Japanese Literature Discussion Group -- Six Four: A Novel, by Hideo Yokoyama

We shall be discussing the book Six Four: A Novel by Hideo Yokoyama. In 2013 it won the award "Best Japanese Crime Fiction of the Year (Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kono_Mystery_ga_Sugoi!#2013))", and it is also the first novel by Yokoyama that has been translated into English. I think that this will be excellent reading for October!

A synopsis of the novel is provided below:

"For five days, the parents of a seven-year-old Japanese schoolgirl sat and listened to the demands of their daughter’s kidnapper. They would never learn his identity. And they would never see their daughter alive again.

Fourteen years later, the mystery remains unsolved. The police department’s press officer―Yoshinobu Mikami, a former detective who was involved in the original case and who is now himself the father of a missing daughter―is forced to revisit the botched investigation. The stigma of the case known as “Six Four” has never faded; the police’s failure remains a profound source of shame and an unending collective responsibility.

Mikami does not aspire to solve the crime. He has worked in the department for his entire career, and while he has his own ambitions and loyalties, he is hoping simply to reach out to the victim’s family and to help finally put the notorious case to rest. But when he spots an anomaly in the files, he uncovers secrets he never could have imagined. He would never have even looked if he’d known what he would find."

This is a long novel, so if you are interested in joining us, please start reading as soon as you are able.

I look forward to seeing everyone there!