25th Oct2011

The Devotion of Suspect X : Brilliant Japanese Novel (Thriller)

by Min

Japanese Literature

I’m not sure how popular Japanese literature in other parts of the world, but in Korea, Japanese literature has been very popular since Korean government policy allowed the imports of Japanese films and literature in early 2000s. (It was banned before.) Murakami Haruki (very popular worldwide), Kaori Ekuni, Banana Yoshimoto and other authors are now popular in Korea and I hope many more of their works translated in English so that more people can enjoy the unique style of Japanese literature.

Brilliant Japanese Thriller Fiction

the Devotion of Suspect X

I can’t highlight this book enough that this is a must-read. This book introduced me to the world of Japanese Thriller/Mystery fiction and I have been reading this author’s other works whenever available. Also, I’ve been reading other Japanese Thriller authors and I found that Japanese Thriller fiction has its unique and refreshing styles of storytelling. It is quite different from that of English or Western fictions and you may want to give it a try.

Lost in Translation???

When I heard the news that this book was to be translated in English, I was so pleased as a reader that now more people can appreciate this book and Keigo Higashino. BUT! at the same time, I was worried too that translating in English may ruin the beauty of this book and the simple style of Keigo Higashino. But as per the customer reviews on Amazon.com, it seems that this book is widely-well read in English. I’ve just bought English-version and started reading the couple of chapters and it’s going to be my holiday read this weekend in Langkawi.

Still Contemplating?

I will not reveal any of the plot or twist in this novel. But, I’ll just put it this way…

I read it in Korean but as I passed this book to 3 of my friends, all of them loved it! and… in Japan, a TV drama series and a movie were made from this book.