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pawapat's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-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? Yes
2.0
Biggest complaint is the odd pacing. The writing is seriously lacking. First time reading Nakamura which makes me wonder if this was just a bad example of his work or poor translation. I seriously considered DNFing the book, especially after how horribly he wrote the sex scenes. Erotic sequences should be slow and sexy. Nakamura, like his characters, go in fast and come out fast. I can at least appreciate the kinbaku depictions and history. Thats honestly the only reason I continued with the book. If the author had just drawn out his sexual scenes more (and just wrote the women better), the book could’ve more effectively blended the thriller and erotica genre. But really, this novel had too many problems to name and I really just wish another author had come out with this story. The depictions of BDSM culture were interesting, but left more to be desired. I get a little tired of always engaging in media where the characters who enjoy non-vanilla relationships always gotta have something wrong with them. Other than that, novel was incredibly boring and all I really wanted was for it to end. Never felt the slightest bit of tension while reading and didn’t care about any of the characters introduced. It’s a shame because the plot was fairly interesting.
jkellyjr's review against another edition
3.0
If you’re kinky and you know it, clap your hands….oh wait, they are tied up….
Book Information
The Rope Artist was written by Fuminori Nakamura. It’s due to be published on May 2, 2023 and is 288 pages. Nakamura won the 2002 Shinchō Literary Prize for New Writers for his first novel, A Gun, the prestigious Noma Literary Prize for Shade in 2004, and the 2005 Akutagawa Prize for The Boy in the Earth. The Thief, his first novel to be translated into English, won the 2010 Oe Prize, Japan’s largest literary award, and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Thanks to Soho Press for providing me with an advanced reader copy for review.
Summary
Two detectives are faced with a perplexing case involving identical women and a rapidly increasing body count. The victims are all tied to Japan's underground BDSM scene, specifically the intricate art of kinbaku, a form of rope bondage with a complex cultural history encompassing spirituality, torture, cleansing, and sacrifice. Togashi, a young member of the police force tasked with investigating the murder of a kinbaku instructor, finds himself struggling with his own desires and childhood traumas as he delves deeper into the case. Meanwhile, his partner Hayama, a Sherlock Holmes-like detective with exceptional powers of deduction, is committed to uncovering the truth and maintaining his unwavering moral compass. As Hayama begins to sense a dangerous darkness lurking within Togashi, he launches his own parallel investigation, ultimately leading both detectives down a dangerous path beyond their control.
My Thoughts
The Rope Artist is a departure from my usual reading, blending elements of mystery, cultural exploration, cop story, and erotica. While there are certainly turns and surprises in the plot, the book isn't exactly a traditional mystery, as many of the crimes are not shrouded in secrecy. Instead, the story offers a rich cultural exploration of Japanese Bondage (shibari & kinbaku), delving into its history, significance, and importance.
At its core, The Rope Artist is a cop story, with a focus on the detectives involved in the case and the seedy underbelly of policing. The book's erotic elements are also notable, with explicit sexual content that may be lost in translation. I don't recall encountering the word "penis" so frequently in any other story.
The story unfolds from multiple perspectives, adding depth and complexity to the plot. However, the book's detailed nature can also make it confusing at times, and I appreciated the backstories provided for many of the characters, which helped clarify their motivations and actions.
Nakamura's unique writing style is a standout feature of The Rope Artist. However, it's unclear whether his style overshadowed the content or whether the translation impacted my perception of the book. While I believe there is an audience for this novel, I don't think it will appeal to a broad general population.
Recommendation
The Rope Artist is a must-read for fans of Nakamura's previous works or those who may enjoy books that blend cultural exploration of Japanese Bondage with police investigations of multiple murders. If either of these descriptions fits you, then this book is sure to captivate and intrigue you from start to finish.
Rating
3 Hemp Rope Bound Stars
Book Information
The Rope Artist was written by Fuminori Nakamura. It’s due to be published on May 2, 2023 and is 288 pages. Nakamura won the 2002 Shinchō Literary Prize for New Writers for his first novel, A Gun, the prestigious Noma Literary Prize for Shade in 2004, and the 2005 Akutagawa Prize for The Boy in the Earth. The Thief, his first novel to be translated into English, won the 2010 Oe Prize, Japan’s largest literary award, and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Thanks to Soho Press for providing me with an advanced reader copy for review.
Summary
Two detectives are faced with a perplexing case involving identical women and a rapidly increasing body count. The victims are all tied to Japan's underground BDSM scene, specifically the intricate art of kinbaku, a form of rope bondage with a complex cultural history encompassing spirituality, torture, cleansing, and sacrifice. Togashi, a young member of the police force tasked with investigating the murder of a kinbaku instructor, finds himself struggling with his own desires and childhood traumas as he delves deeper into the case. Meanwhile, his partner Hayama, a Sherlock Holmes-like detective with exceptional powers of deduction, is committed to uncovering the truth and maintaining his unwavering moral compass. As Hayama begins to sense a dangerous darkness lurking within Togashi, he launches his own parallel investigation, ultimately leading both detectives down a dangerous path beyond their control.
My Thoughts
The Rope Artist is a departure from my usual reading, blending elements of mystery, cultural exploration, cop story, and erotica. While there are certainly turns and surprises in the plot, the book isn't exactly a traditional mystery, as many of the crimes are not shrouded in secrecy. Instead, the story offers a rich cultural exploration of Japanese Bondage (shibari & kinbaku), delving into its history, significance, and importance.
At its core, The Rope Artist is a cop story, with a focus on the detectives involved in the case and the seedy underbelly of policing. The book's erotic elements are also notable, with explicit sexual content that may be lost in translation. I don't recall encountering the word "penis" so frequently in any other story.
The story unfolds from multiple perspectives, adding depth and complexity to the plot. However, the book's detailed nature can also make it confusing at times, and I appreciated the backstories provided for many of the characters, which helped clarify their motivations and actions.
Nakamura's unique writing style is a standout feature of The Rope Artist. However, it's unclear whether his style overshadowed the content or whether the translation impacted my perception of the book. While I believe there is an audience for this novel, I don't think it will appeal to a broad general population.
Recommendation
The Rope Artist is a must-read for fans of Nakamura's previous works or those who may enjoy books that blend cultural exploration of Japanese Bondage with police investigations of multiple murders. If either of these descriptions fits you, then this book is sure to captivate and intrigue you from start to finish.
Rating
3 Hemp Rope Bound Stars
laq's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
shihangh's review against another edition
3.0
A bondage practitioner is found dead in a room. Why and how did he die? A detective Togashi quickly finds a woman Maiko who confesses to murdering the man in self-defence. Drawn by her submissiveness, Togashi agrees to cover up her role in the murder in exchange for sexual favours. To cover up his secret, Togashi tries to frame a woman named Ami Ito and pass her off as the actual murderer.
Togashi's colleague, Hayama, notices Togashi's strange actions and warns him to come clean. But before he can do so, he is murdered by Yamada, a pimp and power broker in the criminal underworld. Hayama resumes the investigation and is able to confront and kill Yamada in an armed confrontation.
***
This is an interesting book although it has its share of pain points. First, there is a lot of exposition about BDSM and kinbaku, its relations to Japanese spirituality, which felt heavy handed and inelegant. The actual crime itself felt poorly motivated - a bunch of BDSM enthusiasts, masochists and sadists alike, do BDSM-y things with spiritual overtones, and people die. Y, the main antagonist, uses the women he seduces with borderline supernatural sexual powers (how realistic his exploits are depends on how convincing you find the psychology of these women), and uses them for criminal purposes. It all is a bit unconvincing.
What Nakamura has done well is to create character studies of a number of very damaged people and have them interact. Togashi is a detective with a difficult childhood who had killed his mother with cruel words, and he is tempted by the seductive Maiko (Keiko). Hayama has his own darkness and is damaged by his police work. Keiko, the female antagonist, saw her parents die in childhood and is a kind of femme fatale who seduces with her vulnerability. The author also spends a long time cataloguing the psychoses of the Yoshikawa the victim, who exults in being tied up and bound, and sees a kind of salvation in his own abuse. The masochism of Ami and the other woman, who are willing to do anything for Y, after having their own selves sanded down by their sexual submission is also carefully described.
It is a lot written about very sick people and as a result the book is a twisted and morbid psychological study. I found it somewhat interesting but it was a difficult read.
Togashi's colleague, Hayama, notices Togashi's strange actions and warns him to come clean. But before he can do so, he is murdered by Yamada, a pimp and power broker in the criminal underworld. Hayama resumes the investigation and is able to confront and kill Yamada in an armed confrontation.
***
This is an interesting book although it has its share of pain points. First, there is a lot of exposition about BDSM and kinbaku, its relations to Japanese spirituality, which felt heavy handed and inelegant. The actual crime itself felt poorly motivated - a bunch of BDSM enthusiasts, masochists and sadists alike, do BDSM-y things with spiritual overtones, and people die. Y, the main antagonist, uses the women he seduces with borderline supernatural sexual powers (how realistic his exploits are depends on how convincing you find the psychology of these women), and uses them for criminal purposes. It all is a bit unconvincing.
What Nakamura has done well is to create character studies of a number of very damaged people and have them interact. Togashi is a detective with a difficult childhood who had killed his mother with cruel words, and he is tempted by the seductive Maiko (Keiko). Hayama has his own darkness and is damaged by his police work. Keiko, the female antagonist, saw her parents die in childhood and is a kind of femme fatale who seduces with her vulnerability. The author also spends a long time cataloguing the psychoses of the Yoshikawa the victim, who exults in being tied up and bound, and sees a kind of salvation in his own abuse. The masochism of Ami and the other woman, who are willing to do anything for Y, after having their own selves sanded down by their sexual submission is also carefully described.
It is a lot written about very sick people and as a result the book is a twisted and morbid psychological study. I found it somewhat interesting but it was a difficult read.
thequirkfiles's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
lkedzie's review against another edition
4.0
It's like what if you wrote a detective story that itself was about the tension between noir fiction and hardboiled fiction.
Police detective Mikiya Togashi is called to investigate the apparent murder of a man, found in his apartment dead and folded up. Finding evidence that puts his ex-girlfriend as the lead suspect in the case, he tries to cover up her involvement while looking for the actual killer. Then things get worse.
The Rope Artist is a crime novel in the spirit of Chandler and Hammett, so much so the later at first that pointing it out felt like a backhanded compliment. But there is an atmosphere to it that feels unique, and as the book progresses it picks up an increasing number of metafictional and other literary techniques that set it apart from the greats. In a good way, mind you, but the roller coaster here is not only plot based but out of the structure of the narrative. I could see that not being for everyone.
Likewise, the connection with kink and specifically BDSM is almost a headfake. It is not a throwaway premise like a TV episode where each mystery delves into subculture, but nor is it about-about it, like to the extent that if masterful descriptions of ropework is going to get your blood up, it will disappoint (plenty of sex scenes in general though). Rather, the rope art is a means to a philosophical end, of discussion...well, the world, really, and life in general, but with getting tied up for sex as a framing device. I was reminded of when you find yourself sitting at the bar next to someone who has their particular grand theory of everything, and how everything in their world relates to _____ in a sort of paranoia without the pathology. But it is very much so in character voices, and usually contrasted with other character interpretations, or even characters readdressing their own former unified beliefs. That makes it memorable and engaging. Again, if you are just on-board for the detecting, it probably is not worth it, but if you want some conceptual wrestling in your moral ambiguity, this is for you.
Police detective Mikiya Togashi is called to investigate the apparent murder of a man, found in his apartment dead and folded up. Finding evidence that puts his ex-girlfriend as the lead suspect in the case, he tries to cover up her involvement while looking for the actual killer. Then things get worse.
The Rope Artist is a crime novel in the spirit of Chandler and Hammett, so much so the later at first that pointing it out felt like a backhanded compliment. But there is an atmosphere to it that feels unique, and as the book progresses it picks up an increasing number of metafictional and other literary techniques that set it apart from the greats. In a good way, mind you, but the roller coaster here is not only plot based but out of the structure of the narrative. I could see that not being for everyone.
Likewise, the connection with kink and specifically BDSM is almost a headfake. It is not a throwaway premise like a TV episode where each mystery delves into subculture, but nor is it about-about it, like to the extent that if masterful descriptions of ropework is going to get your blood up, it will disappoint (plenty of sex scenes in general though). Rather, the rope art is a means to a philosophical end, of discussion...well, the world, really, and life in general, but with getting tied up for sex as a framing device. I was reminded of when you find yourself sitting at the bar next to someone who has their particular grand theory of everything, and how everything in their world relates to _____ in a sort of paranoia without the pathology. But it is very much so in character voices, and usually contrasted with other character interpretations, or even characters readdressing their own former unified beliefs. That makes it memorable and engaging. Again, if you are just on-board for the detecting, it probably is not worth it, but if you want some conceptual wrestling in your moral ambiguity, this is for you.
helenb91's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Got through it quickly but found it very confusing
fioreail's review against another edition
2.0
Ah, ahhh...I was counting the pages until this was over. Beautiful designed book jacket. That's about the only positive thing I have to say. Divided into three perspectives and each of them as stiff and barely there as a person as the first. Not in the sense of being detached from life as intended so much as barely sketched out characters.