Lady Joker: Volume 2: The Million Copy Bestselling 'Masterpiece of Japanese Crime Fiction'

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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.” It's the first book I've read in a long time without a single non-cis-male main character. Takamura's female characters are wives, secretaries, nieces, daughters and they have no point of view of their own in her telling of the story. She seems deeply fascinating by a society made by, run by and destroyed by men and men only. 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, Vol. 2 - Soho Press Lady Joker, Vol. 2 - Soho Press

Admirers of intricate crime fiction, which both engages the intellect and offers insights into the hidden parts of a society, will hope for further translations of this gifted author’s work.”

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A cast or dramatis personae is provided at the start of the book which becomes increasingly useful as following the initial chapters we follow the story from a range of perspectives. 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. 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.” I'm also a little lost on where this book falls. It's set in the 90s so it feels like I could now place it under historical fiction but at the time of original publication (1997 I think), it would be deemed fiction? It's not really a thriller considering the incident wasn't all that thrilling. There's no mystery to the reader either, only to the police and media. Lady Joker reads like Don DeLillo’s Underworld rewritten by James Ellroy, or perhaps LA Confidential rewritten by Don DeLillo? What I’m trying to say here is, Lady Joker is EPIC.”

Lady Joker: Volume 2 (Paperback) - Waterstones Lady Joker: Volume 2 (Paperback) - Waterstones

Centered around an extortion case involving a beer company, Lady Joker would ordinarily be categorized in the crime or mystery novel genre, yet the book deserves to be called an exemplary literary work that depicts contemporary society . . . A magnum opus . . . It requires extraordinary skill to fully depict the ambivalence of Japanese society, in all its detail. Reading Lady Joker together with James Ellroy’s American Tabloid and the drama behind the Kennedy assassination serves as an intriguing comparison. Viewing a society through the lens of a crime is like examining a disease or a corpse to get at the person: it exposes the foundations of human existence.” A novel that portrays withdevastating immensityhow those on the dark fringes of society can be consumed by the darkness of their own hearts.” The premise sounded so good - a plan to extort money out of a beer corporation - and I was glued to the book for about the first third of it. But once it moved away from the “Lady Joker” group who commit the crime and focused on the victim of the crime, the press, and the police - it just became very boring and moved painfully slow. I can’t allow myself to not finish a book (unless it’s completely terrible) - so I continued to work my way through it although it took way longer than it should have because I just kept getting bored. Eventually I started to speed read through it just to get it done.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.”

Lady Joker: Volume 2: The Million Copy Bestselling

Brokenness is incorrect, nor are they desperate: the fire of hatred has been lite and it desires action—so they kidnapped and extort the CEO of Japan’s biggest beer company, Hindoe. 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? This second half of Lady Joker, by Kaoru Takamura, the Grand Dame of Japanese crime fiction, concludes the breathtaking saga introduced in Volume I. Hinging on a kidnapping plot, Takamura’s prismatic heist novel offers a broad indictment of capitalist society.” You are either going to love this or hate this book. It is slow (and apparently there are four volumes) and much of this first book is leading up to the events that form the end section of this volume and set up the next. In part, it is a look at the focus on business and how that effects the people who work for the business, in this case beer company and how it impacts various people.This second half of Lady Joker, by Kaoru Takamura, the Grand Dame of Japanese crime fiction, concludes the breathtaking saga introduced in Volume One. Inspired by the real-life Glico-Morinaga kidnapping, an unsolved case which terrorized Japan for two years, Lady Joker reimagines the circumstances of this watershed episode in modern Japanese history and brings into riveting focus the lives and motivations of the victims, the perpetrators, the heroes and the villains. As the shady networks linking corporations to syndicates are brought to light, the stakes rise, and some of the professionals we have watched try to fight their way through this crisis will lose everything–some even their lives. Will the culprits ever be brought to justice? More importantly–what is justice? Lady Joker, Volume Two by Kaoru Takamura – eBook Details

LADY JOKER, VOLUME 2 | Kirkus Reviews

Inspired by the real-life Glico-Morinaga kidnapping, an unsolved case that terrorized Japan for two years, Lady Joker reimagines this watershed episode in modern Japanese history. 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.” Anyone who wants to buy Lady Joker will definitely get their money's worth, it's the perfect book to read and mull over for a long period of time. If there was any book you wanted to completely surround yourself with and dive into, this would be a great selection.

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Oh man, I really, really wanted to like this one. I love Japanese literature, especially crime fiction in the vein of Keigo Higashino or Tetsuya Honda. Unfortunately this didn’t live up to books like those. Takamura’s challenging, genre-confounding epic offers a sweeping view of contemporary Japan in all its complexity.” 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. This is a huge novel, one to get lost in. As a western reader, the world described is quite foreign: the importance of organisations and companies, the different strata of Japanese society, the influence of the underworld, and the machinations of the political system. As I wrote in my review of volume 1, there is no explanatory glossary. I have come to the conclusion that I could live with out one, just immersed myself in this recognisable but slightly strange world.