữ nhận hậu quả nặng nề từ lối sống phù phiếm giả tạo.
Kẻ thủ ác đường đường chính chính nằm ngoài sự phán xét của pháp luật nhưng lại là kẻ nhẫn tâm đáng bị lên án và khinh bỉ nhất.
Người cha thương con gái bị giết hại nhưng cuối cùng lại bất lực trong ý muốn trả thù.
Người phụ nữ già sống tới cuối đời mới tìm được sự dũng cảm cho bản thân sau lời động viên của người lái xe bus mà trước giờ bà ghét cay ghét đắng.
Mà quan trọng hơn hết là tình yêu sét đánh đầy bi thương, khắc khoải và ám ảnh của nhân vật chính cùng cô gái mà anh ta tình cờ quen qua mạng với mục đích đùa vui ban đầu. Thứ tình yêu khiến anh ta nhận ra có tội thì phải trả giá, nhưng cái giá phải trả này lại quá đắt với anh ta, nhưng âu cũng là có làm có chịu.
Tự nhiên tôi nhớ lại câu nói của người Nhật mà tôi đã từng đọc ở đâu đó rằng: Mỗi người đều mang trong mình ba bộ mặt. Cái thứ nhất bạn phô ra cho cả thế giới thấy. Cái thứ 2 bạn chỉ mang khi bên cạnh bạn thân và gia đình. Và cái cuối cùng bạn không bao giờ phô ra. Đó là tấm gương phản chiếu chân thật nhất rằng bạn là ai. - câu nói này hoàn toan đúng trong Ác Nhân. Từng nhân vật trong câu chuyện này đều giấu bộ mặt thật sau những lớp mặt nạ hàng ngày...
Rồi cuối cùng kẻ ác cũng bị trừng phạt, nhưng động cơ gây án và cả hành trình trốn chạy của hung thủ chỉ khiến người đọc cảm thấy xót xa, cũng có một thời khắc nào đó tôi hi vọng anh ta có thể bỏ trốn trót lọt, bắt đầu lại mọi thứ từ đầu. Nhưng đời mà, cái ác thì phải bị trừng phạt, kẻ gây án phải trả giá, nhưng đâu đó vẫn có những sự trừng phạt quá nặng nề và những bất công đến phẫn nộ trong xã hội.
Đọc xong toàn cuốn sách, bị ấn tượng nhất đoạn này - là đoạn độc thoại của cha nạn nhân khi ông đối mặt với kẻ đã gián tiếp gây nên cái chết cho con gái ông – và rồi, ông, cuối cùng đã quăng cây rìu sắt trước mặt hắn ta và bỏ đi:
Bây giờ trên đời này có quá nhiều người chẳng coi ai là quan trọng cả. Những người như vậy đinh ninh rằng mình có thể làm được mọi thứ. Họ không có gì để mất, bởi vậy họ tưởng là họ mạnh mẽ. Chẳng có gì để mất và cũng chẳng muốn có thứ gì. Họ cho rằng họ là người dư dả, họ nhìn những người buồn vui vì mất thứ này, thêm thứ kia bằng ánh mắt khinh bỉ. Chẳng phải thế hay sao. Thật sự không được như thế đâu.
Tình tiết hơi lòng vòng, hung thủ có tuổi thơ sứt sẹo đứt đoạn, bên cạnh vụ án chính đã dễ đoán hung thủ từ đầu thì đúng là hơi gây ngán ngẩm, nhưng hên mà tác giả cũng đã xây dựng thêm những tuyến nhân vật phụ
Và, không phải chỉ nhờ vào hung thủ, các tuyến nhân vật phụ được chăm chút cẩn thận này là một điểm sáng to oành cho cả tác phẩm.
Nạn nhân nữ nhận hậu quả nặng nề từ lối sống phù phiếm giả tạo.
Kẻ thủ ác đường đường chính chính nằm ngoài sự phán xét của pháp luật nhưng lại là kẻ nhẫn tâm đáng bị lên án và khinh bỉ nhất.
Người cha thương con gái bị giết hại nhưng cuối cùng lại bất lực trong ý muốn trả thù.
Người phụ nữ già sống tới cuối đời mới tìm được sự dũng cảm cho bản thân sau lời động viên của người lái xe bus mà trước giờ bà ghét cay ghét đắng.
Mà quan trọng hơn hết là tình yêu sét đánh đầy bi thương, khắc khoải và ám ảnh của nhân vật chính cùng cô gái mà anh ta tình cờ quen qua mạng với mục đích đùa vui ban đầu. Thứ tình yêu khiến anh ta nhận ra có tội thì phải trả giá, nhưng cái giá phải trả này lại quá đắt với anh ta, nhưng âu cũng là có làm có chịu.
Tự nhiên tôi nhớ lại câu nói của người Nhật mà tôi đã từng đọc ở đâu đó rằng: Mỗi người đều mang trong mình ba bộ mặt. Cái thứ nhất bạn phô ra cho cả thế giới thấy. Cái thứ 2 bạn chỉ mang khi bên cạnh bạn thân và gia đình. Và cái cuối cùng bạn không bao giờ phô ra. Đó là tấm gương phản chiếu chân thật nhất rằng bạn là ai. - câu nói này hoàn toan đúng trong Ác Nhân. Từng nhân vật trong câu chuyện này đều giấu bộ mặt thật sau những lớp mặt nạ hàng ngày...
Rồi cuối cùng kẻ ác cũng bị trừng phạt, nhưng động cơ gây án và cả hành trình trốn chạy của hung thủ chỉ khiến người đọc cảm thấy xót xa, cũng có một thời khắc nào đó tôi hi vọng anh ta có thể bỏ trốn trót lọt, bắt đầu lại mọi thứ từ đầu. Nhưng đời mà, cái ác thì phải bị trừng phạt, kẻ gây án phải trả giá, nhưng đâu đó vẫn có những sự trừng phạt quá nặng nề và những bất công đến phẫn nộ trong xã hội.
Đọc xong toàn cuốn sách, bị ấn tượng nhất đoạn này - là đoạn độc thoại của cha nạn nhân khi ông đối mặt với kẻ đã gián tiếp gây nên cái chết cho con gái ông – và rồi, ông, cuối cùng đã quăng cây rìu sắt trước mặt hắn ta và bỏ đi:
Bây giờ trên đời này có quá nhiều người chẳng coi ai là quan trọng cả. Những người như vậy đinh ninh rằng mình có thể làm được mọi thứ. Họ không có gì để mất, bởi vậy họ tưởng là họ mạnh mẽ. Chẳng có gì để mất và cũng chẳng muốn có thứ gì. Họ cho rằng họ là người dư dả, họ nhìn những người buồn vui vì mất thứ này, thêm thứ kia bằng ánh mắt khinh bỉ. Chẳng phải thế hay sao. Thật sự không được như thế đâu.
July 3, 2011
Villain was one of the books I bought with a Christmas gift voucher. I am interested in Japanese fiction translated into English, enjoying Natsuo Kirino and Haruki Murakami to name a few. So when I saw another Japanese translated work on the shelf, I jumped on it immediately.
Villain does not disappoint. It is a tightly woven thriller, linking together many disparate characters who are all somehow involved in the murder of a young lady on the creepy Mitsue Pass. It involves her friends, her (imagined) boyfriend, a boy she met on a dating website and various family members. One of these people is her murderer – but which one? Why was she killed?
As I’ve found with other Japanese thrillers, this is exquisitely detailed. We have background into the characters and their settings, which are translated very well into English by Philip Gabriel. We know of Yuichi’s past, his grandmother’s problems and the girls he’s been seeing. We also know about his car and what he’s eaten for snacks. This may sound superfluous, but it’s not. We warm to Yuichi and the other characters, simply because we know so much about them. Yoshida paints a very clear picture of each scene – so much so that you can picture the characters and the setting in detail. The blurb on the inside cover of the book states that it’s part police procedural, but in my opinion it’s definitely not! There is little police involvement, and it is all from the characters’ viewpoint.
The identity of the murderer also creeps up slowly on the reader. It’s very subtle, and I wondered how I could have missed the signs of who did it. Even more interesting, is the reasons why the murder was committed. One thing I won’t be doing is using any online dating sites any time soon! (A lot of the young characters use a particular online dating site, to try for romance in between work and family life. Is this a comment on the pressures of the Japanese youth of today, especially with the frequent use of love hotels in the narrative?) As is often the case with Japanese books, not everything is resolved but you can make a fairly educated guess as to what happens to some of the characters whose threads are left hanging.
I really enjoyed this book as it had all the elements of a great thriller – taut and exciting. The insight into the young Japanese was an added bonus. I’ll be looking forward to reading more of Shuichi Yomada’s work.
Villain does not disappoint. It is a tightly woven thriller, linking together many disparate characters who are all somehow involved in the murder of a young lady on the creepy Mitsue Pass. It involves her friends, her (imagined) boyfriend, a boy she met on a dating website and various family members. One of these people is her murderer – but which one? Why was she killed?
As I’ve found with other Japanese thrillers, this is exquisitely detailed. We have background into the characters and their settings, which are translated very well into English by Philip Gabriel. We know of Yuichi’s past, his grandmother’s problems and the girls he’s been seeing. We also know about his car and what he’s eaten for snacks. This may sound superfluous, but it’s not. We warm to Yuichi and the other characters, simply because we know so much about them. Yoshida paints a very clear picture of each scene – so much so that you can picture the characters and the setting in detail. The blurb on the inside cover of the book states that it’s part police procedural, but in my opinion it’s definitely not! There is little police involvement, and it is all from the characters’ viewpoint.
The identity of the murderer also creeps up slowly on the reader. It’s very subtle, and I wondered how I could have missed the signs of who did it. Even more interesting, is the reasons why the murder was committed. One thing I won’t be doing is using any online dating sites any time soon! (A lot of the young characters use a particular online dating site, to try for romance in between work and family life. Is this a comment on the pressures of the Japanese youth of today, especially with the frequent use of love hotels in the narrative?) As is often the case with Japanese books, not everything is resolved but you can make a fairly educated guess as to what happens to some of the characters whose threads are left hanging.
I really enjoyed this book as it had all the elements of a great thriller – taut and exciting. The insight into the young Japanese was an added bonus. I’ll be looking forward to reading more of Shuichi Yomada’s work.
May 27, 2025
Questo non è un semplice poliziesco. Anzi, no, non è proprio un poliziesco. E’ semplice e basta e, francamente, dice poco. E’ una storia di alienazione, come è già stato sottolineato in alcune recensioni: la storia di una ragazza, giovane e facilotta, che cerca avventure con uomini sconosciuti tramite un sito d’incontri, e poi viene ritrovata uccisa. L’assassino è noto sin da subito, è uno di questi ragazzi con cui lei si è divertita a civettare un po’ e che, alla fine di un incontro, ha perso la testa. Ma al di là di questo, fra le pagine si trova ben poco, quando le premesse, per costruire un bel romanzo alla Kirino, c’erano tutte. Di questo assassino si racconta la routine, divisa fra un lavoro banale e le cure al nonno malato, e lo stesso degli altri personaggi. Siamo in una città giapponese non ben nota, l’immagine che ne deriva è desolante, grigia, sciapa. Non c’è un’ indagine, non cresce ansia fra i personaggi e non sale suspense nel lettore, anche l’approfondimento su questa alienazione che pare attanagliare i personaggi resta in superficie, non indagato.
In definitiva, non è un cattivo libro, ma l’ho trovato triste e noioso, nonostante la scrittura non pesante, il ritratto dei personaggi (tuttavia molto simili) e gli ottimi spunti per costruire qualcosa di grandioso.
Mi è parso un’occasione persa. Peccato.
In definitiva, non è un cattivo libro, ma l’ho trovato triste e noioso, nonostante la scrittura non pesante, il ritratto dei personaggi (tuttavia molto simili) e gli ottimi spunti per costruire qualcosa di grandioso.
Mi è parso un’occasione persa. Peccato.
March 20, 2016
Đọc Ác nhân giống như chơi trò xếp hình (không phải JAV). Nhìn vào đống mảnh ghép, nhận ra được loáng thoáng đây là ngôi nhà, đây là khóm hoa, đây là hồ nước... nhưng ban đầu chưa biết phải ráp phần nào vào đâu. Một trò chơi quá thiếu yếu tố kích thích và giật gân, lại cần tỉ mỉ và cần nhiều thời gian.
Những phần nhỏ nằm giữa các dấu sao trong phần đầu cuốn sách với một đống nhân vật phụ xuất hiện, đôi khi chả khác gì mấy mảnh ghép trắng tinh - xếp thì khó mà chả làm cảnh đẹp hơn - cứ làm tôi ngáp ruồi suốt mà băn khoăn không biết nó đóng vai trò gì trong câu chuyện. May thay tôi hơi cầu toàn, khá kiên nhẫn và cũng thích trò xếp hình đủ để theo đuổi bức tranh ghép bố cục hơi lộn xộn của Ác nhân; để nhận ra bức tranh khi hoàn thành trông cũng không tệ.
Đọc Ác nhân cũng giống như thể đang chạy xe trong một đường hầm tối tăm.
Hàng lô con số đã múa may quay cuồng trên đồng hồ kilomet, hàng đống thời gian đã nhảy nhót trôi qua mà bóng tối vẫn đặc quánh xung quanh, chẳng có dấu hiệu nào của ánh sáng mặt trời. Đó là lúc Yuichi vùng vẫy tuyệt vọng trong cái hố đen gã lỡ tay đào ra khi vòng tay bóp cổ Yoshino.
Rồi lại có chút ánh sáng le lói. Đó là lúc gã, có lẽ là lần đầu tiên trong đời, được một cô gái thật lòng yêu.
Nhưng niềm vui ngắn chẳng tày gang, ngay sau đó lại là một đường hầm khác. Đường hầm dài vô tận, đưa gã vào nơi vĩnh viễn bóng đêm. Là ngục tù. Có thể là cái chết.
Đương nhiên gã phải trả giả cho tội ác gã gây ra. Tôi không kêu gào công lí cho Yuichi vì kết cục đó chính là công lí, mà tôi cũng chả lấy làm ưa gã lắm vì tác giả đâu cho tôi cơ hội được hiểu gã nhiều hơn. Tất cả những gì tôi biết ngoài cái tên, tuổi thơ bị mẹ bỏ rơi, tính cách nhạt nhẽo lại kì quặc... là chẳng gì cả.
Vì vậy điều đáng tiếc ở đây chỉ là mọi chuyện đã có thể rất khác; và những kẻ trơ trẽn là nguồn cơn sâu xa của tội ác hoặc đã nằm sâu tan rữa dưới mấy lớp đất hoặc sẽ chẳng bị pháp luật vuốt gáy. Chỉ vậy thôi.
Trên nhiều khía cạnh Ác nhân đều làm chưa tới. Dù vậy, đọc cũng được.
Còn một chuyện khác là thế này. Tôi chúa ghét việc bê ngôn ngữ mạng, các thể loại khẩu ngữ mới phát sinh chưa được thời gian chọn lọc... vào văn học. Kiểu như là "như này" thay cho "như thế này", "cơ mà" thay cho "nhưng mà"... ấy.
Trong cuốn này mấy cô nàng cứ "cơ mà" mãi, làm tôi bị ám thị luôn. Tuy "cơ mà" có trong từ điển nhưng nó là phương ngữ, không thích hợp với không khí của cuốn này tí nào.
Những phần nhỏ nằm giữa các dấu sao trong phần đầu cuốn sách với một đống nhân vật phụ xuất hiện, đôi khi chả khác gì mấy mảnh ghép trắng tinh - xếp thì khó mà chả làm cảnh đẹp hơn - cứ làm tôi ngáp ruồi suốt mà băn khoăn không biết nó đóng vai trò gì trong câu chuyện. May thay tôi hơi cầu toàn, khá kiên nhẫn và cũng thích trò xếp hình đủ để theo đuổi bức tranh ghép bố cục hơi lộn xộn của Ác nhân; để nhận ra bức tranh khi hoàn thành trông cũng không tệ.
Đọc Ác nhân cũng giống như thể đang chạy xe trong một đường hầm tối tăm.
Hàng lô con số đã múa may quay cuồng trên đồng hồ kilomet, hàng đống thời gian đã nhảy nhót trôi qua mà bóng tối vẫn đặc quánh xung quanh, chẳng có dấu hiệu nào của ánh sáng mặt trời. Đó là lúc Yuichi vùng vẫy tuyệt vọng trong cái hố đen gã lỡ tay đào ra khi vòng tay bóp cổ Yoshino.
Rồi lại có chút ánh sáng le lói. Đó là lúc gã, có lẽ là lần đầu tiên trong đời, được một cô gái thật lòng yêu.
Nhưng niềm vui ngắn chẳng tày gang, ngay sau đó lại là một đường hầm khác. Đường hầm dài vô tận, đưa gã vào nơi vĩnh viễn bóng đêm. Là ngục tù. Có thể là cái chết.
Đương nhiên gã phải trả giả cho tội ác gã gây ra. Tôi không kêu gào công lí cho Yuichi vì kết cục đó chính là công lí, mà tôi cũng chả lấy làm ưa gã lắm vì tác giả đâu cho tôi cơ hội được hiểu gã nhiều hơn. Tất cả những gì tôi biết ngoài cái tên, tuổi thơ bị mẹ bỏ rơi, tính cách nhạt nhẽo lại kì quặc... là chẳng gì cả.
Vì vậy điều đáng tiếc ở đây chỉ là mọi chuyện đã có thể rất khác; và những kẻ trơ trẽn là nguồn cơn sâu xa của tội ác hoặc đã nằm sâu tan rữa dưới mấy lớp đất hoặc sẽ chẳng bị pháp luật vuốt gáy. Chỉ vậy thôi.
Trên nhiều khía cạnh Ác nhân đều làm chưa tới. Dù vậy, đọc cũng được.
Còn một chuyện khác là thế này. Tôi chúa ghét việc bê ngôn ngữ mạng, các thể loại khẩu ngữ mới phát sinh chưa được thời gian chọn lọc... vào văn học. Kiểu như là "như này" thay cho "như thế này", "cơ mà" thay cho "nhưng mà"... ấy.
Trong cuốn này mấy cô nàng cứ "cơ mà" mãi, làm tôi bị ám thị luôn. Tuy "cơ mà" có trong từ điển nhưng nó là phương ngữ, không thích hợp với không khí của cuốn này tí nào.
May 11, 2012
So the first couple of pages of Villain don’t exactly make you want to jump into the fray. Because it reads like a rather boring travel guide, written by somebody who is rather into transportation and roads. You can know all you need to know about the tolls for vehicles between Nagasaki and Fukuoka, Nagasaki and Hakata.
I went along with it, and then comes the trigger. The last paragraph (of the first section) tells the reader of an arrest, of a crime, essentially spelling it out for you.
And that’s the thing I realise about Japanese crime fiction, at least the three that I have read so far (Out, The Devotion of Suspect X). That it is not about the mystery, it’s not technically a whodunnit, because you already know whodidit. Because it’s right there in your face, in the first few sections, the first few pages even. These books are more about the ‘why’, and the effect the murders have – on the murderers themselves, the victim’s family and friends, the other suspects.
Villain, by Shuichi Yoshida, brings out a different part of Japan, one of love hotels and online dating, and ageing seaside villages full of elderly residents. It is a quite ugly, rather lonely view of Japan.
“The scenery flowing past changed, but they never seemed to get anywhere. When the interstate ended, it connected up with the prefectural highway, and past that were city and local roads. Mitsuyo had a road atlas spread out on the dashboard. She flipped through the maps and saw that the highways and roads were all color-coded. Interstates were orange, prefectural highways were green, local roads were blue, and smaller roads were white. The countless roads were a net, a web that had caught them and the car they were in.”
Told from multiple viewpoints especially towards the end of the book, Villain shines when the focus is on the victim’s father, who struggles to come to terms with his daughter’s death, and his painful realisation that he didn’t really know his child at all.
Villain was an engrossing, thought provoking read, and leaves you wondering, who – or perhaps what – is the real ‘villain’ here.
I went along with it, and then comes the trigger. The last paragraph (of the first section) tells the reader of an arrest, of a crime, essentially spelling it out for you.
And that’s the thing I realise about Japanese crime fiction, at least the three that I have read so far (Out, The Devotion of Suspect X). That it is not about the mystery, it’s not technically a whodunnit, because you already know whodidit. Because it’s right there in your face, in the first few sections, the first few pages even. These books are more about the ‘why’, and the effect the murders have – on the murderers themselves, the victim’s family and friends, the other suspects.
Villain, by Shuichi Yoshida, brings out a different part of Japan, one of love hotels and online dating, and ageing seaside villages full of elderly residents. It is a quite ugly, rather lonely view of Japan.
“The scenery flowing past changed, but they never seemed to get anywhere. When the interstate ended, it connected up with the prefectural highway, and past that were city and local roads. Mitsuyo had a road atlas spread out on the dashboard. She flipped through the maps and saw that the highways and roads were all color-coded. Interstates were orange, prefectural highways were green, local roads were blue, and smaller roads were white. The countless roads were a net, a web that had caught them and the car they were in.”
Told from multiple viewpoints especially towards the end of the book, Villain shines when the focus is on the victim’s father, who struggles to come to terms with his daughter’s death, and his painful realisation that he didn’t really know his child at all.
Villain was an engrossing, thought provoking read, and leaves you wondering, who – or perhaps what – is the real ‘villain’ here.
April 17, 2020
E' sicuramente molto difficile scrivere una recensione di questo libro perchè non si è rivelato quello che mi aspettavo ma, nonostante ciò, ho apprezzato alcune sue sfaccettature. Non è sicuramente un thriller che tiene il fiato sospeso, come mi aspettavo. La parte di mistero su chi abbia uccido Yoshino c'è, ma non è la scoperta del suo assassino l'aspetto principale che interessa la narrazione. Yoshida Suichi ci trasporta in piccole realtà di provincia giapponesi e già dai primi capitoli iniziamo a conoscere tantissimi (tantissimi) personaggi che hanno a che fare, anche in molto molto distante, con la vita della vittima. Ci immergiamo completamente, volta per volta, nella loro quotidianità. Questo è il primo aspetto che mi ha spiazzata, i cambi repentini di punti di vista dei vari personaggi non sono chiarissimi nel romanzo e mi sono trovata spesso a chiedermi la loro funzione al fine della scoperta dell'assassino di Yoshino. Il romanzo tutto sommato è godibile, se il mistero non è molto avvincente, sicuro il libro è risultato un ottimo spaccato della società giapponese con tutte le sue contraddizioni. I personaggi sono (troppi) ma tutti ben studiati, per chi, come me, legge pochi romanzi giapponesi, potrebbe esserci qualche difficoltà a ricordare tutti i nomi ma sono difficoltà che si superano procedendo con la lettura.
July 24, 2020
แหลกสลายเหลือแต่ซากปรักหักพัง
“คนเลว” เล่าและเผยให้เห็นด้านที่หมองหม่นของสังคมญี่ปุ่นได้จับใจมาก
เรื่องราวของคดีฆาตกรรมหญิงสาววัยรุ่น “โฮชิโนะ” ในเมืองเล็กๆ ต่างจังหวัด ที่ไม่เปิดเผยว่าใครเป็นฆาตกรกันแน่ แต่เดินเรื่องด้วยเรื่องราวชีวิตของตัวละครแบบเชิงลึกถึงขั้นรู้พื้นฐานชีวิต ความคิดจิตใจจนสร้างดราม่าความสัมพันธ์ให้คนอ่านได้รู้จักอารมณ์ใจคอตัวละครได้อย่างลึกซึ้ง
ทั้งด้านมืดของสังคมอย่างการออกเดทแบบหาคู่ online, การค้าประเวณีแบบแอบแฝง, ความทะเยอทะยานในวัตถุ, ครอบครัวที่เหลวแหลก, การหลอกลวงต้มตุ๋น ไปจนถึงความเสื่อมทรามของสื่อมวลชน ถูกถ่ายทอดออกมาให้เห็นภาพแบบปรากฎชัด
แล้วมันสนุกยังไง
จริงๆ แล้วความสนุกมันไปไกลมากกว่าการหาว่าใครฆ่าโฮชิโนะ
ทั้งๆ ที่ผู้เขียนเล่าสลับ ซับซ้อน อำพรางฆาตกรทำให้คนอ่านน่าจะหลงหรือครดเดาผิด
แต่ท้ายที่สุด แรงจูงใจกลับเป็นเรื่องสำคัญ
ผู้เขียนเล่นกับมโนสำนึกของคนอ่านให้แทบจะเห็นใจฆาตกร
“ฆาตกร = คนเลว” ง่ายๆ แค่นั้นจริงหรือ
แล้วความเลวร้ายของสังคมไม่ต้องรับผิดชอบอะไรเลยรึ
แน่นอนที่สุดว่าการฆาตกรรมมันเป็นความผิดในตัว แต่ผู้เขียนชวนให้คนอ่านฉุกคิดเสมอว่าทั้งเหตุตั้งต้นไปจนถึงผลของการฆาตกรรมนั้นมันมีความหมายมากกว่าการ simplify ด้วยเครื่องหมาย =
PS
- เสียน้ำตาไปกับฉากที่พ่อกู่ร้องตะโกนหาลูกสาวที่ไม่วันจะตอบกลับมา
“คนเลว” เล่าและเผยให้เห็นด้านที่หมองหม่นของสังคมญี่ปุ่นได้จับใจมาก
เรื่องราวของคดีฆาตกรรมหญิงสาววัยรุ่น “โฮชิโนะ” ในเมืองเล็กๆ ต่างจังหวัด ที่ไม่เปิดเผยว่าใครเป็นฆาตกรกันแน่ แต่เดินเรื่องด้วยเรื่องราวชีวิตของตัวละครแบบเชิงลึกถึงขั้นรู้พื้นฐานชีวิต ความคิดจิตใจจนสร้างดราม่าความสัมพันธ์ให้คนอ่านได้รู้จักอารมณ์ใจคอตัวละครได้อย่างลึกซึ้ง
ทั้งด้านมืดของสังคมอย่างการออกเดทแบบหาคู่ online, การค้าประเวณีแบบแอบแฝง, ความทะเยอทะยานในวัตถุ, ครอบครัวที่เหลวแหลก, การหลอกลวงต้มตุ๋น ไปจนถึงความเสื่อมทรามของสื่อมวลชน ถูกถ่ายทอดออกมาให้เห็นภาพแบบปรากฎชัด
แล้วมันสนุกยังไง
จริงๆ แล้วความสนุกมันไปไกลมากกว่าการหาว่าใครฆ่าโฮชิโนะ
ทั้งๆ ที่ผู้เขียนเล่าสลับ ซับซ้อน อำพรางฆาตกรทำให้คนอ่านน่าจะหลงหรือครดเดาผิด
แต่ท้ายที่สุด แรงจูงใจกลับเป็นเรื่องสำคัญ
ผู้เขียนเล่นกับมโนสำนึกของคนอ่านให้แทบจะเห็นใจฆาตกร
“ฆาตกร = คนเลว” ง่ายๆ แค่นั้นจริงหรือ
แล้วความเลวร้ายของสังคมไม่ต้องรับผิดชอบอะไรเลยรึ
แน่นอนที่สุดว่าการฆาตกรรมมันเป็นความผิดในตัว แต่ผู้เขียนชวนให้คนอ่านฉุกคิดเสมอว่าทั้งเหตุตั้งต้นไปจนถึงผลของการฆาตกรรมนั้นมันมีความหมายมากกว่าการ simplify ด้วยเครื่องหมาย =
PS
- เสียน้ำตาไปกับฉากที่พ่อกู่ร้องตะโกนหาลูกสาวที่ไม่วันจะตอบกลับมา
December 15, 2015
3,5 sao
Rất nhiều lần vô thức nghĩ tới Higashino Keigo trong quá trình đọc. Có thể do đây cũng là 1 cuốn có thiên hướng trinh thám - tâm lý xã hội (thực ra gọi là trinh thám thì khiên cưỡng cũng khá nhiều chút) hay do trong truyện có 1 nhân vật tên là Keigo. Tuy thế trình của bác hói này chắc phải gọi bác Keigo là bố tổ cụ :3
Với 1 đứa "mê mấy thứ u ám" như mình thì 1 cuốn sách với những lời đề tựa ở bìa như này đơn giản là cực kỳ khó cưỡng, là không thể bỏ qua. "Một khảo cứu hấp dẫn về sự cô độc và nỗi tuyệt vọng", "...gây xúc động & xáo trộn về sự cô độc, dối trá cùng khoảng cách giữa hy vọng & hiện thực..." :3 Mấy lời này hơi quá. Nhưng chắc chắn nó không "quá" tới mức dở tệ như kiểu treo đầu dê bán thịt chó, nó treo đầu chó bán thịt cầy chắc luôn.
Có 1 sự thật là với những lời đề tựa này thì mình mong chờ 1 cuốn có thể khiến mình đập đầu vào tường. Hay tại do mình kỳ vọng quá nhiều? Hoặc không...
Rất nhiều lần vô thức nghĩ tới Higashino Keigo trong quá trình đọc. Có thể do đây cũng là 1 cuốn có thiên hướng trinh thám - tâm lý xã hội (thực ra gọi là trinh thám thì khiên cưỡng cũng khá nhiều chút) hay do trong truyện có 1 nhân vật tên là Keigo. Tuy thế trình của bác hói này chắc phải gọi bác Keigo là bố tổ cụ :3
Với 1 đứa "mê mấy thứ u ám" như mình thì 1 cuốn sách với những lời đề tựa ở bìa như này đơn giản là cực kỳ khó cưỡng, là không thể bỏ qua. "Một khảo cứu hấp dẫn về sự cô độc và nỗi tuyệt vọng", "...gây xúc động & xáo trộn về sự cô độc, dối trá cùng khoảng cách giữa hy vọng & hiện thực..." :3 Mấy lời này hơi quá. Nhưng chắc chắn nó không "quá" tới mức dở tệ như kiểu treo đầu dê bán thịt chó, nó treo đầu chó bán thịt cầy chắc luôn.
Có 1 sự thật là với những lời đề tựa này thì mình mong chờ 1 cuốn có thể khiến mình đập đầu vào tường. Hay tại do mình kỳ vọng quá nhiều? Hoặc không...
March 14, 2023
Interesting read, more a character study than a crimy detectivy novel.
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