The Earthquake Bird

Susanna Jones’ debut novel is a psychological thriller set in modern Japan. Yet although it initially presents as a murder mystery, the narrative is more concerned with the nature of memory, betrayal, friendship, and identity.The English-born protagonist, Lucy Fly, has lived in Tokyo for ten years, is fluent in the native language, and works as a translator for a technical company. Japanese culture allows her to live a highly introverted and private life, without seeming an oddity. Yet it becomes apparent as the novel progresses that Lucy is in flight from her past and is harbouring a deep sense of grief and loss.A tectonic shift takes place in her life when she meets the amateur photographer, Teiji, and through her romance with him, starts to learn to relate to people again. A second earthquake occurs with the arrival of Lily, a flaky limpet who attaches to the couple and is the catalyst to driving them apart.This novel is beautifully written and has a haunting ambience. There is a film of the same name, adapted from the book. The story deviates in a few quite marked ways but it is still well worth seeing. Both the book and the film are highly recommended.

Pillé este libro porque la película, su visión del Japón de principios de los 90s, me fascinó y la verdad es que te mete bastante en materia, bien escrito, no se hace para nada largo y mantiene el suspense hasta casi el final (aún a pesar de que la película te desvele el final) pero creo que puede ser un buen complemento para un próximo viaje a la tierra del Sol Naciente; lo recomiendo. Está en inglés pero nada complicado.

This mystery thriller follows a young woman's journey as she leaves behind her native England, hoping to find a home in the distant land of Japan. But the narrative also presents a journey into her inner psyche as Lucy seeks to discover her true identity while forging a place of her own. Is she a murderer, driven by a jealous rage to take the life of a fellow ex-pat? Or is she rather herself the victim, manipulated at every turn by her supposed boy friend and his ever-present camera? The tension between these possibilities mounts steadily as the action immerses both Lucy and the reader in the often strange and mysterious language and culture of Japan. We come to the end of the novel feeling like a swimmer struggling desperately to break the surface into the light of day. All in all, "Earthquake Bird" is a journey well worth the effort.

ミステリーという中枢を外さないまま、異国での生活、恋愛関係が織り交ぜられミステリー、旅行記・エッセイ、恋愛ストーリーの３本立てのような本です。海外生活を少しでも経験したことのある人なら、懐かしく思えることでしょう。日本で英語教師をされていた著者ならではの配慮か、英語はとてもシンプルで読みやすいです。長さも５万語超で、ＰＢの約半分程度です。これを翻訳してしまったら、どんなに名訳でもニュアンスは伝わらないだろうなと思います。自分が海外に旅立ったつもりで、ぜひ英語で読んでみて欲しい本です。

I had really wanted to give this book a 5-star rating. Any foreign person who has lived and worked in Japan, rather than being just a short-term tourist, will feel the depth and honesty of the depiction of life in Tokyo. I doubt that I've read a better description of life in Japan as a "gaijin". This is a love triangle murder story, which builds up to the finish over the course of the story. However, it just totally fell apart in the final pages, as if the author hit a deadline to be published so rushed off the final few pages. That really disappointed me as the rest of the book had been so well laid out and written. Regardless, it was a very good book and I'm glad I read it. But, might I suggest a different cover as the Japanese woman dressed in a yukata or kimono has nothing at all to do with the story and just reinforces the exotic Japan image!