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The Inugami Clan
Finished 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.)
/whistles: huhhh. Not that it's a feel bad ending, but wow, both Masako and her father got their ways, in a way. Masako sort of reminds me of Mieko in Masks, although her crimes are far less subtle and less well carried out; she's an upper class woman turned into a monster because of her overwhelming rage. Masako's deeds are inhuman, but she's solely by her love for her son, having been prepared from the beginning to die committing the murders.
(Also, darn if this isn't awfully tabloidy: tycoon in past bisexual love triangle with benefactor and his wife! three mistresses at once, in one home! Not one, but TWO secret children!)
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.)
/whistles: huhhh. Not that it's a feel bad ending, but wow, both Masako and her father got their ways, in a way. Masako sort of reminds me of Mieko in Masks, although her crimes are far less subtle and less well carried out; she's an upper class woman turned into a monster because of her overwhelming rage. Masako's deeds are inhuman, but she's solely by her love for her son, having been prepared from the beginning to die committing the murders.
(Also, darn if this isn't awfully tabloidy: tycoon in past bisexual love triangle with benefactor and his wife! three mistresses at once, in one home! Not one, but TWO secret children!)