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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I was nervous about this one. I wasn't sure if the prose would catch me (a fear about both encountering new authors and especially ones that have been translated), and if I would not click with the non-linear format of its story structure. But very quickly, I fell for the the book's story, its setting, its characters (especially Detective Teru), and the way it drew me into Japan in a way I could taste, smell and hear it. This transportational aspect itself deserves 5 stars. However, as the story approached its ending, though ambiguous it may be, I felt a thirst for more. Its final chapter felt abrupt. I don't demand clean and tidy endings and applaud the author for keeping readers questioning and seeking a repeat visit, I only wish more clues had been laid.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
This was interesting, and I liked the way it was written, probably moreso than I liked the actual mystery. Reminded me a bit of 'we have always lived in the castle'. The ending was not super satisfying, but I think it would have been hard to be after all the buildup. Hisako was still mysterious / hard to understand to me at the end. But I liked the detective character's parts, and I really liked how it was shown how the event affected everyone involved long after. I wish there had been a bit more foreshadowing of the guy. He was even less understandable.
If ‘WHAT WAS THE REASON???’ Was a book.
Absolutely no suspense and no pay off, just boring accounts of different people answering questions from an off page interviewer. Ambiguous ending, not worth your time.
Poor portrayal of disability imo also.
Absolutely no suspense and no pay off, just boring accounts of different people answering questions from an off page interviewer. Ambiguous ending, not worth your time.
Poor portrayal of disability imo also.
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
mysterious
slow-paced
slow-paced
I am loving alternative format books lately. This one has each chapter set up like an interview with people connected to the crime 30 years after the fact. We also have letters, newspaper articles, and journal entries to add to the information. However, this was super slow. There were a lot of unnecessary tangents. And the ending was unsatisfying (at least to me) and a bit ambiguous still. Maybe there is something lost in translation? Do many Japanese mysteries end with ambiguity? Maybe I'm missing some important clues because I'm not as familiar with Japanese culture, history, and myth?
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
The Aosawa Murders is a crime/thriller/detective story told in a very unique and interesting way. The blurb states that 17 people (most of these are from the same family) die after having their drinks poisoned with cyanide, and from here…it’s really up to us to piece together who the culprit was and their motive for doing so.
This book was narrated by several different characters and each chapter was a conversation between a character and someone else so we saw the same crime scene from multiple perspectives which I thought was an interesting take. Throughout, there is a strong ominous and uneasy vibe as different characters throw something else into the mix (usually this is an anomaly or something no-one else picked up on) which increases the tension and keeps the reader hooked.
I will say that I pretty much devoured this book and read it in 2 sittings - I was very much captured and wanted to know what happened next.
Onda decides to leave the ending ambiguous which is fitting since the whole story focuses on different characters’ conjectures as to what really happened on that day…and the last couple of chapters in particular reminded me of Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (another excellent novel).
I will quickly summarise here what I think the ending might have been implying - namely that Hisako (the bling Aosawa daughter) was the mastermind who orchestrated the mass murder but it was the man she ‘befriended’ in the park who had mental health issues, and whose sister was killed, who carried out the plan by delivering the poisoned drinks to the Aosawa house. The reason she did this was 1) she wanted peace and silence and commented her family was always so loud and had people around which prevented her from ever enjoying silence (this does seem like a very extreme reaction to wanting and getting silence but okay…) and 2) she was haunted by what happened in her mom’s blue room - she was having to repent and beg for forgiveness for something (which isn't explained) in front of her mom and nun from church. I also think that possibly her mom and/or nun caused her blindness since she wasn’t born blind and again seemed to be haunted by what occurred in this room. Again, I’m not sure why she would kill her whole family though! :/
Anyway, TAM is an engaging, thought-provoking and chilling read; the writing and depiction of the characters were slightly creepy which added to the uneasy atmosphere throughout. I can see myself picking this up again in the future and would highly recommend it!
This book was narrated by several different characters and each chapter was a conversation between a character and someone else so we saw the same crime scene from multiple perspectives which I thought was an interesting take. Throughout, there is a strong ominous and uneasy vibe as different characters throw something else into the mix (usually this is an anomaly or something no-one else picked up on) which increases the tension and keeps the reader hooked.
I will say that I pretty much devoured this book and read it in 2 sittings - I was very much captured and wanted to know what happened next.
Onda decides to leave the ending ambiguous which is fitting since the whole story focuses on different characters’ conjectures as to what really happened on that day…and the last couple of chapters in particular reminded me of Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (another excellent novel).
I will quickly summarise here what I think the ending might have been implying - namely that Hisako (the bling Aosawa daughter) was the mastermind who orchestrated the mass murder but it was the man she ‘befriended’ in the park who had mental health issues, and whose sister was killed, who carried out the plan by delivering the poisoned drinks to the Aosawa house. The reason she did this was 1) she wanted peace and silence and commented her family was always so loud and had people around which prevented her from ever enjoying silence (this does seem like a very extreme reaction to wanting and getting silence but okay…) and 2) she was haunted by what happened in her mom’s blue room - she was having to repent and beg for forgiveness for something (which isn't explained) in front of her mom and nun from church. I also think that possibly her mom and/or nun caused her blindness since she wasn’t born blind and again seemed to be haunted by what occurred in this room. Again, I’m not sure why she would kill her whole family though! :/
Anyway, TAM is an engaging, thought-provoking and chilling read; the writing and depiction of the characters were slightly creepy which added to the uneasy atmosphere throughout. I can see myself picking this up again in the future and would highly recommend it!