A Quiet Place

Bitter Lemon Press. A Quiet Place by Seicho Matsumoto A twist on the usual mystery detective story. We know who did it and why. But were they justified in their suspicions? Will they be caught? Can they hold their nerve? For most English-speaking readers, does it matter that the story is set in relatively unknown Japan? As far as the plot is concerned, no. Murder is murder wherever it happens. The delicacy of the writing, and the character of the protagonist are very Japanese. Does that matter? Again, no. Alluring as they are, to appreciate either, again, we need not have lived in Japan. What about the setting, though? The author spends little time on its description. Having lived in Japan myself, I could easily imagine the scenes in the book. But could readers who had never been there? I initially thought not. I realised that I was wrong. The usual brilliant Bitter Lemon cover tells us all we need to know about the story’s setting. Dark but attractive, delicate but sinister, it epitomises the small back streets of a Japanese city. And it epitomises the story and the writing.

I just can't knock down Matsumoto. The guy is a legend and a true inspiring voice in Japanese writing. It's truly a shame this story took as long as it did to reach the English speaking world. It perfectly sums up everything I've ever read from Matsumoto in the past. So score one for Bitter Lemon Press and also for the excellent translation work done in those book by Louise Heal Kawai.As for the story, well, it's small but somehow still all-encompassing. What I mean by this statement is that it's a basic plot: Guy finds out one night his wife died in a strange part of town that she would have no ordinary business in, guy suspects wife was doing something she shouldn't have been, guy begins to be absorbed in his own speculations, and then... well, I don't want to say anything more, but I can certainly tell you that the story ends on a semi-humorous note and is, overall, a lesson in karma. A huge, rock heavy lesson too.The questions I kept asking by the end was, "if it were my wife, would I have done the same?" And if all my conjectures turned out to be true about what my wife was really doing behind my back, who would I be more mad at? My wife or the guy she was doing stuff behind my back with? I think you'll have those same questions by the end of reading this story too, except you'll feel just as consumed by quest to know the real truth of what was going on as the main character in the story was. And that's where this book's charm lies: it's one half a whodunit, and the other half a study in obsession and the consequences of not letting sleeping dogs lie.Sorry to be so terribly cryptic, but I don't want to give anything away. This is a great book, truly. It's not my favorite and I certainly didn't love it, because my tastes often go for the much more bizarre or truly unique, but considering how old this story actually is (over 20 years I believe? Maybe more), and considering who wrote it, I have nothing but respect for the plot and what Matsumoto was trying to write about here. And to think... Matsumoto wrote several hundred stories in his time, and "A Quiet Place" is any indication of how good of a writer he is with the small form novel, I can't even imagine all of his works being translated for our enjoyment! Perhaps someday.Definitely give this book a try. It's a great introduction to Matsumoto and the mystery crime universe that Matsumoto liked to inhabit frequently.

The translation is a bit shaky, particularly towards the beginning. But, the story has a certain mesmerizing quality. The denouement is right out of Poe and the story and style of writing are very much akin to Patricia Highsmith. It is a story of grief and revenge gone wrong, culminating in a Poe-like obsession that inevitably and painstaking dooms Mr. Asia, our protagonist if unfortunately not our hero.

It is ironic that a book titled "A Quiet Place" has such a horrifying ending. Even so it is gratifying to have another book by Seicho Matsumoto, the late grand master of Japanese mystery writing, now available in English. In this instance, a mid-level official in the ministry promoting agriculture discovers that the seemingly innocent death of his wife from heart failure was linked to a secret life quite unknown to him. As this bureaucrat unravels the mystery of the wife's life and death, he himself assumes an alternate persona, and this transformation creates the book's mounting sense of doom. Matsumoto has here teamed an imaginative plot with deep psychological insights, strengths that call to mind Georges Simenon. The writing style is spare but effective in both setting a scene and realistically detailing the nature of Japanese bureaucratic life, and American readers will have no trouble understanding even the smallest detail. If you are lucky enough to have lived in Japan, meanwhile, additional pleasure will be gained in being able to visualize the settings in which the action unfolds.

This compelling mystery comes from another time and place -- Japan in the 1970's -- but the unfamiliar environment adds to the book's power. Mr. Asai, a mid-level bureaucrat, learns that his wife has died of a sudden heart attack. But she died in an unfamiliar neighborhood, under less than clear-cut circumstances. Asai becomes obsessed with the circumstances of her death, starts his own investigation and eventually hires detectives to learn more. In time, he develops a theory of what happened and why, and that is when the real mystery begins. The tone of the book is cool and formal, but Asai is a compelling character, and the suspense grows as the story progresses. Comparisons to Simenon are apt, even though the central character here is not a policeman -- far from it.

Great psychological thriller with a strong sense of place and time - 1960s Tokyo. Creates an intense atmosphere with an understated narrative style.

It's a great, fast paced read.

I found the plot incredible in its simplicity and directness. I also fell for Mr. Tsuneo Asai, not just because he's the main character, mostly for his burocratic habits and mannerisms.But what I liked above all was the description of a particular section of Japanese society, tinged as it was with that rètro flavor given by the almost fifty years' distance since the writing of the book.I'd definitely recommend it!

Seicho Matsumoto was one of the great mystery and thriller writers of 20th-century Japan. A Quiet Place turns the psychological screws very slowly until the story reaches breaking point. I didn't enjoy it as much as his Points and Lines, but it was a page-turner.

Very enjoyable book. I’ve really got into the genre lately, and this is one of my favourites.