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A review by izzatiidrus
Villain by Shūichi Yoshida
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
A woman's body was found at the Mitsuse Pass. She was murdered by way of strangulation. The suspect was a college student, a rich kid. The woman's friends claimed that the guy was her boyfriend because that was what she told them. But the woman was not what her parents and friends knew her to be. And all her secrets and lies began surfacing as the investigation progressed on...
This is not a whodunnit mystery. Really, there are only two suspects, no red herrings and you pretty much would know who did it from the beginning. It's not really a mystery either, because there's nothing surprising or mind-blowing about it, nothing that really hooks you to read on to know the why, how and who.
I almost DNF-ed this book many times. Mostly because the book is like 40% graphically sexual, and in a very raw, disgusting and disturbing way. I feel like it's completely unnecessary to be describing in detail about such acts. It's almost like the author is sexually frustrated and wants this to be his outlet. It's funny to me how if this was written as an "porn" "erotica" or "romance", it would not have the same respect it actually got for writing this. Another thing I did not care about in this book was the detailed descriptions of transportation. Of course, these are just not my preferences, other people might enjoy them.
But I persevered anyway, and partly because I wanted to see the movie because my favourite actors are in it. Partly because I wanted to know why it won a couple of awards. And in a way I'm glad I did.
Because this book is a huge question about who truly is the villain in this story. The killer? The victim? The family? The society? The culture? And I did like the way the author mirrors one event to another in the characters' lives, to show how and why they acted the way they did. This is a story about identity, abandonment issues, love, longing, loneliness, desperation, sacrifice and selfishness. It made me cry so bad at the end, I hated that I loved the ending when the journey to read through was so miserable for me.
So don't ask me whether I'd recommend this to you, because I don't know. I hated a big chunk of it but I also loved some parts of it.
This is not a whodunnit mystery. Really, there are only two suspects, no red herrings and you pretty much would know who did it from the beginning. It's not really a mystery either, because there's nothing surprising or mind-blowing about it, nothing that really hooks you to read on to know the why, how and who.
I almost DNF-ed this book many times. Mostly because the book is like 40% graphically sexual, and in a very raw, disgusting and disturbing way. I feel like it's completely unnecessary to be describing in detail about such acts. It's almost like the author is sexually frustrated and wants this to be his outlet. It's funny to me how if this was written as an "porn" "erotica" or "romance", it would not have the same respect it actually got for writing this. Another thing I did not care about in this book was the detailed descriptions of transportation. Of course, these are just not my preferences, other people might enjoy them.
But I persevered anyway, and partly because I wanted to see the movie because my favourite actors are in it. Partly because I wanted to know why it won a couple of awards. And in a way I'm glad I did.
Because this book is a huge question about who truly is the villain in this story. The killer? The victim? The family? The society? The culture? And I did like the way the author mirrors one event to another in the characters' lives, to show how and why they acted the way they did. This is a story about identity, abandonment issues, love, longing, loneliness, desperation, sacrifice and selfishness. It made me cry so bad at the end, I hated that I loved the ending when the journey to read through was so miserable for me.
So don't ask me whether I'd recommend this to you, because I don't know. I hated a big chunk of it but I also loved some parts of it.