午前0時の忘れもの

by Jirō Akagawa, 赤川次郎

愛していれば、奇跡もきっと起こる―バスの転落事故で湖の底に沈んでしまった死者たちが、愛する人たちに別れを告げるために、午前0時に戻って来た!深夜のバス・ターミナルでの、死者と生者の不思議な出会い。生きることの切なさ、命の輝き、そして人を愛することの素晴らしさを描ききった、赤川ファンタジーの傑作。(大林宣彦監督・映画『あした』原作)。

312 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 1997

About the author

Associated Names:
* 赤川次郎 (Japanese & Traditional Chinese)
* อาคากะวา จิโร (Thai)

Best known for his humorous mysteries, Akagawa's first short story, "Ghost Train", was published in 1976 and went on to win the annually granted All Yomimono New Mystery Writers' Prize by Bungeishunjū, a Japanese literary publishing company. Other works of his, The Incident in the Bedroom Suburb (ホームタウンの事件簿 私語を禁ず Homu Taun no Jikenbo: Shigo o Kinzu?) and Voice from Heaven (天からの声 Ten kara no Koe?), were later made into anime, while Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (セーラー服と機関銃 Serafuku to Kikanju?) was made into a popular live action movie. His most recognized works to date pertain to his Mike-neko (or Calico cat) Holmes series. He is extremely prolific; as of August 2006, he had written more than 480 novels in the course of his thirty year career, over 300 million individual published volumes.

Reviews

[Jeremy Kitchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a really enjoyable read. The book takes you on a bit of an emotional rollar coaster as people who had lost loved ones in a bus accident get the opportunity to meet them once again. The story also manages to weave in yakuza intrigue and romance. Definitely accessible for N2 Japanese possibly even N3. Highly recommend it for a fun read.