Author Hideo Yokoyama has been described as a crime author who says that the crime is the least interesting part of his books. As a reader, you need to bear this in mind; as this is very much a novel described as a ‘thriller,’ which is much more interested in the aftermath of events, and – in particular – the way events are covered by the press, than in the air crash, which is central to the plot. The story is brilliantly crafted and narrated with dry humour that had me laughing out loud one minute and my heart in my throat the next. It’s the first time that I can say this about a thriller! The short chapters were perfect for keeping the pace and the action going. I would find myself reading in bed and doing the whole ‘just one more chapter’ thing about 6 times before I realise how much I am going to hate myself in the morning from staying up too late.

The snail pace of the novel, due to Hideo-san's unabridged attention to every little detail, for obvious intent as in showcasing a true depiction of the haranguing and stressful work-life situation in the media industry, may be off-putting to some readers without vehement, outstaying patience, or those who wanted a novel with plentiful exciting action sequences. Taken at face value, this book, it seemed, was most likely written and geared towards more mature readers, with seasoned tastes and preferences, those who were adroitly accustomed to reading multi-layered, structurally complex, sagaciously plotted, character-driven fiction. The element in fashion which is hardest to define and analyze is good taste. You are most acutely aware of it when it is absent.” A Japan Air Lines jumbo jet crashed in a mountainous area between Gunma and Nagano prefectures on a summer evening. 520 lost lives, 4 survived. A seasoned reporter was tasked to lead the reporting team covering the accident of unprecedented scale.I read Hideo Yokoyama’s Six Four at the start of 2018. I was expecting it to be one thing (a dense, layered murder mystery) and instead got another (a character study and bureaucracy-heavy police procedural). It wasn’t what I would normally read but I appreciated that it was something different. I appreciated the inflections of the main character and how Yokoyama could inject such nuance about life in Japan in the midst of a professional crisis. Disclaimer: A Physical Copy was provided via Hachette India. The Thoughts, opinions & feelings expressed in the review are however my own. Welcome to Open Book: The Seventeen Book Club! If you are an avid reader and can’t stop seeing #BookTok videos pop up on your FYP, then you’re in the right place. Here at Seventeen, we believe that books are magical, transformative devices that hold the ability to introduce us to new places, cultures, and ideas. They maintain the capacity to explore beautiful stories about a range of topics, including first love, friendship, family, race, and identity. I have always had a fascination with Japan, as well as Japanese authors, with my favourite writer, Haruki Murakami, hailing from that part of the world, so it was an easy decision to read SEVENTEEN. I love to learn about different cultures and this title educated me in a way that fit within the story, just like Yokoyama's previous release, SIX FOUR, which I also enjoyed immensely.

Books The best new books to read in August, from a new Ann Patchett novel to Mark Watson's memoir Read More It isn’t until Gibson is in his thirties that he seems to realise that what she did was illegal. “If it happened today,” a friend says, “there would be police, a court case. It’s a criminal offence. Look at the toll it’s taken on you.” The plot is just crazy enough to make you wonder how real some of these roles and events are. Are all the characters and individual events believable? Not really. Is the overall plot just crazy enough to make you question how real it is? You bet it is! A gripping and powerful memoir reminiscent of Notes on a Scandal, An Education and My Dark Vanessa* Sixteen killers have done this job before me. Officially, I don't exist, but every government uses me. I'm the most feared hitman in the world.

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Yokoyama's detail writing based on his experience as a journalist brought me to the North Kanto Times office, where everything seemed tense yet dramatic. From the race against time, office politics and in-fighting, to deciding between journalism ethics and publishing the hottest scoop ahead of the other newspapers. The way you stand and walk shows who you think you are. People who droop and just sort of drift around look like nonentities.” Autor John Brownlow hat unter anderem das Drehbuch für die Fernsehserie „Fleming“ über Ian Fleming und die Entstehung von James Bond geschrieben. Für sein Romandebüt „Seventeen“ bewegt er sich in ähnlichen Gefilden. Im Gegensatz zu 007 ist Seventeen auf der dunklen Seite der Branche. Was allerdings nicht heißt, dass die meisten seiner Aufträge nicht von irgendeiner Regierung kommen, die sich aber nicht exponieren will. Seventeen ist ein absoluter Profi, seine Aufträge erledigt er kühl und zuverlässig, hinterfragt sie auch nicht groß, versucht allerdings, Kollateralschäden zu vermeiden. Seine Tarnung ist größstmögliche Auffälligkeit. Er hat es an der Spitze geschafft, aber seine Nachfolger sind stets auf der Lauer, Unachtsamkeit wird in der Branche grausam bestraft. Seventeen is very much a human story. Yuuki struggles with maintaining a home/work balance and pretty much loses all the time. Not by nature an outgoing individual, he prefers to stay out of the political squabbles, but when they threaten to overpower the biggest story the paper has ever handled, he knows he has to step up to the plate whatever the personal cost. Here are all the small decisions that make a huge impact on coverage and circulation; the big editorial decisions that make or break the reputation of those in charge; the tensions between advertising, circulation and editorial and in the midst of this, one man, Yuuki, struggling to make sense of it all.