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A review by ravenousbibliophile
The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo
4.0
Blurb: A story enhanced by its translation.
As a reader, I have been fortunate enough to read some exquisite stories, both when it comes to novels, and comic-books and to my dismay it is only recently that I have started appreciating the efforts made by translators to translate a foreign language into English without losing any of the emotional & structural integrity of the story. The Inugami Curse-my second Yokomizo work after The Honjin Murders-reads very differently and much better from it's predecessor and the credit to my mind goes to Yumiko Yamakazi, the translator, whose use of appropriate terminology and colloquialism aged the story very well.
As a story itself, the build-up is far superior compared to the climax and revelation. But while the perpetrator isn't exactly a surprise the ultimate conclusion does give one a sense of closure. For certain, this book/plot can be accused of 'lazy writing'. Especially given the concatenation of coincidences involved. But I, for one, will not levy such an accusation upon it, because in the end I wanted to read a story that would be engaging, intriguing and off-beat. Two out of Three is good enough for me.
As a reader, I have been fortunate enough to read some exquisite stories, both when it comes to novels, and comic-books and to my dismay it is only recently that I have started appreciating the efforts made by translators to translate a foreign language into English without losing any of the emotional & structural integrity of the story. The Inugami Curse-my second Yokomizo work after The Honjin Murders-reads very differently and much better from it's predecessor and the credit to my mind goes to Yumiko Yamakazi, the translator, whose use of appropriate terminology and colloquialism aged the story very well.
As a story itself, the build-up is far superior compared to the climax and revelation. But while the perpetrator isn't exactly a surprise the ultimate conclusion does give one a sense of closure. For certain, this book/plot can be accused of 'lazy writing'. Especially given the concatenation of coincidences involved. But I, for one, will not levy such an accusation upon it, because in the end I wanted to read a story that would be engaging, intriguing and off-beat. Two out of Three is good enough for me.