Tokyo Year Zero Audiobook

" As a scholar of Japanese history, I didn't know if I was supposed to like this book or hate it. My "orientalism alarm" didn't go off too often, though (Peace relies heavily on the scholarship of John Dower, which is a safe way to play) and I found myself really interested in the idea of a murder mystery set in Occupied Japan. The specifics did not make a particularly strong impression on me, however. "

" This book gave me chills the inspector is not who he says he is But no one is who they say they are they all live by day. He is investigating A rape and murder case A 18 year old girl who was sexually assaulted and killed the person who committed the crime left her naked in a basement with water gushing out their is a spree of girls getting raped all over Japan. And it is up to the inspector to figure out who this killer is. Little does he know It could be anyone he also has a lover and family who are all dieing little by little This book is full of suffering,misery and conflict I would recommend this book. "

" Gripping plot set in one of the most fascinating countries in the world at a riveting point in its history. That's the good news. Then the author inexplicably decides to bury his story under an avalanche of affected and, at times, indecipherable prose. Is the crime novel an appropriate vehicle for post-structuralist meanderings? You be the judge... "

" What an experience this book is. For the first time in my life I ended up feeling sympathy for the Japanese who survived WW2. The abiding memories are of filth, squalor, itching and scratching while eking out an existence. The murders are almost inconsequential - which I would imagine is one of the points Peace is trying to make in the light of events in Manchuria and the dropping of the A bombs on Japan. The only negatives are that some of the style does intrude - repetition is fine if you're learning times tables but there is a limit - and the ending comes in a bit of a blur even after a few re-reads. However I can't wait for the next volume in the trilogy. "

" Best book I read this Summer, painful though it was. "

" Can't say I really enjoyed this novel. The repetitions really stopped the flow of the narrative for me. I had also been expecting a rivetting thriller just the thing for the long train trip home, but it was too literary for my mood on the day. "

" I was quite impressed by this book for many reasons, the foremost being that I really felt like I was inside a japanese mind, despite the author. And even without the post-war destruction and misery and the actual crime itself on which the book centers, its a pretty scary place to be, if only because it is so different from the usual western background, values, thought process. Throw in the rest in this is a difficult book to take in - you can almost see the misery jump out of the pages, and you can most certainly feel the shame in its multiple and seemingly endless layers, more palpable and painful than any physical constraint. I loved the book but have to say getting onto the next in this trilogy (Occupied City) has been taking some time to brace myself. "

" Claustrophobic, gritty, raw. "

" Heavy and dark. It really embeds the reader into its world. "

" I'm giving this a 4, because the story itself is a gripping one, and because Peace captures Tokyo in 1945/46 so damned well. I could do without the end, however, and I agree that the repetition was, well, too repetitive. But despite these complaints - wow. I'm just majorly depressed now, however. "

" pretty morbid book with non-conventional dialog and scattered multiple story lines, not really my style. It felt like a chore to read. "

" Very intense in the way the Red Riding Quartet was, but also excellent in showing the hardships endured in Japan in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. Awesome - I loved it! "

" Complicated but intriguing. We will see what the next one like! "

" A tough read, rewarding, but sometimes a bit too "artsy". "

" I'm neither deep nor arty enough to appreciate this book. It drove me nuts, with the repetition & dreamlike style. I keep reading, not sure why, but I never was sure I knew what was going on. Too sad. Too confusing. Too annoying. "

" Interesting historical fiction starting from the day Japan surrenders. Though written by a non-Japanese, thoughtful research and attention paid to the character, spirit and post-war mentality of Japan. "

" I think the... I think the... I think the... repetition really (i'm bored i'm bored i'm bored i'm bored i'm bored i'm bored) tried my patience. "

" Sehr spezieller Sprachstil; gibt aber hervorragend die Atmosphäre im Japan der 40er Jahre wieder. Der Kriminalfall an sich, um den es im Buch geht, ist insgesamt eher nebensächlich. "

" Really interesting and thought-provoking, but hard to grasp. You need to read it SLOWLY or you absolutely will miss things. "

" My husband read it; thought it was interesting due to the time period/location but the narrative was strangely laid out to the reader. "

" August 1946, a sweltering summer in a devastated city... A grim and very noir detective story set in the ruins of postwar Japan. Peace wants far too much to be James Ellroy, but the setting and the whole atmosphere aren't bad. "

" I got half way through this and then got bored of it. Maybe I'm impatient, but the plot wasn't very interesting so far and it uses lots of annoying, deliberately repetitive prose throughout. "