人間標本

by Kanae Minato, 湊かなえ

人間も一番美しい時に標本にできればいいのにな

蝶が恋しい。蝶のことだけを考えながら生きていきたい。蝶の目に映る世界を欲した私は、ある日天啓を受ける。あの美しい少年たちは蝶なのだ。その輝きは標本になっても色あせることはない。五体目の標本が完成した時には大きな達成感を得たが、再び飢餓感が膨れ上がる。今こそ最高傑作を完成させるべきだ。果たしてそれは誰の標本か。――幼い時からその成長を目に焼き付けてきた息子の姿もまた、蝶として私の目に映ったのだった。イヤミスの女王、さらなる覚醒。15周年記念書下ろし作品。

280 pages, Hardcover

Published December 13, 2023

About the author

Kanae MINATO (湊 かなえ, born 1973) is a Japanese writer of crime fiction and thriller.

She started writing in her thirties. Her first novel Confessions (告白, Kokuhaku) became a bestseller and won the Japanese Booksellers Award. The movie Confession directed by Tetsuya Nakashima was nominated to 2011 Academy Award.

She has been described in Japan as "the queen of iyamisu"(eww mystery), a subgenre of mystery fiction which deals with grisly episodes and the dark side of human nature.

Reviews

[CW_GRAY · Rating 3 out of 5]

「湊佳苗自認寫出了最好的傑作。」可能是起得太高，尤其前半本的寫法是讓我感到嚴重疏離的，且它偏向資訊的供給，而非講述故事，坦白說好幾次想要放棄閱讀。直到篇章〈獨居房內〉才將故事牽動，化為層次，的確是帶來「反轉」之上的震撼及情緒價值。可是，之後似乎就轉為可預見的推理套路，亮點不再，結束得也就不怎麼享受了。（或許也是太不喜歡前半的觀感，影響到後面無法完全投入吧。）

[Percy Yue · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pacing of the early part of the story is slow, and the narrative is largely straightforward, making it not particularly engaging. The only element that truly adds interest is the information about butterflies, which is at least educational. Later on, however, the plot undergoes twist after twist—especially the scene in the visitors’ room, which allows the work to still be regarded as a piece of suspense. By the end, it becomes clear that the novel touches on themes of toxic parenting and parental love, subjects in which Minato Kanae has always excelled. That said, the novel is riddled with logical inconsistencies, most notably the question of why 至 chose to help 杏奈, given that there was no special emotional bond between them. In addition, the book raises a thought-provoking philosophical question: is killing one’s own child a graver sin than killing someone else’s child?

[Qi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting story. Read before the show!