Inshitemiru

As usual, I brought a novel with me for the flight.

My pick this time was The Incite Mill (the original title was Inshitemiru) (算計) by Yonezawa Honobu (米澤穂信) – a modern detective fiction I borrowed from AL.

Was it good?

Oh, don’t be silly. A detective fiction would never be called modern if it is good – classic or traditional would be the appropriate adjective. Well, the flesh of the story was healthy; the plot was meticulous and deduction serious. Nonetheless, it lacks the sole.

Well, you can call it motive (of the murderer, or the master of the entire plan), or the story behind every character that appears in the novel. (For example, for those who have ever read And Then There Were None of Agatha Christie, you would have a clear idea what brought each of that ten characters to the island.)

And, another major problem was Yonezawa cited too many excellent detective fictions: Ellen Poole, van Dine, Ellery Queen, Agatha Christie, and Dickson Car. Readers who are not familiar with these giants would not appreciate some of the details in the story – but for those who have come across all these terrific works, in the words of Hercule Poirot, we used to see better things.

PS. Although the book was nearly 400 pages, it was read surprisingly quickly on my flight back (probably shortly after the plane left Alaska) - so that I could have the time to write this blog.