How difficult is it to transgress boundaries of cultures and languages?
Popular Japanese author, bestselling book series, award winning, TV series produced with high ratings and sold overseas, movies made and remade in US; yet none of his books has an English translation.
This is a book review on his debut to become a vastly popular author of many books. I read the Chinese translation of the novel.
This is a novel of many twists, depicting mind-boggling series of criminal events and the dark sides of the human minds. It starts with a mysterious murder of a pawn shop owner at a desolate building where kids take the vent area as playground.
The boy of the pawn shop ow
ner, Ryoji, 10-year old, is detached, and has maturity beyond his age. He lives under the same roof to witness the affair of his mother and the pawn shop assistant. Soon, the murder was followed by another death of its suspect.
The girl of the suspect, Yukiho, another 10-year old, lives with her single mom who betrays her daughter for money. Yukiho has beauty and grace not matching her poor upbringing, was taken in custody by her aunt who teachers tea ceremony and flower arrangement.
Ryoli struggles in his life – been a pimp, a producer of illegal ATM card, did pirate software, a computer shop owner. In the whole book, there may be only two times that he reveals himself, once to his partner on their last conversation that “his life is like walking in the white night”.
Yukiho grows up to be a classy beauty, popular in schools, married to a well-off white-collared man, became a self-made boutique owner, remarried to an even richer family. She has money, fame, beauty and her charm works on everyone with the exception of one man (Kazunari). Her life is smooth; yet she is surrounded by mysteries and evil happenings to people who are in her way; and she does not reveal her real nature. “She does not live under the sun and she relies on other types of light to live.”
The detective, Junzo, could not let go of the first murder case at the desolate building. He is convinced the crime has not ended which drive his relentless effort in the next 20 years to stop it. Yet, for each of the criminal events, it unfolds the dark side of both the criminals and victims, alike.
The second half of the novel folds the many seemingly unrelated events together. While Ryoli and Yukiho never have a direct dialog in the whole novel, they seem to be borne to mutually dependent on each other. The criminal events, delicately plotted by Ryoli, are all for the benefits of Yukiho.
As detective Junzo unties the knots of each criminal event, in Ryoli’s escape from the pursuit, he accidentally kills himself during the opening ceremony of another boutique of Yukiho. And facing the dead body, Yukiho replies to the detective that “she does not know this man”. That goes her last bit of hope, genuineness and warmth.
The story was made into popular TV series in Japan and movie in Korea. While in the drama, the relationship of Ryoli and Yukiho is described as lovers. In the book, their relationship is one of the “symbiosis”, as “shrimp gobies” and “pistol shrimp”, where they live different lives, and yet dependent on each other for survival.
Why would both Yukiho and Ryoli not able to walk under the sun? Why would Ryoli do so many things for Yukiho? What is Ryoli’s redemption? Who is the real love of Yukiho?
These questions are not directly answered in the book, yet, the book would leave you plenty of food for thought.
This book has received a number of literary awards. I hope you would enjoy it as much as I do.
oliviatamccue 
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