Rating: 4/5
Review:
Thoughtful and involving
I enjoyed this book very much. It is very well written and has plenty of interesting things to say.
The story is of a traumatised and damaged man who finds a letter to "Mr Satoshi" after the death of his mother and is persuaded to go to Japan to try and find him and deliver the letter. Writing in the first person, Jonathan Lee manages to immerse us in this world and I think he is quietly insightful about his protagonist's response to trauma and psychiatric drugs. He tells a well-paced story full of believable, often likeable characters and generates a fine sense of mystery. I also thought that he was very insightful about the loss, melancholy, hope and redemption in human lives. Lee is also very skilful in painting a portrait of Japanese society. This forms a vivid and memorable backdrop to the story but is never intrusive and I never felt that he was lecturing or showing off how much he knew.
I found this book thoughtful, involving and memorable in spite of what I think is an off-putting title. Warmly recommended.
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