The Decagon House Murders
This was a weird one. I loved it.
The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji is an exemplar of a genre I hadn't known existed: “new orthodox” mysteries, shin honkaku in Japanese —
- Characters introduced fully and fairly
- A clearly circumscribed stage (think: snowbound chalet)
- No vital information withheld from the reader
Per the introduction by mystery writer Shimada Soji:
As a result, [Ayatsuji’s] characters act almost like robots, their thoughts depicted only minimally through repetitive phrases. The narration shows no interest in sophisticated writing or a sense of art and is focused solely on telling the story. To readers who were used to American and British detective fiction, The Decagon House Murders was a shock. It was as if they were looking at the raw building plans of a novel.
That reads as much like a warning as a recommendation!
It was a review in the Washington Post that piqued my curiosity. The book that arrived from Amazon was flimsy, with a thick seam of glue —
The Decagon House Murders is a weird read, and you should believe Shimada Soji when he tells you the writing is clunky and the characters vacant. But the book presents a fascinating puzzle, and the solution is electrifying, in large part because it relies entirely upon the book-ness of this book. No movie adaptation is possible. I'll say no more.
January 2016, Berkeley