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四〇一二号室
タワーマンションの最上階、四〇一二号室に暮らす人気作家、珠美は、人生の絶頂にいながら満たされずにいた。ある日、古本屋の老婆に古い写真を見せられるが、そこには見知らぬ赤ん坊が写っていて……。一方売れない作家、桜子は安マンションで珠美を妬ましく思う日々。しかし――1999年11月22日、大停電の日。珠美がマンションから転落。女たちの運命が逆転した――はずが、それは悲劇の始まりに過ぎなかった。著者が仕掛けた夥しい数の罠が、ラスト3ページで「こう来たか！」の大興奮に変わる長篇ミステリ。
Tankobon Hardcover
First published October 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 25, 2026
My review for another novel by the same author: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Yukiko Mari's novels have always been a bit of a 'hit or miss' for me, I can appreciate what the author tries to do but the ending results might not always be satisfying.
This time, in Room 4012, two female novelists are, directly or indirectly, competing with each other for success and fame in the merciless market of publishing. The hidden jealousy and bitterness between these two are well written and I like these two main characters and the supporting crew around them (mostly their editors and those who are in the publishing business) are quite realistic and readers can easily understand their motivation and actions along the way.
As with the author's other novels, human darkness is revealed through the storytelling, and when one of the novelists fell from her luxurious apartment building and was badly injured, did someone push her?
The murder mystery is interesting and cleverly written, it seems like all of the main characters had the chance and motive to harm the female novelist in question, but the ending turns out to be quite a surprise.
The topics about jealousy, the price of success, unfaithfulness, the pressure faced by novelists and novelist-wannabes, prostitution and the post-WWII Tokyo's local history are all handled and organised so readers can digest them one by one.
PS: Authors are horrible creatures. ^_^
Yukiko Mari's novels have always been a bit of a 'hit or miss' for me, I can appreciate what the author tries to do but the ending results might not always be satisfying.
This time, in Room 4012, two female novelists are, directly or indirectly, competing with each other for success and fame in the merciless market of publishing. The hidden jealousy and bitterness between these two are well written and I like these two main characters and the supporting crew around them (mostly their editors and those who are in the publishing business) are quite realistic and readers can easily understand their motivation and actions along the way.
As with the author's other novels, human darkness is revealed through the storytelling, and when one of the novelists fell from her luxurious apartment building and was badly injured, did someone push her?
The murder mystery is interesting and cleverly written, it seems like all of the main characters had the chance and motive to harm the female novelist in question, but the ending turns out to be quite a surprise.
The topics about jealousy, the price of success, unfaithfulness, the pressure faced by novelists and novelist-wannabes, prostitution and the post-WWII Tokyo's local history are all handled and organised so readers can digest them one by one.
PS: Authors are horrible creatures. ^_^
April 14, 2023
I always give an extra star for unforeseen plot twist as a prencple, so this is a four-star reading though reluctantly.
真梨幸子 has unique techniques of carving unlikeable female characters, in a way that makes them truly resentful and despicable, not the ‘super-cool-catwoman/Cersei Lannister-kind-of-cliche’. Their inner monstrosity is so real, especially when they showed the maximum amount of malevolence toward the smallest offense. Her way of describing their inner voices is superior.
Buuuuuuuut on the other hand, the story itself is not that interesting. It’s catching enough to make me finish it in one sitting, but won’t make me reread it. Sure, the suspense is there till the very end, but most (if not all) readers would have guessed the whole thing from the very beginning if the author hadn’t avoided mentioning the key character until the last few pages. By hiding the key character, anybody can make an ‘unpredictable plot twist’ in any book. It’s an effective but somewhat cheap technique.
真梨幸子 has unique techniques of carving unlikeable female characters, in a way that makes them truly resentful and despicable, not the ‘super-cool-catwoman/Cersei Lannister-kind-of-cliche’. Their inner monstrosity is so real, especially when they showed the maximum amount of malevolence toward the smallest offense. Her way of describing their inner voices is superior.
Buuuuuuuut on the other hand, the story itself is not that interesting. It’s catching enough to make me finish it in one sitting, but won’t make me reread it. Sure, the suspense is there till the very end, but most (if not all) readers would have guessed the whole thing from the very beginning if the author hadn’t avoided mentioning the key character until the last few pages. By hiding the key character, anybody can make an ‘unpredictable plot twist’ in any book. It’s an effective but somewhat cheap technique.
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January 6, 2025和前一本一样，看完后立刻从头重新翻了一遍
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews