Villain

From a wildly popular, award-winning Japanese author comes his first novel translated into English the story of a murder- a tale of desperation set in desolate seaside towns, online chat rooms and love hotels. anuary 6, 2002. The body of Yoshino, a female insurance saleswoman, is found inland at Mitsue Pass, a haunted spot in the southernmost region of Japan, rumoured to be home to ghosts. A young construction worker, Yuichi, is arrested shortly thereafter by the Nagasaki police on suspicion of strangling the victim. What unfolds, through multiple points of view, are the events that led up to the murder and its aftermath, as Yuichi and his lover try to elude the police. Moving back and forth in time, we learn the stories of the victim, the murderer, and their families stories in which both Japan s past and future are written, revealing the inner lives of men and women who are not everything they appear to be. Villain depicts loneliness and alienation in contemporary Japan with a deft, elegant touch. Part police procedural, part dirty realism, Yoshida Shuchi s drama pushes his characters to the razor s edge of despair.