A review by zaisgraph
Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25


Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama is a novel about a work-related error that led to a large scale, division wide criminal misconduct and cover-up. The cover-up had lasting ramifications to everyone involved and the novel thoroughly explored these. The main character is a middle-aged man named Mikami, a newly minted Press Director for a regional police force. He has an internal turmoil about his transfer to an administrative role from being a frontline detective. This largely propels his actions throughout the book.

Because of the cover, I expected either a hyper violent police procedural ala Karin Slaughter or even something with underlying paranormal elements. I got neither. This book has barely any violence inside. In fact, the politeness and decorum of the Japanese is in full display here. Hideo highlighted how beautiful and frustrating Japanese work ethic and principles can be. I surprised at how I perceived it. Quite dated and brimming with Boomer energy. Equal parts impressive, frustrating and worrying. Safe to say, Six Four did not meet my expectations.

The audiobook is at over 24 hours long. The length is tremendous, perhaps this is among if not the longest book I have read this year. It took its sweet time to set-up. I struggled to maintain focus because it was just not the sort of riveting I am used to. Of course, there is a massive twist in the last fifth of the book that totally came out of left field. It was bloody brilliant. Maybe I was already too tired at to fully appreciate this twist when I reached it because of the prior 500 pages of “exciting” bickering with reporters and office intrigue LOL. At several points, I thought I was reading a less exciting novelization of popular TV series, Scandal.

If you enjoy novels that explore workplace politics and maneuvering as well as the immense sacrifice and moral dilemma that can be brought about by one’s role, then it’s a safe bet that Six Four is for you. Hideo also explored themes involving grief, love, loss, guilt and revenge. Revenge is very Japanese when you think about it. They sorta specialize in that. This is potentially quite spoilery so I’ll stop here.

The other poignant thing explored in Six Four is what it means to be a partner, the rediscovery of what made you a couple in the first place was tackled here. I really like this because I am in a long-term relationship right now. Sadly, the things that makes relationship exceptional and endearing in the beginning sometimes inadvertently fades and gets forgotten. Rediscovering these things is very important to bring the magic back.

Near the end of the book, world building is discussed. It’s a battle between a world as it is, universally agreed upon and built on consensus - objective and scientific. On the other corner is a world as we make it to be, subjective, paved with our fears, hopes and dreams. The world as it is IS the real fantasy, an ideal impossible to achieve. Our world is what we make it to be. Each as valid as any other, with us as the architects. Every day, we explore the different worlds of the people we interact it, most often our love one’s. It can be a fascinating, scary and even lonely. It is a learning and growing activity essential to the human experience.

I have read the trade paperback of Six Four while listening to the audiobook. The narrator was Richard Burnip and he narrated it with an English accent. To say that it was jarring is an understatement. It’s as if the soul of the work was bastardized and reduced. But then again, it’s the only one available so I’m still grateful that it exists because this work is made accessible to people like me who prefer reading while listening to the audio equivalent. Needlessly long, Six Four tested my focus and patience, but I persevered. The closing salvo was not enough to elevate this book to a level I would call satisfying. Rating this a 2.25 and categorizing this as Not Recommended. Will definitely be reading more Japlit books down the road though and potentially even more from this author.