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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
second read:
i don't have as much to say about this. i still like it as much as i did initially, though the exhilaration and excitement of trying to solve the crime was gone since i could still remember all of the details about the book. i wanted to re-read it as the timing, with everything currently going on in my life, is just too suitable to not do so, and i also wanted to see a certain detail within the writing, especially that of the characters. my opinion on the character writing fluctuated a lot; i initially really liked it, but, when i re-read the manga, i thought it wasn't the best, and now i can say that it's good, but it's not necessarily brilliant, however it's still not as bad as i thought. the characters are well-written at the start, but towards the end, they sort of start to frazzle out, they start to lose their definition, start to become a little mad, which is sensible, considering their circumstances. otherwise, i still love this book a lot. it's definitely one of my favourite mysteries and i believe that it will always be. it was the reason why i read other japanese mysteries, and for that, i am incredibly thankful, since they were brilliant.
first read:
it is currently past midnight, so i don't know how well articulated will this be. however, i am too excited to wait until morning to write this.
quite simply, i adored every second of this book. i know that it seems, from my reviews, that it doesn't take much for a book for me to like it. however, if you knew how i deal with anime, since it's the media that i consume the most, alongside books, you will know that i am very picky with what i like and what i don't, especially with mysteries. yukito ayatsuji has impressed me though. there is a lot that i love about this book, and i can go into spoilery detail for each section, but as to not spoil this brilliant mystery, i shall simply talk about them as mere points.
something that i believe makes or breaks a book, or any piece of media for that matter, to me is character writing. it's also quite common in mysteries to not have the best character writing, as the story is more plot-driven than character-driven, so characterization would be considered useless (even though it is actually not). this had brilliant character writing, as it showed all of the characters in different scenarios and it gives you a better understanding of who these characters are as people. it makes them quite realistic. another thing i really liked about the characters were their relatable personalities. i probably say this only because i, too, am a huge mystery fan, yet i found the characters' personalities to be quite diverse, in terms of mystery lovers and people, and quite intriguing as well.
another thing that i really liked were the descriptions. ayatsuji's descriptions were not the most vivid, yet they were quite remarkable. i could easily imagine all of the characters, the places, everything he described. he, or should i say the translator in this case since this is a translated work after all, owns such a beautiful collection of words that paint the images he wants you to visualize so beautifully and incredibly well.
last but definitely not least is the mystery itself. i had two guesses for this, and one of them was right. i was so confused throughout the entire thing, and i think that that's not an easy task to do, considering the fact that i enjoy solving a lot of (fictional) mysteries and am quite good at them, if i say so myself. i really liked the motive used, and the personality and characterization of the murder were simply brilliant.
overall, i would definitely recommend this book to anyone. it was amazing and i enjoyed it beyond words can describe.
i don't have as much to say about this. i still like it as much as i did initially, though the exhilaration and excitement of trying to solve the crime was gone since i could still remember all of the details about the book. i wanted to re-read it as the timing, with everything currently going on in my life, is just too suitable to not do so, and i also wanted to see a certain detail within the writing, especially that of the characters. my opinion on the character writing fluctuated a lot; i initially really liked it, but, when i re-read the manga, i thought it wasn't the best, and now i can say that it's good, but it's not necessarily brilliant, however it's still not as bad as i thought. the characters are well-written at the start, but towards the end, they sort of start to frazzle out, they start to lose their definition, start to become a little mad, which is sensible, considering their circumstances. otherwise, i still love this book a lot. it's definitely one of my favourite mysteries and i believe that it will always be. it was the reason why i read other japanese mysteries, and for that, i am incredibly thankful, since they were brilliant.
first read:
it is currently past midnight, so i don't know how well articulated will this be. however, i am too excited to wait until morning to write this.
quite simply, i adored every second of this book. i know that it seems, from my reviews, that it doesn't take much for a book for me to like it. however, if you knew how i deal with anime, since it's the media that i consume the most, alongside books, you will know that i am very picky with what i like and what i don't, especially with mysteries. yukito ayatsuji has impressed me though. there is a lot that i love about this book, and i can go into spoilery detail for each section, but as to not spoil this brilliant mystery, i shall simply talk about them as mere points.
something that i believe makes or breaks a book, or any piece of media for that matter, to me is character writing. it's also quite common in mysteries to not have the best character writing, as the story is more plot-driven than character-driven, so characterization would be considered useless (even though it is actually not). this had brilliant character writing, as it showed all of the characters in different scenarios and it gives you a better understanding of who these characters are as people. it makes them quite realistic. another thing i really liked about the characters were their relatable personalities. i probably say this only because i, too, am a huge mystery fan, yet i found the characters' personalities to be quite diverse, in terms of mystery lovers and people, and quite intriguing as well.
another thing that i really liked were the descriptions. ayatsuji's descriptions were not the most vivid, yet they were quite remarkable. i could easily imagine all of the characters, the places, everything he described. he, or should i say the translator in this case since this is a translated work after all, owns such a beautiful collection of words that paint the images he wants you to visualize so beautifully and incredibly well.
last but definitely not least is the mystery itself. i had two guesses for this, and one of them was right. i was so confused throughout the entire thing, and i think that that's not an easy task to do, considering the fact that i enjoy solving a lot of (fictional) mysteries and am quite good at them, if i say so myself. i really liked the motive used, and the personality and characterization of the murder were simply brilliant.
overall, i would definitely recommend this book to anyone. it was amazing and i enjoyed it beyond words can describe.
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-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
I liked this one. If you were so inclined, you could keep track of the suspects & murders, and attempt to solve it on your own. I thought the foreshadowing was quite effective, perhaps too effective? I'd guessed the main story beats (but not the method and about Morisu being Van) early on. Van seemed really sketchy, and there were identity shenanigans all over the place .
That said, quick read, fun deductions, chance for audience participation. I'd read more books by this author.
That said, quick read, fun deductions, chance for audience participation. I'd read more books by this author.
challenging
informative
mysterious
sad
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:
Yes
2.5/5
I feel like the translation made this difficult and weird. But the conversations between the characters were off and weird and felt so unnecessary. It was an interesting story line and I definitely was trying to figure it out the whole time. But I also was over it pretty quick and wanted to give up pretty early on.. I’m going to give this author one more try but we will see
I feel like the translation made this difficult and weird. But the conversations between the characters were off and weird and felt so unnecessary. It was an interesting story line and I definitely was trying to figure it out the whole time. But I also was over it pretty quick and wanted to give up pretty early on.. I’m going to give this author one more try but we will see
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No