You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
Knew it was Dark, but Damn! Don't nuke a country twice.
dark
mysterious
medium-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
A book I couldn't put down. It was absolutely fascinating to read this intricately woven mystery and watch how it unfolded. It was really interesting to only know the primary characters through other characters, and I was constantly blown away as things were revealed throughout the book.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
LISTEN.
i am willing to spend a lifetime recommending this book to everyone i know. the writing, tone, suspense, characters, and plot are INCREDIBLE. i especially love how the entire story is told from the perspectives of the side characters. the true feelings and thoughts of the two main characters were never revealed. yet through the fragmented and mismatched narrations, we learn just enough to piece together the plausible “truth” but not enough to confirm the theory. it is as if the story engages the reader and places you in the role of a detective. in my opinion, every mystery novel dims in comparison to the intricacy and tension of higashino-sensei’s work. i have never been so hurt and haunted by a book before. it is safe to say, this is my favorite book of all time now.
i am willing to spend a lifetime recommending this book to everyone i know. the writing, tone, suspense, characters, and plot are INCREDIBLE. i especially love how the entire story is told from the perspectives of the side characters. the true feelings and thoughts of the two main characters were never revealed. yet through the fragmented and mismatched narrations, we learn just enough to piece together the plausible “truth” but not enough to confirm the theory. it is as if the story engages the reader and places you in the role of a detective. in my opinion, every mystery novel dims in comparison to the intricacy and tension of higashino-sensei’s work. i have never been so hurt and haunted by a book before. it is safe to say, this is my favorite book of all time now.
I’m struggling to rate this one. It was hard to put down, almost compulsively readable, but there was so much I just did not enjoy. It was darker and more gruesome than the other works I’d read from the author. The mystery was good and I felt I was invested in solving it myself. But a lot went on that I didn’t enjoy reading, which may have been the point; the scope was huge and Higashino provided many small mysteries that were connected as well, which I think added to the readability of the book. Finally, I was a fan of the detective, Sasagaki.
For a mystery novel that spans two decades, from 1973 to 1992, Journey Under the Midnight Sun is precise and focused. It follows the lives of two sociopaths and the detective who has trailed them since the murder of a pawnshop owner in 1973. Twists and turns abound. There is a score of well developed characters, each one psychoanalyzed and supplied with their own point of view. All is brought together like a fine clockwork mechanism at the end, the pursuit of the motive revealing something shocking and disgraceful.
This is a fast paced novel. Do not let the 539 page length deceive you. It reads quickly. And as the pieces of the puzzle slide in and out and finally into a fixed place, we occasionally lose sight of the main protagonist, the aging detective Sasagaki. He stands at the center of the first chapter but then disappears until the final 150 or so pages. Yet the thread of the story never veers off track. And when Sasagaki reappears, it is as a fulfilling force. In fact, that would be my summation of the effect of Journey Under the Midnight Sun on the reader--a catharsis. Except all doesn't end as neatly as might be hoped. Without going into spoilers, there is a great deal of rationalization at the end of this novel. A bit of social preening even, as the reader is introduced into issues of justification and explanation that verge on unwanted sympathy.
All this leaves the reader somewhat uneasy at the end. But, then, that is the point. Nobody rests easy at the end of Journey Under the Midnight Sun.
This is a fast paced novel. Do not let the 539 page length deceive you. It reads quickly. And as the pieces of the puzzle slide in and out and finally into a fixed place, we occasionally lose sight of the main protagonist, the aging detective Sasagaki. He stands at the center of the first chapter but then disappears until the final 150 or so pages. Yet the thread of the story never veers off track. And when Sasagaki reappears, it is as a fulfilling force. In fact, that would be my summation of the effect of Journey Under the Midnight Sun on the reader--a catharsis. Except all doesn't end as neatly as might be hoped. Without going into spoilers, there is a great deal of rationalization at the end of this novel. A bit of social preening even, as the reader is introduced into issues of justification and explanation that verge on unwanted sympathy.
All this leaves the reader somewhat uneasy at the end. But, then, that is the point. Nobody rests easy at the end of Journey Under the Midnight Sun.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
This mystery takes a long time to unravel...19 years. It takes the reader from 1973 Osaka to Osaka and Tokyo in the early 1990s. There are multiple characters and sometimes it's difficult to keep track, or a character appears and then leaves the story and it's not clear why. It's not even entirely clear who is the main detective. Sasagaki fades from the story and reappears later, while other characters seem to be getting a handle on parts of the very complex story of Yukihe and Ryo. And while I found some of the characters very compelling, I was horrified by the violence and the brutality that run throughout the book.