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458 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1992
118 people are currently reading
8,340 people want to read
About the author
Miyuki Miyabe
307?books540?followersSee also 宮部 みゆき (Japanese language profile) and 宫部美幸 (Chinese language profile).
Miyuki Miyabe (宮部みゆき Miyabe Miyuki) is a popular contemporary Japanese author active in a number of genres including science fiction, mystery fiction, historical fiction, social commentary, and juvenile fiction.
Miyabe started writing novels at the age of 23. She has been a prolific writer, publishing dozens of novels and winning many major literary prizes, including the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize in 1993 for Kasha and the Naoki Prize in 1998 for Riyū [The Reason] (理由). A Japanese film adaptation of Riy?, directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, was released in 2004.
Miyuki Miyabe (宮部みゆき Miyabe Miyuki) is a popular contemporary Japanese author active in a number of genres including science fiction, mystery fiction, historical fiction, social commentary, and juvenile fiction.
Miyabe started writing novels at the age of 23. She has been a prolific writer, publishing dozens of novels and winning many major literary prizes, including the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize in 1993 for Kasha and the Naoki Prize in 1998 for Riyū [The Reason] (理由). A Japanese film adaptation of Riy?, directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, was released in 2004.
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October 17, 2019
A simple missing persons case morphs into identity theft and then something else entirely. It revolves around the pieced together accounts of different people to create a woman's identity. A woman on a determined quest to be rid of her demons. In this process she sheds her skin and becomes a ghost-like figure that takes on different roles and shapes to different people. This is fascinating to a degree because you never hear from her, never take on her point of view, all you know of, you know from unreliable sources who merely remember. People recall and create her identity from memory. She intentionally forges different impressions on people like a craftsman working on her ever changing masterpiece.
All this we digest under the pedantic but thorough mind of a paraplegic detective who somehow develops this almost Stockholm syndrome mindset for the woman. In end you are left with lingering doubts on whether this woman really is the criminal or the victim.
Consumerism and the financial credit industry are two of the last things on our minds when we think of mystery and thrill. Still this moody novel manages to work its slow pace and provide an interesting contribution to its genre.
All this we digest under the pedantic but thorough mind of a paraplegic detective who somehow develops this almost Stockholm syndrome mindset for the woman. In end you are left with lingering doubts on whether this woman really is the criminal or the victim.
Consumerism and the financial credit industry are two of the last things on our minds when we think of mystery and thrill. Still this moody novel manages to work its slow pace and provide an interesting contribution to its genre.
October 30, 2020
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??????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ????????? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ???????? ????????? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ???????.
?????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ???????? ????? ????????? ???????? ??????. ???????? ????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?? ????? ????????? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ??????. ??? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ??????. ????? ???? ???????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ????. ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???????? ??? ????????? ????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????? ????? ???? ?????? ????.
??????? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????????? ???????? ??? ??????? ???????? ?????????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ????????.
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?????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ???????? ????? ????????? ???????? ??????. ???????? ????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?? ????? ????????? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ??????. ??? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ??????. ????? ???? ???????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ????. ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???????? ??? ????????? ????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????? ????? ???? ?????? ????.
??????? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????????? ???????? ??? ??????? ???????? ?????????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ????????.
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January 23, 2012
All She was Worth was billed to me as a mystery and thriller and aside from reading Haruki Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto, I've not read a lot of Japanese Literature so I was intrigued to see how this would pan out. Would I be introduced to Japan's answer to Lisbeth Salander, Endeavour Morse or Magnum PI? Er no. None of the above. You will be introduced to Tokyo Metropolitan Police Detective Shunsuke Honma who is polite, and dogged and due to an injury at work is taking his crime solving at a more leisurely pace.
And I have to say that for an eagerly anticipated thriller, this book had about as much pace as a slug covered in treacle trying to tow a tiny slug-sized cluster of Atlas Balls. I actually had to slog (and slug) through the pages and found my attention prone to a good old wander. In fact sometimes my attention wandered so far it came back with souvenirs.
To provide a sketchy plot outline all you need know is that a young girl has gone missing and in the course of trying to track her down, an identity switcheroo becomes apparent. This leads to a lot of explanations dealing with Japanese identity, the logistics of altering and stealing identity in Japan (where family identity rather than individual identity is recorded) and also a bafflingly in-depth look at the world of Japanese banking, credit cards and the murky world of money lending. If you hold a deep seated interest in modern Japanese culture, particularly the more obscure economic facts then this is the book for you. If this last group of subjects are of no particular interest to you then, like me, you might find your attention span taking a little vacation and turning up a few hours later with a straw donkey under one arm and some duty free booze under the other.
And I have to say that for an eagerly anticipated thriller, this book had about as much pace as a slug covered in treacle trying to tow a tiny slug-sized cluster of Atlas Balls. I actually had to slog (and slug) through the pages and found my attention prone to a good old wander. In fact sometimes my attention wandered so far it came back with souvenirs.
To provide a sketchy plot outline all you need know is that a young girl has gone missing and in the course of trying to track her down, an identity switcheroo becomes apparent. This leads to a lot of explanations dealing with Japanese identity, the logistics of altering and stealing identity in Japan (where family identity rather than individual identity is recorded) and also a bafflingly in-depth look at the world of Japanese banking, credit cards and the murky world of money lending. If you hold a deep seated interest in modern Japanese culture, particularly the more obscure economic facts then this is the book for you. If this last group of subjects are of no particular interest to you then, like me, you might find your attention span taking a little vacation and turning up a few hours later with a straw donkey under one arm and some duty free booze under the other.
February 10, 2017
A decent police procedural this, with lots of good touches but a few flaws. On the plus side of the ledger are the sleuth, a widower with an adopted son and a gammy leg; an ingenious believable premise of stolen identity; and the completely authentic setting of the seedier side of 90s Japan trying to keep the bubble inflated on borrowed money.
But in the minus column, a couple of pages demand to be skipped where a lawyer spouts exposition on the dangers to, and legal standing of heretofore not aforementioned folks affected by bankruptcy and personal debt that read suspiciously like Miyabe had just discovered an online legal dictionary and the cut and paste function on her word processor. More critically, I thought the novel lacked a little tension. At no point was our sleuth or his kid in any danger; every hunch proved to be correct; and I kept waiting for the twist which never arrived.
It felt like Miyabe could have done more, tested the characters or taken the plot a little further, but had stayed comfortably in the black, instead of pushing for broke. Still, worth a read.
But in the minus column, a couple of pages demand to be skipped where a lawyer spouts exposition on the dangers to, and legal standing of heretofore not aforementioned folks affected by bankruptcy and personal debt that read suspiciously like Miyabe had just discovered an online legal dictionary and the cut and paste function on her word processor. More critically, I thought the novel lacked a little tension. At no point was our sleuth or his kid in any danger; every hunch proved to be correct; and I kept waiting for the twist which never arrived.
It felt like Miyabe could have done more, tested the characters or taken the plot a little further, but had stayed comfortably in the black, instead of pushing for broke. Still, worth a read.
October 30, 2020
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2018?
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2018?
January 10, 2023
Honma, ng??i ?àn ?ng làm c?ng vi?c c?nh sát, hi?n ?ang ph?i ngh? ng?i do ch?n th??ng t? c?ng vi?c. Honma sau ?ó ???c cháu trai nh? c?y ?i?u tra v? c? v? ch?a c??i, Shoko Sekine, ng??i ??t ng?t bi?n m?t và ch?ng có l?i t? bi?t. Càng ?i?u tra v? quá kh? c?a Shoko Sekine, Honma càng phát hi?n thêm nh?ng ?i?u ch?ng th? ng? t?i.
Mình v?n ?? d? ?oán ???c vi?c r?ng mình s? kh?ng thích cu?n sách này. ??c qua vài review v? nó thì mình bi?t nó nh?c t?i nh?ng ch? ?? mình kh?ng thích, ??c bi?t cách vi?t dài dòng c?a tác gi? "ru ng?" Miyuki Miyabe v?n dài dòng nh? th?.
Xuyên su?t cu?n sách là tr?i dài các th?ng tin v? Kinh t?, tín d?ng vay n?, bla bla... dù có ?i?u tra nh?ng y?u t? Trinh thám trong cu?n sách v?n d? kh?ng ??c bi?t v?i mình.
Tuy nhiên, dù là ch? ?? Kinh t? mình v?n kh?ng thích, nh?ng do gia ?ình ?? và ?ang là m?t con n? =))) mình th?ng c?m cho s? ph?n nh?ng nh?n v?t b? "chèn ép" t? các kho?n vay, dù ?ó là các th?ng tin nhàm chán nh?ng mình v?n hi?u r? v? các r?c r?i c?a nh?ng ng??i th?n c?a "ng??i vay n?".
Mình v?n ?? ??c qua kha khá sách c?a Miyuki Miyabe r?i, nh?ng qu? th?t là sách Trinh thám c?a Miyuki Miyabe dài dòng, nhàm chán quá tr?i. Mình còn ?oán ???c ng??i giúp Honma gi?i quy?t ???c v? án là ai lu?n á (??y c?ng là nh?n v?t khi?n mình c?m th?y h?n nhiên, mang l?i kh?ng khí t??i sáng cho truy?n).
Mình v?n ?? d? ?oán ???c vi?c r?ng mình s? kh?ng thích cu?n sách này. ??c qua vài review v? nó thì mình bi?t nó nh?c t?i nh?ng ch? ?? mình kh?ng thích, ??c bi?t cách vi?t dài dòng c?a tác gi? "ru ng?" Miyuki Miyabe v?n dài dòng nh? th?.
Xuyên su?t cu?n sách là tr?i dài các th?ng tin v? Kinh t?, tín d?ng vay n?, bla bla... dù có ?i?u tra nh?ng y?u t? Trinh thám trong cu?n sách v?n d? kh?ng ??c bi?t v?i mình.
Tuy nhiên, dù là ch? ?? Kinh t? mình v?n kh?ng thích, nh?ng do gia ?ình ?? và ?ang là m?t con n? =))) mình th?ng c?m cho s? ph?n nh?ng nh?n v?t b? "chèn ép" t? các kho?n vay, dù ?ó là các th?ng tin nhàm chán nh?ng mình v?n hi?u r? v? các r?c r?i c?a nh?ng ng??i th?n c?a "ng??i vay n?".
Mình v?n ?? ??c qua kha khá sách c?a Miyuki Miyabe r?i, nh?ng qu? th?t là sách Trinh thám c?a Miyuki Miyabe dài dòng, nhàm chán quá tr?i. Mình còn ?oán ???c ng??i giúp Honma gi?i quy?t ???c v? án là ai lu?n á (??y c?ng là nh?n v?t khi?n mình c?m th?y h?n nhiên, mang l?i kh?ng khí t??i sáng cho truy?n).
October 13, 2016
Pertama kali melihat cover novel ini saya langsung penasaran untuk membacanya. Cover hasil karya Eduard Iwan Mangopang ini sangat menggambarkan isi dari cerita novel ini, dimana ada wajah sesosok seorang wanita dengan latar belakang kehidupan hiruk pikuk perkotaan. Warna merah juga sangat pas karena bisa menarik perhatian para pembaca untuk melihat dan membeli novel ini. "Mencari Jejak" juga sangat pas untuk terjemahan judulnya.
Konsumerisme serta pemakaian kartu kredit secara berlebihan merupakan tema yang diangkat. Melihat begitu banyaknya masyarakat Jepang yang berperilaku sangat konsumtif, tidak heran jika tema tersebut memang layak untuk dibahas. Tahun 1980 sampai 2000 merupakan tahun dimana pemakaian kartu kredit sedang diperkenalkan kepada masyarakat Jepang. Maka banyak sekali masyarakat yang terlilit utang pada tiga tahun tersebut sebagai akibat dari dampak pemakaian kartu kredirt secara berlebihan. Bahkan pada bab 11 sang penulis menjelaskan tentang permasalahan dan detail-detail akibat pemakaian kartu kredit yang mulai menjadi gaya hidup masyarakat Jepang. Penjelasan tersebut juga sangat membantu saya untuk memahami penyebab tokoh Shoko Sekine mengalami kebangkrutan pribadi.
Sangat banyak sekali tokoh-tokoh yang terdapat didalam novel ini, sehingga membuat saya sedikit bingung untuk mengingat setiap tokohnya, ditambah lagi dengan nama-nama orang Jepang yang sulit untuk diingat. Tokoh Shunsuke Honma juga sedikit mengingatkan saya kepada tokoh Cormoran Strike ketika Honma berjalan pincang dan mengeluhkan rasa sakit di kakinya.
Menggunakan sudut pandang orang ketiga yaitu Honma, sangat membantu saya untuk memahami karakternya dan juga pemikirannya yang cerdik. Novel ini juga memiliki alur maju dari awal hingga akhir, walaupun ada sedikit alur mundur ketika dalam percakapan untuk menceritakan kehidupan Shoko Sekine dan kehidupan pelaku yang mencuri identitasnya sebelum mereka berdua menghilang. Adanya sedikit alur mundur ini juga membantu saya untuk merangkai setiap motif dan alasan dari pelaku, mengapa dia pada akhirnya memilih Shoko Sekine sebagai target untuk dicuri identitasnya.
Gaya bahasa yang ditulis Miyuki Miyabe juga mudah untuk dipahami serta tidak bertele-tele dan hasil terjemahannya juga sangat baik. Meskipun ada beberapa istilah dalam bahasa Jepang yang sulit untuk dipahami, tapi tidak terlalu mengganggu ketika membaca. Selain itu hampir tidak ada typo sama sekali yang membuat saya sangat lancar untuk membaca novel ini.
Bagi sebagian orang mungkin akan merasa bosan ketika membaca novel ini karena hampir tidak ada konflik yang menarik. Walaupun konfliknya kurang, tetapi saya selalu dibuat penasaran dengan fakta-fakta yang ditemukan oleh Honma. Alasan utama kurangnya konflik didalam novel ini karena sejak awal kasusnya adalah mencari orang hilang sehingga membuat konfliknya tidak semenarik kasus pembunuhan.
Kebanyakan latar tempat yang dipakai adalah Tokyo, Osaka dan Utsunomiya. Penggunaan latar kota Tokyo menurut saya sangat cocok dengan tema yang diangkat. Kota Tokyo merupakan ibu kota negara Jepang sehingga tidak aneh jika pemakaian kartu kredit dan perilaku konsumtif terjadi pada sebagian besar masyarakatnya dengan hadirnya berbagai macam bank dan penyedia jasa kartu kredit.
Secara keseluruhan saya sangat menikmati novel ini karena berhasil membuat saya penasaran akan pelaku serta motifnya mencuri identitas orang lain. Saya juga jadi lebih mengetahui tentang kejamnya dunia peminjaman uang melalui kartu kredit yang banyak melakukan kecurangan dan penipuan kepada para penggunanya. Ada satu hal yang sedikit mengecewakan dari novel ini adalah Miyuki Miyabe tidak memberikan kelanjutan cerita setelah pelaku ditemukan, sehingga membuat saya masih penasaran. Novel yang sangat saya rekomendasikan karena selain membaca cerita fiksi, saya juga diberikan ilmu baru tentang konsumerisme yang terjadi di Jepang.
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Konsumerisme serta pemakaian kartu kredit secara berlebihan merupakan tema yang diangkat. Melihat begitu banyaknya masyarakat Jepang yang berperilaku sangat konsumtif, tidak heran jika tema tersebut memang layak untuk dibahas. Tahun 1980 sampai 2000 merupakan tahun dimana pemakaian kartu kredit sedang diperkenalkan kepada masyarakat Jepang. Maka banyak sekali masyarakat yang terlilit utang pada tiga tahun tersebut sebagai akibat dari dampak pemakaian kartu kredirt secara berlebihan. Bahkan pada bab 11 sang penulis menjelaskan tentang permasalahan dan detail-detail akibat pemakaian kartu kredit yang mulai menjadi gaya hidup masyarakat Jepang. Penjelasan tersebut juga sangat membantu saya untuk memahami penyebab tokoh Shoko Sekine mengalami kebangkrutan pribadi.
Sangat banyak sekali tokoh-tokoh yang terdapat didalam novel ini, sehingga membuat saya sedikit bingung untuk mengingat setiap tokohnya, ditambah lagi dengan nama-nama orang Jepang yang sulit untuk diingat. Tokoh Shunsuke Honma juga sedikit mengingatkan saya kepada tokoh Cormoran Strike ketika Honma berjalan pincang dan mengeluhkan rasa sakit di kakinya.
Menggunakan sudut pandang orang ketiga yaitu Honma, sangat membantu saya untuk memahami karakternya dan juga pemikirannya yang cerdik. Novel ini juga memiliki alur maju dari awal hingga akhir, walaupun ada sedikit alur mundur ketika dalam percakapan untuk menceritakan kehidupan Shoko Sekine dan kehidupan pelaku yang mencuri identitasnya sebelum mereka berdua menghilang. Adanya sedikit alur mundur ini juga membantu saya untuk merangkai setiap motif dan alasan dari pelaku, mengapa dia pada akhirnya memilih Shoko Sekine sebagai target untuk dicuri identitasnya.
Gaya bahasa yang ditulis Miyuki Miyabe juga mudah untuk dipahami serta tidak bertele-tele dan hasil terjemahannya juga sangat baik. Meskipun ada beberapa istilah dalam bahasa Jepang yang sulit untuk dipahami, tapi tidak terlalu mengganggu ketika membaca. Selain itu hampir tidak ada typo sama sekali yang membuat saya sangat lancar untuk membaca novel ini.
Bagi sebagian orang mungkin akan merasa bosan ketika membaca novel ini karena hampir tidak ada konflik yang menarik. Walaupun konfliknya kurang, tetapi saya selalu dibuat penasaran dengan fakta-fakta yang ditemukan oleh Honma. Alasan utama kurangnya konflik didalam novel ini karena sejak awal kasusnya adalah mencari orang hilang sehingga membuat konfliknya tidak semenarik kasus pembunuhan.
Kebanyakan latar tempat yang dipakai adalah Tokyo, Osaka dan Utsunomiya. Penggunaan latar kota Tokyo menurut saya sangat cocok dengan tema yang diangkat. Kota Tokyo merupakan ibu kota negara Jepang sehingga tidak aneh jika pemakaian kartu kredit dan perilaku konsumtif terjadi pada sebagian besar masyarakatnya dengan hadirnya berbagai macam bank dan penyedia jasa kartu kredit.
Secara keseluruhan saya sangat menikmati novel ini karena berhasil membuat saya penasaran akan pelaku serta motifnya mencuri identitas orang lain. Saya juga jadi lebih mengetahui tentang kejamnya dunia peminjaman uang melalui kartu kredit yang banyak melakukan kecurangan dan penipuan kepada para penggunanya. Ada satu hal yang sedikit mengecewakan dari novel ini adalah Miyuki Miyabe tidak memberikan kelanjutan cerita setelah pelaku ditemukan, sehingga membuat saya masih penasaran. Novel yang sangat saya rekomendasikan karena selain membaca cerita fiksi, saya juga diberikan ilmu baru tentang konsumerisme yang terjadi di Jepang.
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April 23, 2008
Not only well-paced but well-written, this mystery of the missing fiancee lost its momentum in only one scene, in which a Japanese businessman felt it necessary to take an hour out of his busy day to explain to another Japanese citizen the country's policy on identification cards, loans, and bankruptcy. Sure, I may not have known this information as an American and it was helpful to learm, but it was carried out so ollishly and pedantically in this translation, I wish the editors had found some other way to weave it into the story, even if it meant a foreword, an appendix, or some footnotes for foreign readers. But please, o "as you well know" scenes again. Obviously, I don't blame Miyabe in this error in international translation. I suppose I should just be glad I got my tutorial on Japanese credit history and shut my mouth. Well, aside from that, this was an absorbing, non-stop read that doesn't lower its standards of good writing as a genre novel, unlike so many American mysteries. And for those seeking background in Japanese credit history, this is also a worthwhile find!
December 24, 2016
While Police Detective Shunsuke Honma is on leave after he injured his leg, a distant relative of his late wife appears and asks for help. His fiancée Shoko Sekine has disappeared after a bank rejected her application for a credit card, revealing her past bankruptcy.
Tokyo
Honma’s investigation reveals the woman’s descent into debt, a common problem in Japan’s consumer driven economy. But soon he finds out the fiancée might have murdered the real Shoko Sekine and taken over the woman’s identity. When he digs out the imposter’s background, he realizes that her family’s financial problems had driven her to assume the new identity.
Tokyo Stock Exchange
Though the pace is slow and parts of the novel can be taken out without much loss, the search for the identities and backgrounds of the two women is interesting. But what really holds the story together is the problem associated with debt-driven consumer-oriented economy, the common link between the two women, the real and the fake Shoko Sekine. The desire to escape from debt, driving their lives to the sad ending. The issue is as relevant today as it was in the 1990’s.
Miyuki Miyabe
Tokyo
Honma’s investigation reveals the woman’s descent into debt, a common problem in Japan’s consumer driven economy. But soon he finds out the fiancée might have murdered the real Shoko Sekine and taken over the woman’s identity. When he digs out the imposter’s background, he realizes that her family’s financial problems had driven her to assume the new identity.
Tokyo Stock Exchange
Though the pace is slow and parts of the novel can be taken out without much loss, the search for the identities and backgrounds of the two women is interesting. But what really holds the story together is the problem associated with debt-driven consumer-oriented economy, the common link between the two women, the real and the fake Shoko Sekine. The desire to escape from debt, driving their lives to the sad ending. The issue is as relevant today as it was in the 1990’s.
Miyuki Miyabe
November 6, 2018
Judul terjemahan yang sangat mencerminkan novel ini—karena memang 95% narasinya berupa proses melacak jejak.... sekaligus kontemplasi tentang berbagai aspek sosial, ekonomi, dan kehidupan.
Ini novel misteri/drama kriminal, jenis yang realis dan prosedural. Kalau ingin cerita dengan banyak mayat bertebaran, thriller kejar-kejaran yang mempertaruhkan nyawa, atau adegan pengungkapan dramatis oleh seorang detektif jenius…. yah, semua itu tak ada di sini. Tokoh penyelidiknya, Shunsuke Honma, bukan sosok jenius, berbakat istimewa, apalagi berkekuatan super. Beliau hanya seorang bapak polisi biasa berkaki pincang, yang menggunakan waktu cutinya untuk menyelidiki teka-teki hilangnya seorang wanita. Yang ia punya hanya kegigihan untuk menelusuri tiap jejak langkah yang ditinggalkan wanita itu, serta kemampuan untuk menghubungkan titik-titik menjadi sebuah garis yang tegas.
Saya suka cerita detektif yang sensasional, tapi saya juga suka yang membumi seperti ini. Alurnya berjalan lambat, tapi selalu logis dan memastikan bahwa tokohnya tidak asal lompat ke kesimpulan. Saya ikut penasaran setiap Pak Honma menemukan fakta baru yang membingungkan, frustrasi saat beliau menemui jalan buntu, maupun bersorak begitu akhirnya muncul titik terang.
Kunci kenapa adegan penyelidikannya tak terasa menjemukan adalah kayanya detail yang mewarnai setiap tempat yang dikunjungi Pak Honma dan setiap orang yang ditemuinya. Ini kali pertama saya membaca karyanya Miyuki Miyabe, tapi saya langsung suka caranya menggambarkan suasana dan orang-orang. Adegan kunjungan ke sebuah kantor, misalnya, terasa begitu hidup sehingga saya bisa mudah memvisualisasikan ruang kantor tersebut. Bahkan, tokoh figuran semacam mbak-mbak sekretaris (atau sejumlah orang lainnya yang ditanyai Pak Honma dan hanya muncul di satu adegan) mampu meninggalkan kesan melalui penggambaran yang tajam. Tak lupa, saya selalu menikmati dialog naturalis antara Pak Honma dengan anaknya, rekan polisinya, dan tetangganya, baik tentang kasusnya sendiri maupun hal-hal lain.
Selama narasi berjalan, banyak percabangan ke berbagai hal di luar kasusnya sendiri. Tentang tata kota, hubungan pria dan wanita, identitas sebagai pendatang…. tetapi tak ada yang terasa ‘melantur’ , karena selalu ada makna tersendiri di balik semua tema yang muncul. Bahkan sub-plot soal hilangnya anjing kesayangan anaknya Pak Honma tersambung dengan cara yang teramat halus ke tema besar soal ‘keinginan untuk memiliki’.
Novel ini berlatar tahun 1992, ketika sedang booming kartu kredit dan usaha pinjam-meminjam uang di Jepang. Walau sudah lumayan lawas, tema demikian malah justru makin relevan dewasa ini—saat semakin mudah dan praktis untuk membeli barang, berinvestasi ini-itu, atau mengangsur kemewahan dengan iming-iming suku bunga rendah. Budaya konsumerisme yang tumbuh begitu subur di kota besar memang mendorong orang makin gegabah memakai uang, atau menggadaikan masa depan demi sejumlah hal yang dijadikan parameter kesuksesan hidup.
"Aku tak tahu kenapa akhirnya jadi begini…. padahal aku hanya ingin bahagia."
Saat kata-kata di atas diucapkan seorang tokoh di pertengahan bukunya, mau tak mau benak saya melayang ke lautan manusia yang saya lihat setiap hari di ibu kota…. ada berapa banyak di antara mereka yang dari luar tampak baik-baik saja, padahal sebenarnya nyaris tenggelam dalam lingkaran dosa dan kebohongan? Berapa banyak yang sedang menghancurkan diri sendiri dan orang-orang terdekat secara pelan-pelan?
Semua itu berawal dari keinginan yang lugu dan universal: hanya ingin bahagia.
Ini novel misteri/drama kriminal, jenis yang realis dan prosedural. Kalau ingin cerita dengan banyak mayat bertebaran, thriller kejar-kejaran yang mempertaruhkan nyawa, atau adegan pengungkapan dramatis oleh seorang detektif jenius…. yah, semua itu tak ada di sini. Tokoh penyelidiknya, Shunsuke Honma, bukan sosok jenius, berbakat istimewa, apalagi berkekuatan super. Beliau hanya seorang bapak polisi biasa berkaki pincang, yang menggunakan waktu cutinya untuk menyelidiki teka-teki hilangnya seorang wanita. Yang ia punya hanya kegigihan untuk menelusuri tiap jejak langkah yang ditinggalkan wanita itu, serta kemampuan untuk menghubungkan titik-titik menjadi sebuah garis yang tegas.
Saya suka cerita detektif yang sensasional, tapi saya juga suka yang membumi seperti ini. Alurnya berjalan lambat, tapi selalu logis dan memastikan bahwa tokohnya tidak asal lompat ke kesimpulan. Saya ikut penasaran setiap Pak Honma menemukan fakta baru yang membingungkan, frustrasi saat beliau menemui jalan buntu, maupun bersorak begitu akhirnya muncul titik terang.
Kunci kenapa adegan penyelidikannya tak terasa menjemukan adalah kayanya detail yang mewarnai setiap tempat yang dikunjungi Pak Honma dan setiap orang yang ditemuinya. Ini kali pertama saya membaca karyanya Miyuki Miyabe, tapi saya langsung suka caranya menggambarkan suasana dan orang-orang. Adegan kunjungan ke sebuah kantor, misalnya, terasa begitu hidup sehingga saya bisa mudah memvisualisasikan ruang kantor tersebut. Bahkan, tokoh figuran semacam mbak-mbak sekretaris (atau sejumlah orang lainnya yang ditanyai Pak Honma dan hanya muncul di satu adegan) mampu meninggalkan kesan melalui penggambaran yang tajam. Tak lupa, saya selalu menikmati dialog naturalis antara Pak Honma dengan anaknya, rekan polisinya, dan tetangganya, baik tentang kasusnya sendiri maupun hal-hal lain.
Selama narasi berjalan, banyak percabangan ke berbagai hal di luar kasusnya sendiri. Tentang tata kota, hubungan pria dan wanita, identitas sebagai pendatang…. tetapi tak ada yang terasa ‘melantur’ , karena selalu ada makna tersendiri di balik semua tema yang muncul. Bahkan sub-plot soal hilangnya anjing kesayangan anaknya Pak Honma tersambung dengan cara yang teramat halus ke tema besar soal ‘keinginan untuk memiliki’.
Novel ini berlatar tahun 1992, ketika sedang booming kartu kredit dan usaha pinjam-meminjam uang di Jepang. Walau sudah lumayan lawas, tema demikian malah justru makin relevan dewasa ini—saat semakin mudah dan praktis untuk membeli barang, berinvestasi ini-itu, atau mengangsur kemewahan dengan iming-iming suku bunga rendah. Budaya konsumerisme yang tumbuh begitu subur di kota besar memang mendorong orang makin gegabah memakai uang, atau menggadaikan masa depan demi sejumlah hal yang dijadikan parameter kesuksesan hidup.
"Aku tak tahu kenapa akhirnya jadi begini…. padahal aku hanya ingin bahagia."
Saat kata-kata di atas diucapkan seorang tokoh di pertengahan bukunya, mau tak mau benak saya melayang ke lautan manusia yang saya lihat setiap hari di ibu kota…. ada berapa banyak di antara mereka yang dari luar tampak baik-baik saja, padahal sebenarnya nyaris tenggelam dalam lingkaran dosa dan kebohongan? Berapa banyak yang sedang menghancurkan diri sendiri dan orang-orang terdekat secara pelan-pelan?
Semua itu berawal dari keinginan yang lugu dan universal: hanya ingin bahagia.
November 23, 2013
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????? ????? ??????? ???? ????????, ??? ?? ???????.. ?? ?? ??? ????? .. ?????. ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ?? 400 ???? ?? ??????? ?????????!
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???? ??? ??????? "???????" ???? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ???????, ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ??????? ??????.
????? ????? ??????? ???? ????????, ??? ?? ???????.. ?? ?? ??? ????? .. ?????. ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ?? 400 ???? ?? ??????? ?????????!
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April 17, 2013
I was on board with this book almost entirely through, but then somewhere in the last chapter or two felt that the "answer" was a bit less interesting than I had hoped when I went into the reading. The book is still good, particularly as insight into Japanese society and culture in the 1990s.
What's especially "fun" and interesting about this book is that it's so relevant still to today. Credit card debt. Ah, who doesn't have any of that? (Besides me, but only because I don't have one.) I'm surrounded by people who are paying off debts from before I even knew them, and I know how insidious the whole debt thing can be by observation. The book brings this alive for me, and the dirty, gritty, noir-like undertones of the story lends itself well to this specific sort of thriller. The reminder that it also goes beyond credit card debt. While I've spent most of my life making sure I'm not indebted to anyone, it wasn't easy and it's not something I would recommend to anyone. I can see how easy it is for personal debts to get out of control, and I feel for those people. And I'm still relatively young - I have my entire life ahead of me in which to fuck up. I'm careful, but I'm not rich. It's like one true emergency and I'll be out.
I like these sorts of reads, and it looks like the author has similar books out there. This was the first I've seen by her, off the my beloved clearance shelf at Half Price Books. I'll be keeping an eye out for other books by her; I'm impressed by her tightly knit story and it's clear to me she has skillz in the "pulp" department.
What's especially "fun" and interesting about this book is that it's so relevant still to today. Credit card debt. Ah, who doesn't have any of that? (Besides me, but only because I don't have one.) I'm surrounded by people who are paying off debts from before I even knew them, and I know how insidious the whole debt thing can be by observation. The book brings this alive for me, and the dirty, gritty, noir-like undertones of the story lends itself well to this specific sort of thriller. The reminder that it also goes beyond credit card debt. While I've spent most of my life making sure I'm not indebted to anyone, it wasn't easy and it's not something I would recommend to anyone. I can see how easy it is for personal debts to get out of control, and I feel for those people. And I'm still relatively young - I have my entire life ahead of me in which to fuck up. I'm careful, but I'm not rich. It's like one true emergency and I'll be out.
I like these sorts of reads, and it looks like the author has similar books out there. This was the first I've seen by her, off the my beloved clearance shelf at Half Price Books. I'll be keeping an eye out for other books by her; I'm impressed by her tightly knit story and it's clear to me she has skillz in the "pulp" department.
January 22, 2017
A policeman is asked by his nephew to look for his missing fiance. The policeman is on convalescent leave so takes the case on. What follows is a painstaking investigation that uncovers deception, murder, impersonation and dangerous links to the Japanese underworld in the former of loan sharks and yakusa enforcers.
A competent crime thriller which was a real page turner, as the cop follows a trail from clue to clue. Japan is a very different culture to my own and I enjoyed being immersed in a somewhat alien world. There is an element of crusade against the evils of excessive debt and credit which irked a little.
A good three out of five, close to a four
A competent crime thriller which was a real page turner, as the cop follows a trail from clue to clue. Japan is a very different culture to my own and I enjoyed being immersed in a somewhat alien world. There is an element of crusade against the evils of excessive debt and credit which irked a little.
A good three out of five, close to a four
August 31, 2020
What a great plot this is! Love the characters, engrossing storytelling, gripping case(s), and most of all-- love the ending!
I was quite annoyed with Jun at first-- really appreciate how the author silently drifting his character out of the narrative making it all only on Honma. I was too focusing on how Honma could managed the case going here and there all by himself with that unwell leg, thinking and guessing all together with him. It was a hard case-- missing woman, and another missing woman. But I was really starstruck with Honma's personalities-- sharp and always curious, and he did so well with guessing.
A straightforward crime, an entangled love crush and someone's hidden motive, could understand how it was all started though-- from Shoko's point of view also Kyoko too. A heartbreaking past, a moment they wanted to erase-- this was so beautifully elaborated.
Really enjoyed the book immensely although was hoping a huge definite ending but somehow still loving it anyway, like really geezzz... the last paragraph was too strong, it cut deep (to my curiosity and eagerness). Great move dear author.
I was quite annoyed with Jun at first-- really appreciate how the author silently drifting his character out of the narrative making it all only on Honma. I was too focusing on how Honma could managed the case going here and there all by himself with that unwell leg, thinking and guessing all together with him. It was a hard case-- missing woman, and another missing woman. But I was really starstruck with Honma's personalities-- sharp and always curious, and he did so well with guessing.
A straightforward crime, an entangled love crush and someone's hidden motive, could understand how it was all started though-- from Shoko's point of view also Kyoko too. A heartbreaking past, a moment they wanted to erase-- this was so beautifully elaborated.
Really enjoyed the book immensely although was hoping a huge definite ending but somehow still loving it anyway, like really geezzz... the last paragraph was too strong, it cut deep (to my curiosity and eagerness). Great move dear author.
June 15, 2015
The main takeaways of this book are the dangers of credit card debt.
April 29, 2016
“Maka yang sudah mati meninggalkan jejak mereka dalam diri mereka yang masih hidup, seperti pakaian yang ditanggalkan dan masih menyimpan kehangatan tubuh seseorang.” –All Was Worth ‘Melacak Jejak’, hlm. 227
Sudah hampir jam sembilan malam ketika Jun Kurisaka datang. Shunsuke Honma begitu heran, entah angin apa yang membawa keponakan mendiang istrinya melipir berkunjung. Jun yang kini berkerja sebagai seorang bankir membutuhkan jasanya untuk menyelidiki seorang wanita bernama Shoko Sekine.
Perempuan cantik itu raib tanpa jejak. Shoko seorang yatim-piatu, anak tunggal yang datang dari Utsunomiya menuju Tokyo. Dari catatan terakhir yang diketahui, Shoko bekerja di Mesin Kantor Imai dan sempat mengalami kebangkrutan sehingga menemui pengacara Mizoguchi & Takada.
Jun Kurisaka tidak begitu mengenal wanita yang kelak akan menjadi calon pendampingnya. Jun bisa saja menyatakan jika Shoko adalah seorang korban. Tetapi, dari perbincangan Honma dengan rekan sekantor Shoko di Mesin Kantor Imai dan kantor pengacara Mizoguchi & Takada, Shoko Sekine yang mereka kenal adalah dua orang yang berbeda.
“Shoko Sekine mencoba menghentikan rodanya. Ia turun dari kereta di suatu tempat. Lalu, tanpa menyadarinya, si wanita yang menjadi Shoko Sekine, naik kembali.” –All Was Worth ‘Melacak Jejak’, hlm. 148
Di sebuah negara yang mencatat data kependudukan dengan begitu cermat, bagaimana bisa ada dua orang perempuan yang memiliki identitas yang sama? Bukan mustahil jika seseorang mencuri identitas orang lain, terlebih jika orang itu terkenal pun kaya raya. Namun, mengapa wanita itu malah mengambil identitas Shoko Sekine yang tengah mengalami kebangkrutan?
Seperti kata subjudul terjemahannya, ‘melacak jejak’. Novel terjemahan karya Miyuki Miyabe ini memang menceritakan keseluruhan plot ceritanya sebagai ajang pencarian. Bukan pencarian identitas si pembunuh, pun korban yang ikut terbunuh. Dan pembunuhan kali ini pun bukan melibatkan uang sebagai yang diperebutkan, melainkan sebuah identitas. Namun, seperti yang dipertanyakan pada sinopsisnya, identitas si korban adalah orang yang bangkrut. Lantas, kenapa wanita tersangka satu ini malah repot-repot ingin mencuri identitasnya?
Dua hipotesis yang begitu sederhana, tapi terus membuat saya terjaga untuk terus menyelesaikan novel tebal ini dengan durasi cukup lama. Novel pertama dari Miyabe yang saya baca, tapi motifnya begitu kuat dan rill di mata saya. Miyuki Miyabe tidak mengangkat tema detektif yang populer, sebagaimana ada seorang detektif yang hebat, ditemani rekan sejawat yang banyak bicara, lantas penyelidikannya pun ikut menjadikan detektif tersebut menjadi seorang yang harus membereskan masalah tersebut.
Dalam “All She Was Worth” latar belakang yang diangkat adalah tatanan ekonomi dari sebuah kota, dan kota yang dimaksud adalah Tokyo. Yang mana Tokyo tidak dijelaskan dengan bumbu-bumbu manis nan romantis seperti pada novel populer, alih-alih sebuah kota yang gelap dan transparan dari segala jenis kejahatan. “All She Was Worth” bercerita tentang bentuk nyata dari sebuah kota metropolitan. Sebuah kota yang punya etos kerja sangat tinggi sehingga masyarakatnya pun terbiasa menggunakan barang semata-mata untuk menaikkan derajat mereka dengan bantuan kartu kredit. Dan begitulah karakter Shoko Sekine dapat terjerembab masuk ke dalam wilayah kebangkrutan lantaran terlilit hutang. Ia bekerja sebagai hostess di sebuah bar malam, lantas mendapat banyak cercaan dari rekan dan kerabatnya di Utsunomiya. Dan mulai saat itulah Shoko Sekinie yang sesungguhnya menghilang.
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November 14, 2014
?? ???? ????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ?? "??????" ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ???????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ???????? ??? ????. "????" ????? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ??? ??? "??????" ???? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??????.
?? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??????????? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?????. ?? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ???????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ?????????? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? - ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ????????- ???? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ???????.
??? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ???????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?? ????????.
?????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????.
?? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??????????? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?????. ?? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ???????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ?????????? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? - ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ????????- ???? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ???????.
??? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ???????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?? ????????.
?????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????.
August 20, 2016
[More like 3.5 stars really]
There are, I believe, two types of mystery, which differ based on their attitude to crime. The first type, the classical, sees crime as an aberration in a fundamentally healthy society. Criminals commit their crimes purely for personal reasons: there is no connection between crime and larger societal ills. Agatha Christie novels of the 20’s and 30’s, for instance, often have a Communist character, and suspicion naturally falls on him, because he’s a Communist, but he is never the criminal, not because Christie was a fellow traveler but because she refuses to admit that there could be any connection between the injustices a Communist is (at least nominally) opposing and crime, which occurs only because some people are bad. In the classical type of mystery, the police may not be very good at their job, but even if they are idiotic bunglers their goal is to see justice done, and they work with the detective, often quite closely. Once the crime has been solved and the criminal arrested, society can return to its previous placid equilibrium, confident that everything is for the best. The second type, the noir, takes the opposite view, in which crime is the natural result of a fundamentally corrupt society. Wealth and power lead to crime, and also make it difficult for justice to be done. The police are usually working against the detective here, even if, as is sometimes the case, he or she is one of them: sometimes they are, of course, simply corrupt, but even if honest and well-intentioned, they are inevitably compromised by their position in a corrupt power structure, the dictates of which they are forced to follow because that is, in the end, their job. (Noirs need not be ideologically left-wing, by the way: right-wing fantasies of vigilante justice can also fall under this rubric.) Even when the crime is solved in a noir, there’s no guarantee that justice will be done: the detective can discover whodunit, but, unlike in classical mysteries, sometimes that’s not enough.
“All She Was Worth” falls on the noir side of the line, because it is very clear that the real culprit is the uncontrolled rise of consumer lending in Japan in the late ’80s and early ‘90s (when the book is set). However, rather than using the format to make this abstract problem more concrete by creating a crime which is directly tied to, say, an executive at a credit-card company, Miyabe chooses to leave a fair amount of distance between the social forces that gave rise to the crime and the criminal herself. This is an interesting gambit, one that is admittedly more realistic -- most credit-card company executives don't commit crimes -- but makes most of the usual elements of the noir unusable. For instance, there is no violence in the book, not because Japan is not a very violent country — it isn’t, of course, but our detective, Shunsuke Honma, is a policeman taking a leave of absence after being shot in the leg, so clearly violence is possible — but because the powers-that-be, not being directly implicated in any crimes, have no need to send goons to beat Honma up. In fact, Honma encounters virtually no opposition to his sleuthing, which is a problem, as the noir detective usually figures out who’s responsible by finding out who’s trying to stop the investigation. Without this, it’s hard for us to connect the dots Miyabe wants us to connect, so she gives Honma a long (but entirely friendly) interview with a bankruptcy lawyer to make sure we acquire the necessary background. Even the usual order of the investigation is disrupted, as we learn who the criminal is very soon after we learn that a crime has been committed: it’s the questions of how and why that occupy Honma for most of the book.
The result is that there’s not much in the way of suspense. We know the criminal, and we know, roughly, the nature of the crime: most of the book just consists of Honma filling in the details. It’s a rather bureaucratic procedure, so it makes sense that bureaucracies also produce many of Honma’s clues: for instance, you will learn quite a bit about Japan’s family registration system. (The whole investigation is very modern [for a 1990 value of modern]: the trails that Honma follows are of paper, not footprints.) But bureaucracies are not, generally speaking, intrinsically interesting, and in the absence of suspense all that’s left to keep the reader reading is the character of Honma himself. Luckily, he is mostly up to the task, with some of the book’s best scenes being the domestic ones in which the investigation only barely figures. Honma is a widower with a 10-year-old son, who still hasn’t quite gotten over the loss of his wife and worries that his job takes him away from home too often. Such worries are especially pronounced in this case, given that it’s not part of his job: he starts investigating as a favor to a cousin of his late wife, and keeps going after the cousin repudiates him — he didn’t like the results Honma was getting — because he’s curious. And also because he feels increasing sympathy for both the victim and the criminal: it’s this empathy that makes him in turn an easy character for the reader to empathize with. The secondary characters, many of them young women who knew either the criminal or the victim (both young women as well), are also quite well done, and serve to create a secondary theme around the paucity of options available to young women in Japan in 1992. All the young female characters are either doing some sort of essentially secretarial job, or are engaged in one form or another of sex work. Almost as much as the credit card debt, it’s this sense of limited options that seems to have trapped both the criminal and victim: and of course the two work together as well, as sex work, which pays better than the secretarial jobs, is often the only way to pay off that debt. This general feeling of walls closing in creates a sympathy for the characters that makes us want to know more about them, and it is this, rather than the usual desire to solve the mystery, that drives the book. However, the nature of the mystery is such that we never meet either the criminal or the victim, so there’s a limit to the extent to which this can replace good old-fashioned suspense. “All She Was Worth” is better than you would expect a non-mysterious mystery to be, but it’s still not entirely successful.
There are, I believe, two types of mystery, which differ based on their attitude to crime. The first type, the classical, sees crime as an aberration in a fundamentally healthy society. Criminals commit their crimes purely for personal reasons: there is no connection between crime and larger societal ills. Agatha Christie novels of the 20’s and 30’s, for instance, often have a Communist character, and suspicion naturally falls on him, because he’s a Communist, but he is never the criminal, not because Christie was a fellow traveler but because she refuses to admit that there could be any connection between the injustices a Communist is (at least nominally) opposing and crime, which occurs only because some people are bad. In the classical type of mystery, the police may not be very good at their job, but even if they are idiotic bunglers their goal is to see justice done, and they work with the detective, often quite closely. Once the crime has been solved and the criminal arrested, society can return to its previous placid equilibrium, confident that everything is for the best. The second type, the noir, takes the opposite view, in which crime is the natural result of a fundamentally corrupt society. Wealth and power lead to crime, and also make it difficult for justice to be done. The police are usually working against the detective here, even if, as is sometimes the case, he or she is one of them: sometimes they are, of course, simply corrupt, but even if honest and well-intentioned, they are inevitably compromised by their position in a corrupt power structure, the dictates of which they are forced to follow because that is, in the end, their job. (Noirs need not be ideologically left-wing, by the way: right-wing fantasies of vigilante justice can also fall under this rubric.) Even when the crime is solved in a noir, there’s no guarantee that justice will be done: the detective can discover whodunit, but, unlike in classical mysteries, sometimes that’s not enough.
“All She Was Worth” falls on the noir side of the line, because it is very clear that the real culprit is the uncontrolled rise of consumer lending in Japan in the late ’80s and early ‘90s (when the book is set). However, rather than using the format to make this abstract problem more concrete by creating a crime which is directly tied to, say, an executive at a credit-card company, Miyabe chooses to leave a fair amount of distance between the social forces that gave rise to the crime and the criminal herself. This is an interesting gambit, one that is admittedly more realistic -- most credit-card company executives don't commit crimes -- but makes most of the usual elements of the noir unusable. For instance, there is no violence in the book, not because Japan is not a very violent country — it isn’t, of course, but our detective, Shunsuke Honma, is a policeman taking a leave of absence after being shot in the leg, so clearly violence is possible — but because the powers-that-be, not being directly implicated in any crimes, have no need to send goons to beat Honma up. In fact, Honma encounters virtually no opposition to his sleuthing, which is a problem, as the noir detective usually figures out who’s responsible by finding out who’s trying to stop the investigation. Without this, it’s hard for us to connect the dots Miyabe wants us to connect, so she gives Honma a long (but entirely friendly) interview with a bankruptcy lawyer to make sure we acquire the necessary background. Even the usual order of the investigation is disrupted, as we learn who the criminal is very soon after we learn that a crime has been committed: it’s the questions of how and why that occupy Honma for most of the book.
The result is that there’s not much in the way of suspense. We know the criminal, and we know, roughly, the nature of the crime: most of the book just consists of Honma filling in the details. It’s a rather bureaucratic procedure, so it makes sense that bureaucracies also produce many of Honma’s clues: for instance, you will learn quite a bit about Japan’s family registration system. (The whole investigation is very modern [for a 1990 value of modern]: the trails that Honma follows are of paper, not footprints.) But bureaucracies are not, generally speaking, intrinsically interesting, and in the absence of suspense all that’s left to keep the reader reading is the character of Honma himself. Luckily, he is mostly up to the task, with some of the book’s best scenes being the domestic ones in which the investigation only barely figures. Honma is a widower with a 10-year-old son, who still hasn’t quite gotten over the loss of his wife and worries that his job takes him away from home too often. Such worries are especially pronounced in this case, given that it’s not part of his job: he starts investigating as a favor to a cousin of his late wife, and keeps going after the cousin repudiates him — he didn’t like the results Honma was getting — because he’s curious. And also because he feels increasing sympathy for both the victim and the criminal: it’s this empathy that makes him in turn an easy character for the reader to empathize with. The secondary characters, many of them young women who knew either the criminal or the victim (both young women as well), are also quite well done, and serve to create a secondary theme around the paucity of options available to young women in Japan in 1992. All the young female characters are either doing some sort of essentially secretarial job, or are engaged in one form or another of sex work. Almost as much as the credit card debt, it’s this sense of limited options that seems to have trapped both the criminal and victim: and of course the two work together as well, as sex work, which pays better than the secretarial jobs, is often the only way to pay off that debt. This general feeling of walls closing in creates a sympathy for the characters that makes us want to know more about them, and it is this, rather than the usual desire to solve the mystery, that drives the book. However, the nature of the mystery is such that we never meet either the criminal or the victim, so there’s a limit to the extent to which this can replace good old-fashioned suspense. “All She Was Worth” is better than you would expect a non-mysterious mystery to be, but it’s still not entirely successful.
August 21, 2021
Dài dòng. G??ng ép và ch?ng h?ng.
M?i ??u r?t tò mò vì có v? là m?t cu?n trinh thám pha y?u t? huy?n bí, khi tác gi? nh?c ??n Kasha - loài yêu quái chuyên c??p xác ng??i ch?t trong d?n gian Nh?t B?n. Tuy nhiên, Kasha ch? ?óng vai trò d?n d?t vào c?u chuy?n. Ch?a k?, vi?c tác gi? ví von th? ph?m v?i hình t??ng Kasha quá g??ng ép, n?u kh?ng mu?n nói là ch? liên quan.
?o?n cu?i ch?ng h?ng v?i r?t nhi?u c?u h?i b? ng?. Su?t c? cu?n sách ng??i ??c ch? ???c nghe s? vi?c t??? góc nhìn c?a viên c?nh sát và l?i k? c?a nh?ng ng??i liên quan. Thành th? mình c? ??i m?i ??n ?o?n cu?i ?? ???c nghe t? chính mi?ng th? ph?m. ?ang hí h?ng thì...k?t cái r?p.
Ch?a k? còn v? s? chi ti?t th?a th?i và nh?ng ?o?n h?i tho?i dài dòng m?t cách kh?ng c?n thi?t ?? gi?ng g?ai v? kinh t?-tài chính cá nh?n-gi?y t? th? t?c hành chính.
?i?m c?ng: V?n nh? m?i khi, ph?n gi?i thi?u ???c IPM vi?t r?t s?c s?o và cu?n hút.
M?i ??u r?t tò mò vì có v? là m?t cu?n trinh thám pha y?u t? huy?n bí, khi tác gi? nh?c ??n Kasha - loài yêu quái chuyên c??p xác ng??i ch?t trong d?n gian Nh?t B?n. Tuy nhiên, Kasha ch? ?óng vai trò d?n d?t vào c?u chuy?n. Ch?a k?, vi?c tác gi? ví von th? ph?m v?i hình t??ng Kasha quá g??ng ép, n?u kh?ng mu?n nói là ch? liên quan.
?o?n cu?i ch?ng h?ng v?i r?t nhi?u c?u h?i b? ng?. Su?t c? cu?n sách ng??i ??c ch? ???c nghe s? vi?c t??? góc nhìn c?a viên c?nh sát và l?i k? c?a nh?ng ng??i liên quan. Thành th? mình c? ??i m?i ??n ?o?n cu?i ?? ???c nghe t? chính mi?ng th? ph?m. ?ang hí h?ng thì...k?t cái r?p.
Ch?a k? còn v? s? chi ti?t th?a th?i và nh?ng ?o?n h?i tho?i dài dòng m?t cách kh?ng c?n thi?t ?? gi?ng g?ai v? kinh t?-tài chính cá nh?n-gi?y t? th? t?c hành chính.
?i?m c?ng: V?n nh? m?i khi, ph?n gi?i thi?u ???c IPM vi?t r?t s?c s?o và cu?n hút.
February 20, 2020
FIVE STARS: usually I wait until I have read a title a couple times to be certain it's one that will provide increasing returns, but this is the best new book I've read in a long time.
Anyone with a serious interest in noir fiction should be reading Japanese mystery; preferably women writers publishing in the early 1990s and onward. I have no idea what's in the water -- cultural or literal -- that such a specific subset would consistently produce such compelling and complex titles in this particular subgenre. But Miyabe has now joined luminaries like Natsuo Kirino and even Minato Kanae (although she trends more horror than mystery) in my estimation, so there you go.
All She Was Worth (and usually I don't like "re-titling" books for the English market, but that choice was a banger) is the most amazing deconstruction of the femme fatale archetype I have ever seen, with a modern sensibility and psychological depth that puts every cliche about a pretty face with a dark secret to shame. The celluloid-inspired nostalgia of jazz riffs, red lips, and stocking-ed legs emerging from a buttoned trench coat is sent up in smoke. Even Ross Macdonald has competition, although he has the advantage on the prose level of not having to suffer the lens of translation. (For what it's worth, I thought this was a good one, but there were definitely spots where I knew idioms or allusions had been swapped for more recognizable facsimiles to a Western audience. Seriously: when will translation footnotes return from the wars?) But to my mind, Miyabe has carved her own place in the canon of "classic" noir by taking the time to dissect the beating heart of its appeal: the beautiful woman who is portrayed as the invitation to experience the world's evils.
Miyabe makes it look so effortless, you might be fooled into thinking what she's doing is easy. The story itself is very straightforwardly told. Detective Honma of the Tokyo police force is suffering through a twilight of semi-retirement after an injury on the job leaves him in chronic pain and riding a desk. A distant relative of his dead wife comes to him for help: his fiancee has vanished, and under truly unsettling circumstances. But what starts as a missing person becomes a case deeply entrenched in the ills of modern society, involving predatory lending, aspirational self-sabotage, and possibly murder.
Honma's investigation is based in the believable detective work of the pre-internet days. He tracks down acquaintances and information, so there are no dramatic chase scenes, no shoot-outs, no hostage situations. And yet I found myself turning through the pages eagerly, and revelations in even the most mundane context -- conversations in noodle shops, or over tea -- had me captivated. I believe it's because, while Honma and the people he meets throughout the book are interesting in their own right (more on that), the book is a character study of the missing woman. And this is what Miyabe does, so skillfully you might mistake it for a story of Honma going places and talking to people: revealing details and puzzle-pieces at just the right times and in just the right order as to take you through a compelling journey of human understanding. It could have gone wrong so easily, tipping into righteousness or pathos at any turn. But Miyabe doesn't let her central figure fully become a victim or a villain, and so by the time she appears in the flesh she is far and away more fascinating than any other person in the book.
It's an absolute masterstroke, but Miyabe doesn't stop there. All She Was Worth is also a searing indictment of certain elements of modern Japanese life, most especially how these elements affect vulnerable women. The story of the missing fiancee would have gotten the message across clear enough, but what elevates this book is the absolute plethora of fleshed-out female characters, and how they embody the other ways a woman can "turn out." For good or ill -- but there's a definite focus on how both the expectations and constraints of this society are constantly at work on them, and how this guides their choices and relationships. (Again: it's a delicate balance, but Miyabe errs on the side of understanding these women, not pitying them or even moralizing.) The men might participate in the "action," or what there is of it, but women are front and center in every way that matters. Even Honma is a bit of a cipher to the reader, but his touchstone of emotional connection is the memory of his wife and the lingering effect of her life upon his. The result is a deeply compassionate portrait of adult lives in the modern world.
A rich, thoughtful story told in simple language, with imagery I think will linger in my mind for a long time. A truly special book.
Anyone with a serious interest in noir fiction should be reading Japanese mystery; preferably women writers publishing in the early 1990s and onward. I have no idea what's in the water -- cultural or literal -- that such a specific subset would consistently produce such compelling and complex titles in this particular subgenre. But Miyabe has now joined luminaries like Natsuo Kirino and even Minato Kanae (although she trends more horror than mystery) in my estimation, so there you go.
All She Was Worth (and usually I don't like "re-titling" books for the English market, but that choice was a banger) is the most amazing deconstruction of the femme fatale archetype I have ever seen, with a modern sensibility and psychological depth that puts every cliche about a pretty face with a dark secret to shame. The celluloid-inspired nostalgia of jazz riffs, red lips, and stocking-ed legs emerging from a buttoned trench coat is sent up in smoke. Even Ross Macdonald has competition, although he has the advantage on the prose level of not having to suffer the lens of translation. (For what it's worth, I thought this was a good one, but there were definitely spots where I knew idioms or allusions had been swapped for more recognizable facsimiles to a Western audience. Seriously: when will translation footnotes return from the wars?) But to my mind, Miyabe has carved her own place in the canon of "classic" noir by taking the time to dissect the beating heart of its appeal: the beautiful woman who is portrayed as the invitation to experience the world's evils.
Miyabe makes it look so effortless, you might be fooled into thinking what she's doing is easy. The story itself is very straightforwardly told. Detective Honma of the Tokyo police force is suffering through a twilight of semi-retirement after an injury on the job leaves him in chronic pain and riding a desk. A distant relative of his dead wife comes to him for help: his fiancee has vanished, and under truly unsettling circumstances. But what starts as a missing person becomes a case deeply entrenched in the ills of modern society, involving predatory lending, aspirational self-sabotage, and possibly murder.
Honma's investigation is based in the believable detective work of the pre-internet days. He tracks down acquaintances and information, so there are no dramatic chase scenes, no shoot-outs, no hostage situations. And yet I found myself turning through the pages eagerly, and revelations in even the most mundane context -- conversations in noodle shops, or over tea -- had me captivated. I believe it's because, while Honma and the people he meets throughout the book are interesting in their own right (more on that), the book is a character study of the missing woman. And this is what Miyabe does, so skillfully you might mistake it for a story of Honma going places and talking to people: revealing details and puzzle-pieces at just the right times and in just the right order as to take you through a compelling journey of human understanding. It could have gone wrong so easily, tipping into righteousness or pathos at any turn. But Miyabe doesn't let her central figure fully become a victim or a villain, and so by the time she appears in the flesh she is far and away more fascinating than any other person in the book.
It's an absolute masterstroke, but Miyabe doesn't stop there. All She Was Worth is also a searing indictment of certain elements of modern Japanese life, most especially how these elements affect vulnerable women. The story of the missing fiancee would have gotten the message across clear enough, but what elevates this book is the absolute plethora of fleshed-out female characters, and how they embody the other ways a woman can "turn out." For good or ill -- but there's a definite focus on how both the expectations and constraints of this society are constantly at work on them, and how this guides their choices and relationships. (Again: it's a delicate balance, but Miyabe errs on the side of understanding these women, not pitying them or even moralizing.) The men might participate in the "action," or what there is of it, but women are front and center in every way that matters. Even Honma is a bit of a cipher to the reader, but his touchstone of emotional connection is the memory of his wife and the lingering effect of her life upon his. The result is a deeply compassionate portrait of adult lives in the modern world.
A rich, thoughtful story told in simple language, with imagery I think will linger in my mind for a long time. A truly special book.
November 3, 2016
??i v?i t?i cu?n này có 3 ?i?m tr?.
Th? nh?t là t?i có c?n ph?i gi?i thi?u r?ng t?i là m?t trang gi?y tr?ng khi nói t?i các v?n ?? liên quan ??n tài chính kinh doanh kh?ng nh?? Th? nên vi?c tác gi? ph?n tích quá chi ti?t v? tài chính, ti?n t?, tín d?ng, n?n kinh t?... v?i cái ??a t?i ch? có tí ki?n th?c n?n t?ng l?n h?ng thú nào trong l?nh v?c này ch? phí c?ng. ??c xong mà nh? ch?a ??c, ?úng ra là còn th?y ng?n ng?n khó tiêu hóa h?n :v
Th? hai là trong v? vi?c chính (t?m g?i là th?) trong c?u chuy?n, ng??i c?nh sát ?ang ngh? phép ?? g?p quá nhi?u may m?n n?i ti?p ?? có th? tìm ra ch?n t??ng. C?ng kh?ng ph?i ?i?u gì to tát quá nh?ng nó ph?n nào làm gi?m tính ch?n th?c cho cu?c tìm ki?m v?n ?? h?i li kì này. Honma (tên anh c?nh sát) toàn ??n ?úng n?i c?n ??n vào ?úng th?i ?i?m, may m?n g?p ?úng ng??i c?n g?p, r?i ng??i này l?i v?a v?n nh? ?úng chi ti?t c?n nh? - nói chi ti?t là ?? bi?t nó nh? nh?t th? nào so v?i m?t qu?ng th?i gian h?i dài ?? tr?i qua r?i ??y... ? nói th?t thì nó c?ng kh?ng ph?i m?t h?t s?n làm g?y r?ng khi c?n vào ??u nh?ng vì ??p vào m?t nên t?i l?i th?y ng?a ngáy. Ví nh? có m?t nh?n v?t (t?i quên m?t tên r?i) ?n t??ng v?i c? gái m?t tích c?a chúng ta vì trong th?i gian c? ta làm vi?c cho ng??i ?ó, trong s? khá nhi?u nh?n viên n? ch? có c? này ?? tóc xo?n. Ng? ng?n quá! Vài n?m tr?i ?? qua có ?? ng??i ta d? dàng nh? l?i m?t s? vi?c v?t v?nh th? này kh?ng? Và theo l?i k? thì ng??i làm ? ??y có xu h??ng nh?y vi?c c?ng kh?ng ít. L?i nói c? gái này ?ang làm cái vi?c c?n g?y ít s? chú ? nh?t có th?, c? ?y nên làm cho mình chìm ?i, ít nh?t là tr?ng có v? gi?ng nh?ng ng??i xung quanh n?u kh?ng mu?n mình tr? thành m?t ng?i sao n?.
Cu?i cùng, truy?n ???c ??t v?n ?? khá h?p d?n b?ng m?t c? gái bí hi?m thích ch?i trò kim thi?n thoát xác, nh?ng quá trình ?i vén b?c màn bí m?t c?a ?ng chú thám t? thì ch? bi?t s?c l?i cu?n r?i r?ng ??u m?t s?ch. M?ch k? c? r? rà ch?m r?i và ch? có cú hích nào cho t?i c? ngoài cái mong mu?n t? th?n là c?n ph?i ??c t?i cu?i ?? xem xem r?t cu?c là cái s? gì ??y. Mà bi?t xong thì nh?n ra cái bìa dù r?t ??p nh?ng ch? dính líu tí ti gì v?i n?i dung truy?n ngo?i tr? m?t c?u móc n?i c?a biên t?p viên v?i m?t truy?n thuy?t làm ? t??ng ban ??u cho cu?n ti?u thuy?t. Nh?ng th?i ch?p nh?n, dù sao thì cái truy?n thuy?t c?ng thú v?.
M?t chuy?n l?t nh?t khác kh?ng nên tính vào là t?i kh?ng hi?u n?i t?i sao m?t lo?t các nh?n v?t t? hai b?y hai tám tu?i t?i ba hai ba ba tu?i l?i c? lu?n mi?ng g?i ?ng c?nh sát b?n hai tu?i b?ng chú. T?i sao, h?? T?i vì ?ng là c?nh sát à?
Tr? m?t vài ?i?u k? trên thì c?ng nh?n là Miyabe ?? vi?t m?t c?u chuy?n r?t t? m?, t? t?n và c? ?i?n. Phong cách và kh?ng khí có ?i?m t??ng ??ng v?i Tokyo hoàng ??o án c?a tiên sinh Shimada dù có v? hi?n ??i h?n và mang h?i th? th?i ??i. Mà l? là t?i c? ngh? Miyabe là m?t "?ng" tác gi?. Có v? giác quan c?a t?i ??i v?i chuy?n ph?ng ?oán này kh?ng ???c nh?y l?m, c? nh?m su?t :v
Dù cái k?t kh?ng có cú twist ghê g?m nào (vì ph?n l?n các khúc m?c ?? ???c gi?i quy?t d?n b?ng c? quá trình r?i) nh?ng t?i c?ng khá hài lòng. Ch? h?i ti?c là kh?ng ???c nghe cu?c ??i tho?i nào gi?a Kyoko và nh?ng ng??i chu?n b? h?t l??i tr?i lên c?.
Th?i ???c r?i, ti?c v?i.
Th? nh?t là t?i có c?n ph?i gi?i thi?u r?ng t?i là m?t trang gi?y tr?ng khi nói t?i các v?n ?? liên quan ??n tài chính kinh doanh kh?ng nh?? Th? nên vi?c tác gi? ph?n tích quá chi ti?t v? tài chính, ti?n t?, tín d?ng, n?n kinh t?... v?i cái ??a t?i ch? có tí ki?n th?c n?n t?ng l?n h?ng thú nào trong l?nh v?c này ch? phí c?ng. ??c xong mà nh? ch?a ??c, ?úng ra là còn th?y ng?n ng?n khó tiêu hóa h?n :v
Th? hai là trong v? vi?c chính (t?m g?i là th?) trong c?u chuy?n, ng??i c?nh sát ?ang ngh? phép ?? g?p quá nhi?u may m?n n?i ti?p ?? có th? tìm ra ch?n t??ng. C?ng kh?ng ph?i ?i?u gì to tát quá nh?ng nó ph?n nào làm gi?m tính ch?n th?c cho cu?c tìm ki?m v?n ?? h?i li kì này. Honma (tên anh c?nh sát) toàn ??n ?úng n?i c?n ??n vào ?úng th?i ?i?m, may m?n g?p ?úng ng??i c?n g?p, r?i ng??i này l?i v?a v?n nh? ?úng chi ti?t c?n nh? - nói chi ti?t là ?? bi?t nó nh? nh?t th? nào so v?i m?t qu?ng th?i gian h?i dài ?? tr?i qua r?i ??y... ? nói th?t thì nó c?ng kh?ng ph?i m?t h?t s?n làm g?y r?ng khi c?n vào ??u nh?ng vì ??p vào m?t nên t?i l?i th?y ng?a ngáy. Ví nh? có m?t nh?n v?t (t?i quên m?t tên r?i) ?n t??ng v?i c? gái m?t tích c?a chúng ta vì trong th?i gian c? ta làm vi?c cho ng??i ?ó, trong s? khá nhi?u nh?n viên n? ch? có c? này ?? tóc xo?n. Ng? ng?n quá! Vài n?m tr?i ?? qua có ?? ng??i ta d? dàng nh? l?i m?t s? vi?c v?t v?nh th? này kh?ng? Và theo l?i k? thì ng??i làm ? ??y có xu h??ng nh?y vi?c c?ng kh?ng ít. L?i nói c? gái này ?ang làm cái vi?c c?n g?y ít s? chú ? nh?t có th?, c? ?y nên làm cho mình chìm ?i, ít nh?t là tr?ng có v? gi?ng nh?ng ng??i xung quanh n?u kh?ng mu?n mình tr? thành m?t ng?i sao n?.
Cu?i cùng, truy?n ???c ??t v?n ?? khá h?p d?n b?ng m?t c? gái bí hi?m thích ch?i trò kim thi?n thoát xác, nh?ng quá trình ?i vén b?c màn bí m?t c?a ?ng chú thám t? thì ch? bi?t s?c l?i cu?n r?i r?ng ??u m?t s?ch. M?ch k? c? r? rà ch?m r?i và ch? có cú hích nào cho t?i c? ngoài cái mong mu?n t? th?n là c?n ph?i ??c t?i cu?i ?? xem xem r?t cu?c là cái s? gì ??y. Mà bi?t xong thì nh?n ra cái bìa dù r?t ??p nh?ng ch? dính líu tí ti gì v?i n?i dung truy?n ngo?i tr? m?t c?u móc n?i c?a biên t?p viên v?i m?t truy?n thuy?t làm ? t??ng ban ??u cho cu?n ti?u thuy?t. Nh?ng th?i ch?p nh?n, dù sao thì cái truy?n thuy?t c?ng thú v?.
M?t chuy?n l?t nh?t khác kh?ng nên tính vào là t?i kh?ng hi?u n?i t?i sao m?t lo?t các nh?n v?t t? hai b?y hai tám tu?i t?i ba hai ba ba tu?i l?i c? lu?n mi?ng g?i ?ng c?nh sát b?n hai tu?i b?ng chú. T?i sao, h?? T?i vì ?ng là c?nh sát à?
Tr? m?t vài ?i?u k? trên thì c?ng nh?n là Miyabe ?? vi?t m?t c?u chuy?n r?t t? m?, t? t?n và c? ?i?n. Phong cách và kh?ng khí có ?i?m t??ng ??ng v?i Tokyo hoàng ??o án c?a tiên sinh Shimada dù có v? hi?n ??i h?n và mang h?i th? th?i ??i. Mà l? là t?i c? ngh? Miyabe là m?t "?ng" tác gi?. Có v? giác quan c?a t?i ??i v?i chuy?n ph?ng ?oán này kh?ng ???c nh?y l?m, c? nh?m su?t :v
Dù cái k?t kh?ng có cú twist ghê g?m nào (vì ph?n l?n các khúc m?c ?? ???c gi?i quy?t d?n b?ng c? quá trình r?i) nh?ng t?i c?ng khá hài lòng. Ch? h?i ti?c là kh?ng ???c nghe cu?c ??i tho?i nào gi?a Kyoko và nh?ng ng??i chu?n b? h?t l??i tr?i lên c?.
Th?i ???c r?i, ti?c v?i.
November 26, 2019
Saya menemukan buku ini di sebuah pameran dan seketika saya ambil sebab dua hal: Penulis Jepang dan thriller. Dan tidak begitu mengecewakan--meski saya kehilangan Jepang yang ada dalam bayangan saya ketika mulai membaca buku ini. Yaitu nuansa darah, sadis, atau kecerdikan yang aduhai.
Ceritanya sebenarnya adalah ketika seorang detektif yang cuti sebab kecelakaan didatangi oleh kemenakan jauh dan melaporkan bahwa Shoko Sekine, tunangannya mendadak hilang. Oke, kalau hilang "Secara normal" mungkin akan menjadi biasa saja. Nyatanya, hilangnya Shoko Sekine ini adalah pucuk gunung es dari sebuah kasus atau rahasia yang menarik.
Kasus pembunuhan atau penculikan mungkin biasa saja, semua penulis bisa merangkai cerita yang apik. Namun kebelihan buku dan cerita Miyuki Miyabe ini adalah bagaimana novel detektif ini bertaut dengan kondisi ekonomi Jepang tahun 90-an. Yakni ketika banyak bank dan toko mengeluarkan kartu kredit, uang virtual menjadi sangat beken. Sehingga konsumtif di tingkat masyarakat meraja lela dan akibatnya banyak yang terlilit utang banyak "agen peminjaman uang". Akibatnya seperti tokoh Shoko Sekine ini adalah kebangkrutan yang sah dikeluarkan oleh pengadilan. Dan menariknya, kalau sudah ada surat kebangkrutan maka utang diputihkan. (Bayangkan berapa banyak yang diputihkan, apa ekonomi global Jepang masa itu tidak resesi)
Menarik lagi adalah soal asuransi--gila tahun itu sudah ada kasus penipuan asuransi.
Sebenarnya aku selalu suka tipe detektif yang begini: protagonisnya memiliki kelemahan. Jadi tidak bisa dianggap langsung sempurna.
Ceritanya sebenarnya adalah ketika seorang detektif yang cuti sebab kecelakaan didatangi oleh kemenakan jauh dan melaporkan bahwa Shoko Sekine, tunangannya mendadak hilang. Oke, kalau hilang "Secara normal" mungkin akan menjadi biasa saja. Nyatanya, hilangnya Shoko Sekine ini adalah pucuk gunung es dari sebuah kasus atau rahasia yang menarik.
Kasus pembunuhan atau penculikan mungkin biasa saja, semua penulis bisa merangkai cerita yang apik. Namun kebelihan buku dan cerita Miyuki Miyabe ini adalah bagaimana novel detektif ini bertaut dengan kondisi ekonomi Jepang tahun 90-an. Yakni ketika banyak bank dan toko mengeluarkan kartu kredit, uang virtual menjadi sangat beken. Sehingga konsumtif di tingkat masyarakat meraja lela dan akibatnya banyak yang terlilit utang banyak "agen peminjaman uang". Akibatnya seperti tokoh Shoko Sekine ini adalah kebangkrutan yang sah dikeluarkan oleh pengadilan. Dan menariknya, kalau sudah ada surat kebangkrutan maka utang diputihkan. (Bayangkan berapa banyak yang diputihkan, apa ekonomi global Jepang masa itu tidak resesi)
Menarik lagi adalah soal asuransi--gila tahun itu sudah ada kasus penipuan asuransi.
Sebenarnya aku selalu suka tipe detektif yang begini: protagonisnya memiliki kelemahan. Jadi tidak bisa dianggap langsung sempurna.
December 3, 2019
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January 10, 2020
Miyuki Miyabe
All She Was Worth
Gramedia Pustaka Utama
473 pages
6.1
Miyuki Miyabe's adult thriller, All She Was Worth, portrays an interesting case revolving stolen identity happened in 1990's era. However, the investigation is really long and Miyabe's tendency to add unnecessary details doesn't help, making me question whether finding her is worth it or not.
All She Was Worth
Gramedia Pustaka Utama
473 pages
6.1
Miyuki Miyabe's adult thriller, All She Was Worth, portrays an interesting case revolving stolen identity happened in 1990's era. However, the investigation is really long and Miyabe's tendency to add unnecessary details doesn't help, making me question whether finding her is worth it or not.
February 27, 2025
morally gray, reprehensible, and deadly charming woman representation!! (lowkey my fav kind of protagonists)
September 2, 2018
Let's face it, All She Was Worth by Miyuki Miyabe has a rather good English translation, the translator Alfred Birnbaum does have some good writing going for him, and his English does make the story catchy; but on the other hand, the Chinese translation that I read is just one great flat boredom.
I like that the heroine(?) isn't some , she is just a girl struggling to survive in a really bad situation, I also like the story addresses the horror of a young woman found herself weighted down by her parents' debt and with gangsters hot on her heels demanding her to pay back the money by selling her body, no one can help her, even the laws fail to protect her, etc.
Perhaps it isn't entirely fair for me to rant this book 2 stars because in the time I read this book I wasn't really in the mood for realism and criticism on society in crime & mystery novels, but......the writing and the story just failed to hold my interest after 40 or so pages, so......bye bye book.
I like that the heroine(?) isn't some , she is just a girl struggling to survive in a really bad situation, I also like the story addresses the horror of a young woman found herself weighted down by her parents' debt and with gangsters hot on her heels demanding her to pay back the money by selling her body, no one can help her, even the laws fail to protect her, etc.
Perhaps it isn't entirely fair for me to rant this book 2 stars because in the time I read this book I wasn't really in the mood for realism and criticism on society in crime & mystery novels, but......the writing and the story just failed to hold my interest after 40 or so pages, so......bye bye book.
June 1, 2016
Aaaakk... endingnya.... khas jepun sekali. Gak perlu epilog dan penjelasan berkepanjangan. Semua hasil penyelidikan telah terpaparkan seperti keping2 puzzle.
Ini pertama kalinya aku membaca kisah crimefic di mana baik si korban maupun si pembunuh sama2 dicitrakan dari pov orang lain sepenuhnya. Korban tak pernah muncul sama sekali, sdgkan si pembunuh hanya nongol di bbrp paragraf terakhir novel. Tp meski demikian, motif, alibi, cara bahkan latar belakang keduanya tetap jd unsur terpenting cerita, dan disajikan lengkap... dari pandangan mereka yg mengenalnya masing2.
Aaakk.... keren pokoknya....(sayang edisi terjemahannya gak keren dan sedikit mengecewakan)
Review lengkap ada di:
Ini pertama kalinya aku membaca kisah crimefic di mana baik si korban maupun si pembunuh sama2 dicitrakan dari pov orang lain sepenuhnya. Korban tak pernah muncul sama sekali, sdgkan si pembunuh hanya nongol di bbrp paragraf terakhir novel. Tp meski demikian, motif, alibi, cara bahkan latar belakang keduanya tetap jd unsur terpenting cerita, dan disajikan lengkap... dari pandangan mereka yg mengenalnya masing2.
Aaakk.... keren pokoknya....
Review lengkap ada di:
July 1, 2021
Хорошо, и даже очень. Собирая информацию по крохам, гг воссоздает замысловатую историю преступления. Финал немного подвешен в неопределенности - не все вопросы отвечены, но преступник найден и история развернется полностью (но уже за пределами книги) Мне роман напомнил трудоемкое рукоделье, когда постепенно, стежок за стежком вырисовывается узор, и поначалу совсем не понятно, что это будет, но вот вырисовывается одна деталь, другая, и все вместе образует сложную но прекрасную композицию.
А еще мне очень симпатичен показался детектив - с его больной ногой, личной трагедией, заботливым сынишкой, размыщнениями и переживаниями, Хомма получился живым, мудрым, человечным.
А еще мне очень симпатичен показался детектив - с его больной ногой, личной трагедией, заботливым сынишкой, размыщнениями и переживаниями, Хомма получился живым, мудрым, человечным.
February 22, 2021
用今天的标準：4.2星。
用发行时的标準：5星。
作者对人和社会细节的观察，令人敬佩。时间空间人物事件的切换极其嫻熟，包袱丢的也很棒。东京1990年就有用移动电话的了，我们这裡好像是99或2000年才出现的吧。
不管是《窗边的小豆豆》，还是像《你想活出怎样的人生》，我都觉得日本很多方面值得学习。
“这世界上有很多蛇，想有脚，却疲于蜕皮、懒得蜕皮、忘记如何蜕皮。于是聪明的蛇卖给这些蛇可以照出自己有脚的镜子。于是有些蛇就是借钱也想买到那种镜子。”
用发行时的标準：5星。
作者对人和社会细节的观察，令人敬佩。时间空间人物事件的切换极其嫻熟，包袱丢的也很棒。东京1990年就有用移动电话的了，我们这裡好像是99或2000年才出现的吧。
不管是《窗边的小豆豆》，还是像《你想活出怎样的人生》，我都觉得日本很多方面值得学习。
“这世界上有很多蛇，想有脚，却疲于蜕皮、懒得蜕皮、忘记如何蜕皮。于是聪明的蛇卖给这些蛇可以照出自己有脚的镜子。于是有些蛇就是借钱也想买到那种镜子。”
November 28, 2018
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