Short Story Wednesday: The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa

 

The Goodbye Cat is a Japanese book, written by Hiro Arikawa, and translated by Philip Gabriel. It  consists of seven short stories, and each story is set in Japan. All of the stories are about cats. Most of them focus on one cat and the family that it lives with. Another common theme is rescued cats, cats that are brought home after being abandoned. At least two of the stories are about kittens that are too young to survive unless a human intervenes and provides warmth and the necessary nutrition. I learned a lot about that process from this book. Some of the stories are told at least partially from the cat's point of view. 

One of my favorite stories is "The Goodbye Cat." The family in that story have two cats; Diana is the oldest cat, Kota is the youngest. Kota was adopted about the same time the second son in the family is born. The parents discuss and decide on the names for the new cat and the new baby at the same time. (There is much emphasis on names and how they are chosen in these stories.) The story follows the family from the time Kota joins the family until his death of old age, when the youngest son has graduated from college. 

The second story is also very good. In "Bringing Up Baby," a married couple who have recently had a baby also acquire a cat about the same time. The father, Keisuke, is a manga artist, and most of his effort goes into his artistic work. He has always been somewhat flaky and incompetent in other areas of life. When his wife goes to stay with her parents to have the baby, Keisuke finds a tiny kitten and rescues it, and with the help of the vet and online research, learns to help it survive. So when his wife gets home with the baby, she finds a new helpless kitten in the house. But along the way she discovers that his efforts to care for the kitten have given him skills to become a competent parent too. Sounds mawkish, but really it isn't. 

"Cat Island" is about a man, his second wife, and his young son adjusting to their new life as a family together. The family takes a trip to Taketomi Island in Okinawa, referred to as Cat Island. The father is a freelance photographer who is taking photos of the cats on the island for an assignment. That story had some supernatural aspects. After reading that story I found that there are several islands in Japan called Cat Island, with unusually large populations of cats.

The last two stories in the book are about characters in a previous book by Hiro Arikawa, The Travelling Cat Chronicles, which I read in January. In that book, a cat is adopted by a man, Satoru, after he takes the cat in when it is hit by a car. He names the cat Nana, and they live together for five years. At that point, Satoru has to find a home for Nana. They travel to various parts of Japan to visit with several of Satoru's old friends to see if they can take the cat in. "Finding Hachi" is sort of a prequel to The Travelling Cat Chronicles, telling more about Satoru's first cat, Hachi, that he had for several years as a child. "Life Is Not Always Kind" tells about one more person in Satoru's earlier life that he and Nana visit on the trip. 

I liked this book a lot. I did not like all the stories equally, and there was one I did not care for, but it was very short. Most of the stories were between 40 to 50 pages in length. I am a cat lover; I don't think that is required to enjoy the book, but it certainly helps.

Silent Parade: Keigo Higashino

 

This is my third book read for the Japanese Literature Challenge 18, hosted at Dolce Bellezza. Silent Parade is about two crimes, separated by about 20 years, which have connections. In both cases, young girls have been killed. The suspect is the same for both. This summary is from the Macmillan site:

A popular young girl disappears without a trace, her skeletal remains discovered three years later in the ashes of a burned out house. There’s a suspect and compelling circumstantial evidence of his guilt, but no concrete proof. When he isn’t indicted, he returns to mock the girl’s family. And this isn’t the first time he’s been suspected of the murder of a young girl, nearly twenty years ago he was tried and released due to lack of evidence. Detective Chief Inspector Kusanagi of the Homicide Division of the Tokyo Police worked both cases.

The neighborhood in which the murdered girl lived is famous for an annual street festival, featuring a parade with entries from around Tokyo and Japan. During the parade, the suspected killer dies unexpectedly. His death is suspiciously convenient but the people with all the best motives have rock solid alibis. DCI Kusanagi turns once again to his college friend, Physics professor and occasional police consultant Manabu Yukawa, known as Detective Galileo, to help solve the string of impossible-to-prove murders.

My Thoughts:

• My copy of the book was only 344 pages long but it seemed longer. I think that is because the plot is so complex; the story has several twists and turns, but the plot dragged at times. It was worth it in the end; the final solution was satisfying. 
• The book is full of very interesting characters, and many of them get fleshed out throughout the book. I felt like we got to know several of the police detectives, plus Manabu Yukawa (also playfully referred to as Detective Galileo, which he dislikes), better than in any of the previous books in the series. Plus many of the secondary characters related to the crimes (family members of the victim, friends of the family, etc.) are well defined also.
• I don't see these books as traditional mysteries like those written by Agatha Christie, but the author sprinkles references to Christie's books throughout the story. Also another vintage mystery author, John Dickson Carr.
• For once I saw how Manabu Yukawa puts his physics background to work. That also may have happened in the previous book in the series, A Midsummer's Equation, which is my favorite in the series so far. He did a few experiments in that book too.
• This book gives the reader a good look at the police procedures and legal limitations in Japan, versus in the US. 

 -----------------------------

Publisher:   Minotaur Books, 2021 (orig. pub. 2018)
Translator:  Giles Murray 
Length:       344 pages
Format:       Hardcover
Series:        Detective Galileo
Setting:       Tokyo, Japan
Genre:        Police Procedural
Source:       Borrowed from my husband.

Two Reviews: Japanese Literature Challenge

 

In this post I am reviewing two books for the Japanese Literature Challenge 18, hosted at Dolce Bellezza. It started in January and continues through February. This is a challenge I look forward to every year, to kickstart my reading of books by Japanese authors.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles (2012) by Hiro Arikawa
Translated by Philip Gabriel

This was the first book I read for the challenge because I have a second book by this author that I also want to read: The Goodbye Cat. It consists of short stories about cats and there is a connection between the two books.

A cat is adopted by a man, Satoru, after he takes the cat in when it is hit by a car. He names the cat Nana after a cat he had in his childhood, and they live together for five years. At that point, Satoru has to find a home for Nana, although no reason is given. They travel to various parts of Japan to visit with several of the man's old friends to see it they can take the cat in. 

For the most part, the story is narrated by the cat. I liked the cat's voice. I kept trying to figure out what my cat would sound like if she was telling a story. There are parts of the story that are not narrated by the cat. These are flashbacks to earlier events that help to fill out the story. Satoru's relationship with his aunt, who raised him after his parents died, is also explored. 

I enjoyed the book, I liked the cover and the title. The depiction of the cat is not cutesy. The cat can be snarky and sarcastic. It is a lovely story with an emotional and moving end. 

Three Assassins (2004) by Kōtarō Isaka
Translated by Sam Malissa

The second book I read for the Japanese Literature Challenge is very different. It is a fast paced thriller, the first in a series of four books set in Tokyo’s criminal underworld. The second book is Bullet Train, which I read first, because it was translated to English first, and I had seen the film adaptation of the same name. We enjoyed the film and have watched it several times. 

The first part of Three Assassins is very serious. Suzuki, formerly a schoolteacher, is working for a crime gang. The head man for this crime gang is Terahara, whose son killed Suzuki's wife by running her down in his car. It was deliberate, not an accident. The police will not follow up on the crime because of Terahara's connections, so Suzuki is seeking revenge on his own by working undercover in the gang. 

The other two main characters are assassins, The Whale and The Cicada. They each kill their victims in specific ways; the Whale convinces his victims to commit suicide and the Cicada kills with a knife and specializes in killing entire families. The third assassin enters the story later; he is the Pusher, and he pushes his victims in front of vehicles.

This sounds like a very grim book but it turns more into a more humorous story midway, with quirky and introspective characters; the behavior is often wacky and surprising. There are also elements of spirituality and the supernatural, especially in the Whale's experiences. So, all in all, it was a fascinating and unexpected story.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop: Satoshi Yagisawa

First two paragraphs of the book:

From late summer to early spring the next year, I lived at the Morisaki Bookshop. I spent that period of my life in the spare room on the second floor of the store, trying to bury myself in books. The cramped room barely got any light, and everything felt damp. It smelled constantly of musty old books. 

But I will always remember the days I spent there. Because that's where my real life began. And I know, without a doubt, that if not for those days, the rest of my life would have been bland, monotonous, and lonely.

Takaka and her boyfriend work at the same business. One night they go out for dinner and he announces that he is going to marry another woman, who also works at the same workplace. This is weird for two reasons. First, Takaka has no clue that Hideaki has been dating this other woman, and thought she had a serious relationship with him. Second, she doesn't object or even question him about this; she just says "Oh, that's good," and calmly leaves. She expresses none of her feelings of surprise or rejection.

Takaka is miserable; she still has to work with Hideaki, she can't eat, and she loses lots of weight. She eventually quits her job and spends all day sleeping in her apartment. After a few weeks of this her uncle Satoru calls her and asks her to come work part time for him in his bookshop; he will provide a place for her to live, over the bookshop. She can save on rent until she decides to go back to work. She reluctantly agrees, because he really needs her help.

The book is divided into two sections. The first section covers the time that Takaka lives at the bookshop; the second takes place months later, after her mental state has improved and she has found another job. Uncle Satoru again calls on Takaka, but this time it is because his wife Momoko who left him 5 years earlier has returned with no explanation. The story is as much about family and relationships with people as it is about books and reading.

I enjoyed this book for many reasons:

• I liked the picture of life in Japan, the bookshop setting, and Takaka's growing love of books. The neighborhood she moves to has many bookshops all in the same area. According to the translator's note, there is an actual neighborhood of book stores in Jimbochu. The translator's notes are very good. 
• Takaka not only does not express her own needs in her romantic relationship, she also has trouble opening up to anyone and accepting the quirks of others. Her interactions with people at the bookshop and in her new relationships help her to improve in this area.
• The story is mostly upbeat, and it has a good and realistic ending.

The cover of this book is wonderful, but I was frustrated by it because it shows two very cute cats, but there are no cats in the story.

I read this book for the Japanese Literary Challenge and for the Bookish Books Challenge.

 -----------------------------

Publisher:   Harper Perennial, 2023 (orig. pub. 2010)
Translator:  Eric Ozawa
Length:       150 pages
Format:       Trade Paper
Setting:       Japan
Genre:        Fiction
Source:       Purchased September 2023.

Tokyo Express: Seicho Matsumoto

 

I am participating in the Japanese Literature Challenge 17 hosted by Dolce Bellezza. It runs from January through February, 2024. The goal is to read and review one or more books which were originally written in Japanese. There is a post at Dolce Bellezza for links to reviews.

Tokyo Express is my first book read for the challenge. It was Seichō Matsumoto's first novel, published in 1958.

In this novel, two detectives in different cities in Japan investigate the same crime and collaborate, sharing their thoughts and discoveries. A man and a woman are found dead on a beach in Kashii, and the police assume that it is a double suicide. Inspector Torigai in Kashii is first assigned to the case, and he has no reason to disagree with that determination, but he does notice some puzzling aspects and continues to have nagging questions. Later Inspector Mihara from Tokyo comes to discuss the case with Torigai. Torigai realizes that the aspect of the case that Mihara is looking into is connected to government corruption and fraud.  He thinks the deaths are related to a bribery scandal in the government.

The two detectives share their concerns and thoughts about the deaths. They form a bond because they are both sure that there is another answer to this case, that it is not suicide. It is pretty obvious close to the beginning who the guilty party is, but there is always a question, are they right or wrong, and can they prove it one way or the other? The alibis of their suspects depend on train schedules, so a good amount of time is spent on that aspect of the alleged crime. 

It is a short novel, 150 pages, and the first half seemed too slow and repetitive to me. The book was initially published as a serial in a magazine, and that could be the explanation for the repetition. However, the second half picked up and I was pleased with the ending. Plus, it is a good picture of Japan after World War II. 

This novel was first published in English translation as Points and Lines (translated by two different translators). I have a copy of that book (purchased back in 2016) but did not realize it until I had finished reading this edition of the book.

I have read one other mystery by Matsumoto, A Quiet Place, published in 1975. 

-----------------------------

Publisher: Penguin, 2023 (orig. pub. 1958)
Length: 150 pages
Format: Trade paperback
Setting:  Japan
Genre:   Mystery, Police Procedural
Source:  Purchased in 2023
Translated by Jesse Kirkwood

A Man and His Cat, Vol. 1-3

A Man and His Cat is a Japanese manga series; the writer and artist is Umi Sakurai. This comic started out on Twitter, self-published on Twitter; then it was a webcomic before being published by Square Enix Manga. Since it is a manga, I had to get used to reading the story from back to front and from right to left on the page. I am still working on that. I have now read three volumes in the series.

In the first volume, a widower, Kanda, seeks a cat as a companion, and finds his perfect match at a pet store. The cat is a large exotic shorthair and has been waiting in the pet store for an owner for a year. The man falls in love with his new cat and names him Fukumaru. 

The stories in the first volume are mostly about Kanda learning to live with and take care of a cat. The second volume continues along the same lines, but also provides some hints to his life with his wife and flashbacks to his childhood and continues to emphasize his love and enjoyment of his cat.  

In the third volume, I had hoped for a bit more about the man's marriage and his children, and that is what I got, just a bit. There is more about his work life, his love of playing the piano, and the people he works with. Some earlier relationships in his life are explored.

Each volume is short with not a lot of text. The stories are very sweet, sometimes a little too sweet, even for me. Many of the short chapters are centered on the cat, and I think it helps a lot if you like cats. I do, so the books work well for me.

I look forward to the next volume. Per Goodreads, there are now 10 books in the series. I plan to read at least one volume a month.

I read these books for the Japanese Literature Challenge hosted at Dolce Bellezza. There are other reviews for Volume 1 at Dolce Bellezza and A Fondness for Reading.

Bullet Train: Kotaro Isaka

 

Summary:

When the story opens, all we know is that Yuichi Kimura is boarding the Bullet train at Tokyo station to seek revenge on a person called the Prince, who is responsible for his young son's fall from a building, which put the boy in a coma. The Prince turns out to be a teenager, around 14 years old. Initially it is hard to take in this situation, but it is soon clear that the Prince is truly a psychopath, and enjoys toying with people's lives and their emotions.

Also on board are the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon. Their goal is returning two things to a major crime lord, Minegishi: his son, who had been kidnapped, and a suitcase full of money. Nanao, also known as Ladybug, is an unlucky and self-deprecating criminal. His assignment is to steal the suitcase full of money and get off the train as soon as possible. He is guided in his mission by Maria, who is not on the train but keeps in touch by cell phone. 

Each of the men is on the train with their own agenda, but through a series of mishaps and setbacks, their fates become intertwined. 

Why did I want to read this book? 

First, we watched the film version of the book, and enjoyed it, so both my husband and I were interested in reading the book. Plus, I like stories set on a train, and this one takes place almost entirely on the Bullet train that travels from Tokyo to Morioka. On top of that, the book fits the Japanese Literature Challenge that I am participating in. 

My Thoughts:

I liked this book a lot. It is 415 pages of fast action, more a thriller than a mystery. The novel is broken up into short chapters, each focusing on a particular character and the story hops from character to character. It takes a while to figure out what is going on. At times it was hard to follow the various characters and the timeline. Early on I noticed that one chapter would tell of an event from a particular character's point of view, then a later chapter would describe another character's experience of the same event. In some cases the chapter might start with "now we will rewind to" an earlier point. The point of view would jump from Lemon to Nanao to Kimura to Tangerine  and then to the Prince, etc.  

There are some really creepy characters in this book; for instance, the Prince, who is the youngest of the bunch but also the most ruthless. But for the most part, these characters are likable and just trying to keep themselves out of trouble. So, if you can forget their backgrounds, this is a fun book to read.

The novel is written in present tense, and that worked fine for me in this case. I used to avoid books with that style of writing, but now it is getting where I hardly notice it (sometimes).

The film:

I enjoyed the film and want to watch it again now. Brad Pitt is the star, playing Ladybug. The plot of the adaptation and the book are not identical and there are definite differences in the motivation and portrayal of various characters. The characters in the book have much more depth than in the film, which is usually the advantage of book over film for me. The film and the book go in different directions, but I liked the ending for both.

 -----------------------------

Publisher:   Overlook Press, 2022 (orig. publ. 2010)
Length:       415 pages
Format:      Trade Paper
Translator:  Sam Malissa
Setting:      Japan
Genre:       Thriller
Source:      Purchased in January 2023.

Japanese Literature Challenge: A Midsummer's Equation

 

A Midsummer's Equation by Keigo Higashino is the first book I am reviewing for the Japanese Literature Challenge, hosted at Dolce Bellezza. It started this month and continues through March 2023.

Summary from the book dust jacket:

Manabu Yukawa, the physicist known as "Detective Galileo," is at a fading resort town to speak at a town meeting on a planned underwater mining operation. The town is sharply divided over mining for minerals from the seabed. One faction is concerned about the environmental impact on the area, known for its pristine waters. The other faction believes it is the only hope for the rapidly declining town.

The night after the tense meeting, one of the resort's guests is found dead at the base of the cliffs. The local police at first believe it was a simple accident–that he fell over the sea wall while wandering around unfamiliar territory in the middle of the night. But Tsukahara, the deceased, turns out to be a former Tokyo police detective, and he died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Now, instead of misfortune, the police are investigating his death as a probable murder.

My thoughts:

This is a wonderful mystery, but a very complex story, not too long (357 pages), but with lots of various groups involved: the town's people, the local police, the police from Tokyo who carry out their own independent investigation, and the people from outside who are pushing for mining along the sea coast. Manabu Yukawa, the physicist and sometimes consulting detective, is an outsider, doing research for the mining company. He stays at the hotel owned by Shigehiro and Setsuko Kawahata, and he gets to be close friends with Kyohei, their young nephew who is in the fifth grade and visiting while his parents are traveling. He and Narumi, the Kawahata's daughter who helps out at the hotel, discuss the pros and cons of the mining operation. This access gives Yukawa the ability to conduct his own investigation and decide whether he wants to consult with the police or not.

The entire story (which goes back to an earlier case of Tsukahara's) takes a long time to unravel and kept me mystified all the way. There were some confusing factors, especially that the Tokyo police and the local police in Hari Cove were more in competition than working together. It made for a more interesting story but didn't make sense to me. Is this common in the Japanese police system? Because there were so many police working on the case, I did find following that part of the investigation confusing.

My favorite part of this story was the characters. I was pulling for all of them and could not figure out who could be a murderer. The two police officers who work with Manabu Yukawa are Kusanagi, a more experienced detective, and Utsumi, a young female detective. They work well together and with Yukawa. But my favorite character was Kyohei, the young boy who is visiting the hotel owners and develops a relationship with Yukawa. Kyohei is lackadaisical about his studies and Yukawa helps him with a science project. 

I think this is a great series, and I don't think it makes much difference in what order it is read. This book is the sixth book in the series but only the third book translated into English. But I would not start with this book if you have not already tried a book by Keigo Higashino. A number of reviewers liked this book but not nearly as much as the two previous books in the series. 

My husband did not find this book as much to his liking as other books by the author, and he points out some flaws that also bothered other reviewers.

My husband's review on Goodreads:

I’m a fan of Japanese mystery/murder/detective/police novels especially Keigo Higashino and especially his elegantly plotted “The Devotion of Suspect X”. I’m afraid though that this entry in the author’s Detective Galileo series is something of a disappointment. The often used device of past events impacting the present is a favorite but here it is all so subtle (vague? meditative?) that I’m not even sure (until the “hurry up and resolve this” last 30 pages) what is going on. It could very well just be me so by all means give this one a try if you like Japanese mysteries and/or Higashino and don't mind opaque plotting.

I have read four other books by Keigo Higashino: The Devotion of Suspect X and Salvation of a Saint, both in the Detective Galileo series; Malice (Kyoichiro Kaga series) and Under the Midnight Sun (standalone).

 -----------------------------

Publisher:   Minotaur Books, 2016 (orig. pub. 2011)
Translator:  Alexander O. Smith 
Length:       358 pages
Format:       Hardcover
Series:        Detective Galileo
Setting:       Japan
Genre:        Police Procedural
Source:       Borrowed from my husband.

Strange Weather in Tokyo: Hiromi Kawakami

In Strange Weather in Tokyo, Tsukiko Omachi runs into her high school Japanese teacher at a bar in Tokyo. She is 37, he is much older, around 70. He recognizes her, but she cannot remember his name, so she calls him "Sensei." They continue to see each other often at the bar and she always calls him Sensei, even after she knows his name and they are friends. For about the first half of the book, at least, I wasn't sure where the story was going. It seemed to be just a series of vignettes of their meetings over the next few years. 

Both Tsukiko and Sensei are loners. They don't see other people. Tsukiko has an office job, Sensei is retired. But as strange as their new friendship is, they clearly enjoy their time together. The relationship develops over time. At some point, there is a disagreement, and the two still go to their usual bar but don't speak at all. Eventually Tsukiko realizes how much she misses spending time with Sensei. Yet both of them seem to be afraid of taking the relationship any further. 

My thoughts: 

This book had some similarities to Convenience Store Woman. The story is narrated by Tsukiko. There are many conversations between her and Sensei, so we see the story of their relationship and learn bits about their background from her point of view and their talks. This story also provides an interesting perspective on life in Japan. I enjoyed reading about the bars that they frequented and other activities they shared. Both of them ate out for dinner frequently at bars in the evening. 

There is an interesting trip to a market place that sells foods at individual stalls plus other goods.

Stalls started to appear here and there on the street. There were stalls that only sold tabi boots. Stalls that sold collapsible umbrellas. Stalls for secondhand clothing. Stalls that sold used books mixed with new books.

.....

After we passed a corner stall selling odds and ends, more and more of the stalls had grocery items for sale. Stalls selling only beans. Stalls with all different kinds of shellfish. There was a stall that had crates full of little shrimp or crabs.

.....

The grocery stalls thinned and gave way to stalls selling larger items. Household appliances. Computers. Telephones. There were mini refrigerators lined up in different colors. An LP was playing on an old record player.  I could hear the low timbre of a violin. The music had an old-fashioned, simple charm. Sensei stood, listening intently, until the end of the piece.

Much of the book centers around the times that Tsukiko and Sensei eat a meal together. So there is a lot of discussion of Japanese foods. I was not familiar with much of the food, but it all sounded delicious, and I wished I could be there and they could tell me all about the food. 

Strange Weather in Tokyo gave me a lot to think about after the story was over. I loved the writing. It was simple, just telling what the two did together, how the relationship, whatever it is, progresses. The story was told in under 200 pages, and was a good length, not overdone. For me, the ending was unbearably sad, but in some ways it was a happy ending. 

This was my third book for the Japanese Literature Challenge 15.

 -----------------------------

Publisher:   Counterpoint, 2017 (orig. pub. 2001)

Translated from the Japanese by Allison Markin Powell 

Length:       192 pages
Format:       eBook
Setting:       Tokyo, Japan
Genre:        Fiction
Source:       Purchased in 2021.

Convenience Store Woman: Sayaka Murata

Convenience Store Woman is an interesting story about a woman who does not fit in. The novel is short, about 160 pages, and very strange, but I loved it. 

The main character Keiko is a 36-year-old woman who has been a part-time convenience store worker in Tokyo for 18 years. She finds fulfillment and meaning in this job. Yet her family, friends, even coworkers expect her to do more with her life and be more normal. 

As a child, Keiko tended to deal with situations that she did not like by using violence to stop a person doing something. And she did not understand why her solutions were not acceptable. Her mother told her she could not do things like that, and she realized that she had to change, but she never really understood why.

By the time she was an adult, she had figured out ways to fit in, to behave more like others. She finds that the job of working at a convenience store part time fit her perfectly. She designs her whole life around doing her job and would even work more hours if she could. She has learned how to dress and behave in ways that make her more acceptable to others, but she doesn't want to change, to get a better job, or find a man and have children.  

After 18 years in the same job, Keiko begins getting increased pressure to make some changes in her life, and she allows her life to be disrupted. 

My thoughts: 

The story is narrated by Keiko, so, aside from conversations she has with others, the reader gets the story solely from her point of view. I found that way of telling the story to be very effective. I could feel both her pain and her joys as the story progresses. Anyone whose life has aspects that don't fit the traditional mold can sympathize with how others want you to fit that mold in order to make themselves more comfortable.

The story also provides an interesting perspective on life in Japan. It was a thought-provoking read and had a great ending. 

I read this book for the Japanese Literature Challenge. 

 -----------------------------

Publisher:   Grove Press, 2018 (orig. pub. 2016 as Konbini ningen)

Translated from the Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori 
Length:       163 pages
Format:       Hardcover
Setting:       Tokyo, Japan
Genre:        Fiction
Source:       Purchased in 2021.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Toshikazu Kawaguchi

This lovely little book is about a tiny café in Tokyo which has been serving a special coffee for more than one hundred years. Visitors to the café can also take advantage of a special service; they can travel back in time under specific conditions. There is limited seating in the café, one small room with three seats at the bar and three small tables that each seat two people. I am willing to try any book that includes time travel, and this one was perfect for me.

The novel is divided into four sections, each about 60-70 pages long. Each part has connections to the others. The sections of the book are: "The Lovers," "Husband and Wife," "The Sisters," and "Mother and Child." So you can see that each time travel event explores relationships. Except for the first part, each one has a very emotional story to tell. I was most affected by the second part, "Husband and Wife."

This is a time travel book but very different from others I have read. Compared to time travel where the concept is explored in depth, this novel only gives us a few small doses of time travel. The time travel in this book is made for personal reasons, not for scientific or historical research. There is no machine or scientific invention that controls the time travel, or study or preparation to get ready for the actual trip back into an earlier time. Once you visit the café, if you follow the rules and convince the staff to facilitate the trip, it can happen. 

There are, however, a lot of rules and limitations, and those who want to time travel are informed of these before they start. Whether they will follow the rules is another issue.

I felt good, upbeat and happy, while reading this novel, especially at the end. I read one section every night, and looked forward to returning to the story the next day. The story was sad at times, but overall it was optimistic and positive. I liked the characters, they seemed real to me, and I enjoyed getting to know them for a little while.

This novel highlighted for me how much our own attitudes and background determine our reactions and what we consider appropriate or useful behavior. So although I disagreed with or was confused about choices some of the characters had made, I did not feel judgmental about them. This book also confirmed that I like time travel in any form. 

The story is an adaptation of a play written by the same author, and sometimes that shows. The action is limited to the café, even the time travel event. The story has also been adapted to film. I found the story both entertaining and thought provoking.

This was my first selection for the Japanese Literature Challenge 15.

 -----------------------------

Publisher:   Hanover Square Press, 2019 (orig. pub. 2015)

Translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot 
Length:       272 pages
Format:       Hardcover
Setting:       Tokyo, Japan
Genre:        Fiction, time travel
Source:       From my TBR shelves. Purchased in 2021.

Japanese Literature Challenge 15

Again I am joining in on the Japanese Literature Challenge, now in its fifteenth year. The event is hosted at Dolce Bellezza. It started this month and continues through March 2022.

I like this event for many reasons. The emphasis is on enjoyment and not on meeting a goal. I do enjoy Japanese mysteries, and this year I am branching out to other genres. My husband also likes books translated from Japanese, so he has introduced me to some of the authors.

Here are a few guidelines:

• Read as many books as you like from January through March. (Even if that is ”only” one.)
• Make sure the work was originally written in Japanese.
• Choose from classic to contemporary works, whatever appeals to you.
• Leave a link at the main post for the challenge so that others can see your review.

And here are some books I am planning to read for the challenge:

• Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Geoffrey Trousselot  (Translator)
• The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide, Eric Selland (Translator)
• Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami, Allison Markin Powell (Translator)
• Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, Ginny Tapley Takemori (Translator)
• Out by Natsuo Kirino, Stephen Snyder (Translator)
• I would love to read one or two more crime fiction books by Keigo Higashino, but I may not be able to fit those in.

Malice: Keigo Higashino

Description from the book cover:

Acclaimed bestselling novelist Kunihiko Hidaka is found brutally murdered in his home on the night before he's planning to leave Japan and relocate to Vancouver. His body is found in his office, a locked room, within his locked house, by his wife and his best friend, both of whom have rock solid alibis. Or so it seems.

At the crime scene, Police Detective Kyoichiro Kaga recognizes Hidaka's best friend, Osamu Nonoguchi. Years ago when they were both teachers, they were colleagues at the same public school. Kaga went on to join the police force while Nonoguchi eventually left to become a full-time writer, though with not nearly the success of his friend Hidaka.

This story is told in first person by two different characters. One is the policeman investigating the murder and the other is a suspect, Osamu Nonoguchi, a friend of the victim. 

I liked the way the story was written; the structure is unusual. The first six chapters alternate between the suspect's written account of his activities (and thoughts) and Detective Kaga's accounts of the investigation. There is a chapter of interviews from people who knew Hidaka and Nonoguchi when they were middle school students. Then the last two chapters are Detective Kaga's accounts as he wraps up the investigation. 

Malice is not a thriller, but more of a character study. The investigation takes Detective Kaga back to the school days of the victim and his friend. The novel explores the how and why of the murder less than who did it. I like this kind of story and it was a very satisfying read. 

My husband read this book shortly after it was published in the US in 2014. Here is his review at Goodreads:

Malice is another meticulously plotted mystery/procedural from Keigo Higashino, author of incredibly clever The Devotion of Suspect X. This relatively brief book doesn’t waste time in getting the plot going (the murder on which everything hinges happens almost immediately) and also efficiently introduces the characters (of which there are really only five: police detective Kaga, writer friends Hidaka and Nonoguchi, and Hidaka’s two wives (one is deceased). Each first person section is an interview or account or interrogation or confession and at times it can be a bit confusing. The book has virtually no action with clever detective Kaga assembling and reassembling motives and alibis in an effort to ascertain the why of the crime. Well done.

 

In Japan, ten novels featuring Detective Kyoichiro Kaga have been published. This is the 4th book in the series but only the first book translated to English. The eighth book in the series, Newcomer, has also been translated into English. 

This was the second book I read for the Japanese Literature Challenge.

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Publisher:   Minotaur Books, 2014 (orig. pub. 1996)
Translator:  Alexander O. Smith with Elye Alexander
Length:       276 pages
Format:       Hardcover
Series:        Kyoichiro Kaga, #4
Setting:       Japan
Genre:        Police Procedural
Source:       Borrowed from my husband.

January 2021 Reading Summary

January was a very good reading month. Out of the eight books I completed, all were fiction; two were historical fiction, and the rest were crime fiction. Six of the books were read at this time because I wanted to watch the film or TV adaptations. I read my first book for the Japanese Literature challenge. 

The settings were varied. One book was set in Japan, one in the US, two books set in Canada, one set in the Mediterranean and mostly at sea, and three books set in the UK. 

These are the books I read in January.

Historical Fiction

Black Robe (1985) by Brian Moore

This book is set in the 1600s in what is now Canada. It was called New France at the time. Some members of the Algonkin tribe have contracted to take Father Laforgue and his companion Daniel (a younger French man) to another part of New France to work with a Huron tribe. The story is interesting but full of violence.  See my thoughts here.

Master and Commander (1970) by Patrick O'Brian

This is book 1 in the Aubrey & Maturin historical fiction series, following the adventures of Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and Stephen Maturin, physician. I enjoyed the story and I am eager to continue reading the series. See my thoughts here.

Crime Fiction

How the Light Gets In (2013) by Louise Penny

I read this book right after finishing The Beautiful Mystery, because the stories are linked, in a way. This book was a very good read, with a fast pace and thrilling action. My thoughts on both books are here.

The Hollow (1946) by Agatha Christie

This was another month when I read three books in the Hercule Poirot series. This one now ranks as one of my  favorite books in that series. See my thoughts here.

Taken at the Flood (1948) by Agatha Christie

The second Poirot book I read this month. Also written in the 1940s, this is an excellent post-war novel, with many of the characters suffering in some way from the effects of World War II. 

After the Funeral (1953) by Agatha Christie

I started out planning to read all the Poirot books in order of publication, but over time I ended up jumping around. I am getting close to the end of the Poirot books, I have only nine left in the series that I plan to read. This one was not a favorite, and I had some issues with the plot, but it was fun to read as always. We watched the adaptation starring David Suchet as Poirot only a couple of days after I read the book.

Under the Midnight Sun (1999) by Keigo Higashino

Translated by Alexander O. Smith with Joseph Reeder

I  read this book for the Japanese Literature Challenge. This book starts out as a police procedural, then turns into something else. Detective Sasagaki is investigating the death of a man in an empty building. After the investigation stalls, the story follows the main suspect's daughter, Yukiho, as she grows up, goes to university, and gets married. Also Ryo, the son of the murdered man. See my thoughts here.

In a Lonely Place (1947) by Dorothy B. Hughes

Another post-war mystery novel, but this one is noir, much different than the one by Agatha Christie. Dix Steele is in L.A., living off money from his grandfather for a year while he writes a book, staying in an old college friend's apartment while he is out of the country. There have been a spate of women who have died by strangling in the Santa Monica area recently, and Dix's ex-pilot buddy is a police detective investigating the cases. A beautifully written book which gets very creepy. This novel was published in the Library of America volume titled Women Crime Writers: Four Suspense Novels of the 1940s.

Under the Midnight Sun: Keigo Higashino

This book starts out as a police procedural, then turns into something else. Detective Sasagaki is investigating the death of a man in an empty building. He starts with the victim's family, a wife and a son about 10 years old, and his place of business, a pawnshop. The investigation reveals that he visited a woman, Fumiyo Nishimoto, immediately before his death. She lived in another neighborhood with her preteen daugher, but had used the victim's pawn shop several times. The police suspect that Fumiyo was the killer, but she has a very good alibi. The case is dropped for lack of evidence although Sasagaki continues to look for more information related to the crime. 

After the investigation stalls, the story continues on following the main suspect's daughter, Yukiho, as she grows up, goes to university, and gets married. Also Ryo, the son of the murdered man. Each chapter depicts some event in their lives and/or the other people who work or go to school with them. I found out after I started the book that it was originally published as a serial in Japan from 1997 to 1999 and I can see how that would work well with this episodic structure. At times this was frustrating because I wasn't sure of the connections or what was going on. I think that was intentional. 

As the story gets closer to the end, Detective Sasagaki comes back into the story and we follow the events along with his investigation to see who was the killer and how that affected the people involved.

I enjoyed the book. Overall the story is very impressive. I had a hard time keeping up with all the characters though. Many reviewers noted that. My only real complaint was the length. I think some parts of the story could have been condensed.

As far as reading about life in another country, this novel conveyed very well life in Japan in the 1970s to the 1990s, with changing fads, various stages of education, office life, and characters at various economic levels.

The UK title is Journey Under the Midnight Sun. This is a standalone novel. I have read two other books by Keigo Higashino, The Devotion of Suspect X and Salvation of a Saint, both in the Detective Galileo series.

I read this book for the Japanese Literature Challenge. 

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Publisher:   Minotaur Books, 2016 (orig. pub. 1999)
Translator:  Alexander O. Smith with Joseph Reeder
Length:       554 pages
Format:       Hardcover
Setting:       Japan
Genre:        Mystery
Source:       Borrowed from my husband.