: 新幹線
hello my forest friends, it's time for a book review for a satirical high stakes thrill ride of a book called bullet train.
some spoilers ahead, so if you do plan on reading this, please skip this blog post completely. the book is only thoroughly enjoyable if you go in not knowing what is happening - in which case, I did and I also did thoroughly enjoy it. Before we begin, I'd like to quote this review by Laura Wilson from The Guardian:
"Part high-octane thriller, part farce, and laced with philosophical and literary debates, this is an unusual and thoroughly enjoyable read." - Laura Wilson, The Guardian
Bullet train is set entirely on board a Shinkansen train (no surprises there) traveling from Tokyo to Morioka. We follow Kimura, our first key player in this book who seems to be stalking someone, on a personal mission of vengeance. A checkered past revealed and a revenge plan gone awry, Kimura finds himself stumped by none other than Satoshi, "The Prince", whom I'd like to believe is the main antagonist. A 14-year-old school with a knack for manipulating his peers, The Prince is the driving force of this entire book, causing conflict and somehow managing to stay free from the bloodshed and innocent.
We meet an odd couple afterward, under the guise of Lemon and Tangerine ("sour and sweet"), an unusual pair of assassins both with a penchant for books - one for literature and the other - well - for Thomas the Tank Engine. Almost ironic considering there is an actual Thomas replica that rumbles through Japan's countryside.
Finally, we are introduced to what I'd called the main protagonist of the story, Nanao. A character that initially seemed to be nothing much but grew on me quite a bit as the train trudges on. Nanao is also an assassin, but he's not just your run-of-the-mill one - he's quite literally the unluckiest assassin in his line of work. You see, all he was supposed to do was to steal a suitcase and get off the train. Simple. Not for Nanao unfortunately, as he finds wrapped up in a spider's web - one that converges all the characters that we have just met.
The entire book is extremely eventful, having each chapter unravel the layers of relationships that each character is initially unaware of - each revelation leading to more questions than answers. The dynamics between the core of these five characters are well written and complex, dramatic almost and somehow Isaka manages to end the series with a neat resolution, one that leaves it up to your own interpretation. Comical, with dark undertones, Bullet train often verges on the silly - purely for entertainment. It is a fun read nonetheless.
I think the appeal of the story comes in the characterizations of its characters. Once you get past its erratic start (yes, the first few chapters hop between each character's point of view), the ride you take with Nanao is quite addictive.
There are a couple of philosophical themes brought up in this novel, most notably the underlying Machiavellian justice, but blink and you'll miss it. The debate "is killing really wrong?" is a constant here and we do see ourselves getting a semblance of an answer only at the end of the book. As much as I dislike the Prince, our sociopathic chaos agent does bring up a couple of interesting commentaries as evidenced by the thoughts displayed in his school book report on the Rwandan genocide:
The Prince understood it like this: when people have a difficult decision to make, one that may go against their code of ethics, they conform to the group, and even come to believe that the answer is correct.
When he thought about it in those terms, it became easy to see the mechanism by which the genocide not only was difficult to stop but by which it fuelled itself. The people doing the killing didn’t trust their own judgement, but rather went along with the group, believing that was right.
I did, however, find that The Prince and his superiority complex highly vexing, as interesting of a character as he is. Nonetheless, it is a page-turner and I highly recommend taking on this ride with our 5 killers.
The book is a perfect form of escapism for a rainy, coupled with some hot cocoa. I'd give it a solid 4/5 stars.
x
evelyn
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