The Body In The Library

わりと昔からとめといてたまに読み返す頭んなか 

その言葉は言葉にはエコーがついてる 

「エコー」（ユニコーン） 

I've been saving them up from rather long ago / I sometimes read them again / inside my mind

Those words / those words  have an echo

"Echo" (Unicorn) 

On the topics of libraries: I can't study in libraries. During my university years, I saw many friends who went to the library to study, but I just can't. I need my own, private space!

Hidden away in the middle of a small grove stands the Nonomiya Private Library, housing the curious book collection of the late Mr. Nonomiya. Mikiko, a young woman who has just graduated from high school, is hired as the curator of the collection, with her main job consisting of brining order to the rather chaotic collection. When asked why the collection appears to be so completely random, Tadokoro, the attorney acting for the committee overseeing the library, explains to Mikiko that the late Mr. Nomomiya only added books that had some connection to crime or murder. One book might be used as a step to commit suicide by hanging, the other book might be the sole survivor of a fire consuming a whole family. As Mikiko and her childhood friend/not-just-yet-boyfriend Yoshio look into the backstories in Akagawa Jirou's Satsujin wo Yonda Hon ("Books Calling For Murder", 1988) they realize that sometimes people don't like to be reminded of the crimes behind each of these books, and that sometimes people can become very desperate to prevent people from digging deeper.

Satsujin wo Yonda Hon is a linked short story collection by Akagawa Jirou, but I suspect the game adaptation of this book is better known. Yasoukyoku ("Nocturne") was originally released in 1998 for the PlayStation and was successful enough to lead to a sequel, as well as a port to the Nintendo DS hardware in 2008. I have the DS version of the game actually, but I never finished it and now I even finished the original book.... The game is a sound novel game (somewhat like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure game), with the story more-or-less the same as the original book, but by making different choices at select points in the story, you can also reach a multitude of alternative endings (some of them being bad endings).

Satsujin wo Yonda Hon is a mystery short story collection, but each of the five stories collected is rather short and light, and I doubt any of them will leave any impression on the reader. Almost all of the stories follow the same plot structure: Mikiko is cleaning up the library when by chance her attention is drawn to one of the books. She and Yoshio learn more about the history of the book. They poke around by visiting the people related to the case. Either Mikiko or Yoshio is knocked out (or both!) on the head in the library over the course of the story because someone doesn't like their digging. Mikiko thinks she solves the case, but doesn't really. The real culprit reveals themselves, but is eventually caught anyway. Rinse and repeat.

The mystery plots themselves are very simple, somewhat reminiscent of Christie short stories. Often it'll just turn out the crime-related story behind the book in question is in reality not what the outside world thought it was, and there's usually at least one person very eager to keep that a secret, but the road to the solution is rather simple. It's often more guessing than actual deducing, the hints are barely there and more often than not, the story ends with the big bad giving the game away on their own, as they try to wipe out Mikiko and Yoshio. The stories themselves are okay-ish, but nothing particularly outstanding. The stories have, per Akagawa Jirou's usual style, a humorous tone to them (Mikiko and Yoshio bicker a lot), but this does lead to some awkward moments where serious scenes are followed up too quickly by humorous scenes, like Mikiko and Yoshio making fun of each other again moments after they had been assaulted and knocked out. Akagawa also really loves his couples-with-age-gaps. Mikiko and Yoshio only differ a few years (with Yoshio being the older one), but Mikiko is also getting courted by the attorney Tadokoro, who's basically twice as old. I felt it came out of nowhere in this book, but it did make me remember I had seen the middle-aged man - just-out-of-high-school girl romance quite often in Akagawa's works. In fact, it's almost the norm in most of what I've read of Akagawa. Different times, I guess....

It's a shame the book is rather light as a mystery novel, as I do like the premise of a whole library full of books, each hiding a tale of mystery. There are some stories in Satsujin wo Yonda Hon that also make good use of the book motif, like the one about a book that has a will of its own, always 'running around' and popping up at all kinds of places around the house even though it had been been put away.

Satsujin wo Yonda Hon is thus rather light reading, despite a premise that could've resulted in something more substantial. Like always, Akagawa Jirou's writing is pleasant enough, but the end result is not something that'll leave any impression. In fact, I'd say the game adaptation, Yasoukyoku, might be more interesting as it offers an interactive manner to experience the stories, with more variation.

Original Japanese title(s): 赤川次郎　『殺人を呼んだ本』