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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
First off, this was the Higashino book that I was most interested but The Devotion of Suspect X was more easily available, so I read that one to see how I like the author's writing style. Immediately after I finished Suspect X, I ordered Naoko. It was delivered around 2pm and I finished it just after 9pm.
This book is an emotional rollercoaster. Sadness, grief, pity, anxiety, anger... all there at some point. But with as many emotions as it brought up, I didn't feel like it was sensationally written. Quite the opposite. I'm not a huge fan of over dramatic characters so I doubt I would have made it through this book so quickly if it was written in that style (and with the plot, it easily could have been). Instead, I just wanted to know what happened next. Curiosity kept me engaged.
The ending left me reeling a bit and probably pulled the rating down to a 4.5 instead of a full 5 star. I wish Heisuke had eventually been able to not only let go but move on. And while I logically understood Naoko's actions in the book, I pretty much hated her by the end. (I also would have really liked to have seen, though, was Naoko's reaction to Heisuke pursuing another woman). But with how things ended, I felt no hope for positive future for Heiskue, which disappointed me enough to drag the ending down a tad.
I still plan on reading lots more of Higashino, though. Very engaging writing!
This book is an emotional rollercoaster. Sadness, grief, pity, anxiety, anger... all there at some point. But with as many emotions as it brought up, I didn't feel like it was sensationally written. Quite the opposite. I'm not a huge fan of over dramatic characters so I doubt I would have made it through this book so quickly if it was written in that style (and with the plot, it easily could have been). Instead, I just wanted to know what happened next. Curiosity kept me engaged.
The ending left me reeling a bit and probably pulled the rating down to a 4.5 instead of a full 5 star. I wish Heisuke had eventually been able to not only let go but move on. And while I logically understood Naoko's actions in the book, I pretty much hated her by the end. (I also would have really liked to have seen, though, was Naoko's reaction to Heisuke pursuing another woman). But with how things ended, I felt no hope for positive future for Heiskue, which disappointed me enough to drag the ending down a tad.
I still plan on reading lots more of Higashino, though. Very engaging writing!
Disturbing, brilliant, poignant - just thinking about it evokes a visceral reaction in me, and I don't think I'll forget it any time soon. Highly recommended.
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The blurb at the back says it's a black comedy and I'm honestly side-eyeing Vertical very hard for that. It might be humorous, but I'm definitely not laughing. (And I don't mean that in a bad way.)
Naoko (Himitsu or Secret in the Japanese) is about how a married couple deal with the fact that Naoko's consciousness seemed to have been transferred into her daughter's body after a bus accident. The first part deals with loss and having to move on--both Naoko and Heisuke have both lost a daughter and in some way their own marriage. After all, even if it was still Naoko in Monami's body it's not like Heisuke could treat her as his wife right? They have to act like father and daughter in front of other people, even if everyone is surprised at how mature Monami has become after her mother's death.
As Naoko 'grows older' in Monami's body, Heisuke goes through the protective jealous father phase but amplified 100% because that was actually the woman he had married flirting with all those boys. This is where things start to get thorny.
I love how Higashino cared about Naoko: her emotions and motivations are complex, and we can see that even if our POV character is Heisuke. We never really know what Naoko is thinking unless she tells us, but there's a lot of things going on there that I like.
As Monami, Naoko wants to have a career and be able to support herself in a way that she wasn't able to before. This is her second chance. Not that she doesn't like being Heisuke's wife, but I love that exploration of the working woman, something that Japan is still struggling with.
There's a lot about how society works too. But what really got me about Naoko is how Higashino took a bizarre body switching accident and took it to a realistic level. How does a woman feel getting a second chance at living her youth again? At having to give up her marriage (and it looks to me like there's a lot of love there?) just because she now has to act like her daughter?
I'm kinda amazed at myself for reading my first Higashino and crying about it, but I have very good expectations from the rest of his work if this is how he treats his female characters.
Naoko (Himitsu or Secret in the Japanese) is about how a married couple deal with the fact that Naoko's consciousness seemed to have been transferred into her daughter's body after a bus accident. The first part deals with loss and having to move on--both Naoko and Heisuke have both lost a daughter and in some way their own marriage. After all, even if it was still Naoko in Monami's body it's not like Heisuke could treat her as his wife right? They have to act like father and daughter in front of other people, even if everyone is surprised at how mature Monami has become after her mother's death.
As Naoko 'grows older' in Monami's body, Heisuke goes through the protective jealous father phase but amplified 100% because that was actually the woman he had married flirting with all those boys. This is where things start to get thorny.
I love how Higashino cared about Naoko: her emotions and motivations are complex, and we can see that even if our POV character is Heisuke. We never really know what Naoko is thinking unless she tells us, but there's a lot of things going on there that I like.
As Monami, Naoko wants to have a career and be able to support herself in a way that she wasn't able to before. This is her second chance. Not that she doesn't like being Heisuke's wife, but I love that exploration of the working woman, something that Japan is still struggling with.
There's a lot about how society works too. But what really got me about Naoko is how Higashino took a bizarre body switching accident and took it to a realistic level. How does a woman feel getting a second chance at living her youth again? At having to give up her marriage (and it looks to me like there's a lot of love there?) just because she now has to act like her daughter?
I'm kinda amazed at myself for reading my first Higashino and crying about it, but I have very good expectations from the rest of his work if this is how he treats his female characters.