Shūsuke Michio (1975–) takes his pen name from the mystery writer Michio Tsuzuki, one of his idols. Michio first became interested in reading in high school, when he was inspired by the works of Yasunari Kawabata and Osamu Dazai. He began writing short-shorts in college and continued producing fiction after graduation in his time away from work. His first break as an author came when he received the Horror and Suspense Special Prize for Se no me (Eyes in the Back) in 2004; the following year he quit his job to write full-time. In 2009 his novel Karasu no oyayubi (By Rule of Crow’s Thumb) earned the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in addition to a Naoki Prize nomination; in a testament to the consistently high quality of his work, he was nominated for the biannual prize four more times on his way to winning it in 2011 withTsuki to kani (Moon and Crab). Other honors include the 2010 Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize for Kōbai no hana (Flowers of Light), a collection of linked short stories. With his knack for easily crossing over genres such as horror and the mystery, Michio is a promising hitmaker among the new generation of writers.
This book has 6 different short mystery stories all connected and yet the amazing thing about this book is that you, the reader, get to choose which story to read from. There are 720 ways to read this book and depending on which story you finish, it could make you feel hopeful or depressed. Luckily, I read in a way where it ended in a positive note! I don't think I could try out 719 other ways though lol I don't know how the author does it! Plus, it was so cool reading the first story and then for the second story you need to turn the book upside down to read it. It helps the reader to change up the order of the story. I really appreciate the idea. Never experienced this kind of reading before. It's also fun to see other people's review, finding out in which order they've read the stories in this book and how they felt about it.
A gimmick masquerading as a novel, this "book"'s biggest strength is the "freedom" the author has given the readers to tackle the stories: there are six stories, the order in which you read them will change the impact/way you understand, feel about them (they are all part of a bigger world and characters in one story appear in another, etc., etc.). The chapters are, for more "comfort", put up and down so it is pretty easy to separate them (just in case, blank pages and chapter names weren't enough). As I am lazy, I decided to let the author surprise me by reading them in order.
Unfortunately, it really doesn't matter because you won't care much about the cardboard cutout characters, the poor plot and plot developments, the obsession with death as a resort for making the reader "feel" ().
The best: the author is trying?
The worst: so much death for cheap tears
Alternatives: just read some good Japanese authors like Shion Miura, Natsuo Kirino, Kenzaburo Oe...