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The Inugami Clan
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 11:13 pmFinished reading the Inugami Clan. This is a translation of a Japanese detective novel (featuring Kindaichi Kosuke; the name of the protagonist of the Kindaichi files is a homage to him), by one of the greats of the Japanese mystery novel, Yokomizu Seichi. Right around the end of WWII, the patriarch of the Inugami family, a fabulously wealthy industrialist, has died, and his will is read, shocking his daughters and their families. It appears that the fortune will go to the grandson who marries the beloved ward of the patriarch, whom someone seems to be attempting to murder. The three daughters all despise each other, and also detest the ward, and all of this is rooted in the highly irregular and lurid personal life of the deceased man.
In some ways, this resembles another Japanese murder mystery I was reading, the Tokyo Zodiac Murders (actually, if you just had to read one, I would say read that book instead, because the story is even creepier and more atmospheric). This is the sort of normal detective novel where the detective is sort of an incidental character. Kindaichi's main distinctive feature is his habit of scratching violently at his hair when agitated, and he mostly functions as an observer (especially since he's not trying to figure out howdunit after the fact, but watching as person after person is murdered). The crux of the howdunit is telegraphed in a fairly obvious manner, but the meanings behind the murders can only be revealed through the tangled personal life of the dead. Anyway, if you like mysteries, it's worth a read (although, personally I found the translation to be somewhat stilted? However, not having read the original, I can't speak to the choices of the translator.)
( spoiler notes, because I can't resist making them. This will obviously ruin the novel, though )
In some ways, this resembles another Japanese murder mystery I was reading, the Tokyo Zodiac Murders (actually, if you just had to read one, I would say read that book instead, because the story is even creepier and more atmospheric). This is the sort of normal detective novel where the detective is sort of an incidental character. Kindaichi's main distinctive feature is his habit of scratching violently at his hair when agitated, and he mostly functions as an observer (especially since he's not trying to figure out howdunit after the fact, but watching as person after person is murdered). The crux of the howdunit is telegraphed in a fairly obvious manner, but the meanings behind the murders can only be revealed through the tangled personal life of the dead. Anyway, if you like mysteries, it's worth a read (although, personally I found the translation to be somewhat stilted? However, not having read the original, I can't speak to the choices of the translator.)
( spoiler notes, because I can't resist making them. This will obviously ruin the novel, though )
