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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Seishi Yokomizo is definitely an author I'd read again. "Death on Gokumon Island" (nearly) has it all: inexplicable murders, a good main character, red herrings, interesting characters and relationships, as well as a vivid post-WWII Japan.
Kosuke Kindaichi used to be a great detective - and then the war came and paused all that. In the army, he met Chimata, the son of a fishing mogul on the (fictional) Gokumon Island; and Chimata, while not a coward, had a single fear: of dying before getting back home.
But die he does, on the return trip, and he charges Kosuke Kindaichi to go to Gokumon Island and save his three sisters, who will be murdered. The letter of recommendation he's given is addressed to three people: the priest, the mayor and the doctor who live on the island.
Gokumon is an interesting world: slightly more traditional than the mainland, it's populated by an isolated people, perceived as odd and a bad lot because they're descended from prisoners and pirates. In fact, even the author suggests, poverty might have more to do with that, and prosperity is fairly recent on the island. Chimata's grandfather was the one who brought more affluence and who had a passion for culture and the arts, going so far as to take islanders by boat to see shows elsewhere. (His tastes, it's specified, aren't amazing; still, it's a leap forward.)
The sense of a changing world, of lives put on pause, of post-war chaos are wonderfully represented: abandoned military infrastructure, underwater mines, a temple bell that was recquisitioned for the war effort (and later returned, because it hadn't been melted yet), a scarcity of cotton, military boots that everyone seems to have, news on the radio about soldiers returning home, careers put on pause, people missing and presumed dead. (As someone born in 1921, Seishi Yokomizo undoubtedly had first-hand knowledge of what Japan looked like at the time, even if "Death on Gokumon Island" itself was only first published in 1971.)
Even so, the islanders are traditional, living in a nearly feudal relationship with the fishing chiefs, and offering great respect to the three worthies (by way of their professions): the priest, the mayor and the doctor. And as is the way of many traditional, small places, everyone knows everyone, and they gossip about the affairs of the important people, with underlying assumptions and conventions about how the world around them functions, to the point where events are perceived on a nearly theatrical level.
When Kosuke Kindaichi arrives, the murders start happening. The first woman is found hanged upside down from a plum tree, tied with the obi of her kimono - and things only get odder from there. The criminal is hard to identify; the one person who would have the most to gain from the deaths still hasn't returned home from the war, and the only newly arrived person on the island (and who might therefore be a hired killer) is Kindaichi himself... Until he digs deeper and everyone seems to have potential opportunities or motives: a pirate who has escaped to the island by swimming and who may be the cousin set to inherit the business if they die; the girls' father, who is a locked up madman, and who hates them; the branch family who might be making a bid for power, or at least getting revenge out of hatred.
The solution is a bit contrived (but much less so than I'd feared), but the atmosphere - ah, that's so well done! I loved it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for offering me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Kosuke Kindaichi used to be a great detective - and then the war came and paused all that. In the army, he met Chimata, the son of a fishing mogul on the (fictional) Gokumon Island; and Chimata, while not a coward, had a single fear: of dying before getting back home.
But die he does, on the return trip, and he charges Kosuke Kindaichi to go to Gokumon Island and save his three sisters, who will be murdered. The letter of recommendation he's given is addressed to three people: the priest, the mayor and the doctor who live on the island.
Gokumon is an interesting world: slightly more traditional than the mainland, it's populated by an isolated people, perceived as odd and a bad lot because they're descended from prisoners and pirates. In fact, even the author suggests, poverty might have more to do with that, and prosperity is fairly recent on the island. Chimata's grandfather was the one who brought more affluence and who had a passion for culture and the arts, going so far as to take islanders by boat to see shows elsewhere. (His tastes, it's specified, aren't amazing; still, it's a leap forward.)
The sense of a changing world, of lives put on pause, of post-war chaos are wonderfully represented: abandoned military infrastructure, underwater mines, a temple bell that was recquisitioned for the war effort (and later returned, because it hadn't been melted yet), a scarcity of cotton, military boots that everyone seems to have, news on the radio about soldiers returning home, careers put on pause, people missing and presumed dead. (As someone born in 1921, Seishi Yokomizo undoubtedly had first-hand knowledge of what Japan looked like at the time, even if "Death on Gokumon Island" itself was only first published in 1971.)
Even so, the islanders are traditional, living in a nearly feudal relationship with the fishing chiefs, and offering great respect to the three worthies (by way of their professions): the priest, the mayor and the doctor. And as is the way of many traditional, small places, everyone knows everyone, and they gossip about the affairs of the important people, with underlying assumptions and conventions about how the world around them functions, to the point where events are perceived on a nearly theatrical level.
When Kosuke Kindaichi arrives, the murders start happening. The first woman is found hanged upside down from a plum tree, tied with the obi of her kimono - and things only get odder from there. The criminal is hard to identify; the one person who would have the most to gain from the deaths still hasn't returned home from the war, and the only newly arrived person on the island (and who might therefore be a hired killer) is Kindaichi himself... Until he digs deeper and everyone seems to have potential opportunities or motives: a pirate who has escaped to the island by swimming and who may be the cousin set to inherit the business if they die; the girls' father, who is a locked up madman, and who hates them; the branch family who might be making a bid for power, or at least getting revenge out of hatred.
The solution is a bit contrived (but much less so than I'd feared), but the atmosphere - ah, that's so well done! I loved it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for offering me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Reading this book from a Western perspective, I could feel throughout that there was so much cultural context and symbolism flying over my head. At times the translation felt clunky, but as the plot began to pick up steam I did find myself sucked into the narrative despite its slow pace. The story itself is well-conceived with a satisfying solution to a puzzling series of murders.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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