青の炎

by Yusuke Kishi

櫛森秀一は湘南の高校に通う17歳。女手一つで家計を担う母と素直で明るい妹との３人暮らし。その平和な家庭に、母が10年前に別れた男、曾根が現れた。曾根は秀一の家に居座って傍若無人に振る舞い、母の体のみならず妹にまで手を出そうとする。警察も法律も家族の幸せを取り返してはくれないことを知った秀一は決意した。自らの手で曾根を葬り去ることを……。完全犯罪に挑む少年の孤独な戦い。その哀切な心象風景を精妙な筆致で描き上げた、日本ミステリー史に残る感動の名作。

Genres: Japanese Literature, Fiction

458 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 1999

About the author

He graduated from Kyoto University with a degree in Economics. After working for a life insurance company for several years, Kishi started his writing career as a freelancer. He has twice won the Japan Horror Novel Award, and boasts bestselling status in Japan with multiple works adapted to the screen. The Crimson Labyrinth marks his American debut.

Awards given to his works:
Japan Horror Novel Award 1997 (Black House), Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Best Novel 2005 (Glass Hammer), Japan SF Taisho Award 2008 (From the New World), Yamada Futaro Award 2010 (Lesson of the Evil), [Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!] Best Japanese Crime Fiction of the Year 2011 (Lesson of the Evil).

Reviews

[Phu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

Shuichi Kushimori, chàng trai 17 tuổi, có một cuộc hạnh phúc cùng mẹ, Tomoko và cô em gái, Haruka. Cho đến một ngày, Ryuji Sone - người cha dượng (xét ở hiện tại là chồng cũ của Tomoko) ngang nhiên xuất hiện và sống tại nhà của họ, rượu chè bê tha, bạo lực. Chẳng thể nhờ pháp luật đuổi Ryuji đi, để có thể bảo vệ mẹ và em gái, Shuichi quyết định nghĩ ra một kế hoạch giết người hoàn hảo.

Tác giả đưa ra những suy nghĩ và đấu tranh của con người khi đứng trước tội lỗi thông qua những tác phẩm văn học và các đoạn đối thoại. Những cảm xúc yêu, hận, bốc đồng của tuổi trẻ. Phần cuối có cảnh suy luận hay ho.

Những suy nghĩ về "kế hoạch giết người" ban đầu khiến mình hứng thú, nhưng việc nó được nhắc đi nhắc lại khiến mình cũng khó chịu. Việc sắp đặt mối quan hệ của một vài nhân vật cũng kì lạ, chẳng giải đáp ý nghĩa của các mối quan hệ đó. Và sau khi "kế hoạch giết người" được thực hiện thì mình không biết phải theo dõi điều gì, ngoài những cảm xúc đang dâng trào của Shuichi.

Những diễn biến sau lại khiến mình mâu thuẫn, để rồi đến một cái kết khiến mình hỏi, tại sao mọi thứ lại phải như thế? Tuổi trẻ vốn có những suy nghĩ, những hành động thật kì lạ.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the book only knowing that the main character is a Japanese high schooler before hand. It was one of the most intense crime book I have read written from the murder’s narrative. It was a psychologically and emotionally rollercoaster and I ended up tearing up at the end. In some way deeply disturbing (as it intended to) and still haunting me inside (in a sad but good way)

[Vera · Rating 4 out of 5]

“但是，与那冷静的色彩相反的是，青之炎的燃烧温度，比红色的火焰更高。”
推理写得很详细，和故事结合得也不错…不过，这都不是重点。尽管我是冲着推理和所谓“完美犯罪“去看的，但最后却不由自主地被意料之外的部分吸引了注意力…作者细腻、流畅的叙述让我感觉自己仿佛不小心闯进了栉森秀一的生活，就这么傻傻捧着我那碗面看着他忙忙碌碌地走在自己选择的人生路上。甚至，让我无法像读别的推理那样冷眼旁观、专心于捋清剧情逻辑，而是不自觉地代入了栉森秀一的视角：他生活偶有波折、不过还算平静美好；他有深爱的妈妈、妹妹，有一起长大的好友大门，对久别重逢的青梅竹马抱有好感；他会在骑车时神游、喜欢在车库里偷偷听着王菲的国语歌喝波旁、学习时会对着课程内容发散想象…每一个跳脱的想法、每一个谨慎又大胆的动作，都让我近一步沉浸进了栉森秀一的世界。
《青之炎》的案件设计其实并不是很出彩，绝对够不上宣传所说的什么“完美犯罪”。然而，正是这份“不完美”让《青之炎》格外有趣，因为它向我展现的是推理与众不同的一面：逐渐浮上脑海表面纯白的乌黑的五彩的想法、计划的形成与执行、被“青之炎“蚕食的灰蓝色天空…一切被混进颠倒了，新奇古怪，像是不小心在提拉米苏上打翻了七味粉，硬吃下去之后发现自己出人意料地还有点喜欢。

[Annemarie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Three months later and I've finally managed to get my way through this book. It is so slow. For the first 150 pages or so nothing happens. I feel like this could have been a really good book is it was about 200 to 300 pages shorter.

I liked the plans and how Yuuichi actually made them happen, though I felt like he wasn't half as smart as he believes himself to be. All in all, just waaaay too slow, with done really good parts in between.

[Daisuke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this author.

The story is about an independent high school boy who try to protect his family from his father.
The elation and excitement, that are described until he commits a crime, is described very well. I feel like I am a accomplice. Also the tension after the crime makes me feel like cornered together with him. Kind of sense of loss can be found inside myself after reading.

[Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

重すぎる。

[Orin Saekow · Rating 4 out of 5]

切ないね(:_;)

[Yuxin Zhang · Rating 5 out of 5]

“不要生气，怒火会把你吞噬。”
也记得问问全社会是如何共同营造了犯罪的土壤。
认真的人总能收获忠诚的友情与纯洁的爱情，这是日系推理最打动我的一点。

[Saltymilk · Rating 5 out of 5]

看完感觉自己杀了两个人（。作者特别擅长写心理波动，于是整本书代入感极强。

[Benz Latthanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

เป็นเรื่องที่อินและมีอารมณ์ร่วมมาก ใจหนึ่งทั้งสงสารและเอาใจช่วยตัวละคร ลุ้นตลอดทั้งเล่มทั้งที่เหตุการณ์ดูธรรมดา คนเขียนเล่าเรื่องและรายละเอียดต่าง ๆ ได้สนุกและดีมาก ๆ 9/10

[Angel 一匹狼 · Rating 3 out of 5]

青の炎 (Blue Flame) is another good psychological thriller by the always reliable Yusuki Kishi. Nonetheless, it shows the same flaws that always come up in his novels.

Shuuichi is a second year student at one of Kamakura's high schools whose his life is turned upside down when his mother ex-husband reappears some years after they divorced and settles in the house where Shuuichi, his mother and his sister lived a happy and relaxed life. For Shuuichi, the appearance of this man, a drunkard, lazy and selfish man, tall and menacing, is a dangerous presence and a threat to his life and his family. So he starts thinking, half-joking half not, if he should kill him. But with the man seemingly staying there for good and taking over everyone's lives (stealing the family money and using it to bet on races, eating and drinking and pushing his way around), he starts to consider more seriously the idea.

Kishi is very good when he goes around human emotions, having a very steady and sure hand drawing characters that are forced to take decisions because of fear, love or hatred, and it shows again in this novel. When he centers on the feelings of Shuuichi or on the people around him, he shines. We can feel what the characters feel, and we understand their decisions. We are them.

The problem with "Blue Flame" is that he falls on the same problems as he has shown on "Dark House" or "Isola": he likes to show off that he knows about the subject, that he has down research reading books and checking the Internet, and he makes his characters do this same thing to get information to explain their knowledge about something. So we have Shuuichi buying books and turning on the computer a little bit too much. And then he takes the decision to write in great detail about all this information, which sometimes can become a little bit tiresome, because we have a five-pages explanation about a knife or Chinese Medicine. Interesting, yes, but a little bit too much. The book would have been better if it had been cut down a little bit, like 400 pages instead of the 500 pages that it lasts. The pace would have been faster and the story more centered.

Because Kishi loses his focus on the story with a couple of decisions he takes. It is obvious where he wants to go, but he forces his character's hand a little bit to get there, and that, as I always say, is a cheap resource, even if you can't help it. Here, though, I think, he had better options on the plot department. And Shuuichi's decisions, from the very beginning, seem a little bit rushed.

Very good, as always, and lots of fun. But a little bit too long, and uneven.

6,5

[Pedro Costa Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esse livro foi muito bom? Normalmente eu não daria 5 estrelas ainda mais pq sinceramente o livro só fica interessante de verdade do meio pra frente...
O livro começa colocando o protagonista como uma pessoa boa mas eu achei ele horrível do começo ao fim ..
Agora é assistir ao filme baseado no livro haha (e o protagonista é o Nino do Arashi haha)

[Mastugae Kiyoaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

depressed