東京結合人間 (角川書店単行本)

by Tomoyuki Shirai

一切嘘がつけない結合人間＝”オネストマン”だけが集う孤島で、殺人事件が起きた。容疑者たちは“嘘がつけない”はずだが、なぜか全員が犯行を否定。紛れ込んだ”嘘つき”はだれなのか――。

Genres: Mystery

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2015

About the author

Associated Names:
Tomoyuki Shirai (English)
白井 智之 (Japanese)
白井智之 (Chinese)

Reviews

[Genma496 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well crafted and structurally satisfying book, and the mystery explores many layers of logic and ultimately has a very satisfying conclusion, both in the Queenian sense of being very attentive to the small clues and the intricate logic as well as in the sense of being surprising and impactful.

It is also the most cursed book I've ever read. I don't know how you can write this without holding an utter disdain for the human species. Its first half made me feel physically ill at times, and ending made me spiritually ill, and the fact that a book can get that kind of reaction out of me, a Maijo fan with a hardened stomach, is something I do respect. I don't think I'm coming back to Shirai for a few months though because I can't handle two of this kind of story in a row.

I am also slightly disappointed in regards to the usage of the special setting. While I think the mystery uses it to great effect mechanically, there are many areas of thematic exploration they could have gone for that Shirai seemingly didn't really care about, such as the societal implications of the majority of the adult population being made up of genderless individuals, or how the basic human urge for love and intimacy can seemingly be fully quenched in this world. They just don't really touch on any of that.. I think he could have explored some of these ideas in the off time the book has, because while I would not say it drags at any point, there is definitely a lot of time spent doing not much other than building the mystery, and most of the characters I find pretty bland.

Still, while I can't imagine a story more opposed to my personal sensibilities, that's part of what makes it fun to explore. I could have never written a book like this, and those are often the books that stick out in my mind the most, especially when they are as well constructed as this one.

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

My butthole hurts.

この並行世界では、人間のカップルはどちらかがどちらかの肛門に頭を突っ込んで「結合人間」になる＝生殖らしい。なので、結婚＝腕/足/目等が2倍になる「結合人間化」という事。性別もなくなり、その世界独特の「性犯罪(エロビデオ撮影や人身売買)」や「犯罪の証拠隠滅」が発生する。
けれど、肛門の描写がグロすぎて、そして、性犯罪の章がキツすぎて、読んでいて気持ち悪かった。
勿論、「両手足４本ずつ」や「存在を知られていない人間と結合する事によって余計な人間を排除」というのは「結合人間」の存在する世界独特の要素だし、嘘が付けない「オネストマン」という要素も面白いっちゃ面白い。
「未結合」の人間が「結合人間スーツ」を着て結合人間のグループに紛れ込んだり、オネストマンの集団に非オネストマンが紛れ込んだりして、ミステリが複雑になるのも面白い。
無関係だと思われるプロローグや途中の章も、ちゃんと全部繋がってるのは、流石ミステリ作家（？）。

でも、如何せん肛門等に関わる描写が…臭いがしてきそうでキモイ。