How does it compare to audio works by the same author?
Not applicable
Advantages:
Thrilling story
Disadvantages:
None really
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I can't say I've ever been tempted to get a tattoo, but if I did, I would go for a Japanese or Chinese design, because of the intricacy and colours of the design. I also love crime fiction, so the idea of reading a murder mystery about a woman with tattoos, particularly by a Japanese author, was too good to miss. On top of that, I've read a couple of pretty positive reviews about this book, so choosing this was a bit of a no brainer.
It is just after the Second World War and Kenzo bumps into an old acquaintance of his. Through him, Kenzo meets Kinue, the daughter of a former tattoo artist, whose body is covered virtually from head to foot in a tattoo based on a Japanese folk tale. The two have a passionate, if somewhat brief affair, despite the fact that Kinue is the mistress of Kenzo's acquaintance's brother. The affair comes to a rather sudden end when Kinue is found dead, chopped into pieces, with the tattooed parts of her body missing.
Kenzo's brother conveniently happens to be Chief Inspector Daiyu Matsushita, head of the investigative section. He becomes involved in the murder, for which there are a number of suspects, including Kenzo himself, Kinue's lover and Dr Hayakawa, a collector of tattoos, who has been hoping to get his hands on Kinue's tattoos for quite some time. Slowly, carefully, the police, led by Daiyu, begin to piece together what happened in the run up to the murder….but all of the key suspects seem to have an alibi. Will they be able to find out what really happened and why? And are Kinue's brother and sister really dead?
One of the criticisms that I have read about this book is that it doesn't seem particularly Japanese. I think this is true, although I don't particularly see it as a bad thing. The author has clearly been influenced by British and American writers; to the extent that the solution to how the murder was done could almost have been taken from an Arthur Conan Doyle book. It is not completely non-Japanese though. I think that the description of society in Japan after the Second World War is vivid and interesting and well-phrased for a western reader, as are the cultural connotations of being the daughter of a tattoo artist and the mistress of a wealthy man. One advantage of this book is that it might be ideal for someone who would like to read Japanese literature, but is put off by the possibility of not being able to understand the cultural background.
The characters in the novel are not particularly well-drawn out. Takagi uses the tactic of many a crime fiction writer by not giving away too much about any of his characters and there were few that I either liked or disliked. As could be expected, most information is given away about Kenzo, a confused academic who feels lost following the war. His sexual relationship with Kinue is a revelation to him and he obviously confuses sexual desire with love, because Kinue's death upsets him more that it would otherwise have done.
I did really like the story. It was cleverly written, although the description of how the murder was done was a little complicated and hard to follow. I had guessed who the murderer was before the end of the book, but only just before the end, so that was good enough for me. Having read so many works of crime fiction, I really appreciate books that are a bit different and the fact that this was set in Japan was enough to give it a bit of pizzazz.
The book is obviously translated from the Japanese. The translator, Deborah Boliver Boehm, did an excellent job of translation; at no point did I think that the language was anything but natural.
This isn't the best book I have ever read, but it certainly wasn't bad. Recommended to fans of crime fiction and anyone who likes to read about different cultures.
The book is available from Amazon for £9.99. Published by Soho Press, the book has 324 pages. ISBN: 1569471568
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