Keigo Higashino

Translated by Sam Bett, The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Japanese author Keigo Higashino has an enticing premise. Three youths seek a place to lay low after carrying out a robbery and they break into the Namiya General Store. Seemingly abandoned and run down, they're surprised when a letter asking the previous shopkeeper for advice drops through the mail slot.

The young men quickly realise this isn't an ordinary shop, but what advice could they possibly have to give? They're certainly not upstanding citizens leading a successful and rewarding life are they? What should they do? And if they choose to answer the letter, what advice should they give?

The narrative expands as new and old letters are referred to and advice is both sought and received. The plot does get a little timey wimey in that time stops inside the general store and a connection between past and present is established although never adequately explained. This reader hardly cared (see my review of Under The Dome to see how I can ignore the 'why' of the premise and just enjoy the fallout), instead delighting in the various interconnecting characters in a cleverly spun narrative web.

In fact, I'd love to see a character map representing the interconnecting characters and their various overlapping narrative arcs, I think it'd be a beautiful sight indeed. It certainly seemed as though the entire plot was connected with silvery gossamer thread and Higashino took the reader around the web pointing out different patterns and individual stories.

In assessing the advice requested and the advice provided, we're given a glimpse into how that advice was or wasn't followed and how it all turned out. In doing so, the author raises the notion that many people are experiencing challenges in their lives, facing choices they don't want to make or decisions they can't seem to reach or make their peace with.

Similarly, the author seems to suggest that even a lowly delinquent may have advice worth considering to offer a fellow human being in crisis. Every individual has value to contribute and the innate ability to make a positive difference in the life of a stranger.

Employing a combination of magical realism, urban fantasy and science fiction, The Miracles of the Namiya General Store is a heartwarming, uplifting, positive feel-good read and I highly recommend it!… (mais)

I really enjoy Keigo Higashino's mysteries. They are old-school whodunits with ingenious twists and likeable investigators that are reminiscent of Agatha Christie's detectives (Poirot, Marple, etc.) with their keen insight and deductive skills.

In "A Death in Tokyo," a man staggers onto Nihonbashi Bridge and dies, a knife sticking out of his chest. The same night, a young man is involved in a traffic accident while feeling from police, and the dead man's wallet is in his possession. What is the connection between these two men, and what happened? In the ensuing investigation, police detective Kyoichiro Kaga is partnered with his cousin Shuhei Matsumiya. What they uncover takes them back in time, revealing old resentments and leading to a heartbreakingly tragic revelation.

This is a solid mystery -- not as riveting as Higashino's Detective Galileo series, in my opinion -- but still very entertaining, nonetheless.… (mais)

L'air de rien, Kaga mène l'enquête et voit tout. Ses questions triviales ne sont jamais anecdotiques, le rapprochant petit à petit de la vérité. Sa délicatesse toute japonaise est appréciable, comme l'absence du sang et de la violence dévolus au genre. Quel plaisir de déambuler avec cet inspecteur dans le quartier de Nihonbashi, à la découverte de ses boutiques, habitants et instants de vie. De quoi confondre parfois les prénoms typés des nombreux intervenants et jongler avec la temporalité discontinue de certains chapitres.

Sous la forme d'un haïku :

A Nihonbashi,
L'air de rien, son œil voit tout,
Chronique japonaise.… (mais)