Fear of the Fire Beast!

胸を焦がす Fire...
恋人も 燃える

『逆転裁判4』

 

Fire... charring my heart

Burning even my love

"Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney"

Yes, the title of today's book makes it very, very hard to look up in its romanized form. At least in Japanese, it's a kanji you don't see that often so that makes things easier...

After the traumatic experience on Kazune Island, where a group of friends were murdered one after another, Uyuu has mostly recovered. At least, physically, that is. However, after being saved and recovering at the hospital, he slipped on a banana peel, and hit his head, which caused him to lose his memories of his time on Kazune Island, though he still remembers everything before it: Uyuu remembers he was working part-time for a local culture magazine, how he's friends with Touri, a high school student who often swings by the magazine's editorial department, how the two were sent to Kazune Island to do an article on a gathering there.... but he doesn't remember what happened on that island, he only knows of it from the news. Which is why he also has no recollection of Touri and him becoming a couple on the island, even though Touri insists that is what happened. Uyuu has been given a full-time contract now, which his co-workers suspect might be because he underwent such ordeals because he had been sent to the island for work, and now Uyuu finds himself working on several articles, like one on shrines in their town of Kyoto and a series on local modern artists. This brings him into contact with Mikogami, who creates litera-art (art using written words), and his assistant Wapiko. Uyuu becomes friends with Wapiko, occasionally meeting her outside of work, with her telling him about studying under Mikogami and her own litera-art. But one night, Uyuu suddenly wakes up and finds himself standing near a temple, holding a lighter and burnable materials. While he is conscious of what he is doing, he can't help himself setting the temple on fire and ends up fleeing on his bicycle. The following morning, he is shocked to learn this is not just a case of arson however: a murdered man was found lying inside the temple that was burned down. Uyuu has no recollection of committing such a murder, nor does he know the victim, but he can't believe it's just a coincidence the fire and the murder happened at the same place and time. He visits a club for mystery fiction afficionados to hear the member's thoughts about the arson case, and among the members are the famous detective Kisarazu and his Watson Kouzuki, who seem to have some rather sharp observations regarding the case. Uyuu also runs into the detective Mercator Ayu, whom he met earlier briefly in the aftermath of the Kazune Island incident: Mercator has taken an interest in Uyuu, and seems to want to nudge him into a career of detection. However, Uyuu has other things to worry about, as he finds himself committing arson more often, and each time, a dead body is found at the site. Can he evade both Mercator and Kisarazu as he tries to figure out what's wrong with him in Maya Yutaka's A ("Disease", 1995)?

Maya Yutaka's work is seldom straightforward, but that holds especially for this book: A is a direct sequel to 1993's Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata ("A Sonata for Summer and Winter", also known as Parzival), starring once again Uyuu as he deals with the trauma of the events of the previous book. And at the same time, this book is a crossover book, as Maya's series detectives Mercator Ayu and Kisarazu Yuuya make appearances too, each taking an interest in Uyuu in their own ways. And that is not all, for A is actually also a kind of prologue to Maya's debut work Tsubasa Aru Yami - Mercator Ayu no Saigo no Jiken ("Darkness with Wings - The Last Case of Mercator Ayu"). Oh, and let me warn you right now: A also contains spoilers for both of these books. Yes, you had perhaps expected spoilers for Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, as A is a sequel to that book. For the most part, A functions as a prologue to Tsubasa Aru Yami, but one part is set after that book, and Maya decided to just spoil a major event happening in Tsubasa Aru Yami in A too, because...

I don't know why actually. I think A is simply not written for a general reading audience who want to pick a random mystery novel and enjoy it as is. A is clearly meant to be read as part of Maya's oeuvre, as part of the Uyuu/Mercator/Kisarazu series and I'd say that is also the only reason why I'd recommend this book to people, as on its own, standalone merits as a detective novel, A is really not one I'm very positive about. 

For those invested in seeing how Uyuu turned out after the events in Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, sure, this is a pretty interesting book. The incident on Kazune Island ended in a catastrophic manner, offering an ending that not only seemed very suggestive towards future events, but also leaving a lot of questions unanswered. A does not contain the answers you'll be looking for, but it does, very subtly, build further on the suggestive implications of the ending. The book is very focused on Uyuu's mental struggles as he tries to move on with his life, but finds himself, without understanding why, committing arson and as the stories unfolds, he sees things around breaking down once again. Meanwhile, we see how both Kisarazu and Mercator show interest in Uyuu: Kisarazu is a member of a club for mystery fiction fans and they all have some discussions on not only the arson cases, but also about mystery fiction in general. Kisarazu also realizes Uyuu is indeed the survivor of the Kazune Island incident and hopes to learn more about it once Uyuu has recovered fully mentally. At the same time, Mercator is being his usual suggestive self, seemingly being of the opinion Uyuu is a rather sharp person and could be shaped in a detective himself and therefore (as always, somewhat forcefully) dragging Uyuu along while he's investigating another incident. For those interested in the Maya literary universe, seeing these characters all interact is quite interesting.

However, as a mystery, A doesn't fare as well. Some parts of the mystery, like the underlying reason why Uyuu is committing these arsons, are fairly relatable and I find perfectly fine, but the exact reasons why the murders were committed at the same temples Uyuu was setting on fire, and the mechanics behind it are far for satisfying: it is the kind of trick that is basically unfair, and while that can be kinda expected considering the things Maya pulled off in Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, I still found that one more convincing that what's done in A. I do have to say Maya did attempt to hint at it properly, and it works better because of the focus on Uyuu, but still... There's also a whodunnit aspect to the book that is set-up better, with multiple hints and some well-executed misdirection, but it is a relatively minor part compared to the 'why is Uyuu committing arson and why are people being murdered at the same place' mystery. Some parts of the mystery might seem outdated though by today's standards, even if this is a book from 1995. 

I thought this book was long out of print by the way, and there's no digital version either, so when I saw a (rather large) bookshop had a new copy in stock, I was rather surprised. And then I was shocked it was actually a relatively new print run from 2019. Interesting how even in 2019, they did have a new paper run of the book, but still didn't release it digitally. I wonder if they lost the text data or something, because the printing quality is a bit weird (it looks faded), and it almost looks like they scanned the pages of the original pocket and printed that, suggesting the publisher doesn't have the actual text data anymore. Then again, if that was true, the faded ink would only hold for the original parts, but the updated parts (like the copyright/print run info page) also look faded...

If you liked both Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata and Tsubasa Aru Yami, I think A is a book worth reading, as it ties things together and considering what happened in Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, I can imagine readers being curious as to how Uyuu coped with all of that, and in that sense, A does deliver, even if it's certainly not a really hopeful story. I however can't recommend this book seperate of that context: if you have not read the two books above, not only are you going to encounter some major spoilers, but A as "just" a mystery novel just feels unfair, and hardly satisfying. So it's really just a book for the Maya Yutaka fans. I am glad I read it because I did read the other two novels, but I wouldn't tell you to go out of your way or spend a lot of resources to track a copy of A.

Original Japanese title(s): 麻耶雄嵩『痾』

Hidden Pictures

"Why should I blame anyone but myself if I cannot understand what I know nothing about?" 

"Picasso Speaks"

The books you want to have read, but don't want to read: I don't remember who first mentioned this to me, but the often-used phrase has stuck with me ever since. The moment I heard it, I knew what it meant. I could immediately think of a few titles that would fit the description, and in the many years that have passed since this first contact, I have of course read quite a few books that I'm glad to have read because they help create context for reading other works, or because they address interesting issues or themes, but of which I also did not enjoy the actual reading process, for example because of frustrating writing styles. Reading is for me mainly a source of entertainment, so my tolerance for deeper reading experiences may not be very high in the first place, so it's very much a "your mileage may vary" thing, but I do think some books are better read with some context, with the foreknowledge of "this might be a book that will be challenging to get through, but it's worth it once you're able to turn over that final page." For someone like me is likely to give up early and just move on to another book if I don't enjoy a certain book and am not told it might be important for context for other books. By the way, I am also the kind of person who will easily drop an anime series halfway through the first episode if I haven't seen anything appealing by that time.

At this point, it should not come as a surprise that the book in today's review falls into this category, or at least, it doesn't for me. Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata ("A Sonata for Summer and Winter" 1993) , which also has the alternative English title Parzival on the cover, was the second novel by Maya Yutaka, released two years after his debut work Tsubasa Aru Yami, a powerful novel that embraced, but also fully deconstructed the tropes of the puzzle mystery genre, Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata goes even a step further, almost feeling like a fantasy novel that at times takes on the shape of a mystery novel, but if you pay very, very much attention, you'll notice the story is definitely built on the cornerstones of the mystery genre. I am not by any means a very experienced Maya reader, but in the works I have read of him, I have always noticed the urge to deconstruct the genre, to tackle The Classic Mystery Novel from a post-modern angle and asks Big Questions about what a detective is, what a clue is, what a mystery is. Of the works I have read so far however, none of them go even remotely as far as Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, and it's in that context that it is definitely an interesting work to read. The book had been out of print for many years now, but I had heard a lot about how controversial this book was. In the years since I first heard about it, I had seen it described as an anti-mystery, a book that explored the theme of catastrophy in a detective novel, a novel without ending, and more. It was not the type of mystery novel I am usually interested in, but I was aware of its importance, not only as a pivotal work in Maya's oeuvre, but also as part of the 'bigger' picture: Maya Yutaka was the shin honkaku novelist who really dived deep into the post-modern themes of detective genre in the early nineties, and is therefore a must-read if one wants to read more about post-modern themes in modern Japanese puzzle mystery fiction, The book had been out of print for many years, but  got a revised re-release a few months back, which seemed like me the perfect time to read: usually I read Maya Yutaka's work like once every two, three years, but I had just finished the great Sekigan no Shoujo, so I was still in the mood when I started reading Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata.

Magazine writer Uyuu is given a special assignment by his editor to visit Kazune Island, together with high school student Touri, a friend of his who will act as his photographer (though she seems more interested in just enjoying he trip). Mamiya Kazune was a budding actress who starred in an indie film twenty years ago. While she had not become a big star yet, six young men and women became completely entranced by Kazune and with the financial powers of the oldest (richest) of them, an island was bought where they'd all live together. Kazune Island was where the seven of them would live for a year. Kazune was their idol, and the others worshipped her on the island, convinced that one day, Kazune's brilliance would shine not only on the island, but across the country, no, the world. But one day, Kazune fell into the sea and was never found again. That was the beginning of a swift end: one of the remaining people soon followed in her steps in despair, and save for the owner of the island, the others eventually left the island, going their own paths. But it's beeen twenty years since the death of Kazune, and now the remaining people will gather at Kazune Island once again to mourn the death of their idol. Uyuu is to write about this curious gathering, and the members' island life twenty years ago with Mamiya Kazune. Arriving on the island, Uyuu is confronted with surprise after surprise. The house being built in a Cubist style is perhaps a relatively tame surprise, but as Uyuu tries to strike up conversations with everybody, he slowly realizes everyone is very evasive about their lives on the island twenty years ago, and the accounts he gets to hear about Kazune seem slightly disturbing. This being a rush assignment, Uyuu had no time to do prior research, so everyone being evasive isn't really handy, but the big surprise comes at dinner, when a dressed-up Touri manages to shock everyone at the table: no wonder, for she looks exactly like the portrait of Mamiya Kazune hanging at the top floor of the house! Uyuu gets a bad feeling about this, not sure how these people who once worshipped Kazune will react to his protoge Touri. The following morning, the group wakes up to another surprise: it's snowing, in August, on what is basically a tropical island! But this surprise is soon turned into horror, when they find the corpse of their host in the garden. However, the whole garden is covered in snow, and there are no footprints to be found anywhere on the snow in the garden! A quick search also tells them that the two servants are gone and that the one motor boat on the island is gone When they eventually find out the phone isn't working either, they realize they'll have to wait for help to come, which will be after the day Kazune died, but will they be safe until that time? And what has all of this to do with the events that occured on this island twenty years ago?

People in a closed circle situation on an island? A strangely designed house? A "no footprints in the snow" scenario (in the middle of summer!)? Mysterious deaths in the past, and people being evasive about said past in the present? At first glance, Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata takes on a familiar form. Even people not particularly familiar with the genre will recognize these tropes, but looks definitely deceive here, for nothing is as it seems in this novel. The fact the first (yes, first) murder happens so late is perhaps already a hint this is not a conventional mystery novel. Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata is a very long novel, but the first actual mystery (the impossible murder) doesn't occur until the halfway point, which is really, really late: I've read completely fleshed out mystery novels with the same page length! The first half of Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata is filled with slow dialogue between Uyuu and the people who returning to the island, trying to find out about the lives they had twenty years ago, and the banter between Uyuu and Touri. Touri is a rather unique high school student (who always skips school) with an interesting view on life, who does offer a lot of fun dialogue to read, but you really have to be patient this first half of the book, for little happens. The second half of the book moves faster, but even there you will find a lot of pedantry in this novel: it might not be as excessive as in that other famous Japanese anti-mystery Kokushikan Satsujin Jiken, but let's say it'll feel like you just got through a whole semester course on Cubism by the time you're done with this book.

Even after the first murder occurs, the book doesn't really feel like a detective novel. While Uyuu realizes they are trapped on the island, he feels reluctant to play detective, feeling it will only stir up trouble: his single and one concern is to protect Touri and get her off the island alive, back to her parents. There are other minor mysteries that bother him and Touri, like Uyuu seeing a Kazune-like figure roaming the building and some minor comments dropped by various people about the death of Kazune twenty years ago, but most of the time, Uyuu doesn't want to actively detect, and most of the time, he's just there to prevent the inquisitive Touri from being too rash and to find out just enough to be able to protect her. This again strengthens the concept of this book of taking on a detective novel's form, but not being quite like the novel you'd expect it to be initially. One of the biggest examples of this is how the impossible crime is handled. After some initial investigation soon after the murder is discovered, it's more or less put away in a drawer until the very end of the novel, where it's basically explained in three sentences and then forgotten again. The solution, on its own, is both ridiculous and memorable. And nobody is going to guess it based on the hints in the book, because there are no clues or hints and the solution suddenly comes out of nowhere, with the probabability of it ever happening infinitely small, but it's certainly one you'll never forget. But the whole thing is barely touched upon in the end, with the solution just mentioned very briefly in the final few pages of the book. Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata is a detective novel, but it's not really a detective novel.

While that part of the mystery is explained and it is also revealed who is the actual killer on the island, Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata actually leaves a lot of the events that occur in this book completely unexplained. After a feverish, catastrophic finale that even takes on fantasy elements, you're left with a sense of utter disbelief and confusion, that is only strengthened by a curious, two-page appearance by series detective Mercator Ayu, who asks Uyuu, and the reader, one simple question  It's here where the book ends, but where the reader is challenged to go on. For Uyuu's answer turns everything around, and that combined with the countless of unanswered events of the novel, leaves you with nothing but more questions as you turn over the last page. As you think back, you will notice a lot of questions the book drew attention to where never addressed again, from actual physical evidence seen and examined by Uyuu, to suggestive remarks made by the various characters or the almost fantasy-like finale that Uryuu experienced. Where did that character appear from, what was the meaning of that small object they kept finding, what about the painting, where did they go, why was this put in motion anyway and A LOT more: a genuine mystery novel would never leave all of this unanswered, but Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata does. It leaves the reader with a heap of unanswered question and challenges them: can you figure how all of this is connected, and how Mercator's question relates to all of this? This might sound interesting, a detective novel that doesn't actually tell you the whole answer, but leaves you with the clues necessary to solve it. Last year, I played Umineko: When They Cry which takes on a similar form. Only.... Umineko: When They Cry is Sesame Street in comparison to what Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata does. For the latter, doesn't really provide the reader with clear clues and evidence for them to build theories upon. I finished reading this book just before I wanted to go asleep, which was a big mistake, because it left me with all kinds of questions. The following morning, I decided I'd just look around online to see what the conclusions were: it's 2022, so almost 30 years after the book's initial release, so surely there was consensus now, right?

There wasn't. 

I have read at least five or six different theories that build upon similar ideas, but ultimately all go different directions or explain the details differently. And they all sounded plausible, making good use of the few clues we do have and trying to contextualize their solutions within the framework of the whole book. And yet, they all differ. This made it clear to me: Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata is not a mystery to be solved. It is a story that takes on the form and tropes of the mystery novel, and it does tell a mystery story, but at the same time, it is also a distinctly post-modern take on the mystery story, where not everything is explained, where there's room for multiple explanations and where ultimately you're left with questions and unprovable theories. Concepts I know of Maya's other works, but never explored as extremely as in this work. This book is experimental and with the way it ends so open-ended, I can easily understand the arguments of both the sides who see this book as either a success, or a complete failure.

After reading Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, I wrote a little bit about it elsewhere and how it was a book I didn't want to be reading, but wanted to have read, and a friend asked the rhetorical question whether this was the kind of book you'd wanted to have read "real-time", getting confused/frustrated with everyone together, or the kind of book you'd want to read later, with more context/sudies available. Personally, I am glad I read Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata now, thirty years later, knowing the context of this book, how it was received (a great 63rd place in the 2012 Tozai Mystery Best 100!) and what theories people came up with. Some people might have wanted to go in blind, some people will perhaps just give up right away after reading this or other reviews. I think I would have just given up halfway without the context, and having read the book, I do think there are a lot of neat ideas mystery-wise to be found in the book, though I would never recommend it to anyone as a mystery novel.

Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata is a book I'm glad I done with, and I'm also happy I finally wrote this review. It's a strange book, and it's the kind of book I needed to know was strange before opening it or else I would have thrown it on the floor at some point.  But having read the book, I do have to admit it has all kinds of neat, thought-provoking ideas that I'd like to see in other mystery stories too, and seen in the context of Maya's other works, I can see it being an important step. It is not a perfect experience, at least not for me, and I'll be the first to admit it took me some dedication to read, but I think that if you get to the point you're considering whether to read this book or not, there's definitely enough interesting concepts to be found here that may enrich the experience of reading mystery fiction, ranging from its post-modern take on mystery tropes to simply the types of trickery used in the core mystery plot that warrant a read.

Original Japanese title(s): 麻耶雄嵩『夏と冬の奏鳴曲』

Swan Song

 「・・・やめられるかよ・・・ 真相を解き明かすのが探偵のサガなんでね！」

『名探偵コナン：　水平線上の陰謀』

"How can I stop? Revealing the truth is what makes us detectives"

"Detective Conan: Strategy Above the Depths"

And as an answer to the question I posed myself in the previous post: Yes, playing on a PSP connected to a TV does feel different from playing normally on a PSP. For one, I play longer on a TV than on a handheld. I am just borrowing this TV temporarily, so I should clear as many games I can in the following few weeks...

Maya Yutaka's Tsubasa aru Yami - Mercator Ayu no Saigo no Jiken ("Darkness with Wings - The Last Case of Mercator Ayu") is a novel I should have read earlier, right? I mean, Maya's an old member of the Kyoto University Mystery Club and an important writer in the New Orthodox movement, with Tsubasa aru Yami being his debut work. But actually, it's not that strange I never got around to him properly (I have read some short stories by him). I've never been that interested in what critic Kasai dubs the second stage of the New Orthodox movement as a movement, to which Maya belongs to (also Mori Hiroshi and Kyougoku Natsuhiko, amongst others. And technically, Nikaidou Reito too). It might be because of my 'classic' education (from English Golden Age to Rampo, Yokomizo and then New Orthodox) in detective fiction, but I have always had more affinity with the early stages of New Orthodox (Ayatsuji, Arisugawa, Norizuki, Abiko amongst others), which are much more closely related to English Golden Age fiction. Heck, my thesis (I really should work on that harder) is focused solely on early New Orthodox. So, that's my excuse for not having read Tsubasa aru Yami earlier. Not sure when I'll get around to Subete ga F ni Naru (The Perfect Insider)!

Tsubasa aru Yami starts with detective Kisarazu Yuuya and his companion Kouzuki Sanetomo arriving at Souajou, the mansion of the wealthy Imakagami family. Kisarazu was apparently hired by the head of the family, but he has been already been murdered by the time they arrived at the mansion. As well as his son. And they were not just murdered: they were both decapitated and one of them was found inside a locked room! Just like Poirot, Kisarazu is not too happy about losing a client before actually being hired, so he decides to investigate the mysterious murders in the castle-like Souajou.

Like I said, I don't have a particular interest in later stages of New Orthodox and I have been intentionally been avoiding reading secondary sources about it (mostly because I have plenty of other sources I need to read!), but I can definitely make an educated guess to why Maya, and Tsubasa aru Yami are considered important. I could throw around with terms like post-modernism, the 'meta-physical detective story', deconstruction and subversion, which would all apply to this novel to a certain degree. Maya knows the classic tropes of Golden Age detective fiction and he simultaneously critizes and honors them as he plays around with them in this novel.

One example would be for example Maya's use of literary stereotypes in this novel. In a detective novel, the most obvious would be 'the great detective'. Tsubasa aru Yami actually features two of them (Kisarazu Yuuya, and Mercator Ayu appears in the second half of the novel), which is already a strange happening. But both detectives also have surprisingly little succes with their investigations, thus undermining their position as a great detective. Which is slightly different from what Queen did in his later novels: Queen questioned the ability of the detective and the feasibility of finding out the truth by having Ellery make mistakes and angst over it. However, Ellery does win at the end. In Tsubasa aru Yami however, there is no salvation at all for both of Maya's detectives.

What makes this novel also interesting is that both detectives in the novel are used as series detectives by Maya. Tsubasa aru Yami is like the title suggests Mercator Ayu's final case, so all the other stories are set before Maya's debut novel. There are also several remarkable revelations made about the detectives in this novel, which should making reading other stories quite interesting (because of foreknowledge and the mentioned shaky literary positions of the two detectives).

There are some other Queenian motifs to be found here, but Maya also plays around with more abstract tropes of the genre, the most obvious being the final solution to the locked room murder, which is quite blatantly a sort of criticism to the genre and its particular puzzles. But not in a mocking way, definitely not. But Maya does try to look more critically at tropes taken for granted in the genre and seek out the genre's boundaries and limitations.

The novel does surprise as a story that simultaneously criticizes the genre and honors it. Which is why Tsubasa aru Yami is not 100% post-modern, as it at least offers the reader a sense of salvation by having a a properly hinted solution and a denouement scene. It could also have ended with just the detectives losing their literary identities and the mystery of the murders playing second fiddle to that in 'true' post-modern detective style.

I haven't read that much of Maya, so I am not sure how this 'experiment' develops in in later novels. Maya has quite a following among certain readers and I can sorta see why, I guess. Might try some other novels in the future. And I apologize for the somewhat chaotic review. I sorta felt, in the context of this blog, the need to expand on Maya's place in Japanese mystery world, but like I said at the beginning of this review: I don't actually that much about him and later New Orthodox as a movement (to the extent we can call it a movement).

And now, to play more videogames!

Original Japanese title(s): 『翼ある闇　メルカトル鮎の最後の事件』