The Honjin Murders - Seishi Yokomizo - Book Review

 

                

                Closed room mystery! I think at one time this type of mystery was a favorite among writers and many have tried their hands at this mystery. I have read a handful of them and was never disappointed. This is the first mystery where Detective Kindaichi is introduced, I definitely had to read this.

                The village is abuzz getting ready for the marriage of the son in the Ichiyanagi family. But amidst the activities, there has been an outsider who has been asking questions about the household. On the night after the wedding, the family is aroused by a scream and finds the bride and groom dead. But this happened in a closed building with literally no trace of entry or exit. Just a bloody sword outside in the snow. The bride's uncle being Kindaichi's wellwisher, he sets out to solve the mystery. But will he be able to solve this seemingly impossible crime?

                A big shout out to Pushkin Vertigo again, for their efforts in bringing all these beauties. The same goes for their translators as well. Coming to the story, I liked how the story was told in a third-person perspective. It was told from the perspective of a writer who was penning down the happenings in a book as per his correspondence with the people living in the village, The way the story goes on for some time creating the build-up and stating the facts before Kindaichi gets introduced was good. By the time, he jumps into the action; we have a vague idea of the facts happening. Since this was the first book featuring the detective, I guess the author wrote the back story for Kindaichi in such a way that we have an idea as to why the detective takes this case as a personal interest, and at the same time, there is light shone on his past as well. The writing was very good and the read was fast like Kindaichi's quick observations. There were apparent red herrings as in any mystery novel which were smartly placed. As in most Japanese mysteries, the set of characters being listed in the beginning was useful along with the map provided of the crime scene. This made revisiting the scene easier. The book reflects a lot about the social and economic conditions of Japan in the 1930s - both within a family and within a village. The read was very quick and I was able to finish this within a day and a half. Another interesting thing is that since the book was written from the perspective of a writer; there was a short introduction of similar closed-room mysteries where a lot of books were referenced. This was great data for me to add more books to my ever-growing TBR.

                In short, a quick mystery read. Indeed the first of the Kindaichi series. Mystery lovers will love this Japanese closed-room mystery.

Hell - Yasutaka Tsutsui - Book Review

 

                Even though I have read a few Japanese books, almost all of them were mysteries. The only horror writer, I came across, was Koji Suzuki of the famed Ring series. Last week on my visit to the library, I came across this book and was interested in the book cover. I did not read the blurb and decided to read it impromptu hoping it would be a horror novel.

                The novel follows a few characters and their time in Hell. This is not your normal hell where the devil sits amongst fire pits and punishes you. We come across a set of interesting characters like a yakuza, an actor, a writer, a businessman, an actress, etc. The circumstances of their death and how they react when they pass on to Hell. Hell is a place where just three days can last for ten years on earth. People can read each other's minds and think over their lives. Plus they are devoid of any feelings and emotions. The story talks about the transition of people to hell and how they come to terms with what they did with their lives.

                The book started off well but at last ended up an average read. As I said, it reflects the lives of people and in Hell, they can read each other. The fact that Hell was actually depicted as a place for redemption was something I appreciated. As the characters in the book, we also ponder who determines the criteria for a person to be put in Hell. There are no chapters in the book. This makes the non-linear narration confusing. Characters suddenly change in between paragraphs making me go back and refer to who they actually are. This was very frustrating for me. Nevertheless, the reading was very fast and I could finish it within a day. The translation was pretty decent enough but marred with a couple of spelling mistakes. 

                To sum up, a great concept marred by an average read. A lot of the story takes up with us visiting Hell with almost all the characters. Again, Hell being seen as a place of redemption was a very impressive idea. Those who are looking for a quick sci-fi kind of read can go for a one-time read.

The Outsider - Stephen King - Book Review

 

                Back to the King after a long time. I have read only a handful of his books. However, I was always impressed by his writing style and the stories. Recently I came to know there is a series based on the same. I bought this book almost two years back and had to read it before trying out the series. Also, horror has always been my favorite genre and for the past year, I have never ventured into the genre and hence the read.

                One of the most popular Flint City residents and Little League coach Terry Maitland is being arrested for the rape and gruesome murder of Frank Peterson. The Flint City detective Ralph Anderson finds overwhelming witnesses and DNA evidence pointing to Terry. This was enough for the police to arrest him in front of a fully packed stadium in front of his wife and two daughters were terrified. Meanwhile, Terry's friend and lawyer find a strong alibi for his friend. He was miles away in another city attending a conference and even a TV clipping is present showing his presence. On the way to court, Terry gets killed by Frank's brother. A devastated Ralph tries to get to the bottom of this with his friends as a sort of redemption for what happened. What is in wait for them? Who is the foe? Is it a doppelganger or a shapeshifter? Or was it really Terry Maitland?

                I loved the way Stephen King came up with a story each time. It comes with all the usual traits of his - the wordplay, elaborating the story, conversations among people and within oneself, etc. What other writers write within 200 pages, when it comes to Stephen King it can easily turn out to 500 odd pages. That is how elaborate the author's settings can be. What I like in his books is that detailed conversations are happening between people and also within oneself. This book is no different. All the conversations give us a sense of involvement and keep up the tempo of the story. The engagement keeps us from drifting away. I liked the handful of characters and the depth and emotions that each of them carries. Terry, even though sort of an extended cameo appearance, did make a mark on the reader. Equally wonderful was the character of Ralph who blames himself for what transpired in the Maitland and Peterson families. It was impressive how the investigation was happening along with the drama and not separately. Holly came halfway in the book and she had a wonderful role in this. Some of the characters or places might cross over in Stephen's world and Holly is one such character. She has appeared in a few other books of King and I guess she is introduced as an independent investigator here. Even though I love the elaboration part, one issue is that it always stressed me out. King is not an author who just has things happening on every page and it takes a few pages for an incident to happen and we will be left biting our nails as to what is going to happen. As usual, King doesn't shy away from throwing a few characters under the rock for the story to proceed. And finally, the antagonist was interestingly written. I loved the way he was playing a silent part in all the hullabaloo happening around. The final confrontation was bittersweet but interesting enough.

                In short, yet another good read from the King. It's been more than a year since I have read him, but he never fails to impress me like before. Horror fans can surely go for this read. It seems that there is a Netflix series on the same and it has some rave reviews. I will have to definitely check out the same as well.

                

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store - Keigo Higashino - Book Review

 

                The author who kick-started me into reading Japanese books was Keigo Higashino. Japanese mysteries have been the most read by me over the last two years thanks to KH. Recently, I came across this book at the library. Reading the blurb, I noticed that the book was a different genre from his usual crime mysteries. This book looked like a feel-good type of read, was curious enough to try this out.

                Three guys hole up in an old general store while they are making an escape after a recent robbery. When their car stalls, they spend the night at the abandoned store. While holing up inside the store, they come across a letter being dropped into the store asking for advice. But they do not see anyone dropping the letter. Even though they are divided on whether to answer, the trio replies to the letter. The remaining story deals with how the letters are coming to the store, the mystery behind the store, and how people's lives are transformed over the conversation.

                I was impressed by the read. Since all my other reads of Keigo Higashino have been mysteries, this was surprising enough for me. Along the flow of the story, characters are introduced throughout the length of the story. Things were happening throughout and I loved the portions where each interconnected beautifully. There were quite a few characters and stories related to them. All these have been beautifully woven by the writer. I needed clarification initially as I did not expect the non-linear pattern. The same goes for the translators. I may have read some good Japanese mysteries and the reason I am a big fan; is not only due to the authors but also due to the translators. Complete justice was done by the person. The writing was simple enough. Namiya and the piano player stand out for me in this heartwarming tale.

               In short, a wonderfully sweet novel that can always bring a smile, wholesomeness, and a good vibe to anyone who reads the book. I read this book as a breather after a pretty heart-wrenching Tamil novel and this read lifted my mood. There is a Japanese and a Chinese movie based on the book that I will be checking out later. 

ராஜகேசரி - கோகுல் சேஷாத்திரி - புத்தக விமர்சனம்

 

               கதைகள் என்றுமே பல விதங்களில் சொல்ல படுகின்றன. இருந்தாலும் துப்பறியும் கதைகள் மீது எனக்கு உள்ள நாட்டம் வேறு எதிலும்  இல்லை. அதுவும் இந்த புத்தகத்தின் கருவை வசித்த பொது வித்தியாசமான ஒரு துப்பறியும் கதையாக பட்டது.

               ராஜ ராஜ சோழனின் பிறந்தநாள் ஐப்பசி மாதம் சதயம் நட்சத்திர நாளன்று வரவுள்ளது. தலைநகரில் அதற்கான விமரிசையான ஏற்பாடுகள் நடைபெறுகின்றன. ஆனால் அதே நேரத்தில் ராஜாவை கொலை செய்ய ஒரு சாதி திட்டம் தீத்தப்பட்டு வருகிறது என்று ஒரு ரகசிய தகவல் அமைச்சர்களுக்கு வருகின்றது. இதே வேலையில் தலைநகரத்தில் இருந்து சில காத டூரத்தில் உள்ள ஒரு கிராமத்தில் வீரன் ஒருவர் மர்மமான முறையில் கொள்ள படுகிறான். அந்த தகவலை அம்பலவாணர் தலைநகருக்கு கொண்டு செல்ல அங்க அவருடன் இணைந்து சேனாதிபதி பரமன் மழபாடியார் இந்த திட்டத்தின் வேர் வரை செல்ல யத்தனிக்கிறார். ஆனாலும் அது அவ்வ்வளவு எளிதல்ல. யார் இந்த சதிகாரர்கள் - பாண்டியர்களா இல்லை சேரர்களா?சதிகாரர்கள் ஆசை நிறைவேறுமா? சோழநாட்டு பிரமுகர்களால் இதனை முறியடிக்க இயலுமா? மழபாடியார் ராஜ ராஜனை காப்பாற்றுவாரா? இதுவே கதைக்களம்.

                இந்த புதினத்தில் என்னை மிகவும் கவர்ந்தது இதன் கதைக்களம் தான். ஏற்கனவே இந்த எழுத்தாளரின் பைசாசம் இது  போன்று தான். அதாவது பண்டைய காலத்தில் நடக்கும் ஒரு குற்றமும் அதனை துப்பு துலக்கி தீர்வை காணும் அந்த காலத்து நபர்களும். இந்த மாதிரி இரண்டையும் அருமையாக இணைத்துள்ளார் எழுத்தாளர். 'ஹிஸ்டாரிகல் பிக்ஷன்' என்ற ஒரு வகை புனைவை  மேற்கொண்டுள்ளார்.கற்பனையுடன் உண்மையும் கலந்து எழுதப்படும்பொழுது நம் வாசிப்புக்கு இன்னும் மெருகேறுகின்றது. கோகுல் அவர்களின் எழுத்து நடையும் கற்பனையும் நம்மை அந்த காலத்துக்கே கொண்டு சென்று அம்பலவாணர் மற்றும் மழபாடியார் இவர்களுடன் இணைந்து கதையின் முழு ஓட்டத்தையும் உடனிருந்து கண்டு கழிக்கிறோம். முக்கியமான கதைமாந்தர்கள் சிலவர்களே என்றாலும் நிறையவே சின்ன சின்ன பாத்திரங்கள் வந்து செல்கின்றன. வாசிப்பின் ரசனையை அது மேலும் யதார்த்தமாக்கிறது. அங்கு அங்கு வரும் சங்க காலத்து வட்டார வழக்கு அழகு.            

                எனக்கு இது வேகமான வாசிப்பிப்பாகவே அமைந்தது. அதே நேரத்தில் விறுவிறுப்பான ஒரு திரைப்படம் கண்ட நிறைவு. ஒரு வேகமான சுவாரஸ்யமான வாசிப்பை விரும்புகிறவர்கள் இதை கட்டாயம் படிக்கலாம்.

கோகுல் சேஷாத்திரியின் வேறு படைப்புகளின் விமர்சனங்களை காண கீழ் காணும் இணையதள இணைப்பில் செல்லவும்.

பைசாசம் - கோகுல் சேஷாத்திரி