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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
For some reason I thought this was a police procedural, but the police are not characters in it at all, at least not for the first two thirds. The focus is on the victim, her friends, and the possible characters who might have murdered her - eventually I realized I was more interested in reading almost any other book that was around the house so back to the library with this one.
It does provide an interesting view of Japanese everyday life among the not so successful. For what that's worth.
It does provide an interesting view of Japanese everyday life among the not so successful. For what that's worth.
This was a little depressing, but only because it was so well written. I felt a certain empathy for the central character and felt that Shūichi Yoshida made him a believable person. The book was an interesting exploration of alienation and the need to feel loved by someone, to feel that you belong. It wasn't just a clichéd tale of an introverted loner turning out to be a serial killer. It was more an exploration of how life events mould us and can take us to extremes. It did leave me feeling a little bummed out, though!
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-reviews/genre/thriller/mini-reviews-crime-edition/
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-reviews/genre/thriller/mini-reviews-crime-edition/
Once again Shuuichi Yoshida manages to get a reaction from me without me knowing fully what that reaction is.
Villain is a mystery in the same way [b: Confessions|27037|Confessions|Augustine of Hippo|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1266454051s/27037.jpg|1427207] is a mystery, I think. It's not quite that, but it does have the very basic trappings of the genre: someone gets killed and they're looking for a killer. For about 90% of the novel you're sure it could only be this one guy, but then the POV shifts and maybe it was this other guy after all? But then the novel shifts again and we think that yes, the first guy was definitely the killer after all.
What was the point of that?
Like in his other novel, [b: Parade|777824|Parade's End|Ford Madox Ford|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1450231478s/777824.jpg|2244425], Yoshida focuses more on the human condition than on the solving of the crime. His characters do a lot of mundane things, talk about unrelated events in their lives that have no bearing with what we have read in the summary. The summary is what you bought the book for, isn't it? But aside from the murder of this woman that sells insurance, it's also about these poor broken people. And this murdered woman is already dead. Sure, her death is what drives some of the characters forward but she's not the focal point of the story. She's just one of the people that we met while reading the story.
[b: Villain|7516027|Villain|Shūichi Yoshida|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320511025s/7516027.jpg|9724573] is about a quiet young man who might or might not be lying about his motivations. I like Yuichi; he's almost not there most of the time. From how the other characters think of him, he's either a victim of circumstances, having been abandoned by his mother in the wharf before his grandparents adopted him. Or he's this boring guy who's good in bed. Or a soccer ball who just stays where he's been kicked to, a go-with-the-flow-type. Or a creepy guy who attaches himself to the first woman who shows any kindness to him. Or a liar who gets off on backing helpless women into a corner. He's a murderer after all. The novel doesn't say he's good person, but he's an interesting character for all that.
One of my favourite parts was him talking about taking money from his mother, money that he didn't need. 'Yeah, but both of us have to be victims.' Interesting, isn't it?
It's also about Yoshino, the woman who was killed. But Yoshino's story is also about the struggles of the poor, the distance between the different classes, and the many lies she told just to appear as someone who was Somebody. There is also the judgement from society, the victim blaming. 'Of course she got killed she was meeting men from online dating sites and getting paid for sex!'
Her father's run in with Keigo Masuo, the guy who was suspected of being her killer, is probably the most poignant scene in the book.
There's also Mitsuyo, the woman who falls in love with Yuichi. She's the perfect partner for him, tbh. Where he attaches himself to the first person who shows him kindness, she is controlling, possessive and total in her love. A match made in heaven, except of course, Yuichi wasn't exactly a free man and soon they try to run away. Not completely to evade the law, but to prolong the time they spend with each other.
Another favourite bits from the novel: it was New Year's and Mitsuyo remembers how she spent the last one, going to her parents' house, then the shops to kill time. Having nothing she wanted to buy, no one she wanted to meet. That restlessness of being unanchored. God, this novel is so bleak.
There are other characters, each one with their own problems and hang ups and their own stories. As a novel about crime this doesn't really say anything much. But as a novel about people, there's a lot of things being said for sure.
Villain is a mystery in the same way [b: Confessions|27037|Confessions|Augustine of Hippo|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1266454051s/27037.jpg|1427207] is a mystery, I think. It's not quite that, but it does have the very basic trappings of the genre: someone gets killed and they're looking for a killer. For about 90% of the novel you're sure it could only be this one guy, but then the POV shifts and maybe it was this other guy after all? But then the novel shifts again and we think that yes, the first guy was definitely the killer after all.
What was the point of that?
Like in his other novel, [b: Parade|777824|Parade's End|Ford Madox Ford|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1450231478s/777824.jpg|2244425], Yoshida focuses more on the human condition than on the solving of the crime. His characters do a lot of mundane things, talk about unrelated events in their lives that have no bearing with what we have read in the summary. The summary is what you bought the book for, isn't it? But aside from the murder of this woman that sells insurance, it's also about these poor broken people. And this murdered woman is already dead. Sure, her death is what drives some of the characters forward but she's not the focal point of the story. She's just one of the people that we met while reading the story.
[b: Villain|7516027|Villain|Shūichi Yoshida|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320511025s/7516027.jpg|9724573] is about a quiet young man who might or might not be lying about his motivations. I like Yuichi; he's almost not there most of the time. From how the other characters think of him, he's either a victim of circumstances, having been abandoned by his mother in the wharf before his grandparents adopted him. Or he's this boring guy who's good in bed. Or a soccer ball who just stays where he's been kicked to, a go-with-the-flow-type. Or a creepy guy who attaches himself to the first woman who shows any kindness to him. Or a liar who gets off on backing helpless women into a corner. He's a murderer after all. The novel doesn't say he's good person, but he's an interesting character for all that.
One of my favourite parts was him talking about taking money from his mother, money that he didn't need. 'Yeah, but both of us have to be victims.' Interesting, isn't it?
It's also about Yoshino, the woman who was killed. But Yoshino's story is also about the struggles of the poor, the distance between the different classes, and the many lies she told just to appear as someone who was Somebody. There is also the judgement from society, the victim blaming. 'Of course she got killed she was meeting men from online dating sites and getting paid for sex!'
Her father's run in with Keigo Masuo, the guy who was suspected of being her killer, is probably the most poignant scene in the book.
There's also Mitsuyo, the woman who falls in love with Yuichi. She's the perfect partner for him, tbh. Where he attaches himself to the first person who shows him kindness, she is controlling, possessive and total in her love. A match made in heaven, except of course, Yuichi wasn't exactly a free man and soon they try to run away. Not completely to evade the law, but to prolong the time they spend with each other.
Another favourite bits from the novel: it was New Year's and Mitsuyo remembers how she spent the last one, going to her parents' house, then the shops to kill time. Having nothing she wanted to buy, no one she wanted to meet. That restlessness of being unanchored. God, this novel is so bleak.
There are other characters, each one with their own problems and hang ups and their own stories. As a novel about crime this doesn't really say anything much. But as a novel about people, there's a lot of things being said for sure.