Takamura’s challenging, genre-confounding epic offers a sweeping view of contemporary Japan in all its complexity. Yet while there are acute observations of Japanese life there is also much that is recognisable about modern capitalism in Lady Joker. There is a lot of focus on the beer company and the trials and tribulations of Hinode will be recognised by many working in industries where one firm has a near monopoly of the market and remains desperate to hang onto its market share. There are multiple risks to the company, including from the kidnappers who threaten to damage their product, the opportunities for corporate exploitation by established and organised crime groups as well as the very real threat of having their finances scrutinised by the authorities. This includes those of Shiroyama, who is abducted and taken to a snowy mountain location. His interaction with the fellow board members of Hinode Beer are also shown We also follow members of the police authorities, primarily the MPD; and with the attention that the disappearance of such a prominent businessman man our attention is drawn to the eager members of staff of the newspaper Toho News.

Lady Joker: Volume 2 by Kaoru Takamura | Hachette UK Lady Joker: Volume 2 by Kaoru Takamura | Hachette UK

This is a hard book to rate. The translation and writing style is wonderful, to an extent. I find the story quite wordy yet the minute details are what shapes the characters. Skimming the text would have portrayed the characters flatter than they are. I can definitely understand readers finding the characters flat regardless but to me, they felt very much so as I'd expect for a Japanese translated work.A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. Oof. It's long. We see multiple characters alienated from their lives in different ways, plot to kidnap an executive and extort money from his company, Hinode Beer. Once the kidnap happens, these characters disappear from our view. A swarm of characters, an unorthodox structure, and slow-moving, ultimately irresistible suspense distinguish Lady Joker . . .Like some novels by James Ellroy and Marlon James, Lady Joker is wildly ambitious in scope.” An immense and extraordinary feat of writing and translation that has been long-awaited in English, Lady Joker is at once a thriller and a sweeping cultural history of Japan, a love story and a work of poignant social commentary.” The book starts with a letter from Seiji Okamura to the Hinode Beer Company written in June 1947. He was one of forty employees who resigned from the company’s Kanagawa factory. It transpires in his letter that he is a member of the Baraku people - meaning Hamlet people who are a caste-like minority and the largest discriminated against population in Japan. The letter alleges that these employees received discrimination for being at the bottom of the traditional social herirachy and also for their attempts to have union recognition.

Lady Joker, Volume Two by Kaoru Takamura | Goodreads

It is well worth the wait for anyone interested in a panoramic portrait of modern Japanese society, including its dark corners, as well as fans of intelligent mysteries.” My thanks to John Murray Press U.K. Baskerville for an eARC and to John Murray Press U.K. Audio for a review copy of the unabridged audiobook edition, both via NetGalley, of ‘Lady Joker Volume 2’ by Kaoru Takamura. The audiobook is narrated by Brian Nishii. Takamura joins American writers James Ellroy, author ofAmerican Tabloid, and Don Winslow, author of several novels about the drug trade, to illuminate a society in which power and money matter far more than morality. All three write mysteries that also function as morality plays . . . Bravura.” Like Ellroy’s American Tabloid and Carr’s The Alienist, the book uses crime as a prism to examine dynamic periods of social history . . . Takamura’s blistering indictment of capitalism, corporate corruption and the alienation felt by characters on both sides of the law from institutions they once believed would protect them resonates surprisingly with American culture.”The cynical nature of the capitalist society is also represented through the actions of the police. Their determination to try to locate the missing CEO and find the kidnappers is equalled by their resolve to prevent any kind of deal behind the eyes of the public. It is very evident that the people already appear to hold very little trust in business and political leaders. Thirdly there is very much familiarity with the journalists who dedicate their resources to following the key men of Hinode. Their ambition to establish the truth is done with the sole intention of getting that scoop piece of news that they can break ahead of their competitors at other publications. While this novel was written in 1997 in Japan, it can be argued that it’s condemnatory views of the actions of powerful businesses, the police and the press hold a mirror to those of us in the west in the current age will equally recognise. This is second volume in the story—and a long story it is, but good, too. The action has gone on to include more than just Lady Joker’s crimes, and all the characters have different problems to deal with. The second half of Takamura’s compelling crime epic—following Lady Joker, Volume 1 (2021)—plumbs the connections between corporate malfeasance and social immorality. Takamura’s eye for detail and storytelling prowess are astonishing . . . It’s possible to read Lady Joker in various ways—as a mystery novel, a police procedural, or a cautionary tale of corporate risk management. I read it as an exploration of the original sin of human existence . . . The depth of empathy readers will feel for this book’s characters directly corresponds with the author’s insight on the intersections of human existence.” Despite its lengthiness and detailing, this was actually a straightforward crime plotted retelling to me. I know how it'll go as I have read the Glico-Morinaga case previously. No plot twists whatsoever, the tension was average and I actually don't really find their motive that convincing enough (except for Monoi and Koh, and Nunokawa for his family problems) but I digress on this as I remembered Handa said; “…to few crimes it could be the devil made me do it.” Still wondering on how they planned and initiated this huge and complex crime as none of the 5 men appeared in the post-kidnapping scene but I guess I need to wait for volume 2 later to know more about it. 3 stars to this first volume!

Lady Joker: Volume 2 (Hardback) - Waterstones

A fantastic ending to the two part novel. All I can say is that if you loved Lady Joker Volume one you won't be disappointed with volume two. Lady Joker’ was originally published as ‘Redi jōkā’ in Japan in 1997 and was translated from the Japanese by Marie Iida and Allison Markin Powell. Both volumes open with a handy Dramatis Personae.

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In 1947, Seiji Okamura wrote a letter to Hinode Beer describing unfair termination of employment. Okamura, like many other "resigned employees" was destitute. "My body always remembered poverty...I am sensitive to sounds and smells...when I inhale...they seep through me...settling in my empty stomach...a futile and unchanging past...". Okamura's threatening letter from half a century ago would resurface. Was the 1947 letter still relevant in the 1990's? Was Hinode Beer compliant with any sinister criminal behavior? Were there deeply buried secrets?