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Salaryman Unbound
Iwasaki Shiro, a 46 year old salaryman in Tokyo is having a midlife crisis. Unexceptional in his IT job, he works in the shadow of his boss’s charisma. His children are embarrassed by his mediocrity and his wife rarely thinks of him as an individual. He has nothing to show for decades of conformity and doing the right thing.
Shiro needs purpose in his life, so he begins to plot the murder of a neglected housewife on his street. He takes trips to scout places to dispose of a body, researches knives and arteries, and buys a neurotoxin while on a business trip in Thailand. His plans transform his personality – he can stand up to his boss, keep his children in line, wear the trousers in the marriage – but as he gets ever closer to doing the deed, it becomes clear there is more going on than he suspected.
Salaryman Unbound is a taut, literary crime novel set in contemporary Japan.
Shiro needs purpose in his life, so he begins to plot the murder of a neglected housewife on his street. He takes trips to scout places to dispose of a body, researches knives and arteries, and buys a neurotoxin while on a business trip in Thailand. His plans transform his personality – he can stand up to his boss, keep his children in line, wear the trousers in the marriage – but as he gets ever closer to doing the deed, it becomes clear there is more going on than he suspected.
Salaryman Unbound is a taut, literary crime novel set in contemporary Japan.
- GenresCrime
186 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 2, 2014
1 person is currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Ezra Kyrill Erker
3 books8 followersBorn in Berlin, Ezra grew up along the Black Forest, in Switzerland, Australia, the Netherlands and across the South Pacific, and was largely educated in the US. He has lived most of his adult life in Japan and Southeast Asia, with longer working stints as university lecturer, newspaper reporter and photojournalist. Currently he lives in Bangkok.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 18, 2014
Iwasaki Shiro is a hard-working, Japanese family man. With a controlling wife, disrespectful children, and a murder fantasy. Most of what Shiro does is somehow never quite right. Whether it's his suggestion for changes at work that is rapidly turning out to be a disaster in the making, or his initial attempts to become a murderer. There's a bit of thought, a lot of fantasy and an inability to actually achieve much. Except that whilst planning a killing, somehow he becomes more confident, and actually sets some rules for the family.
For somebody as ineffectual as Shiro, he's a fascinating character. One of those that readers might find themselves barracking for, despite his dreadful intentions. He's obviously one of life's lost causes, although it's not until the very end of the book that the reader becomes aware of how lost.
SALARYMAN UNBOUND gives the reader a strong sense of connection to an anti-hero, as well as palpable sense of Japan. The way that the culture, expectations and society place such pressure on people to conform, and the level of discomfort that creates in somebody who really seems like an ordinary person, backed into a difficult situation. Granted, the idea that murdering somebody ... anybody, as the solution to that pressure seems extreme, but it kind of fits with this personality and the situation he's in.
Added to that sense of place, pressure and a fascinating anti-hero, is the plot which seems to roll along, in a direction that's not obvious. Despite this lack of an obvious direction, there is a sense of pace, and tension that builds, until the final twist. SALARYMAN UNBOUND delivers that twist in the same sort of matter-of-fact manner as it sets up the original idea of murder as a way of empowering a sad man. Whilst that final twist might not come as a huge surprise to some readers, it's poignant, moving in way. You can't help but feel that Shiro has never had a break in his life, but you really can't decide if that's his fault, or he's just one of lifes natural victims.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
For somebody as ineffectual as Shiro, he's a fascinating character. One of those that readers might find themselves barracking for, despite his dreadful intentions. He's obviously one of life's lost causes, although it's not until the very end of the book that the reader becomes aware of how lost.
SALARYMAN UNBOUND gives the reader a strong sense of connection to an anti-hero, as well as palpable sense of Japan. The way that the culture, expectations and society place such pressure on people to conform, and the level of discomfort that creates in somebody who really seems like an ordinary person, backed into a difficult situation. Granted, the idea that murdering somebody ... anybody, as the solution to that pressure seems extreme, but it kind of fits with this personality and the situation he's in.
Added to that sense of place, pressure and a fascinating anti-hero, is the plot which seems to roll along, in a direction that's not obvious. Despite this lack of an obvious direction, there is a sense of pace, and tension that builds, until the final twist. SALARYMAN UNBOUND delivers that twist in the same sort of matter-of-fact manner as it sets up the original idea of murder as a way of empowering a sad man. Whilst that final twist might not come as a huge surprise to some readers, it's poignant, moving in way. You can't help but feel that Shiro has never had a break in his life, but you really can't decide if that's his fault, or he's just one of lifes natural victims.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
May 25, 2014
White collar crime runs red in this exceptionally well executed noir of an unassuming office worker with a macabre fascination for murder.
Iwasaki Shiro; family man, provider, middle aged, hardworking, murder obsessed is the central character who, on face value seems to have all a family man could want. However, scratch the surface and the truth bleeds through. Tired of not being respected by his kids, fed up with his controlling wife, set up for a fall by his work - his thoughts become dominated by a desire to kill. Anyone.
What makes SALARYMAN UNBOUND work so well is Shiro's inability to follow through despite his best intentions. Throughout the novel opportunities present yet there is always something getting in the way, prohibiting that ultimate act of violence. Adding to this is a deeper plot that doesn't become apparent until the final pages. Author Ezell Kyrill Erker executes one smart and compounding twist that both compliments and turns the plot on its head.
If I were to compare Ezell Kyrill Erker to other authors for style and subject matter I'd best describe him as a mix of Jason Starr and Ryu Murakami. Equally as talented and if SALARYMAN UNBOUND is anything to go by, an equally successful career looms.
Review first appeared on my blog: http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
Iwasaki Shiro; family man, provider, middle aged, hardworking, murder obsessed is the central character who, on face value seems to have all a family man could want. However, scratch the surface and the truth bleeds through. Tired of not being respected by his kids, fed up with his controlling wife, set up for a fall by his work - his thoughts become dominated by a desire to kill. Anyone.
What makes SALARYMAN UNBOUND work so well is Shiro's inability to follow through despite his best intentions. Throughout the novel opportunities present yet there is always something getting in the way, prohibiting that ultimate act of violence. Adding to this is a deeper plot that doesn't become apparent until the final pages. Author Ezell Kyrill Erker executes one smart and compounding twist that both compliments and turns the plot on its head.
If I were to compare Ezell Kyrill Erker to other authors for style and subject matter I'd best describe him as a mix of Jason Starr and Ryu Murakami. Equally as talented and if SALARYMAN UNBOUND is anything to go by, an equally successful career looms.
Review first appeared on my blog: http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
April 29, 2014
Salaryman is an intriguing take on a midlife crisis as experienced by one of those legion of Japanese workers: the job is boring, so is his marriage, his kkids are unfathomable, he needs to break out.
The twist is that the central character decides that the breakout should take the form of killing someone. The storyloine follows some attempts to do so, that are unsuccessful for a range of reasons including timing and incompetence.
As the book proceeds, we see how some other players involved see the same situation, and these glimpses give a sense of how modern Japanese life can be in those far flung Tokyo suburbs.
Then the real twist is that the would-be murdereer becomes a victim, not as in a death but as a pawn in someone else's elaborate plan to kill someone.
This is a neat look at contemporary Japanese life through the crime fiction mode and deserves to be read widely. The characters are well defined, the writing tight, the storyline believable, and the twists commendable.
The twist is that the central character decides that the breakout should take the form of killing someone. The storyloine follows some attempts to do so, that are unsuccessful for a range of reasons including timing and incompetence.
As the book proceeds, we see how some other players involved see the same situation, and these glimpses give a sense of how modern Japanese life can be in those far flung Tokyo suburbs.
Then the real twist is that the would-be murdereer becomes a victim, not as in a death but as a pawn in someone else's elaborate plan to kill someone.
This is a neat look at contemporary Japanese life through the crime fiction mode and deserves to be read widely. The characters are well defined, the writing tight, the storyline believable, and the twists commendable.
February 10, 2015
Salaryman Unbound is a stylish, darkly comic novel of psychological suspense.
It tells the story of Shiro, a Japanese IT manager with a midlife crisis. He has considered the conventional responses to his sense of ennui - an affair or an unsuitable hobby - but in the end settles on murder.
From this starting point, the novel follows Shiro's attempts to implement his plan and its consequences. He turns out to be a fairly inept criminal. His ideas about detection are based on what he's read in the papers and crime dramas on TV. He has an almost adolescent idea that he will become sort-of famous as the unidentified perpetrator of an ingenious unsolved crime.
He wants to commit the perfect murder by choosing a random victim but when these attempts fail he adapts his plan. He settles on an attractive but unhappy neighbour, Sayuri, as his victim.
There are some shocks in this novel for the reader but much of the pleasure comes from irony. Shiro, caught up in his conspiracy, is unable to see what we can. His murderous fantasy keeps brushing up against the constraints of the real world. His interactions with Sayuri and his wife Naomi are particularly well observed. They continually undercut him with their cleverness and practicality.
Shiro's behaviour is both absurd and totally believable. It is also menacing. We are not quite sure what he is capable of, and who might get hurt.
The Japanese setting gives the book an additional dimension. The life that seems so banal to Shiro will be unfamiliar to many Western readers. We learn about the texture of the characters' daily lives - what they eat, what music they listen to, where they go at the weekend.
More profoundly, we see how Shiro's marriage is changed by Naomi's return to her career and the irreverence of his children as they fail to show the respect he showed his parents. Shiro's business trip to Thailand and his interactions with his Thai subordinates give an insight into the changing economy. The Japanese salaryman is being challenged on all sides.
There is a further irony. As Shiro's plan progresses, he steps out of his normal world. He takes risks. But paradoxically, he misses opportunities to make bigger changes. There is a pleasing ambiguity in this - his obsession is both changing him and making him fail to see what he really needs to do.
The only thing that jarred for me slightly was that the book, while mostly written from Shiro's point of view, sometimes makes abrupt shifts into another character's voice. This breaks the spell as we are suddenly outside Shiro's crazed vision. One of the strengths of Shiro's narration is that we can see his effect on other characters even when he cannot.
However, this is a small point. This is an absorbing and atmospheric novel with a satisfying twist at the end.
-
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The review first appeared on The Next Best Book Blog http://thenextbestbookblog.blogspot.c...
It tells the story of Shiro, a Japanese IT manager with a midlife crisis. He has considered the conventional responses to his sense of ennui - an affair or an unsuitable hobby - but in the end settles on murder.
From this starting point, the novel follows Shiro's attempts to implement his plan and its consequences. He turns out to be a fairly inept criminal. His ideas about detection are based on what he's read in the papers and crime dramas on TV. He has an almost adolescent idea that he will become sort-of famous as the unidentified perpetrator of an ingenious unsolved crime.
He wants to commit the perfect murder by choosing a random victim but when these attempts fail he adapts his plan. He settles on an attractive but unhappy neighbour, Sayuri, as his victim.
There are some shocks in this novel for the reader but much of the pleasure comes from irony. Shiro, caught up in his conspiracy, is unable to see what we can. His murderous fantasy keeps brushing up against the constraints of the real world. His interactions with Sayuri and his wife Naomi are particularly well observed. They continually undercut him with their cleverness and practicality.
Shiro's behaviour is both absurd and totally believable. It is also menacing. We are not quite sure what he is capable of, and who might get hurt.
The Japanese setting gives the book an additional dimension. The life that seems so banal to Shiro will be unfamiliar to many Western readers. We learn about the texture of the characters' daily lives - what they eat, what music they listen to, where they go at the weekend.
More profoundly, we see how Shiro's marriage is changed by Naomi's return to her career and the irreverence of his children as they fail to show the respect he showed his parents. Shiro's business trip to Thailand and his interactions with his Thai subordinates give an insight into the changing economy. The Japanese salaryman is being challenged on all sides.
There is a further irony. As Shiro's plan progresses, he steps out of his normal world. He takes risks. But paradoxically, he misses opportunities to make bigger changes. There is a pleasing ambiguity in this - his obsession is both changing him and making him fail to see what he really needs to do.
The only thing that jarred for me slightly was that the book, while mostly written from Shiro's point of view, sometimes makes abrupt shifts into another character's voice. This breaks the spell as we are suddenly outside Shiro's crazed vision. One of the strengths of Shiro's narration is that we can see his effect on other characters even when he cannot.
However, this is a small point. This is an absorbing and atmospheric novel with a satisfying twist at the end.
-
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The review first appeared on The Next Best Book Blog http://thenextbestbookblog.blogspot.c...
September 13, 2021
Thrilled.
Normally I don't read crime novel because I know I will be nervous reading it and this book actually did.
Many times I said to myself "Nooo Shirooo" when he came up with his sharp plan.
"What has driven his choices, brought him to this point in his life? He suspected it hadn't been any series of active decisions, any act of devoted will - simply guiding him along like a herded animal."
I don't remember the last time I read something as hooked as above paragraph. They make me think deep and think twice about how I made decisions in the past. We all have lot of choices to choose.
Do we decide our needs and values or choose whatever circumstances brought it to us?
Normally I don't read crime novel because I know I will be nervous reading it and this book actually did.
Many times I said to myself "Nooo Shirooo" when he came up with his sharp plan.
"What has driven his choices, brought him to this point in his life? He suspected it hadn't been any series of active decisions, any act of devoted will - simply guiding him along like a herded animal."
I don't remember the last time I read something as hooked as above paragraph. They make me think deep and think twice about how I made decisions in the past. We all have lot of choices to choose.
Do we decide our needs and values or choose whatever circumstances brought it to us?
March 23, 2015
Great book. A Japanese salaryman (executive) is dissatisfied with life, and determines to re-invent himself in an unusual way.
Erker writes amazingly well.
Read this!
Erker writes amazingly well.
Read this!
July 25, 2014
One spends most of this novel learning about our hero's intention to murder. Shiro things of all sorts of ways and carries his implements in his wife's car - another aside. Relationships at home and at work see him cuckolded but his mediocre personality changes as he comes closer to his goal. The end is not necessarily unexpected. On a down note, I found the Japanese names hard to keep track.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews