Đảo Quỷ

by Edogawa Rampo, Ishikari (Translator)

• Tác phẩm truyện dài được đánh giá là hay nhất của “Ông tổ trinh thám Nhật Bản” Edogawa Ranpo, lần đầu tiên được dịch và xuất bản tại Việt Nam.

• Đã được chuyển thể thành rất nhiều phiên bản truyện tranh, kịch sân khấu, CD Drama…

• Phiên bản tiếng Việt đầy đủ nhất, không cắt gọt, kèm thêm nhiều phụ lục để giải thích rõ hơn cả về bối cảnh thời đại lẫn ý nghĩa của câu chuyện.

• Minh họa bìa sách đến từ đại thần Togai Jun của Guilt|Pleasure.

Những tưởng từ đây sẽ được nắm tay người thương chìm trong chốn phù vân màu hồng mãi mãi, thì oan nghiệt bỗng chốc đổ ập lên đầu Minoura khiến cậu trở tay chẳng kịp: Vợ chưa cưới bị sát hại một cách oan khuất và bí ẩn, tháng ngày bằng lặng phút chốc vụt xa đến không ngờ.

Minoura chính thức dấn bước trên hành trình đi tìm công lý cho người dấu yêu, mà đâu ngờ cái giá đánh đổi lại quá lớn, và tất thảy chỉ là mở đầu cho một âm mưu tàn độc vượt quá sức tưởng tượng. Từng sự kiện kinh hoàng nối tiếp dập dồn, những nhân vật dị hình dị dạng ám ảnh tựa bóng ma, người bạn cũ bấy lâu thầm ôm mối tương tư khác lạ… Mọi thứ xoáy tròn thành cơn lốc vằn vện trên nền không khí ngột ngạt, đen tối, bủa vây cắn nuốt cả kiếp người.

Nhân gian đâu là ta, đâu là quỷ, phút chốc đã chẳng thể phân.

Giật mình nhìn lại, quỷ đã ở ngay sát bên ta rồi.

Genres: Audiobook, Japan, Fiction, Mystery, Horror, Japanese Literature, Crime

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1929

About the author

Hirai Tarō (平井 太郎), better known by the pseudonym Rampo Edogawa ( 江戸川 乱歩), sometimes romanized as "Ranpo Edogawa", was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery fiction.

Reviews

[zuza_zaksiazkowane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ojej

[Tomasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kocham sposób, w jaki Edogawa prowadzi narrację, a tutaj mamy mocną jazdę bez trzymanki. Zaczyna się jak klasyczny kryminał, ale szybko zaczyna skręcać w stronę dreszczowca, w którym nie wszystko jest do końca oczywiste. Skłamałbym pisząc, że rozwiązanie mnie zaskoczyło, ale nie liczy się złapanie króliczka, ale gonienie go.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Przywilej wynikający z pamięci ryby to możliwość przeczytania tej książki drugi raz i bawienia się nawet lepiej niż za pierwszym czytaniem

[Mewa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Najwyraźniej do pełni literackiego szczęścia potrzebowałam prozy Rampo w długiej formie.

[Adam Mirek · Rating 4 out of 5]

makabrycznie wciągająca. uwielbiam styl Ranpo Edogawy, chcę więcej, Tajfuny tłumaczcie!

[Riello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fenomenalna, ale zakończenie to mogłoby być inne, bo mam łzy w oczach.

[Frankie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edogawa Ranpo is Japan's most famous mystery writer. His stories have been translated and adapted into various formats: movies, comics, anime, and bizarre superpowered bishounen with only the vaguest link to the original author. Even famed horror mangaka Junji Ito has adapted some of his short stories. But while any seasoned reader of Japanese literature would be familiar with Ranpo's detective fiction, very few of them are familiar with, or perhaps dare to acknowledge, his contribution to queer literature.

Ranpo's most well-known English language debut was Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination. This was a painstaking collaborative effort between Ranpo who could read in English but not speak it, and his translator who could speak Japanese but not read it. Based on the title and his pseudonym, you can tell Ranpo was a huge fan of English horror writer Edgar Allan Poe. So honestly, "mystery" is an inadequate descriptor of his writing. His stuff is part mystery, part horror, part bizarre.

Ranpo was a contributor to the eroguronansensu (literally erotic, grotesque, nonsense) genre of the early 20th century. True to its name, it was basically full of shock factors that pushed the boundaries of society. Kinky sex, gore, medical sensationalism — pulp fiction at its finest. The Japanese government did ban a lot of these works, but publishers got around censorship by distributing them underground.

From 1929-1930, Edogawa Ranpo published Demon of the Lonely Isle (Kotou no Oni) serially in the magazine Asahi. And it does have all the weird shit he loves, though I won't reveal all to avoid spoilers.

Ever since his school days, our protagonist Minoura has known that his good friend Michio has been in love with him. Minoura has rejected all of Michio's advances but still considers him a friend. The two men grow up; Michio becomes a surgeon while Minoura becomes an accountant at a firm that bores him to death. Minoura is handsome but quite average; despite that, he quickly falls for his coworker Hatsuyo. The two fall in love but just as they are about to be married, Hatsuyo is murdered. As Minoura struggles to solve the crime, Michio gets involved, and it goes from orthodox murder mystery to a conspiracy thriller with horrors beyond imagining…

I'm saving the review of the actual book for the end so skip ahead if you're only interested in that. Honestly, I've been a fan of Ranpo for the longest time and I've wanted to read this book for years now. I'm so glad to finally have an English translation by Alexis J. Brown. I think what strikes me the most is that this is the earliest book I've read that treats its queer character (Michio) with such complexity and tenderness. This isn't subtle queer-coding either; Michio is explicitly labeled as homosexual in-text. Him and the MC have a complex friendship that I'll get into later. Michio isn't an entirely good man, but the narrative treats him with enough sympathy that it truly moved me.

After WWII, Ranpo and his friend Junichi Iwata had a light-hearted competition on who could find more literature and historical references on male homosexuality. Iwata focused on creating a history of homosexuality in Japan while Ranpo focused on the West. Ranpo was particularly very interested in Ancient Greece at that time, while Iwata wanted to prove that male-male love was truly Japanese and not just some foreign import. I don't just mean a Western import; there was the idea that it was a Chinese import, along with Buddhism. And yes, Buddhist monks have a lot to do with Japanese homosexuality but that's an essay for another time.

Unfortunately, Iwata died before publishing all of his work. Despite this, Ranpo actively supported and endorsed his research. Ranpo himself published his own essays but I haven't been able to find English translations.

Ranpo was also friends with Shiro Hamao, another eroguronansensu writer who could be considered one of the earliest modern gay rights activists. In the early 20th century, Japan had begun to adopt Western modes of pathologizing sexuality and systemic homophobia. Hamao was very much against this, and said homosexuality was an innate aspect and thus homosexuals should not feel shame. But in truth this was because Hamao knew that male homosexuality had always been a part of pre-modern, pre-Western Japan. This is true, by the way — many daimyo and samurai practiced nanshoku and had male lovers, though you don't hear about that much for obvious reasons. Do note that ever since the Americans forcibly opened up Japan to the world in the Meiji era, Japan took to modernization (aka Westernization) with gusto… after all, it would be one way to gain power in this new global stage. Thus began their staunch militarization and adoption of Western ideals, one of which is taking after the Western sexologists of the time.

So we've already established that Ranpo had queer interests, but he also liked controversial stuff in general. I honestly expected all the usual queer tropes of classic literature: Michio would be the titular demon, he would be awful, etc… but was very pleasantly surprised to find something else entirely.

First off, Demon of the Lonely Isle has a modern writing style but it is still from 1929 so expect some offensive content lmao. This is especially in regards to the terms it uses for the disabled characters, though they are also sympathetic.

It's technically a novella so it's a short, easy, and fun read. I mean, the subject matter is messed up but I think a 21st century reader would be a little more desensitized lol. The first half is very much an old-fashioned orthodox murder mystery. Hatsuyo was murdered in a locked room with no witnesses… How did that happen? Then there's a second murder that takes place in broad daylight, in front of dozens of witnesses who didn't see anything… this is the sleuthing Ranpo is known for, and fans of Agatha Christie will be delighted.

The second half of the book is more of a thriller with our protagonists trying to catch the killer and unearthing a horrible decades-long conspiracy in the process. They travel to the so-called lonely isle which is a desolate, deadly, and decayed place of hopelessness. This section has some adventure story vibes with its buried treasure, forbidden romance, underground labyrinths and well, more murder.

So if you're already a fan of Japanese mystery fiction then you'll enjoy this. But I think what sets this novel apart is its characters and their relationships with each other. So yeah, let's talk about the homoerotic CONTEXT — about Minoura and Michio.

Just offhand, I find it funny that the first real mention of Michio is when the narrator is musing about how his fiance finds him handsome… RIGHT BEFORE THEY'RE ABOUT TO GO TO A HOTEL TOGETHER

"[About Michio's feelings] I’d never felt the same way, but as far as I could tell I’d matched the selection criteria of this hard-to-please handsome young man, noble in body and spirit, so at the very least this gave me a degree of confidence in my own appearance.

"But there will be an opportunity to go into my relationship with Michio later on. Let me instead return to that first night with Kigiki Hatsuyo in that out-of-the-way hotel, one I remember so clearly even now."

Later, Minoura dictates how him and Michio became such good friends. And honestly, er, it reads very nanshoku which Ranpo would have definitely been aware of at that time. Many other writers of this time discussed the reality of student homosexual relationships (gay male ones and lesbian ones), with various opinions. So I am sure he did this on purpose. Minoura is made to be aware of Michio's feelings, but he never feels any disgust as a student:

"Again, I was fully aware of what we were doing. Sometimes he would zealously squeeze my fingers with his own and though I pretended not to notice and put up no resistance, my heart would flutter, though I never squeezed back."

He doesn't push Michio away… but he doesn't return his feelings either. I think it's quite telling that the only times Minoura uses harsh words to describe Michio's homosexual feelings for him are once he becomes an adult, when he's supposed to have "grown" out of such childish feelings. Michio, however, pursues Minoura even after they have graduated. In fact, Michio is so jealous of Minoura and Hatsuyo that he himself tries to go between them and offer Hatsuyo his hand in marriage—though she isn't interested.

Note that when the English translation refers to Michio as a "misogynist" I strongly suspect Ranpo is using a historical wording that also referred to gay men in Edo era Japan.

Michio knows Minoura isn't interested in him. Minoura is supposedly very straight; he falls in love with women in-universe passionately. And Michio does do some heinous things considering his inability to accept rejection… but I honestly was surprised by how much Minoura, and the narrative, forgives him. Because Minoura considers him a good friend to the very end; he even finds comfort in Michio repeatedly once things get hopeless…

Here are some of my favorite lines:

"My suspicions ran deep and I wasn’t going to be taken in so easily by Michio’s excuses, no matter how plausible or how persuasively he put them. Although I’m embarrassed to say, I behaved like a spoiled child in his embrace. It occurred to me later that whether unconsciously or to cover my shame at raising my voice and sobbing so openly, I perhaps felt the need to be cosseted by this man who loved me still."

"Added to this, the type of relationship that existed between Michio and myself meant we were more than just “friends”; Michio’s affection for me was atypical, and though I didn’t really comprehend how he felt, I understood it on an intellectual level; and just like any normal romantic sentiment it wasn’t distasteful; so when we were face to face, there was a kind of sweet sexual tension in the air. This tension perhaps made our “Investigation HQ” all the more enjoyable."

"I could hear his steady breathing and feel it hot against my cheek. His clothes were sodden, and his muscles taut, but his embrace warm. I was hit by the smell of his body which was pleasant to my senses. All this reassured me. Thanks to Michio I was able to stand again"

And a SPOILER ALERT for the final line of the book, which moves me deeply:

"My son, Michio, never called out for me or his mother. Until his very last breath he clasped one of your letters to his breast. It was you, and you alone, he kept asking for."

It would have been so easy to demonize Michio's homosexuality in this horror novel — but Ranpo didn't. Because Ranpo and his friends were sympathetic to the queer experience, because they knew their history, because they knew the world was shifting right in front of them. We can never know the author's sexuality. He was married and had kids, though this is weirdly not referenced in English sources, but I don't think any of that matters, because his work is one of the kindest things I've seen from that era. And he wrote spooky stories for a living.

One hundred years ago, Shiro Hamao was remembering an era where men loved men freely. And I am comforted to find connection with these dead writers who lived a century ago and thought the same. The truth is, we've always been here — and you are not alone.

[Wiktoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

uwielbiam książki, po których skończeniu czuję potrzebę natychmiastowego sięgnięcia po więcej twórczości danego autora. ranpo edogawa, i love you

[Nika ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,25/5 ✨

O JAKIE TO BYŁO SUPER.
Ranpo zachwycił mnie już "Gąsienicą" i udało mu się to zrobić po raz drugi 🫶🏼

Tą książkę po prostu się pochłania i pożera na raz, była absolutnie świetna, dawno mnie nic tak bardzo nie wciągnęło! I need more Ranpo Edogawa in my life 🤎

[Moony Mon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nieźle pokręcona historia, której pyknęło już prawie 100 lat. Niesamowite!

Bawiłam się całkiem dobrze. Minusy? Jak dla mnie średnio poprowadzona narracja, trochę tak "byle jak". Za mało było mi niepokoju i poczucia dyskomfortu. Czasem brewki wystrzeliły w górę, ale nic poza tym.

[Julia Czarnota · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

How can I be homophobic? Ranpo powiedział do swojego kolegi w gimnazjum:„chcę Cię zjeść” and that was kinda crazy

[shubiektywnie]

75% fantastyczne, nie wiem, czy mam potrzebę poznawać resztę

[Szyszynka95 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bawiłam się wspaniale

[Ola | nawyk czytania · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread w 🎧

To jest jakiś odlot! Ranpo odwala tutaj takie akcje, że głowa mała! Obrzydliwe, groteskowe, zaskakujące i zatrważające do szpiku! Cieszę się maksymalnie, że sięgnęłam po nią ponownie!!!

Kocham Ranpo!!!
Ależ krejzi była ta opowieść! Rollercoater z mnóstwem zakrętów - zawiła, spektakularna, nieziemsko zaskakująca! Bawiłam się cudnie! Narrator to tutaj wybitny opowiadacz - love him! 🫶🏼 O oddaniu, wiernym uczuciu, odmienności i poczuciu inności.
Go read it now!!! 🖤🖤🖤

[werter · Rating 5 out of 5]

po raz kolejny japoński kryminał udowadnia mi, że nie ma kiepskich gatunków, mogą być co najwyżej kiepscy pisarze - a całe szczęście ranpo endogawa do takich z pewnością nie należy. jestem pozytywnie zaskoczona ile świeżości do mojego czytelniczego doświadczenia wniosła powieść sprzed prawie 100 (!) lat; co za fantastyczny sposób prowadzenia narracji i budowania dramaturgii; połączenie tradycji XIX-wiecznej powieści gotyckiej spod znaku edgara allana poego ze wspolczesnym kryminałem wypada po prostu rewelacyjnie. wielka wielka polecajka

[Miku · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinnosuke Minoura zauroczył się w swojej koleżance z firmy, w której pracuje, Hatsuyo Kizaki. Okazuje się, że sympatia jest odwzajemniona, ale równocześnie zauroczonym w mężczyźnie jest Michio Moroto, student medycyny. Finalnie Minoura zostanie wplątany w wydarzenia ze zbrodnią, zemstą oraz mocnymi odkryciami w tle.

Edogawa Ranpo to bardzo specyficzny pisarz, więc sięgając po jego drugą książkę wiedziałam co zastanę w środku. Ten specyficzny klimat, mieszanie się gatunków, makabra, groteska oraz narastający niepokój. Cieszy mnie, że mogłam na dłużej zagłębić się w jego twórczości, ponieważ "Gąsienica" zostawiła mnie z pozytywnym nastawieniem, ale równocześnie z niedosytem. Myślę, że pozycja będzie idealna dla fanów twórczości Edgara Allana Poe'go, bo pojawia się tutaj wiele elementów wspólnych, a dłuższa forma sprawiła, że widzę Ranpo w pełnym rozkwicie. Bywały momenty, gdzie czułam, że fabuła zbyt długo stoi w miejscu, ale to nie odebrało mi radości w lektury.

Zostaje tylko polecić, co tu więcej mówić.

[matylda (dedukcyjna) · Rating 5 out of 5]

wybitnie mroczne, wybitnie obrzydliwe i wybitnie perfekcyjne

[Kai Grenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute masterpiece
Gdybym już nie była wielkim fanem Ranpo, to teraz bym nim została.
Pozdrawiam Doktora Świrkowskiego ;)

[Erset · Rating 4 out of 5]

Está bueno el libro, yo creo que es la historia que más me ha gustado de Edogawa Rampo. Me gusta el estilo de misterio y enigmático que tiene, le hace un sentido homenaje a la obra de Edgar Allan Poe y a otras obras de autores que escribieron historia detectivescas que tiene similitud con la obra en cuestión. Muy recomendable, bastante siniestro, novedoso e interesante para la época en la que fue escrita.

[Pawarut Jongsirirag · Rating 3 out of 5]

เป็นนิยายสืบสวนที่เรียกได้ว่าเป็นต้นฉบับของนิยายสายนี้ในญี่ปุ่นเลยทีเดียว นั่นคือไม่ได้เน้นการสืบสวนหาหลักฐานเเต่จะเน้นการสร้างบรรยากาศที่ไม่น่าไว้วางใจ ออกเเนวสยองหลอนๆหน่อย

โดยเล่มนี้เล่าเรื่องผ่านตัวเอก เหมือนเรานั่งอ่านบันทึกที่ตัวเอกเขียนไว้เกี่ยวกับเหตุการณ์นี้ที่เขาต้องประสบพบเจอ จึงมีบทพูดค่อนข้างน้อยเน้นการบรรยายอารมความรู้สึกมากกว่า ซึ่งก็ไม่ได้น่าเบื่อเเต่ก็ไม่ได้สนุกขนาดวางไม่ลง

ข้อเสียที่เห็นชัดในเล่มนี้คือการบิ้วอารมณ์ตลอดเรื่องว่าปมตอนจบต้องสยองมาก เเต่พอเฉลยเข้าจริงๆก็ไม่ได้ขนาดนั้น ทำให้เรื่องดูดรอปลงไปอย่างชัดเจน เเต่ถ้ามองในอีกมุมถึงปีที่เล่มนี่ตีพิมพ์ออกมาคือในช่วงต้น 1900 ก็นับได้ว่าล้ำมากกกเลยทีเดียว

[Zur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dawno nie czytałam czegoś tak porąbanego. 10/10, ale czytasz na własną odpowiedzialność.

[Karol Kleczka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo dobrze się przy tej książce bawiłem. Ciąży narracja powieści odcinkowej, dużo zwrotów fabuły, ale przez to całość, chociaż już stuletnia, jest filmowo żywiołowa. Narrator dość płaski, ale jego towarzysz świetnie napisany i intrygujący. Są tu miejsca dziwne (wyliczenia, skróty), ale to chyba dodaje jakiegoś uroku w lekturze. Czyta się to dla akcji i to naprawdę działa, kusząc postępującym szaleństwem rodem z powieści gotyckiej - tylko inaczej.

[colagatji · Rating 4 out of 5]

to jest dokładnie ten poziom pojebania, który sprawia mi perwersyjną wręcz przyjemność

[SelfAnnihilation · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wymęczone, nie umiem w dnfy, niby ciekawa historia, a jednak taka przewidywalna i czegoś brakowało... Gąsienica dalej top, ale myślę, że coś jeszcze z tym autorem potańczę, bardzo dba o czytelnika zwracając się do niego!

[Przejul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Przedziwna historia, która wywraca i bawi się popularnymi motywami klasycznych powieści detektywistycznych. Cudownie się bawiłam.

[Or_O · Rating 3 out of 5]

เห็นปกน่ากลัวๆ อย่างนี้ เรื่องนี้เป็นแนวสืบสวนนะคะ

ใช้วิธีการเล่าโดยให้ตัวเอกเป็นคนเขียนเล่าเรื่อง โดยเกริ่นถึงตัวเขาปัจจุบัน แล้วค่อยๆ เล่าย้อนความไปว่าเกิดอะไรขึ้นกับเขากันแน่

มิโนะอุระ ตัวเอก บอกเล่าเรื่องราวถึงสิ่งที่เขาเผชิญ โดยแง้มบทสรุปให้เรารู้ แต่ไม่บอกจุดสำคัญ วิธีการนี้จะทำให้ผู้อ่านเกิดจินตนาการถึงช่องว่างที่อยู่ระหว่างนั้น โดยจุดเริ่มต้นของเรื่อง เริ่มจากแฟนสาวของเขาถูกฆาตกรรม เขาเลยพยายามที่จะสืบหาตัวคนร้าย ทำให้เกิดเหตุการณ์น่ากลัวต่างๆ ตามมา

ผู้เขียนใช้วิธีย้ำความ ว่าสิ่งที่เขาเจอเป็นเรื่องที่แปลกประหลาด พิสดาร สยองขวัญ อย่างที่ไม่เคยมีใครในโลกจินตนาการได้

โอคิดว่าจุดนี้เป็นดาบสองคมนะ เร้าอารมณ์ผู้อ่านใ��้สงสัย ฉุดให้ดำดิ่งไปในเนื้อเรื่อง แต่จะอันตรายถ้าไม่สามารถทำให้ผู้อ่านรู้สึกตามได้เมื่อถึงตอนเฉลย พูดง่ายๆ คือเสี่ยงกับการทำให้ผิดหวังน่ะค่ะ

สำหรับโอ เรื่องนี้ก้ำกึ่ง บางช่วงโอก็ไม่รู้สึกคล้อยตามผู้เขียน แต่บางช่วงโอก็คิดว่าบรรยากาศในเรื่องเป็นไปตามที่ผู้เขียนต้องการ

อ่านจากคำนำ งานเก่ามากแล้วค่ะ วิธีการเล่าก็รู้สึกโบราณนิดๆ (เช่น ใช้บทสนทนาในการอธิบายหลักการยาวๆ เป็นบทบรรยายมากกว่าบทพูด) แต่เนื้อหายังทันสมัยอยู่นะ

สิ่งที่น่ากลัวที่สุดคือความไม่รู้ และจินตนาการของเราโลดโผนเสมอ หนังสือเล่มนี้ทำให้โอรู้สึกอย่างนี้


3.5 ดาว อย่างที่บอกไปว่าก้ำกึ่งว่าจะทำได้ไม่ถึงอย่างที่นำเสนอ มีช่องว่างของตัวละครต่างๆ มากเกินไป ซึ่งบางทีก็ดูไม่ค่อยสมเหตุสมผล และบทสรุปไม่ค่อยสมใจโอสักเท่าไร แต่อย่าเชื่อโอนักนะคะ โอไม่ใช่คอนิยายญี่ปุ่น โอมักรู้สึกว่างานของฝั่งนี้เหมือนอยู่ในมิติลี้ลับ ถ้าวาดภาพก็คงเป็นภาพบิดๆ เบี้ยวๆ ที่เปิดช่องว่างให้ผู้อ่านไปจินตนาการเอาเองว่านั่นคืออะไร และบางทีก็ไม่ต้องการบทสรุปเสมอไปด้วย

แต่โดยรวมทำได้น่าติดตาม หลอนนิดๆ จิตหน่อยๆ แปลดีด้วยค่ะ ถ้าใครชอบแนวนี้อยู่แล้วโอก็ยังแนะนำนะคะ

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เวลาเจ็บปวดแสนสาหัส คนเราจะไม่ร้องไห้ออกมาทันที แต่กลับทำเป็นฝืนยิ้ม ความโศกเศร้าก็เช่นกัน ความเศร้าสะเทือนใจแสนสาหัสทำให้คนเราลืมน้ำตา บั่นทอนพลังของคนให้สูญสิ้น ไม่มีเหลือพอให้รู้สึกโศกเศร้า และต้องใช้เวลาอีกหลายวันกว่าจะเข้าถึงความเศร้าที่แท้จริง ผมตกอยู่ในสภาพเช่นนั้น

หน้า 38-39 ห้องที่ไม่มีทางเข้า


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สิ่งที่เป็นคำเฉลยนั้นแม้จะวางอยู่ตรงหน้าอย่างเปิดเผย แต่หากเรายึดติดกับความคิดแนวเดียวอยู่ตลอด ก็จะไม่สังเกตเห็นความสำคัญของมัน เวลาดูเขาเล่นกลก็เหมือนกัน เราจะหลงคิดตามการจูงใจของนักมายากล เห็นไปว่าสิ่งที่เขาทำให้ดูเป็นเรื่องประหลาดอัศจรรย์เหนือจริง ทั้ง ๆ ที่คำเฉลยปริศนาของมันอยู่ตรงหน้าเรานั่นเอง บางทีคำเฉลยปริศนาห้องปิดตายของคดีนี้อาจเป็นที่ใดสักแห่งที่ไม่มีลักษณะเป็นทางเข้าทางออกเลยแม้แต่น้อยก็ได้ ซึ่งถ้าเราเปลี่ยนแนวคิดนิดเดียว มันก็จะกลายเป็นทางเข้าออกที่กว้างมากแบบเปิดอ้าเอาไว้เลยทีเดียว เมื่อไม่มีการปิดกุญแจก็ไม่ต้องถอนตะปูหรือพังเขาไป ที่ตรงนั้นมันเป็นทางเข้าออกที่เปิดกว้างออกอย่างนั้น แต่ไม่มีใครนึกถึงและคิดที่จะปิดมัน

หน้า 59 เพื่อนแปลก ๆ ของผม

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[Matilda · Rating 5 out of 5]

tak szczerze nie mowcie nic do mnie

[K]

I have the most mixed feelings in the world about this book it’s crazy. I don’t know if I love it or hate it. I don’t know if I detested its depictions of marginalized people or appreciate the representation for its time period. I don’t know if this is simply fetishizing schlock or an important piece of literary history. I just…have no idea. But let’s go ahead and start with what I loved anyways and I apologize in advance for the length of this review, it will definitely be my longest yet.

This novel was an absolute PEAK gothic murder mystery. The suspense was palpable and every horrific moment had amazing buildup and payoff. Despite it really not being that gory for an ero guro nansensu era book, it still found ways to viscerally unsettle and disturb me. One of my favorite moments was something I’ve never seen before in any piece of horror I’ve consumed. And that was the main character Minoura consuming his dead fiancée’s ashes to keep her close to him. I didn’t think a non-explicit version of cannibalism or necrophilia existed and I’m pleasantly surprised by it. I also absolutely adored the execution of Miyamagi’s death scene. It was nightmarish in the best way possible. The concept of being covertly killed within view of lots of other people in a public place and no one being able to witness or stop it from happening…just…chills honestly. Back to the overall mystery I genuinely thought the plot structure and twists were cleverly laid out. There’s very few things within the narrative I could predict would happen and everything else threw me for a complete loop. It’s so refreshing when a story surprises me and comes up with things I never in a million years would have anticipated. Overall I loved the atmosphere and setting created by Ranpo and nearly every aspect of the mystery itself. It’s just the details and some characters in play that I have major issues with.

Beginning with my small nitpicks, I honestly hated how many references and direct quotes from other authors were in this book. I know Edogawa Ranpo prides himself on being the biggest Edgar Allen Poe stan and even translated a lot of his works to Japanese, but…is simply naming one of his stories and trying to lazily relate it to what’s going on truly necessary??? Poe isn’t the only author mentioned though. From what I can remember Hans Christian Anderson and Victor Hugo were treated the same. I love all three of these authors but if I wanted to read their works I would be. I’m here for YOU Ranpo c’mon man lmao. I also believe that although the suspense and plot unfolding is well done pacing wise…the rest of it meanders a bit too much for my taste. There were entire sections of this novel that I think could have been shortened or cut entirely. The long unending dialogue during some chapters started to get on my nerves a bit too I can’t lie. This book commits the cardinal sin of telling and not showing consistently as well.

Also none of these characters are likable and I’m so serious. There is one single character I loved in this book and…it’s complicated but we will talk about him later, because he definitely requires his own section. Minoura is one of the most despicable protagonists I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading and I genuinely don’t know if we were supposed to view him like that or not. He is a man that is able bodied and cishet(??? we’ll explore that in a bit) who views anyone that doesn’t look or act like him as a monster. He views himself as a self righteous and virtuous hero, when in actuality by the end of the story his only purpose is to conform and force others less fortunate than him to conform as well. He is just so detestable and yet we’re supposed to relate to and put ourselves in his shoes. I would rather die than be as ableist, homophobic, and misogynistic as he is.

Speaking of misogyny, I’m unsure if this is Ranpo’s actual opinion or just how Minoura views women…but god. There is a small amount of female characters in this book and they fit into two categories: A) conventionally attractive, no personality, and only there to be love interests to Minoura or B) disabled women constantly degraded and demeaned for their looks + mental state or portrayed as irredeemable villains. That’s it. Despite the entire murder mystery starting with the homicide of Minoura’s fiancée Hatsuyo…we don’t learn anything about who she is other than what’s relevant to the impending mystery. Same with Minoura’s second love interest: Yū-chan. She actually is the only woman in the story that blends the line between the archetypes I mentioned before. She’s reduced to her beauty AND disability. We get an entire first person POV section for her and yet this is still the case. Oh yeah also she’s constantly sexually assaulted by a man who is seemingly her conjoined twin (thankfully they are not related at least and were sewn together in an attempt by the villain to create more disabled people…yeah we’ll get to that as well. It’s a lot. But this also plays into the narrative that a woman can only be beautiful or disabled, because she was never actually disabled to begin with…great feminist writing and representation of disabled people Ranpo) The other major female character is the main villain’s wife and its revealed that not only is she disabled, but also a pedophile. And I’m being so real when I say I don’t even remember if she was named within the text. So we’re working with great stuff here.

Now on to the elephant in the room: the disability representation. Unfortunately a lot of authors around this time sensationalized anyone born with deformities and viewed it as “bizarre” so in their works treated anyone with a disability as an object for entertainment. This isn’t new by any means and is a far less violent and harmful representation than what disabled people were facing in the real world…but it’s still very very much harmful in the grand scheme of things. The only positive I can say about the representation in this book is that there is a variety of disabilities and characters with these disabilities showcased. So at the very least, they are getting platformed in some way. I do think Ranpo felt sympathy and added humanity to these characters, which is (although not saying a lot) probably better than most representation at the time. A lot of these characters are victims or pawns, but I have to mention that the villain Jōgorō is also disabled. Hurt people hurt people and I get that; it’s a story that is told time and time again and I personally believe marginalized people deserve retribution for what they were subjected to. However this villain mutilates and tortures quote on quote “normal” children to perform a variation of eugenics where able bodied people are no longer the majority. And I just??? Huh??? What kind of message is this sending??? I have seen critics say this is a metaphor for disrupting conformity and the spread of deviant ideals to shake up the status quo. But I can’t view this depiction as pragmatic. It’s vile and dehumanizing and I hate it a lot. This is the biggest issue this book has and unfortunately it is present throughout nearly the entire story. You can’t ignore it and it’s hard to see the good in this novel when the bad is SO very bad.

Finally I will speak on the best (and truly only good) character in this story: Moroto Michio. This section may be the longest, because I am very passionate about LGBT representation in media and I have a lot to say about this character. I will start by saying that Michio is canonically gay…no ifs, ands, or buts. I can’t help but respect a book published in 1920s-30s Japan for having the guts to portray an explicitly homosexual character. I will start with things I adore about this character and then get into the things I despise. Moroto Michio is the character we learn the most about and spend the most time with (I would say even more than Minoura honestly), so it’s hard to not get attached to him. The best way I can describe him is as a mixture of Herbert West from Re-Animator and L Lawliet from Death Note. He’s a rather…unethical doctor with endless knowledge and deduction skills. The way he is immediately introduced to us is that he’s a respected prodigal surgeon and a fabulously wealthy man that is hard to please. It’s revealed later that after medical school, he became interested in performing experiments on animals and creates illegal and inhumane creations with them. He is Minoura’s best friend and college housemate who has also been devastatingly in love with him for years. A man of hidden desires if you will. And in my opinion, the relationship between Minoura and Michio is the core of the entire narrative. Minoura “apparently” does not reciprocate Michio’s feelings and instead falls in love with the plain, but beautiful Hatsuyo. You can imagine his shock when known homosexual Michio shows up seeking to marry Hatsuyo. One party pursuing the partner of the person they can’t have is one of my favorite same sex romance tropes btw so I was eating this up!!! So when Hatsuyo is murdered, guess who the first suspect is? Michio of course. As we see his eccentric and disturbed behavior throughout the first act, he is set up as the perfect red herring. When it’s revealed he isn’t the killer, he becomes the deuteralogist and is revealed to be closer to the case than Minoura could have ever guessed. Turns out he is the son of the Jōgorō and was groomed from a young age to assist in his disturbing experiments (thus becoming a surgeon and the animal Frankensteining). He was also the one sexually abused by the Jōgorō’s wife as a child that I mentioned earlier. The narrative tries to use this as the reasoning of his homosexuality (and misogyny) and sure this can occur, but trauma is not the standard for why people are queer. I understand that being gay was considered a mental illness for decades after this novel came out and doctors constantly attempted to find the source in childhood and various life traumas but man. This narrative is where the first cracks in his depiction start to show for me. Throughout a good majority of the rest of the book, Minoura and Michio work together to solve the mystery and have what Minoura describes as, “a kind of sweet sexual tension in the air”. Okay supposed heterosexual man.

Now I’m going to briefly talk about how I don’t believe that Minoura is as “normal” as he makes himself out to be. I should mention that this book is written almost entirely from his POV, so we are reading everything through his perspective and also…what he wants us to perceive. The way he writes is objectively self-centered and attempts to tell his own story his way. He is a bit of an unreliable narrator in my opinion. One of the most important aspects of Minoura and Michio’s relationship is that Minoura is wholeheartedly vain and attention seeking. So he allows Michio’s advances entirely up until they reach a certain point (to put it plainly…below the belt). You could easily view this as him as a straight man leading Michio on, but in my opinion it runs deeper than that. Below I’m going to list quotes directly from the text where he shows he does not reciprocate Michio’s feelings and views homosexuality as abnormal or disgusting:

“Occasionally he called out my own name, I was somewhat alarmed when I realized how much I must have occupied his subconscious thoughts. I fretted over how reprehensible it was to spend all this time with Michio and yet pretend not to notice the extent to which he - despite us being the same sex - continued to brood over me.”

“I’m not certain how other men my age feel, but being the object of desire for someone other than a young woman makes me shudder with distaste.”

“Platonic physical contact with a man does not bother me. It can even be quite pleasant. But when this turns romantic, the touch of another man’s body can be nauseating. This is one aspect of exclusive attraction to the opposite sex; an abhorrence of one’s own.”

“I liked and trusted Michio as a friend, which only made his lust for me all the more unbearable.”

In comparison to at least double as many instances of his true feelings shining through despite how he tries to change the narrative. Here’s a few examples:

“So my own face felt hot when I envisaged his intentions. However it was not altogether unpleasant.”

“Sometimes he would zealously squeeze my fingers with his own and though I pretended not to notice and put up no resistance, my heart would flutter, though I never squeezed back.”

“In that instant a bizarre notion crossed my mind. Strange as it may sound, I was now a young bride, and Michio, my new husband, handsome and even more charming; though this was merely a rush of blood to the head brought on by drunkenness.”

“Then a mere one month later, a complete turnaround, he abandons me (this sounds like there was something scandalous about our friendship, in truth nothing of the sort was going on).”

“He spoke sweetly, and a little drunkenly. His red cheeks glowed, and his eyes, shaded by his long eyelashes, had a coquettish charm about them.”

“Although I’m embarrassed to say, I behaved like a spoiled child in his embrace. It occurred to me later that whether unconsciously or to cover my shame at raising my voice and sobbing so openly, I perhaps felt the need to be cosseted by this man who loved me still.”

“Added to this, the type of relationship that existed between Michio and myself meant we were more than just “friends”; Michio’s affection for me was atypical, and though I didn’t really comprehend how he felt, I understand it on an intellectual level; and just like any normal romantic sentiment it wasn’t distasteful.”

“Michio wrapped his arm around my waist and took a firm hold of me. I couldn’t see his face in the inky blackness, even though it was only inches from mine, but I could hear his steady breathing and feel it hot against my cheek. His clothes were sodden, and his muscles taut, but his embrace warm. I was hit by the smell of his body which was pleasant to my senses. All this reassured me. Thanks to Michio I was able to stand again; if it hadn’t been for his help, I’d almost certainly have drowned there and then.”

He says all of this and still feels the need to defend his actions by inherently saying, “no homo” every time he’s around Michio.

Now unfortunately I have to talk about the worst scene in this entire book and one I’m dreading to even discuss. That scene in particular is a sexual assault scene from Michio to Minoura. The two travel to the island where Jōgorō and his experiments reside, exploring the labyrinthian catacombs beneath the land in search of the long hidden treasure that should have been inherited by Minoura’s dead love, but is rivaled in the search by Jōgorō himself. The duo wander and wander in circles for miles completely lost and with clear exhaustion and near starvation…they accept that they are going to die. Michio close to madness begs Minoura to accept his love and sleep with him in their final moments so they can finally be together. Minoura denies his advances and Michio in turn ignores his pleas. Michio is portrayed monstrously in this passage (figuratively and literally) and this furthers the theme of hurt people hurt people. He was abused, so he then abuses others. This brings up a very likely intended connection between his monstrosity (being gay) and the monstrosity of the portrayal of the disabled cast of characters. Being othered is being a monster apparently. I cannot begin to describe to you how unnecessary this scene was. If this was removed from the book entirely it would make zero difference. Before this moment, was he a little pushy with his advances? Sure. Was he over the top with his affection? Sure. But he never forced Minoura to do anything and even despised himself when he crossed any line whatsoever with him. This scene is not only out of character, but clearly just there for shock value. The entire purpose of Michio’s character is to move past childhood trauma and not be who your parents want you to be. Him continuing the cycle of abuse just frankly doesn’t make sense for the narrative. It reminded me of when (Buffy The Vampire spoilers ahead) Spike from BTVS attempted to sexually assault Buffy. He was my favorite character before that and I honestly adored their relationship. But the moment that scene took place I could never view him the same way ever again. No matter how the show tried to redeem him he would never be redeemed in my eyes. Both scenes of SA are unnecessary and entirely gratuitous. They’re scenes that destroy the perception of a character entirely for the audience and you can’t take that back. In my fanfiction version of this scene: it was consensual on both sides, but Minoura refuses to admit that and thus puts himself back in the box of normality: getting married, having kids, living a life without “the grotesque”. Then tbh the ending would make a lot more sense too. I just hatehatehate unnecessary sexual violence in media and even though I do believe that the treatment of the disabled community is objectively more disgusting…this personally gut punched me as a member of the LGBT community. I’m tired of predatory and depraved narratives pushed upon us, when we just want romance and love like everyone else. This was so easily avoidable and yet…

The novel ends with exactly what I mentioned before: Minoura being the hero, saving all of Jōgorō’s experiments, marrying Yū-chan (after getting her surgically removed from Kī-chan, making her the perfect tradwife to conform with), and getting a happy ending. There is one dark cloud in his perfect world though, Michio gets a bittersweet ending instead. He realizes that he was actually stolen by Jōgorō and his wife and they are not actually biologically related. So he finds his bio family at last, but that joy was unfortunately short-lived. He becomes ill and passes away not too long after arriving home. Minoura was patiently waiting for his return and apparently held no ill will towards the other man for his actions. Michio’s father sends Minoura a letter informing him of the tragic news and I shit you not the VERY LAST LINE of this book is:

“My son, Michio, never called out for me or his mother. Until his very last breath he clasped one of your letters to his breast. It was you, and you alone, he kept asking for.”

WHAT THE FUCK??? WHAT THE FUCKING HELL??? I just…I’m speechless honestly. I hate this book with a burning passion, but at the same time it has not left my brain and I feel it gnawing away like a tumor on my thoughts. Genuinely this could have been one of the great tragic love stories in literature, but shock value overcame sympathy in this case. Oh what this book could have been. It is definitely a tragedy, but probably not in the way that Edogawa Ranpo intended.

So yeah…anyways. This book has taken a toll on me in ways I could never have guessed and I don’t think it will leave my thoughts anytime soon. Apparently there’s a BL looking manga adaptation of this from the 2010s??? Lmao idk if I’ll read it or not, but can’t lie and say I’m not curious. (EDIT: Apparently there is MULTIPLE BL manga adaptations. I’ve found at least 3, but I don’t doubt there’s more) These brainworms are going to continue eating me alive I guess. Thank you for listening to me ramble!

[marysia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Juan Carlos malik · Rating 4 out of 5]

De nuevo Edogawa Rampo, creo una historia original dentro del género policíaco y thriller.

Debo decir que deben aprovechar este titulo, ya que es la primera vez que traducen al español esta historia que fue prohibida en Japón.

¿Para qué leer Los crímenes del jorobado?

1. Para conocer una historia de amor trágica.
2. Para leer acerca de personajes grotescos como siameses pegados, contorsionistas, duendes, jorobados, gente con caras deformes.
3. Para jugar al detective con nuestro narrador y descubrir las pistas que nos llevan a conocer el origen del mal y la causa de los asesinatos.
4. Existe en la obra un cúmulo de intrigas y secretos que se van descubriendo poco a poco, haciendo que el lector tenga un reto frente a este libro.
5. Abarca el tema de obsesiones con el amor y la homosexualidad.

Lo malo: El misterio fue resuelto muy rápido, lo cual propicia que el desenlace del libro se haga pesado y la culminación te puede dejar algo decepcionado. Por eso 4 estrellas o 9 de calificación.