Villain

by Shuichi Yoshida

Philip Gabriel (Translator)

Villain, the first novel by Shuichi Yoshida to be translated into English, is the story of a murder: a tale of desperation set in desolate seaside towns, online chat rooms and love hotels.

January 6, 2002. The body of Yoshino, a female insurance saleswoman, is found at Mitsue Pass, an eery inland spot in the southernmost region of Japan, rumoured to be home to ghosts. A young construction worker, Yuichi, is soon arrested by the Nagasaki police on suspicion of strangling the victim.

As Yuichi and his lover try to elude the police, the events that led up to the murder and its aftermath unfold. Moving back and forth in time, we learn the stories of the victim, the murderer, and their families - stories in which both Japan's past and future are written, revealing the inner lives of men and women who are not everything they appear to be.

Villain depicts loneliness and alienation in contemporary Japan more searingly than ever before. Part police procedural, part dirty realism, Shuichi Yoshida's drama pushes his characters to the razor's edge of despair.

• ISBN10: 1846552389
• ISBN13: 9781846552380
• Publish Date: 5 August 2010 (first published 3 August 2010)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 12 September 2014
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Vintage Publishing
• Imprint: Harvill Secker
• Format: Paperback (UK Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

One morning in January 2006, the body of a female insurance saleswoman, Yoshino was found dead on Mitsue Pass. A young construction worker, Yuichi is arrested for her murder. Shifting perspectives, Villain tells the story of the events leading up to Yoshino’s murder and the aftermaths.

Kosaku Yoshida is often considered as one of Japan’s best crime writers and as a fan of Japanese Lit, I knew I had to check one of his books out. However I was a little disappointed; the story was interesting but I was not a fan of the execution. I thought it builds up the suspense, then shifts perspective; which felt like it kept stopping and starting and that just felt too clunky. Yoshida explores the idea of alienation, which seems to be a common theme in Japanese fiction. This worked well, however this was not enough to redeem the novel for me.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://www.knowledgelost.org/book-reviews/genre/thriller/mini-reviews-crime-edition/