Rating: 
Summary: Cultural Gap Almost Bridged
Review: This long and preachy novel by Miyabe falls far short of expectations. The primary character detective Honma sets out on a hunt for his nephew's fiancee who has gone missing. In the process he learns all about how the Japanese credit system works and how the unwitting are sucked into the whirlpool of debt. He gets a nice long lesson from several characters about how people who are in debt up to their eyeballs are just everyday folks who got caught up in something they didn't realize was so bad for them.After too many pages of that preachy 'debt is bad' prose, Miyabe sets Honma off in search of the missing fiancee. It's almost miraculous how just when Honma seems to have run into a dead end there is a phone call or some stranger shows up with information that gets his quest restarted. The chapters essentially follow the cycle: "Honma starts out with some information. The information leads to some small clue, but the clue doesn't seem to lead anywhere and the information runs out. A miracle happens and Honma gets some new information." The story gets tiring as this chapter format keeps repeating itself. Miyabe introduces characters like Shoko Sekine's friends, but they don't seem to have any real relation to the plot except to give miraculous information as explained above. Frankly, by the end of the book it was difficult to discern who the author was talking about since there were so many phonecalls from so-and-so and contacts from such-and-such. The whole story began to unravel towards the end with so many loose ends crowding out the main story. The end of the story itself is incredibly unsatisfying. After putting up with Miyabe's excessive use of secondary characters and miraculous clues and outright preachiness, she comes to the point of the story wherein the payoff is expected. Then she cuts it short. No payoff, no conclusion, just Honma sitting in a cafe across from the missing fiancee. He gets up to go talk to her finally, and ... the end. Maybe Miyabe wanted the reader to use their own imagination to fill in the last gap, or felt that perhaps since there was so much information already given that simply repeating it at the end would have been redundant, or whatever. Unfortunately, as a reader I felt a little ripped off. There were serious questions as to why the fiancee did what she did. Not only that, but what are the repercussions of what she did? Will Honma go to the police (yes, he's a police) with the information he has? What will she do from now? Such questions are left unanswered. I feel that after the work the reader has to go through just to get to that unsatisfying, completely incomplete ending justifies this low rating. 2 stars. Manipulative and preachy.
Rating: 
Summary: Unsatisfying
Review: This long and preachy novel by Miyabe falls far short of expectations. The primary character detective Honma sets out on a hunt for his nephew's fiancee who has gone missing. In the process he learns all about how the Japanese credit system works and how the unwitting are sucked into the whirlpool of debt. He gets a nice long lesson from several characters about how people who are in debt up to their eyeballs are just everyday folks who got caught up in something they didn't realize was so bad for them. After too many pages of that preachy 'debt is bad' prose, Miyabe sets Honma off in search of the missing fiancee. It's almost miraculous how just when Honma seems to have run into a dead end there is a phone call or some stranger shows up with information that gets his quest restarted. The chapters essentially follow the cycle: "Honma starts out with some information. The information leads to some small clue, but the clue doesn't seem to lead anywhere and the information runs out. A miracle happens and Honma gets some new information." The story gets tiring as this chapter format keeps repeating itself. Miyabe introduces characters like Shoko Sekine's friends, but they don't seem to have any real relation to the plot except to give miraculous information as explained above. Frankly, by the end of the book it was difficult to discern who the author was talking about since there were so many phonecalls from so-and-so and contacts from such-and-such. The whole story began to unravel towards the end with so many loose ends crowding out the main story. The end of the story itself is incredibly unsatisfying. After putting up with Miyabe's excessive use of secondary characters and miraculous clues and outright preachiness, she comes to the point of the story wherein the payoff is expected. Then she cuts it short. No payoff, no conclusion, just Honma sitting in a cafe across from the missing fiancee. He gets up to go talk to her finally, and ... the end. Maybe Miyabe wanted the reader to use their own imagination to fill in the last gap, or felt that perhaps since there was so much information already given that simply repeating it at the end would have been redundant, or whatever. Unfortunately, as a reader I felt a little ripped off. There were serious questions as to why the fiancee did what she did. Not only that, but what are the repercussions of what she did? Will Honma go to the police (yes, he's a police) with the information he has? What will she do from now? Such questions are left unanswered. I feel that after the work the reader has to go through just to get to that unsatisfying, completely incomplete ending justifies this low rating. 2 stars. Manipulative and preachy.
Rating: 
Summary: A Noir-Like Mystery About Modern Japan
Review: This uncertain identity mystery, coupled with the struggles of our detective hero, shine a light on a hidden aspect of modern Japan - the debt that bedevils so many Japanese, who suffer in silence. The light shines on the lives of two women, whose paths crossed - or did they? - in a fatal way. Although the story was at times awkward and felt a bit rushed, I enjoyed the methodical unraveling of the mystery by the hero. Will we get to see more of him in other books by Miyuki Miyabe, once they're translated?
Rating: 
Summary: Masterful MasterCard Murders in Modern Japan
Review: What a chilling and fabulous novel! As a dilettante in world of mystery, I picked up this novel accidentally in my quest for a new Japanese author. What a delight to discover that Miyabe's concerns range far beyond those of the typical "who-done-it." Each character, from the protagonist--a disabled police officer struggling with his sudden uselessness after a bullet wound takes him out of the game--to the suspect/victim--a girl whose crime of credit excess is mirrored by nearly every middle-class American, reflects profoundly what it means to be a product of a consumer society. Characters consume, or are consumed. It's a Machievellian glance at society which asks (in the words of Billy Crystal)if it isn't better to look good than to feel good, at least until the bills come due. I highly recommend this novel as an engrossing mystery, but more importantly, as an impressive social critique of this era.
Rating:
Summary: More Please!!!
Review: What a great book! I hope to see more English translations of Ms. Miyabe's work. And soon! This story is a page-turner, and just as important, Mr. Birnbaum's translation is superb. When reading a translated work, I often wonder what I'm missing out on if I could only read the text in its original language. I didn't feel that way once. Super read!
Rating:
Summary: Terrific mystery reveals much about Japanese culture.
Review: When Shunsuke Honma, a detective recovering from a gunshot wound, is asked by a young relative to try to find his missing fiancee, Shoko, this "simple" request quickly evolves into much more. Honma also finds himself dealing with issues of credit card debt, bankruptcy, identify theft, and possibly multiple murders. While the reader is pre-occupied with the complications of this fascinating mystery, s/he is also learning a great deal about how Japan "works" on many levels--the process of job-hunting, the importance of family and the use of the family register, the Public Employment department, attitudes toward women and their changing roles in society, attitudes toward adoption, and how the economy is changing as credit becomes more readily available. These topics add a fascinating new dimension to what might otherwise be a fairly standard, though extremely well written, mystery, keeping the reader thoroughly engaged on a level other than plot. Cleanly written and straightforward, the novel is also unusual in that Miyabe develops character more successfully than many other mystery writers. Honma is a real person who seems older than his 42 years, with real worries and real domestic problems, and we come to know him, his life with his 10-year-old son, and his hopes for the future. This mystery is a welcome change of pace, still lively and absorbing even ten years after its initial publication.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific mystery reveals much about Japanese culture.
Review: When Shunsuke Honma, a detective recovering from a gunshot wound, is asked by a young relative to try to find his missing fiancee, Shoko, this "simple" request quickly evolves into much more. Honma also finds himself dealing with issues of credit card debt, bankruptcy, identify theft, and possibly multiple murders. While the reader is pre-occupied with the complications of this fascinating mystery, s/he is also learning a great deal about how Japan "works" on many levels--the process of job-hunting, the importance of family and the use of the family register, the Public Employment department, attitudes toward women and their changing roles in society, attitudes toward adoption, and how the economy is changing as credit becomes more readily available. These topics add a fascinating new dimension to what might otherwise be a fairly standard, though extremely well written, mystery, keeping the reader thoroughly engaged on a level other than plot. Cleanly written and straightforward, the novel is also unusual in that Miyabe develops character more successfully than many other mystery writers. Honma is a real person who seems older than his 42 years, with real worries and real domestic problems, and we come to know him, his life with his 10-year-old son, and his hopes for the future. This mystery is a welcome change of pace, still lively and absorbing even ten years after its initial publication.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: Wonderful Read! As a mystery, it's got all the intrigue and plot red herrings you would expect. However, if you are even remotely interested in Japanese society or just want to follow someone around Japan, this book does it well. I am left wondering how well does the translation keeps to the original since more than once I saw what I would have suspected as an English idiom crop up with a Japanese touch. Most notabably a variation on "Keeping up with the Jones". However, as an English reader, this touch only made the story more accessable as a whole. Very entertaining and leaves me wanting more!
Rating:
Summary: You will not be able to put this book down!
Review: Wow! This was an incredible read. If you are a Murakami fan, you will definitely love Miyabe. This book offers great insight into modern Japanese culture (or actually, modern society in general). The storyline is fast-paced and full of surprising twists and turns. You just can't wait to find out what happens next!
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