Scan barcode
A review by apurpleyuan
Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama
3.0
I was told that this book was a mystery book. I suppose it is, in the strictest sense. But it'd be like saying that Harry Potter is a mystery book; there's a mystery, yes, but it's far from the main focus of the novel. Rather, the entire focus of the novel is on the politics of the police between the different departments.
I think that a rough understanding of Japanese culture is an absolute requirement before reading this novel. I barely have an understanding from other Japanese works of literature / manga, and there were areas in the book that frustrated me. Why would the main character act a certain way? The only way that I can feasibly understand these actions and behaviors is that it is a cultural expectation. (I was further convinced by this after I read the author blurb, which, I sh*t you not, says: "His exhaustive and relentless work ethic is known to mirror the intense and obsessive behavior of his characters, and in January 2003 he was hospitalized following a heart attack brought about by working nonstop for seventy-two hours."
It's hard to think what kind of person I would recommend this book to. The writing (translation) is fantastic in the sense that it conveys the main character's feelings (bleakness and a strange helplessness) very well. The characters are easy to follow, despite how many of them there are. And yet there was a bit of a slog reading through the middle, where the politics gets heaviest. As mentioned above, I get the feeling that a lot of the politics is cultural, and I had a difficult time sympathizing with, well, any of the characters. But once the plot picks up, it actually gets pretty exciting, and not only because of the mystery. Since everything is so depressing in the first half of the book, when everything starts to come together and look up for the protagonist, it actually feels really good.
In conclusion, if you're into inter-office drama, (and you're at least a little familiar with Japanese culture,) this book is for you. The plot is slow to take off, but incredibly rewarding.
I think that a rough understanding of Japanese culture is an absolute requirement before reading this novel. I barely have an understanding from other Japanese works of literature / manga, and there were areas in the book that frustrated me. Why would the main character act a certain way? The only way that I can feasibly understand these actions and behaviors is that it is a cultural expectation. (I was further convinced by this after I read the author blurb, which, I sh*t you not, says: "His exhaustive and relentless work ethic is known to mirror the intense and obsessive behavior of his characters, and in January 2003 he was hospitalized following a heart attack brought about by working nonstop for seventy-two hours."
It's hard to think what kind of person I would recommend this book to. The writing (translation) is fantastic in the sense that it conveys the main character's feelings (bleakness and a strange helplessness) very well. The characters are easy to follow, despite how many of them there are. And yet there was a bit of a slog reading through the middle, where the politics gets heaviest. As mentioned above, I get the feeling that a lot of the politics is cultural, and I had a difficult time sympathizing with, well, any of the characters. But once the plot picks up, it actually gets pretty exciting, and not only because of the mystery. Since everything is so depressing in the first half of the book, when everything starts to come together and look up for the protagonist, it actually feels really good.
In conclusion, if you're into inter-office drama, (and you're at least a little familiar with Japanese culture,) this book is for you. The plot is slow to take off, but incredibly rewarding.