A review by ccos
限りなく透明に近いブルー by Ryū Murakami

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Honestly? I couldn’t put it down. In a word: raw.

I found it to be an incredible depiction of 70s junkie culture in Japan (a subculture I had no reference point for) and furthermore a complete sucker-punch of gorgeously detailed depravity. It’s elevated above mere shock material by both its prose, believable characters, and clever overarching themes/motifs. 

It’s, uh, not for everyone. The work is certainly graphic, contains racism and physical and sexual violence but IMO manages to avoid feeling merely exploitative due to its semi-autobiographical nature and how unapologetically human it portrays its characters. It documents the behavior but I think is far from glorifying it. 

I read in Japanese, but the English translation seems solid, expecting the god-awful (and woefully common) localization of Osaka-ben as an extremely over-exaggerated Southern accent. 

This was a really interesting book to read after 透明だった最後の日々へ (which unfortunately has no English translation and is woefully overlooked) as it clearly seems to have influenced that novel, given the similar ages of the somewhat unsympathetic protagonists, graphic nature, and beautiful descriptive prose. If you can read Japanese and enjoyed this book you should check that one out as well. 
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