paul_cornelius's review
5.0
Cumulative effects work wonderfully in this novel. And not just the amassing of clues and facts you would expect for a crime thriller such as this. It also applies to the atmosphere, the period of Japan during the early 1960s, which is why I was interested in Inspector Imanishi Investigates in the first place.
I looked into this story because I wanted something out of time and place, whose environment would be nostalgic yet exotic. Tokyo and Japan in 1961 fit the bill perfectly. At first I was disappointed. There didn't seem to be much exotic about it at all. Just a drab, colorless train yard in a big city that, if anything, seemed reflective of American hard-boiled thrillers. Then, things began to change. Slightly. The environs of Tokyo gave way to more descriptive settings in the mountains and countryside. And the cityscape became more interesting. All of a sudden, the novel seemed to bring to life the transition Japan was undergoing at the time. Just a few years later, in 1964, the Tokyo Olympics would herald modern postwar Japan's re-emergence as a major economic and political power. That sense of unveiling is here, too, in Inspector Imanishi Investigates.
The bleak Tokyo landscape begins to acquire a unique character. Much like Imanishi himself, whose desperate crowded bonsai garden seeks to maintain a connection with the past, so does the new Tokyo, with its freshly sprouting apartment buildings barely coexist with the diminishing number of old prewar houses, literally casting them into shadows. Imanishi, his colleagues, and his family, nonetheless, have come to terms with the times. Amidst the gargantuan and at times inhospitable and inhuman nature of all the "Newness," the warrens of teahouses, noodle shops, and old stores provide a nest for tradition.
By chance, I happened to be reading The Pillow Book while also reading Inspector Imanishi Investigates. The courtly etiquette and mannerisms of that 1000 year-old book still linger in Inspector Imanishi, with the polished rituals of letter writing, the messaging through haiku, and even the symbols of old artisan craftsmanship as exemplified through the abacus maker and the handmade lacquered specialties. All the more poignant it is made to seem when Imanishi acknowledges towards the end that it is time to make way for a younger generation.
By the end, then, the novel has provided a unique and, for the Western reader, exotic look at a Japan quickly succumbing to the modern and the new, although Imanishi has put it off for just a while yet. That is what made it so enjoyable for me. Not to mention that the crime story itself is a puzzle piece masterfully brought together at book's end. I'll be reading more of Matsumoto's work soon.
I looked into this story because I wanted something out of time and place, whose environment would be nostalgic yet exotic. Tokyo and Japan in 1961 fit the bill perfectly. At first I was disappointed. There didn't seem to be much exotic about it at all. Just a drab, colorless train yard in a big city that, if anything, seemed reflective of American hard-boiled thrillers. Then, things began to change. Slightly. The environs of Tokyo gave way to more descriptive settings in the mountains and countryside. And the cityscape became more interesting. All of a sudden, the novel seemed to bring to life the transition Japan was undergoing at the time. Just a few years later, in 1964, the Tokyo Olympics would herald modern postwar Japan's re-emergence as a major economic and political power. That sense of unveiling is here, too, in Inspector Imanishi Investigates.
The bleak Tokyo landscape begins to acquire a unique character. Much like Imanishi himself, whose desperate crowded bonsai garden seeks to maintain a connection with the past, so does the new Tokyo, with its freshly sprouting apartment buildings barely coexist with the diminishing number of old prewar houses, literally casting them into shadows. Imanishi, his colleagues, and his family, nonetheless, have come to terms with the times. Amidst the gargantuan and at times inhospitable and inhuman nature of all the "Newness," the warrens of teahouses, noodle shops, and old stores provide a nest for tradition.
By chance, I happened to be reading The Pillow Book while also reading Inspector Imanishi Investigates. The courtly etiquette and mannerisms of that 1000 year-old book still linger in Inspector Imanishi, with the polished rituals of letter writing, the messaging through haiku, and even the symbols of old artisan craftsmanship as exemplified through the abacus maker and the handmade lacquered specialties. All the more poignant it is made to seem when Imanishi acknowledges towards the end that it is time to make way for a younger generation.
By the end, then, the novel has provided a unique and, for the Western reader, exotic look at a Japan quickly succumbing to the modern and the new, although Imanishi has put it off for just a while yet. That is what made it so enjoyable for me. Not to mention that the crime story itself is a puzzle piece masterfully brought together at book's end. I'll be reading more of Matsumoto's work soon.
ceegreen's review
4.0
This is a classic Police procedural, with the added interest of being set in 1960s Japan. As such the pace is slow, from a time when people waited for days to get an answer in the post, and Police rode around on the bus.
But it's full of fascinating details - investigations turn on the identification of Japanese accents, of good deeds from the past casting long shadows.
But it's full of fascinating details - investigations turn on the identification of Japanese accents, of good deeds from the past casting long shadows.
attytheresa's review
4.0
An intricate modern police procedural story by a master craftsman written and set in 1960 Japan, one reflecting both the recent war depravations and Japan's embracing the future. A man's body is found under a train, the victim of a brutal murder, whose features render him unrecognizable. The Tokyo police dedicate extensive manpower to solving this brutal murder, inpart driven by the need to honor the deceased by bringing his unknown murderer to justice. Among the resources dedicated to the investigation is the homicide Chief Inspector Imanishi Eitaro.
A gifted detective, Imanishi in his quiet, thoughtful, even plodding way, slowly over months teases out information that gradually forms a picture of murder both by means traditional and uniquely modern. With Imanishi we travel the length of Japan and back, encounter the Nouveau Group of young intellectuals and artists, eat bowls of curry and rice, and gather disparate clues such as a girl tossing small pieces of paper out a train window, a young woman's suicide, and a change in a critic's opinion.
In fact this complex detective story brilliantly reflects Japan in 1960 balanced between pre-war traditionalism and futuristic world of technology. My one complaint is how stiltedly, even curt, it reads. Is this a translation problem? It is possible that it is merely the style or the Japanese language itself. It reminded me of Hammet, Chandler, and similar PI story writers, or as I remember them.
A gifted detective, Imanishi in his quiet, thoughtful, even plodding way, slowly over months teases out information that gradually forms a picture of murder both by means traditional and uniquely modern. With Imanishi we travel the length of Japan and back, encounter the Nouveau Group of young intellectuals and artists, eat bowls of curry and rice, and gather disparate clues such as a girl tossing small pieces of paper out a train window, a young woman's suicide, and a change in a critic's opinion.
In fact this complex detective story brilliantly reflects Japan in 1960 balanced between pre-war traditionalism and futuristic world of technology. My one complaint is how stiltedly, even curt, it reads. Is this a translation problem? It is possible that it is merely the style or the Japanese language itself. It reminded me of Hammet, Chandler, and similar PI story writers, or as I remember them.
8797999's review
4.0
A very enjoyable detective story, I haven't read any Japanese investigative fiction before so this was a first for me. It was very hard to put it down, thoroughly enjoyed it. Towards the end I guessed who was the guilty party but the means I had no idea about.
Thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more Japanese detective books, as well as the author.
Thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more Japanese detective books, as well as the author.
ovidusnaso's review
3.0
Dette var definitivt en krim fra 60-tallet. Detektiven bruker små ledetråder og hardt etterforskningsarbeid for å løse en sak med mange overraskelser og vendinger. Kvinnene i boka er 100% definert ut i fra forholdet deres til de mannlige karakterene, og etter moderne standard virker hovedpersonen som en ganske shitty ektemann, men det er strengt tatt ikke det boka handler om, og de oppriktige følelsene hans som detektiv gjør at Imanishi framstår ganske sympatisk.
Et fascinerende innblikk i Japan for seksti år siden!
Et fascinerende innblikk i Japan for seksti år siden!
antilegomena's review
dark
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
tansy's review
2.0
It's hard to tell with a translated book whether any weakness in the prose is due to the translation or is present in the original text. Which is to say that the style of this book is terrible - the writing is very stilted, with everything told to the reader, never shown. The solution to the mystery is honestly a bit silly, and the investigation benefits from several lucky coincidences. It is, however, an interesting window into life in 1960s Japan. Its other major charm, (particularly in this day and age), is its depiction of the police as polite and tireless public servants, who enjoy poetry, travel everywhere on public transport and worry about how much their investigations cost.
royalmilktea's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
mysteriesahoy's review
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
inmidnights's review
2.0
Inspector Imanishi is a police detective in Tokyo, called in to help with a railroad case in Kamata, where the body of a brutally beaten man is found under the train tracks. With only a faint trail of clues, and most of it via witness accounts, the detectives try to solve the murder comprising of: who the victim is, who the suspect is, and the reason for the murder. The time for solving the case closes, without solving the murder. From this point on, the case continues on a voluntary basis.
Since this is set in the late 1950s, we get a peek into the police work at that time. Blood analysis consisted of: finding out if the specks are blood, if it's human blood, and what type. There's a lot more reliance on eye witness accounts and following hunches than on logic and science. What really stood out to me was Inspector Imanishi interrogating on his own, usually without showing his police badge or any warrants, and yet people responded to him and answered his questions. The conversations are not conversations, it was a one-way information stream with Imanishi leaving every time the other party asked questions or talked about a different topic. He was rude af, to be honest.
For the novel itself, the writing is not tight. It's downright choppy in places. Part of this could be the translation, but even the dialogue--which honestly, is rarely a dialogue, because that consists of two people having a conversation--and the scene cuts don't flow well. As much as Imanishi works hard, his major breaks in the case are usually related to a coincidence that, coincidentally, just happens close to him, then he develops a hunch around that the coincidence. It felt very much contrived.
The cultural work ethic is prevalent in this book through Imanishi. That was also evident in another police novel I read recently, Hideo Yokoyama's Six-Four--the notion to put the job above all else, even family. In this regard, inspector Imanishi is exemplary. He uses his household's funds to travel for work (because his sense of honor and pride won't let him use police funds on a third attempt, but it's totally fine to use his poor household funds to do so!), he does not really converse with his wife--his wife attempts to converse with him throughout the novel, and all Imanishi does is grunt or give terse responses as he continues thinking about the case. When he talks to his wife, it's to give orders. Maybe it was normal for Japanese men, especially in the 1950s-60s to treat their wives this way, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. Just hire a maid, yeah?
After a certain point, the author begins to purposely keep the reader in the dark, not mentioning the suspect's name, even if the protagonist, whose POV the reader is in, knows whodunnit already. It was cringe-worthy, the way the protagonist and any other character avoided speaking the name. The author randomly reveals the name in a 'dialogue' later on, when it's already too obvious to keep it hidden--which begs the question of why keep it hidden in the first place? It brought no shock value to the reader anymore. Some Japanese crime thrillers already have the who and what revealed (e.g. The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino, Confessions by Kanae Minato) and they still manage to be engaging and interesting, even when the reader (seemingly) has all the information about the crime.
There is no sense of urgency in the book. While the suspect/s had trips planned for abroad and we were given dates for those, we, the readers, didn't even know what date it actually currently was in the novel. The stage was set for a time-clock build-up was right there, and the author didn't use it.
Those aside, following Imanishi and his hunches around Japan was interesting to read. The summary at the end of the novel where he tied everything about the case together also held pretty well and was imaginative.
Since this is set in the late 1950s, we get a peek into the police work at that time. Blood analysis consisted of: finding out if the specks are blood, if it's human blood, and what type. There's a lot more reliance on eye witness accounts and following hunches than on logic and science. What really stood out to me was Inspector Imanishi interrogating on his own, usually without showing his police badge or any warrants, and yet people responded to him and answered his questions. The conversations are not conversations, it was a one-way information stream with Imanishi leaving every time the other party asked questions or talked about a different topic. He was rude af, to be honest.
For the novel itself, the writing is not tight. It's downright choppy in places. Part of this could be the translation, but even the dialogue--which honestly, is rarely a dialogue, because that consists of two people having a conversation--and the scene cuts don't flow well. As much as Imanishi works hard, his major breaks in the case are usually related to a coincidence that, coincidentally, just happens close to him, then he develops a hunch around that the coincidence. It felt very much contrived.
The cultural work ethic is prevalent in this book through Imanishi. That was also evident in another police novel I read recently, Hideo Yokoyama's Six-Four--the notion to put the job above all else, even family. In this regard, inspector Imanishi is exemplary. He uses his household's funds to travel for work (because his sense of honor and pride won't let him use police funds on a third attempt, but it's totally fine to use his poor household funds to do so!), he does not really converse with his wife--his wife attempts to converse with him throughout the novel, and all Imanishi does is grunt or give terse responses as he continues thinking about the case. When he talks to his wife, it's to give orders. Maybe it was normal for Japanese men, especially in the 1950s-60s to treat their wives this way, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. Just hire a maid, yeah?
After a certain point, the author begins to purposely keep the reader in the dark, not mentioning the suspect's name, even if the protagonist, whose POV the reader is in, knows whodunnit already. It was cringe-worthy, the way the protagonist and any other character avoided speaking the name. The author randomly reveals the name in a 'dialogue' later on, when it's already too obvious to keep it hidden--which begs the question of why keep it hidden in the first place? It brought no shock value to the reader anymore. Some Japanese crime thrillers already have the who and what revealed (e.g. The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino, Confessions by Kanae Minato) and they still manage to be engaging and interesting, even when the reader (seemingly) has all the information about the crime.
There is no sense of urgency in the book. While the suspect/s had trips planned for abroad and we were given dates for those, we, the readers, didn't even know what date it actually currently was in the novel. The stage was set for a time-clock build-up was right there, and the author didn't use it.
Those aside, following Imanishi and his hunches around Japan was interesting to read. The summary at the end of the novel where he tied everything about the case together also held pretty well and was imaginative.