تصویر دوزخ

Sugawara Akitada #5

by I.J. Parker, سمیرامیس بابایی (Translator)

تصویر دوزخ داستان شخصیتی به نام آکیتادا از خانوادهٔ ساگاوارا است. او، که پس‌از موفقیتش در حل معمای دانشگاه توانست شهرتی به‌دست آورد و فرماندار ایالت ایچیگو بشود، اکنون بعداز پنج سال به‌علت بیماری مادرش به زادگاه خود بازمی‌گردد، اما دستِ سرنوشت برایش اتفاقاتی را رقم می‌زند تا دوباره طبع کنجکاو و ماجراجویش به‌دنبال حل معماها و کشف جنایت باشد. از طرفی، حالا که بزرگ‌تر شده است، مجبور است دشواری‌های مسئولیتِ سرپرستی خاندان ساگاوارا را هم به دوش بکشد. همچنان که اتفاق‌ها و شخصیت‌ها در روند داستانی مشخص می‌شوند، واقعیت‌های تاریخی خاصی نیز دربارهٔ شیوهٔ زندگیِ مردمان در دوران هییان و آداب‌ورسوم و مراسم جشن و سوگواری آن زمان نیز در روند داستانی گنجانده شده‌اند. داستان جنایی کتاب برگرفته از یکی از پرونده‌های جنایی چینی است، متنی که در زمانِ سلسلهٔ مینگ به ژاپن آورده شد.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Japan, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Historical, Crime

478 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2003

Reviews

[Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sherlock-san

It felt to me, as I neared the end, that I had read a very complex and complicated murder mystery which devolved into a horror story. I suppose with a title this I might have guessed.

I’ve read several of Ms. Parker’s mysteries in this series. I would say this is the best of the first five. Granted, it moves along at a measured pace, like a broad river making its way to the sea. But you learn a great deal about Japanese culture, etiquette, and history on the way. And the multiplicity of characters and plot twists keep things very interesting.

This is not Bond. This is Sherlock-san. That is its pace.

[Saeed abedi · Rating 2 out of 5]

اگر این کتاب را بدون خواندن مجلد های قبلی کارآگاه ساگاوارا خوانده اید به ریویوی کتاب دروازه راشومون میتوانید سر بزنید که اتفاقا اسپول هم ندارد تا درباره نویسنده و سبک نگارش او بیشتر بدانید
اما این کتاب:
گذشته از جایگاهی که رمان معمایی - تاریخی برای من داشت زیاد مورد پسندم واقع نشد. گره گشایی باگ داشت و خیلی هم شل و ول داستان به این خوبی جمع شد
مثلاً چرا کونجورو خال پشت گردن خواهر دو قلو را باید فاش کند با اینکه فاش شدن این نکته کاملا به ضرر اوست ؟
و چند خرده باگ دیگر
بهرحال خود معما خیلی جذاب طراحی شده و پیش رفته است و آن دو ستاره هم به همین دلیل است

[Toni Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 2, in the Sugawara Akitada series

Some sites will show this book as the 5th in the series.

The Hell Screen, set in eleventh century Japan, features government official Sugawara Akitada and occasional amateur detective. It is a solid multilayered mystery with detailed attention to Ancient Japan, a spec of humour and a tad of horror.

This entertaining and exotic novel sends Akitada to his ancestral home to be at the bedside of his bitter and dying mother and sisters troubled by personal dilemmas. On his way, he seeks shelter at temple whose great treasure is a brilliantly painted hell screen depicting the horrors of hell. That night his sleep is filled with nightmarish images and bloodcurdling screams.

When Akitada finally arrives home he learns that his night at the temple was more than a bad dream, a woman had been murdered. Personal and professional interests begin to merge and soon Akitada becomes ensnared in a tangled web of deceit while he hunts for her killer.

This is a particularly interesting and an excellent whodunit tale, a rich and intriguing combination of history and suspense. Ms. Parker is a fascinating writer an expert in weaving into her plot and sub-plots the mystery of ancient Japan and painting complex and realistic characters for our enjoyment. The plot keeps a steady pace, has all the basics needed to make it an entertaining read: lots of clues, red herrings, weird characters, good and bad guys, a persistent protagonist, emotional punch, subtle dialogue, etc. (I am a huge fan).

Reading this series in sequence is not particularly necessary the author provides enough background to situate us and tease us to read those we have skipped.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is only the second book in the series that I have read (the other being the first) and I will certainly look for more. Akitada is an interesting investigator and brought an interesting perspective to medieval Japan-its political system, acrobatic entertainments and the dominant religions (especially pertaining to death).

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Medieval Japanese mystery series. More engaging than I expected - possibly because there was nothing screamingly medieval about it to someone unfamiliar with Japanese history and technology pre-1900. (It's all swords, horses, and koi until about 1910, as far as I'm concerned.)

[Claire Youmans · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Akitada series takes place in eleventh century Japan, before the infamous Edo (Shogun) period when much of what we think of as Japanese was set in cultural stone, and much restriction became the norm. This is long before my recent The Toki-Girl and the Sparrow-Boy, which takes place in the Meiji period, as the Edo period crumbled and Japan leapt into the modern world.
These are competent and interesting mysteries, especially enjoyable as Sugawara Akitada reveals his own prejudices and beliefs as a minor to midlevel official of his time. Seeing what he simply doesn't see is a genuine cultural revelation. Seeing his culture and times reminds one that the more things change, the more things stay the same.
I read the most recent book in the series, and liked it so much I went back and started with book one. This is the most recent one I have read, and I will read the rest.
I like the way Parker incorporates -- as I do -- folk takes and superstition, although Parker's take on them is vastly different than mine. These are good mysteries! Mystery fans who like some learning with their murders, take note. This is a series to enjoy!

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 3 out of 5]

read July, 2004 (so sorry to bring in the old stuff)

Frankly, all of the action in this book really starts in the last few chapters. Sure, there's a nasty murder in the first chapter, to whet the reader's appetite, and then there's another one a little further on down the road, but the bulk of this book is about Sugawara Akitada's personal life. His mom is dying so he's called home; his sister has married not for love but as an arrangement; his other sister is acting bizarre -- and he's worried about his wife and child.

This is the 2nd in the series, and hopefully the 3rd will be better, but I'm not holding out much hope. The first one, Rashomon Gate, was better than this one, and I didn't like it that much. Way too much detail, way too much setting, and not enough oomph.

[Eugenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thrilling, detailed but in my opinion a bit too long. Good read

[Letitia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those books where I look at everyone else's ratings, look at my two stars and scratch my head wondering what I was missing. I just did not enjoy this book.

It started promising, despite complete confusion on my part. I downloaded the audiobook, having had Hellscreen by Akutagawa recommended to me. I was shocked when I saw 15 hours of audiobook, and wondered "didn't everyone tell me this was a short story?" As I got into the novel I realized this was not at all the thing that had been recommended, but at that point I was deep in, and I was enjoying it, so I decided to see it through anyway. I figured "happy accidents." Think Sherlock Holmes, only transported from Victorian England to Medieval Japan.

That feeling did not last however, as I found the characters impossible to connect with. Akitada is well-written but somehow seems so cold and stoic, even in his own mind. It is as though he holds his own emotions at arm's length, and I never felt sympathy for the character. I resorted to thinking of him as a representation of a historical relic, rather than anyone I could feel for. And Tora I suppose is meant to be comical and likeable, but I found him downright rapey. What a creep. Lady Sugawara is over the top, and no one else crystallizes.

I also knew the answer to the mystery almost as soon as the relevant characters were introduced, so there was nothing either particularly surprising or satisfying in the end. So while this is something that feels very connected to the century and place in which it is supposed to be placed, it felt disconnected from the reader.

[Victoria Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a great fan of the Akitada series. The books are well researched and paint a vivid picture of 11th century Japan. All books centre around a murder mystery or two, but if you are anything like me, then it is the character development over the series of books that will keep you looking out for the next release. Highly recommended

[Patricia Gulley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unplanned over night stop at a temple leads to a murder and a view of a Hell Screen. More murders and very interesting twists leads to solving more than just the murder mysteries.
Lots of new info about Akitada's family and home life and history.
Some very gruesome descriptions of torture and violence.

[Gary Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly what I have come to expect from a I. J. Parker, Akitada mystery. This was actually based on an old Chinese case translated by Robert Van Gulik. Famed translator of Judge Dee mysteries. The plot was actually a plot within plots but the writing managed to keep everything clear.

[Ric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twists and turns, a classic form for our heroes. Need to keep up with the characters and if one follows the events, this one you can guess the overall outcome. A good read.

[Katheyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

TBA

[David C Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Family problems and mysteries for Akitada in 11th century Kyoto. The etiquette of gender and class, as well as period details, are well done but the plotting is very slow and melodramatic.

[Monica Bond-Lamberty · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are various circles of hell - parental, murder, supervisors
this was probably my last Akitada, just couldn't really enjoy him as a character.

[Althea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A mystery of ancient Japan."

I actually meant to wait to read this book till I'd read the first book in the series, "Rashomon Gate." But then I wound up confusing it with Laura Joh Rowland's "Shinju," and forgot that I hadn't read the novel's predecessor. Turns out – not a big deal. Like many mysteries in series, this is a fully stand-alone novel. It's also extremely similar to "Shinju" – it almost might as well be part of the same series. A minor nobleman of Japan with a talent for solving mysteries and a rocky relationship with the local police chief finds himself embroiled in a murder case, after he spends the night at a temple inn – and the body of a young woman is found horribly mutilated. To complicate matters, the prime suspect in the case is both a commoner – and his dependent sister's secret love.
Akitada wants to investigate - but his mother is dying, his older sister is pregnant, his brother-in-law is suspected of stealing from the Imperial treasury, his younger sister seems terribly depressed, and his wife and son are on the road and possibly in danger...
A cast of colorful characters surrounds the action – an acting troupe, a drunken scholar, a sinister but talented artist, a mutilated prostitute, a female martial-arts trainer... etc... as well as our hero Akitada's sidekicks, the sleazy Tora and the ex-Sumo wrestler Genja.
The book's a fun, quick read, unfortunately, there's not much suspense, because it's not much of a secret "whodunit" – it's mostly just about waiting for the characters to figure it out and hoping they won't come to a bad end before they do...

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eleventh Century Japan is brought to life in the pages of The Hell Screen. Sugawara Akitada has received word that his mother is dying. He is on his way home and stops to rest at a mountain temple. A man and a woman arrive at the temple at the same time as Sugawara. Although Sugawara takes notice of the couple it is not until later that he realizes the huge part the two plays in the mystery he is determined to solve. It is at this same temple that Akitada views the Hell Screen.

When Akitada finally arrives at his home he finds that his mother’s condition has worsened but her dislike of him hasn’t changed. She still hates him. It is hard to imagine a mother feeling so strongly against her only son but there is a mysterious reason behind this hatred.

It is soon revealed that murder has taken place on the very night that Akitada stayed at the mountain temple. The woman that arrived at the temple at the same time as Akitada was found murdered and her brother-in-law arrested for the murder.

Akitada shows himself to be a very good detective and a real diplomat. Although set in 11th century Japan the book is a very fast and interesting read that I would highly recommend. This is not Akitada’s first adventure and I want to read the previous books in this series.

[Brett Bydairk · Rating 4 out of 5]

#5 in the series about an 11th C. Japanese bureaucrat who solves crimes.
This one has three mysteries, one of which is solved quickly, and two seemingly separate murders.
Sugawara Akitada, said bureaucrat has just returned to the capitol from four years as provisional governor of a distant province. On the journey back, he spends the night in a temple, only to hear a cry in the night. Once home, his brother-in-law admits that he, an official of the Imperial Warehouse, is about to be suspected of stealing several old, valuable pieces. And finally, there is a slasher going around the capitol, cutting up people, removing limbs, and just slashing some.
Add in a grungy-looking temperamental artist, some disrespectful commoners and a few officials and you have another fine stew for Our Hero.
Oh, and his mother dies, and he learns some family history that changes his perspective.
Very good, although it was gairly simple to guess the identity of the slasher.

[Sandra Wagner-Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heian Japan is little known in the fictional world. I. J. Parker does an excellent job bringing it to life while telling a fantastical mystery. Like many good mysteries, The Hell Screen starts with the mundane. Sugawara Akitada is ahead of his party, rushing to return to Heian and his dying mother’s bedside. Forced by weather to stop at a temple, he makes the obligatory visit to the abbot, and seeks his bed. But first his guide takes him to view the temple’s new Hell Screen, a work still in progress. Little did Akitada know how that screen and its artist would affect his own life.

During the course of the novel, Akatada’s personal and professional lives undergo significant changes. There is danger, deceit, and some pretty good sleuthing. Evil is uncovered; good prevails.

Parker writes deftly with a good sense of history, well-drawn characters, and a tale worth sharing. The Hell Screen is the fifth book in the Akitada series. My only regret is I didn’t discover the series sooner

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fifth book in the Sugawara Akitada series, mystery novels set in 11th century Japan. Akitada works in the Ministry of Law and has a deep need to discover the truth behind the crimes he investigates even though his society, and his superiors, are more concerned with maintaining stability and conformity. The author does a good job with the cultural setting -- although I'm not an expert on 11th century Japan and I probably wouldn't catch inaccuracies.

In this novel Akitada is returning to his family's home in the capital as his elderly and sick mother is dying. He encounters three interwoven mysteries -- two murders and a series of thefts that are intended to disgrace a member of Akitada's family. The mysteries were well conceived, but I solved one long before Akitatda and that made the story a little less satisfying.

Still, I enjoyed this book and recommend it.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the historical fiction aspects of this book more than the mystery. Partly, that is due to the prologue which reveals to the reader that the body is not the woman it will be identified as - a mistake on the author's part in my opinion. The other mystery is actually ignored by Akitada for a large part of the book, but several extremely broad hints are given. Only the inattention of the main character justifies (barely) this guilty party remaining free and unsuspected long enough to threaten Akitada's son Yuri, drug Akitada himself, and then torture him in a manner very reminiscent of the scene in Dick Francis' mystery Nerve. This subplot is a little bit on the gruesome side, so if you are squeamish be warned!

[Scilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mystery by I. J. Parker takes place in 11th century Japan. It is the second book in the series about Akitada. The book begins with Akitada stopping at a monastary for the night on his way from his assignment in the north to his dying mother. He see the Hell Screen depicting the horrors of hell on his tour of the monastery and a young woman is murdered during the night. Little does he know how these two activities will affect him later. Akitada soon sets out to find the murderer and becomes involved with the painter of the Hell Screen. The book is filled with action and is a very good read.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coincidence abounds in this one. Lots of personal misery and physical agony for Akitada as well with a bombshell of a revelation to boot. Now I've read all of these and all I have to look forward to is her next one. The class interaction and the subtle dialogue in which one is being insulted without a modern day reader realizing it, is both intriguing and perplexing. Akitada breaks the class bonds with his loyal retainers but won't broke any disrespect by coroners or others who don't show respect to his position. Akitada is a remarkable character who is unpredictable, noble-yet down to earth,and by no means perfect. These stories would be a great mini-series.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this historical mystery series set in 11th century Japan with this, the 5th book so there are a few spoilers for the earlier books. That said I need to read the earlier books for character development. The basic plot element seemed familiar - the author cited the early Chinese casebooks on which the Judge Dee mysteries are based. I've read a few of the latter so maybe that's it. I will continue to read the series, though I do not see it as one I will read more than once.

[Harley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished reading this novel for the second time and remembered little from the first reading. I learned that Akitada's mother was his stepmother, and she hated him because he was born of another woman. In this novel, she dies.
Also, an artist was a serial killer for his art. He would kill people and paint them.

[Natalie Petchnikow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sur le chemin qui le ramène au chevet de sa mère, Akitada est contraint par l'orage de faire halte au Temple de la Montagne de l'Est. Dans son sommeil, hanté par les terrifiantes images d'un tableau, le "Paravent des enfers", un cri le réveille. Quelque part, une femme se meurt, prélude macabre aux crimes qui pourraient impliquer sa propre famille...

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in feudal Japan, a member of the royal court is tasked with solving a murder which takes place within the palace walls.

It's a fascinating look into that era, rich with details of court life and the lives of the commoners.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one in this series. A bit more disturbing in the details of the crime, but the characters get more richly detailed. A few plot twists are a little obvious but the story still moves well.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considerably better than the previous book in the series. Characters are better developed, in part because the whole story is more emotionally traumatic. A well developed story that makes use of the historical culture.