Since the last five years or so, a lot of my reading has shifted from the physical format to the digital format. While I personally like the medium of paper better, sometimes books aren't easily available physically anymore while an e-book is just one click away, and more important (for the wallet), digital storefronts very often have sales and coins-back campaigns, which make digital releases often a lot cheaper, and this also makes it more easy for me to try out all kinds of books (whereas I'd be much more conservative in the books I'd buy if I'd only read physical books).
Of course, that's until you start reading it. Or to be exact, when you reach the ending.
Fujisaka Touma is a student who lost his mother recently: his mother was a well-known proofreader, who once had an affair with the famous mystery writer Miyauchi Shougo, a notorious playboy who quite often cheated on his wife. Touma's mother decided to raise Touma herself, accepting nothing from Miyauchi and cutting all ties between them, though most people in the industry know about the affair and that Touma's Miyauchi's child. When Miyauchi also passes away, he's suddenly approached by Matsukata Tomoaki, his half-brother. Touma had not even ever spoken to his father, let alone his half-brother, but the first impression is not a favorable one: Tomoaki is only calling Touma to tell him his father was not nearly as rich as people thought he was and that there's nothing left for Touma, if he dares to make a claim on the inheritance, and he wants to know whether Touma knows anything about "The World's Clearest Story": Tomoaki found notes indicating his father had been working on a manuscript with that title, and that a version of the manuscript had even been sent to a proofreader, which Tomoaki suspects might have been Touma's mother, considering their history. Because the inheritance is so small, Tomoaki wants to have the manuscript published posthumously soon to cash in on his father's death. Touma says he's sure his mother never had anything to do with his father anymore, but Tomoaki is quite pushy, and eventually strikes a deal with Touma, who will be paid to find out where the manuscript went to (but Touma has to relinquish any claims on the Miyauchi inheritance). And so Touma starts looking for the last story his father wrote, a story nobody seems to know about or what is about, with the title The World's Clearest Story as the only clue.
This is a very difficult story to talk about, as not only is it very short, explaining why this book indeed can't be released digitally would of course spoil the surprise, and even hinting at it might ruin the fantastic Sugii has prepared for the reader. The story itself focuses on Touma's investigation into the manuscript, trying to find out where it has gone to: diary notes by Miyauchi across a longer period of time do indicate the existence of an advanced version of The World's Clearest Story and that it has been sent somewhere, but where? What makes the manuscript even more elusive is that there are no notes on the actual contents, so no research or drafts/summaries. Tomoaki gives Touma the contact information of all the known affair partners of his father hoping Touma can trace the whereabouts of the manuscript, but Touma also receives valuable help from Kiriko, a literary editor at the major publisher S who often worked with his mother, and who has become a family friend. She acts as this story's armchair detective, as she's the one's who is able to properly process all the testimonies Touma gathers from all the "suspects" in order to arrive at the true meaning behind The World's Clearest Story. As the story progresses, Touma learns about more the man his father was through the eyes of the people he questions, slowly forming an image of a man he never actually knew. Where someone like Miyauchi's own son Tomoaki has nothing good to say about his father, others are far more forgiving, remembering the great mystery writer as someone to be respected. This ever-changing image of Miyauchi is also what colors what Touma, and the reader, will think The World's Clearest Story will be, as it is obvious Miyauchi wasn't working on "just" another mystery novel.
To say even more however, would be spoiling the fun. What I can say is that I was hugely surprised when the truth behind The World's Clearest Story was revealed. While I had already suspicions about certain things, I had never expected it to be utilized in such an amazing manner. It also helps Sugii really helps set up the surprise in a human manner too, as his portrayal of Miyauchi (through the eyes of the others) really sells the idea: without this context, you might think "cool idea, but why would anyone go to the trouble of doing all of that?", but in this book, you just understand why someone would want to endeavour to accomplish exactly that. But yes, this is impossible to do correctly in a e-book, it is only possible in a physical book format, and it's really worth the experience.
So I can't really talk too much in-depth about this book, because that'd spoil the fun, but I can safely say Sugii Hikaru's Sekai de Ichiban Sukitootta Monogatari has been one of my favorite reads of this year and I can easily recommend this. Even if you generally read e-books, it's definitely worth getting this as a physical book, as it will provide a reading experience simply not possible with an e-book. With many moving to digital books, it's cool to see people coming up with such great books that only work on paper! There is a sequel by the way, which does have a digital release, so I do wonder what kind of thing is played out there...
Sounds very tantalizing. Just curious, theoretically is it possible to be translated into English?
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