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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thank you NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the opportunity to read this book! My spoiler-free review lies below, cradling its head in its hands:
My opinion on this book warmed so much the more I read—while it started feeling a bit like I was pushing through a fairly dense history book at the beginning, by the middle I couldn’t put the book down. The final 40 or so pages were devoured, leaving me thrilled.
For readers expecting a cozy murder mystery or a classic detective novel, know that this is more similar to a bound anthology in nature: our pair of detectives (technically government investigators) investigate five murders over the course of about a year, with the help of a French miko and a gaggle of dimwitted by useful rasotsu. The overarching through line is the interrogation of a Just Government—is it possible for a governing body to be free of corruption, to mete out justice, and to be manned transparently? The two main characters grapple with this throughout, within the heavily-detailed setting of early Meiji Japan.
At times the historical background and set dressing felt dry, and many of the less-fleshed-out characters bled into each other. I think in large part, this is due to my reading this out of it’s original context: many of the characters in the story, including one of the protagonists, are important figures in Japanese history. Even if Japanese readers aren’t necessarily familiar with all of them by name, the backdrop of the Meiji Restoration is enough to provide sufficient context. I can’t fault the writer or the translator for my own ignorance on the topic—I think it’s just worth noting to anyone picking up this book that they may get more of a history lesson than they may anticipate, as this element is less advertised in the summary.
While reading this book, I tried to keep in mind the context of it’s original publication—the late 1970s were a period of marked political, economic, and social change for Japan—and how the novel’s setting must have resonated with readers at that time. What’s more, I feel that Pushkin Vertigo’s decision to publish this book in 2023 is equally as timely. The feel of complete helplessness in a time of political turmoil is just as overwhelming now as it was for the characters in 1869, and I find both protagonists’ diametric ideals about government to echo public sentiment today.
Overall, I had hoped for a detective story and got something a little bit more than that. It wasn’t what I expected, and it had a slightly slow start, but the last chapter left me thinking about it a lot more than I probably would have if it were just another whodunnit. 4/5 stars.
My opinion on this book warmed so much the more I read—while it started feeling a bit like I was pushing through a fairly dense history book at the beginning, by the middle I couldn’t put the book down. The final 40 or so pages were devoured, leaving me thrilled.
For readers expecting a cozy murder mystery or a classic detective novel, know that this is more similar to a bound anthology in nature: our pair of detectives (technically government investigators) investigate five murders over the course of about a year, with the help of a French miko and a gaggle of dimwitted by useful rasotsu. The overarching through line is the interrogation of a Just Government—is it possible for a governing body to be free of corruption, to mete out justice, and to be manned transparently? The two main characters grapple with this throughout, within the heavily-detailed setting of early Meiji Japan.
At times the historical background and set dressing felt dry, and many of the less-fleshed-out characters bled into each other. I think in large part, this is due to my reading this out of it’s original context: many of the characters in the story, including one of the protagonists, are important figures in Japanese history. Even if Japanese readers aren’t necessarily familiar with all of them by name, the backdrop of the Meiji Restoration is enough to provide sufficient context. I can’t fault the writer or the translator for my own ignorance on the topic—I think it’s just worth noting to anyone picking up this book that they may get more of a history lesson than they may anticipate, as this element is less advertised in the summary.
While reading this book, I tried to keep in mind the context of it’s original publication—the late 1970s were a period of marked political, economic, and social change for Japan—and how the novel’s setting must have resonated with readers at that time. What’s more, I feel that Pushkin Vertigo’s decision to publish this book in 2023 is equally as timely. The feel of complete helplessness in a time of political turmoil is just as overwhelming now as it was for the characters in 1869, and I find both protagonists’ diametric ideals about government to echo public sentiment today.
Overall, I had hoped for a detective story and got something a little bit more than that. It wasn’t what I expected, and it had a slightly slow start, but the last chapter left me thinking about it a lot more than I probably would have if it were just another whodunnit. 4/5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, Murder
The story includes clinical descriptions of corpses and how their deaths came to pass. The characters also express era- and region-typical xenophobia, distrusting any non-Japanese nationals.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Don’t read this
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
The Meiji Guillotine Murders by Futaro Yamada is not what I was expecting, but it is still a great read. It read, especially at the beginning, more like a historical fiction than a mystery thriller, but seeing as I enjoy both genres, I did not view this as a bad thing. I have not really read much regarding Japanese history, so I loved reading about the Meiji period as this is a part of history that was new to me. It is hard to get into the book at first. I had a hard time determining “the point” of the book until later on. Once you get into the novel though, you could see how everything tied together. One thing that I liked is learning about how the guillotine was introduced in Japan as well. This may seem morbid, but I found it an interesting component as well. Learning about the miko was another very interesting component. One thing I didn’t like though is that is how they solved a lot of cases, and there is not near as much buildup as with other “murder mysteries” where there is more investigation into the who done it and all the plot twists and turns that go along with that. Not as rewarding when the miko is able to channel the voice of the dead and tell you exactly what happened directly. Still a very interesting concept though! This is my first ARC of a book that I have read and reviewed, the format took a little bit of getting used to, but that is to no fault of the author. It will definitely be easier to deal with as I read more ARCs. I would read another book by this author if it is translated to English in the future. Other than the format, this book flew by and is a very quick and easy read. Overall I would give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars and would recommend it to other readers who both enjoy history and mysteries.
Was only just slogging through but this was saved by the final, spectacular chapter! I appreciated it for that, but not sure I would recommend to others unless I know they have patience for a lot of blah before a payoff.
Thought this one truly could have used a set of translator notes—very surprising that they were not included and made the reading experience much less pleasant than it could have been.
Thought this one truly could have used a set of translator notes—very surprising that they were not included and made the reading experience much less pleasant than it could have been.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While it starts off slow and I had an inkling if what was to come the actual ending made sense but was still shocking and unexpected definitely keeps you guessing all the boring parts didn’t matter because the ending was so good
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
The Meiji Guillotine Murders story set after the Boshin War which taking us back to the Meiji Restoration, a tempestuous period of when Government is still reshaping . We follow Inspectors Kawaji and Kazuki who work for the Imperial Prosecuting Office, a branch of the government that aims to root out corruption especially the police forces (Rasotsu). In this novella, they tackle a series of cases where various murder victims which most of them are the members of the government that murdered in mysterious ways. The Guillotine was a 'weapon' imported from French which is a famous execution method back then. We will see this been used almost each of the short stories.
To be honest, this story is not exactly what I was anticipating. I was expecting a full stories of a brutal murders and we follow their procedural investigation (of course it's my own fault for not reading it thoroughly). Instead of that, we get a collections of short stories which the plot focuses on the murder mysteries. Each of the short stories were so interesting, some are difficult to digest, and almost all of them are quite graphic & violence; the bodies cradling the severed heads, the man hanged at the bridge, the leg being cut-off. I quite enjoy the gory detailed despite being caught off guard.
However, maybe it's because of my expectation but most of how the case revealed and settled are quite unsatisfying.. I craved for more and satisfying revelation. However, the way this story ended was quite thrilling, unexpected and sad. I did not expected the last chapter to end that way. Overall, this is such a interesting read. I wouldn't doubt for this author abilities for the settings because he was so good at that (look at his anime adaptation works). Giving it 3.5 ⭐️
Thank you Pansing (@definitelybooks) for the review copy in exchange for a honest review!
To be honest, this story is not exactly what I was anticipating. I was expecting a full stories of a brutal murders and we follow their procedural investigation (of course it's my own fault for not reading it thoroughly). Instead of that, we get a collections of short stories which the plot focuses on the murder mysteries. Each of the short stories were so interesting, some are difficult to digest, and almost all of them are quite graphic & violence; the bodies cradling the severed heads, the man hanged at the bridge, the leg being cut-off. I quite enjoy the gory detailed despite being caught off guard.
However, maybe it's because of my expectation but most of how the case revealed and settled are quite unsatisfying.. I craved for more and satisfying revelation. However, the way this story ended was quite thrilling, unexpected and sad. I did not expected the last chapter to end that way. Overall, this is such a interesting read. I wouldn't doubt for this author abilities for the settings because he was so good at that (look at his anime adaptation works). Giving it 3.5 ⭐️
Thank you Pansing (@definitelybooks) for the review copy in exchange for a honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, War
I'm grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.
I really enjoy the Pushkin Vertigo series, which has introduced me to lots of twentieth-century fiction I would never have otherwise read, much of which I've reviewed here, including books by Seishi Yokomizo, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, and Frederic Dard. I have not read anything by this particular author before, as relatively little of his work has been translated into English, but this is one of the things that Pushkin does best, and I'm really glad to have picked this up.
In contrast to some of the other twentieth-century Japanese crime fiction translated for the series, this one has a historical setting, taking us back to the mid-nineteenth century and the rulers following the Meiji Restoration. This is a turbulent period with various regional alliances and conflicts churning away as the governance of the country is reshaped. The guillotine in question is a French import, accompanied by a French executioner, and it serves as a conflicted symbol of modernisation/Westernisation.
Thematically, the plot hinges on weighty philosophical questions like the nature of Japanese society, the (self-)righteousness and corruptibility of law enforcement, and the purification of the state. These themes are elaborated through a series of criminal investigations conducted by two "rival" inspectors in the Imperial Prosecuting Office, Kazuki and Kawaji in the few years prior to the reform of the Japanese criminal justice system, which was indeed modelled in part on the French system. The historical elements are really interesting here, and Yamada alludes not only to past events but also to future rebellion, which helps to set clearly the boundaries of the book as a historical set piece.
The novel proceeds largely with a structure of individual stories, framed as a form of competition between the two friends and colleagues. Each of the murders has its own self-contained chapter, although there are some crossovers of characters and back-story. Towards the end, however, the overarching narrative plot comes into view, with a rather thrilling ending. Because of this structure, the primary focus is on progressing each individual plot, and there is less character development of the two rivals (and certainly less of the French executioner) than I might have liked. However, the structure is really effective as a quasi-"casebook", and it's certainly not out of keeping for the genre, following a pairing with some Holmes/Watson elements.
I look forward to more of Yamada's work being translated in the future, and I will also be hunting out his Holmesian pastiche short story The Yellow Lodger and having a read around neo-Victorian criticism about his work in the meantime!
I really enjoy the Pushkin Vertigo series, which has introduced me to lots of twentieth-century fiction I would never have otherwise read, much of which I've reviewed here, including books by Seishi Yokomizo, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, and Frederic Dard. I have not read anything by this particular author before, as relatively little of his work has been translated into English, but this is one of the things that Pushkin does best, and I'm really glad to have picked this up.
In contrast to some of the other twentieth-century Japanese crime fiction translated for the series, this one has a historical setting, taking us back to the mid-nineteenth century and the rulers following the Meiji Restoration. This is a turbulent period with various regional alliances and conflicts churning away as the governance of the country is reshaped. The guillotine in question is a French import, accompanied by a French executioner, and it serves as a conflicted symbol of modernisation/Westernisation.
Thematically, the plot hinges on weighty philosophical questions like the nature of Japanese society, the (self-)righteousness and corruptibility of law enforcement, and the purification of the state. These themes are elaborated through a series of criminal investigations conducted by two "rival" inspectors in the Imperial Prosecuting Office, Kazuki and Kawaji in the few years prior to the reform of the Japanese criminal justice system, which was indeed modelled in part on the French system. The historical elements are really interesting here, and Yamada alludes not only to past events but also to future rebellion, which helps to set clearly the boundaries of the book as a historical set piece.
The novel proceeds largely with a structure of individual stories, framed as a form of competition between the two friends and colleagues. Each of the murders has its own self-contained chapter, although there are some crossovers of characters and back-story. Towards the end, however, the overarching narrative plot comes into view, with a rather thrilling ending. Because of this structure, the primary focus is on progressing each individual plot, and there is less character development of the two rivals (and certainly less of the French executioner) than I might have liked. However, the structure is really effective as a quasi-"casebook", and it's certainly not out of keeping for the genre, following a pairing with some Holmes/Watson elements.
I look forward to more of Yamada's work being translated in the future, and I will also be hunting out his Holmesian pastiche short story The Yellow Lodger and having a read around neo-Victorian criticism about his work in the meantime!
