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Assassins #2
Bullet Train
A dark, satirical thriller by the bestselling Japanese author, following the perilous train ride of five highly motivated assassins—soon to be a major film from Sony
Nanao, nicknamed Lady Bird—the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world”—boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase—and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Satoshi, “the Prince,” with the looks of an innocent schoolboy and the mind of a viciously cunning psychopath, is also in the mix and has history with some of the others. Risk fuels him as does a good philosophical debate . . . like, is killing really wrong? Chasing the Prince is another assassin with a score to settle for the time the Prince casually pushed a young boy off of a roof, leaving him comatose.
When the five assassins discover they are all on the same train, they realize their missions are not as unrelated as they first appear.
A massive bestseller in Japan, Bullet Train is an original and propulsive thriller that fizzes with an incredible energy and surprising humor as its complex net of double-crosses and twists unwind. Award-winning author Kotaro Isaka takes readers on a tension packed journey as the bullet train hurtles toward its final destination. Who will make it off the train alive—and what awaits them at the last stop?
Nanao, nicknamed Lady Bird—the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world”—boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase—and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Satoshi, “the Prince,” with the looks of an innocent schoolboy and the mind of a viciously cunning psychopath, is also in the mix and has history with some of the others. Risk fuels him as does a good philosophical debate . . . like, is killing really wrong? Chasing the Prince is another assassin with a score to settle for the time the Prince casually pushed a young boy off of a roof, leaving him comatose.
When the five assassins discover they are all on the same train, they realize their missions are not as unrelated as they first appear.
A massive bestseller in Japan, Bullet Train is an original and propulsive thriller that fizzes with an incredible energy and surprising humor as its complex net of double-crosses and twists unwind. Award-winning author Kotaro Isaka takes readers on a tension packed journey as the bullet train hurtles toward its final destination. Who will make it off the train alive—and what awaits them at the last stop?
432 pages, Hardcover
First published September 23, 2010
About the author
Kōtarō Isaka
115 books576 followersKōtarō Isaka (伊坂幸太郎, Isaka Koutarou) is a Japanese author of mystery fiction.
Isaka was born in Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. After graduating from the law faculty of Tohoku University, he worked as a system engineer. Isaka quit his company job and focused on writing after hearing Kazuyoshi Saito's 1997 song "Kōfuku na Chōshoku Taikutsu na Yūshoku", and the two have collaborated several times. In 2000, Isaka won the Shincho Mystery Club Prize for his debut novel Ōdyubon no Inori, after which he became a full-time writer.
In 2002, Isaka's novel Lush Life gained much critical acclaim, but it was his Naoki Prize-nominated work Jūryoku Piero (2003) that brought him popular success. His following work Ahiru to Kamo no Koin Rokkā won the 25th Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers.
Jūryoku Piero (2003), Children (2004), Grasshopper (2004), Shinigami no Seido (2005) and Sabaku (2006) were all nominated for the Naoki Prize.
Isaka was the only author in Japan to be nominated for the Hon'ya Taishō in each of the award's first four years, finally winning in 2008 with Golden Slumber. The same work also won the 21st Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize.
Isaka was born in Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. After graduating from the law faculty of Tohoku University, he worked as a system engineer. Isaka quit his company job and focused on writing after hearing Kazuyoshi Saito's 1997 song "Kōfuku na Chōshoku Taikutsu na Yūshoku", and the two have collaborated several times. In 2000, Isaka won the Shincho Mystery Club Prize for his debut novel Ōdyubon no Inori, after which he became a full-time writer.
In 2002, Isaka's novel Lush Life gained much critical acclaim, but it was his Naoki Prize-nominated work Jūryoku Piero (2003) that brought him popular success. His following work Ahiru to Kamo no Koin Rokkā won the 25th Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers.
Jūryoku Piero (2003), Children (2004), Grasshopper (2004), Shinigami no Seido (2005) and Sabaku (2006) were all nominated for the Naoki Prize.
Isaka was the only author in Japan to be nominated for the Hon'ya Taishō in each of the award's first four years, finally winning in 2008 with Golden Slumber. The same work also won the 21st Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,949 reviews
August 27, 2023
A crazy ride with an awesome ending!
Ok, so in an embarrassing turn of events, I had no idea that this best-seller even existed until it became a movie. Even then, I wasn't clever enough to realize it had been based on a book. I just happened upon it because my library had it advertised on the front page of the website.
THE SHAME.
Ok. So I can't talk about much with this or I'll just ruin the story for anyone who wants to read it.
BUT.
The gist is that there are multiple people with skills on this train. They're all there for different reasons, but because of {insert spoilery-y stuff here} they all come into contact with each other due to this briefcase.
This is one of those books that kind of hinges on the ending. As in, can the author pull it off? Can he take all of this insanity and wrap it up in a bow?
For me, the answer was a resounding YES.
I ended up watching the movie after I read this, and while I thought it was a lot of fun to watch, I still prefer the way things went in the book. It's not as flashy as the film and there isn't some big explosive ending, but I thought it packed a better punch.
You know how often I give a book 5 stars anymore? Not very.
But I finished it several days ago and this book is still sticking with me. It was fun and wild and weird and not at all what I thought it would be when I first looked at it.
The translation is fantastic and the audio version was great.
I have zero complaints.
Highly Recommended!
Ok, so in an embarrassing turn of events, I had no idea that this best-seller even existed until it became a movie. Even then, I wasn't clever enough to realize it had been based on a book. I just happened upon it because my library had it advertised on the front page of the website.
THE SHAME.
Ok. So I can't talk about much with this or I'll just ruin the story for anyone who wants to read it.
BUT.
The gist is that there are multiple people with skills on this train. They're all there for different reasons, but because of {insert spoilery-y stuff here} they all come into contact with each other due to this briefcase.
This is one of those books that kind of hinges on the ending. As in, can the author pull it off? Can he take all of this insanity and wrap it up in a bow?
For me, the answer was a resounding YES.
I ended up watching the movie after I read this, and while I thought it was a lot of fun to watch, I still prefer the way things went in the book. It's not as flashy as the film and there isn't some big explosive ending, but I thought it packed a better punch.
You know how often I give a book 5 stars anymore? Not very.
But I finished it several days ago and this book is still sticking with me. It was fun and wild and weird and not at all what I thought it would be when I first looked at it.
The translation is fantastic and the audio version was great.
I have zero complaints.
Highly Recommended!
April 28, 2022
I wish I could tell you I didn’t choose to read Bullet Train because it’s being adapted into a “major motion picture” starring Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Joey King, and Lady Gaga, but that would be a lie and I wouldn’t do you like that.
The book itself is the translation of an uber-popular Japanese novel originally titled Maria Beetle, in which five assassins board a high-speed train headed to Tokyo and realize their missions might be linked. I’ve heard it compared to the style of Quentin Tarantino movies, and I can see that, but I also kept thinking of 1996 movie “Trainspotting” - not just for the train-name connection but more so for the frenetic pace.
Bullet Train is a thrill ride (too easy?) that I found myself not overly keen to take. The characters are certainly quirky (with names like The Prince, Tangerine and Lemon) and the text seesaws between the depths of the meaning of life and the frivolity of Thomas the Tank Engine. If that sounds weird, it is.
This is a very particular type of adrenaline thriller that perhaps I was just not in the mood to read. Others may enjoy the action more than I did, and if not, you always have the movie that will pull into the station in July 2022. (Sorry, so lame.)
My thanks to Abrams Publishing and the author for providing me with an advance copy to read and review via NetGalley. Bullet Train is now available.
Blog: https://www.confettibookshelf.com/
The book itself is the translation of an uber-popular Japanese novel originally titled Maria Beetle, in which five assassins board a high-speed train headed to Tokyo and realize their missions might be linked. I’ve heard it compared to the style of Quentin Tarantino movies, and I can see that, but I also kept thinking of 1996 movie “Trainspotting” - not just for the train-name connection but more so for the frenetic pace.
Bullet Train is a thrill ride (too easy?) that I found myself not overly keen to take. The characters are certainly quirky (with names like The Prince, Tangerine and Lemon) and the text seesaws between the depths of the meaning of life and the frivolity of Thomas the Tank Engine. If that sounds weird, it is.
This is a very particular type of adrenaline thriller that perhaps I was just not in the mood to read. Others may enjoy the action more than I did, and if not, you always have the movie that will pull into the station in July 2022. (Sorry, so lame.)
My thanks to Abrams Publishing and the author for providing me with an advance copy to read and review via NetGalley. Bullet Train is now available.
Blog: https://www.confettibookshelf.com/
September 11, 2021
no thanks
July 21, 2023
Ladies and Gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts and get ready for an erratic ride on a bullet train in Japan 🇯🇵!
Find me on instagram
This great book by Kotaro Isaka deals with 5 hitmen on a Shinkansen (= bullet train), a suitcase full of money and a bunch of artful killing techniques. Not the usual bang-bang-boom-kinda-killing. NO, we’re talking Japanese sophistication here!
Kotaro Isaka makes your brain synapses connect stronger to challenge ethical issues while you race to solve the puzzle.
A page-turner full of witty and intelligent dialogues among high-caliber hitmen, revealing only so much for you to assume the next step, just to leave you gasping until you realise you were on the wrong path with your assumptions.
Taking a twist and turn to adjust my route to fully grasp the plot, I was amazed by the mental leaps the author took me through!
Multifaceted, well developed characters performed an incredibly thrilling movie in my head that kept me engaged from the beginning to the end!
I am SO happy to have finally made acquaintance with this great Japanese author, whose books have turned into movies. Can’t wait to read more of his stories.
BTW: Movie to be released this Summer!🎥 🍿
#HappyReading 📚
#Netgalley 🙏
#HonestReview 👩🏻💻
#SundayChillday 🦦
#MissingJapan 🇯🇵
#CherryBlossom in 🇯🇵🍒
#AsparagusSeason in 🇩🇪🍽
Find me on instagram
This great book by Kotaro Isaka deals with 5 hitmen on a Shinkansen (= bullet train), a suitcase full of money and a bunch of artful killing techniques. Not the usual bang-bang-boom-kinda-killing. NO, we’re talking Japanese sophistication here!
Kotaro Isaka makes your brain synapses connect stronger to challenge ethical issues while you race to solve the puzzle.
A page-turner full of witty and intelligent dialogues among high-caliber hitmen, revealing only so much for you to assume the next step, just to leave you gasping until you realise you were on the wrong path with your assumptions.
Taking a twist and turn to adjust my route to fully grasp the plot, I was amazed by the mental leaps the author took me through!
Multifaceted, well developed characters performed an incredibly thrilling movie in my head that kept me engaged from the beginning to the end!
I am SO happy to have finally made acquaintance with this great Japanese author, whose books have turned into movies. Can’t wait to read more of his stories.
BTW: Movie to be released this Summer!🎥 🍿
#HappyReading 📚
#Netgalley 🙏
#HonestReview 👩🏻💻
#SundayChillday 🦦
#MissingJapan 🇯🇵
#CherryBlossom in 🇯🇵🍒
#AsparagusSeason in 🇩🇪🍽
July 31, 2022
¡Me ha encantado!
En esta novela encontraréis un puñado de asesinos a sueldo dentro de en un tren bala haciendo lo que mejor saben hacer, un misterioso maletín y unos diálogos ingeniosos que aportan frescura y un toque de chispa al conjunto.
Como lector yo también he sentido que viajaba en un tren bala. En movimiento, gracias a las escenas de acción y tensión, la trama avanza a toda velocidad, pero también hay momentos en los que la novela bala se detiene y los personajes charlan sobre la muerte, sobre el alcoholismo, sobre la suerte o sobre Thomas y sus amigos.
Son personajes en situaciones límite hablando como si estuvieran en el salón de su casa. ¡Gran contraste en un viaje muy divertido!
En esta novela encontraréis un puñado de asesinos a sueldo dentro de en un tren bala haciendo lo que mejor saben hacer, un misterioso maletín y unos diálogos ingeniosos que aportan frescura y un toque de chispa al conjunto.
Como lector yo también he sentido que viajaba en un tren bala. En movimiento, gracias a las escenas de acción y tensión, la trama avanza a toda velocidad, pero también hay momentos en los que la novela bala se detiene y los personajes charlan sobre la muerte, sobre el alcoholismo, sobre la suerte o sobre Thomas y sus amigos.
Son personajes en situaciones límite hablando como si estuvieran en el salón de su casa. ¡Gran contraste en un viaje muy divertido!
September 20, 2021
3/3.5 Stars
Thanks V for the book recommendation! I’ll definitely watch the movie when it comes out! I’m interested to see how they will portray the humour...for example will they use the same names (the Prince, Lemon and Tangerine) and the same references to Thomas the Tank Engine.
What I enjoyed:
• It was action packed and I had many “well, didn’t see that coming” moments.
• This was very dark and yet still had some humorous moments and characters, so the style reminded me of anime such as Demon Slayer and FullMetal Alchemist.
• The characters, I enjoyed their flashbacks and was strangely rooting for them. They were all comical and/or twisted. For example one of the assassins used Thomas the Tank Engine analogies and the craziest/darkest character was a high school student.
Also the names were hilarious: the Prince, Lemon and Tangerine. Though I wonder what else their Japanese names translate to? For example in an anime called Bleach (Hi5 to the Bleach fans :D) the protagonist, Ichigo can have multiple translations, one of them being strawberry :D.
What I wanted more of:
I found the main story lacking and because of that I lost interest from the 50% mark. I wanted to know more about the mission and people behind it but there wasn’t too much to it. The focus was very much on the train, the characters and their past. Although there was a lot of action, that alone wasn’t enough to keep my interest and I ended up skimming some of it.
Recommended if:
You love your dark reads and want something a bit different. Similar to Dark Matter, it's very much about the action packed crazy events.
Thanks V for the book recommendation! I’ll definitely watch the movie when it comes out! I’m interested to see how they will portray the humour...for example will they use the same names (the Prince, Lemon and Tangerine) and the same references to Thomas the Tank Engine.
What I enjoyed:
• It was action packed and I had many “well, didn’t see that coming” moments.
• This was very dark and yet still had some humorous moments and characters, so the style reminded me of anime such as Demon Slayer and FullMetal Alchemist.
• The characters, I enjoyed their flashbacks and was strangely rooting for them. They were all comical and/or twisted. For example one of the assassins used Thomas the Tank Engine analogies and the craziest/darkest character was a high school student.
Also the names were hilarious: the Prince, Lemon and Tangerine. Though I wonder what else their Japanese names translate to? For example in an anime called Bleach (Hi5 to the Bleach fans :D) the protagonist, Ichigo can have multiple translations, one of them being strawberry :D.
What I wanted more of:
I found the main story lacking and because of that I lost interest from the 50% mark. I wanted to know more about the mission and people behind it but there wasn’t too much to it. The focus was very much on the train, the characters and their past. Although there was a lot of action, that alone wasn’t enough to keep my interest and I ended up skimming some of it.
Recommended if:
You love your dark reads and want something a bit different. Similar to Dark Matter, it's very much about the action packed crazy events.
February 8, 2022
Former assassin Kimura is on the bullet train looking for the Prince. The Prince, a 14 year old sadistic psychopath, is on the train for undisclosed reasons. Lemon and Tangerine have been hired by a very wealthy man to bring his son and a suitcase to him. Nanao, who trails bad luck behind him, has been hired to steal the suitcase. That’s five killers on a single train, and you really can’t afford to turn your back on anyone on that train.
This was really an entertaining farce with guns, knives, needles and a snake. The characters have a hard time finding where to hide the bodies. The suitcase is actually a maguffin that constantly changes hands. The Prince is one of the creepiest characters I have encountered. Lemon and Tangerine are like a deadly comedy act. Nanao is not incapable, but if something bad is going to happen it will probably happen to him. Surprises keep coming until the end. I think they have made a movie based on this book. It should be fun.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This was really an entertaining farce with guns, knives, needles and a snake. The characters have a hard time finding where to hide the bodies. The suitcase is actually a maguffin that constantly changes hands. The Prince is one of the creepiest characters I have encountered. Lemon and Tangerine are like a deadly comedy act. Nanao is not incapable, but if something bad is going to happen it will probably happen to him. Surprises keep coming until the end. I think they have made a movie based on this book. It should be fun.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
September 16, 2021
An inconsistent book, with absurd characters, unlikely situations and dialogues that seem to be thrown there at random, as they came to mind to a drunk author. I really can't understand how, and why, a reader would have to force himself to get to the end of such an absurd book; I, barely halfway through the book, felt cheated and stopped reading it. A really bad example of literature (but to call it literature is an insult to literature). The plot, chaotic and disordered, is also slow and repetitive and deserves the minimum of marks, both for the topics covered and for its absolute uselessness, even for a mere recreational purpose. To forget; both the book and the author. Instead, it would be to remember (and then mark them with an indelible mark) the marketing people who wrote the back cover, telling a mountain of lies about the content of the book and how beautiful and interesting it was: you were very dishonest and you took part of a deception towards the readers. Shame on you.
December 21, 2021
If you look for cinematic correspondences, then Tarantino, the Coen brothers, Luc Besson. If genre, then guignol, If literary - oddly enough, Agatha Christie with "Murder on the Orient Express". And all this will give only the most superficial idea of the "Bullet Train". Another important aspect: reading/listening will provide you with the opportunity to act as an expert when everyone starts talking about the book. And they will discuss it, because: Ta-Damm!
David Leitch made the film Bullet Train based on this book with Brad Pitt (Nanao), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Mandarin), Lady Gaga, Sandra Bullock, a dozen more stars and an unexpected gender shifter Joey King (Prince), the premiere is expected in April 2022 and promises to be bright. And can there be an unexpected multifaceted story that combines a thriller, a spaghetti western, a black comedy, pulp fiction and a philosophical parable, turning the idea of the gloomy in Japanese: depressive, introverted-suicidal, in the spirit of Kobo Abe and Yukio Mishima.
We have: a high-speed Shinkansen train following the Tokyo-Morioka route. This is, you know, a bullet train of futuristic design, flying at a speed of more than three hundred kilometers per hour: increased comfort, tickets at a special rate, the triumph of high technology. And on this train, a pair of gangsters Mandarin (an intellectual, quotes Virginia Woolf and Dostoevsky) and Lemon (a fan of the animated series about the Tommy train) must deliver to the father, the criminal boss, the son who was abducted from him, who was saved. Along with a suitcase of cash intended for ransom (which also somehow remained intact).
Старикам здесь ̶н̶е̶ место
Не имеет значения, кто твой противник: мужчина, женщина или ребенок. Если это профес��ионал, то нельзя поддаваться слабости.
Если искать кинематографических соответствий, то Тарантино, братья Коэн, Люк Бессон. Если жанровых - то гиньоль, Если литературных - как ни странно, Агата Кристи с "Убийством в восточном экспрессе". И все это даст лишь самое поверхностное представление о "Поезде убийц". Еще один немаловажный аспект: чтение/прослушивание обеспечит вам возможность выступить в роли эксперта, когда все начнут говорить о книге. А обсуждать станут, потому что: Та-Дамм!
Дэвид Литч снял фильм Bullet Train по этой книге с Бредом Питтом (Нанао), Аароном Тейлором Джонсоном (Мандарин), леди Гагой, Сандрой Баллок , еще десятком звезд и неожиданным гендерным перевертышем Джоуи Кинг (Принц), премьера ожидается в апреле 2022 и обещает быть яркой. Да и может ли быть иначе7 Неожиданная многоплановая история, которая соединяет триллер, спагетти-вестерн, черную комедию, криминальное чтиво и философскую притчу переворачивая представление о мрачном по-японски: депрессивном, интравертно-суицидальном, в духе Кобо Абэ и Юкио Мисимы.
Имеем: скоростной поезд Синкансен, следующий по маршруту Токио-Мориока. Это такой, знаете, поезд-пуля, футуристического дизайна, летящий со скоростью больше трехсот километров в час: повышенная комфортность, билеты по особому тарифу, триумф высоких технологий. И на этом поезде пара гангстеров Мандарин (интеллектуал, цитирует Вирджинию Вулф и Достоевского) и Лимон (фанат мультсериала про паровозика Томми) должны доставить папаше - преступному боссу, похищенного у него сына, которого удалось спасти. Вместе с чемоданом наличных, предназначавшихся для выкупа (которые тоже каким-то образом остались в целости).
Одновременно в том же поезде ("по той же дороге, чрез эту же местность") едут: 1. Кимура, в прошлом киллер, который ныне отошел от преступных дел и работает в охранной фирме, один воспитывает ребенка (мать нахапала кредитов и теперь в бегах, оставив семью), алкоголик в завязке, бросил пить недавно, когда с его маленьким сыном случилось несчастье; 2. Сатоши, четырнадцатилетний ангелоподобный демон, которого все называют Принцем, станем и мы его так называть; 3. Нанао (Божья коровка) самый неудачливый киллер в мире - 33 несчастья.
И если вы думаете, что число преступников в поезде этим исчерпывается, вы глубоко заблуждаетесь. И что станут делать все эти люди? А вот как раз это и составит содержание книги, которую можно читать, но я от души рекомендовала бы вам послушать, потому что аудиоверсию читает Игорь Князев, чье исполнение всегда подарок. Пользуясь случаем, поздравляю его с заслуженной победой в Rock&Book 2021
И еще об одном не могу не сказать. Перевела "Поезд убийц" Анаит Григорян, если вы сомневаетесь, та ли это девушка,которая написала "Поселок на реке Оредеж" - не сомневайтесь, та самая. Перевод, впрямь, замечательно хорош, не только в литературном смысле, но и в части комментариев, объясняющих далекие от нас реалии японской жизни, особенности иероглифоики, которые в этой культуре имеют серьезные самостоятельные значения и рождают у ее носителей множественные ассоциации, чуждые европейскому восприятию.
Так о чем все-таки книга? Ну, наверно о том, что внешность бывает обманчива. Что на всякого мудреца довольно простоты. Что не стоит недооценивать стариков. Что тотальная неудачливость может неожиданно обернуться самой большой удачей.
David Leitch made the film Bullet Train based on this book with Brad Pitt (Nanao), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Mandarin), Lady Gaga, Sandra Bullock, a dozen more stars and an unexpected gender shifter Joey King (Prince), the premiere is expected in April 2022 and promises to be bright. And can there be an unexpected multifaceted story that combines a thriller, a spaghetti western, a black comedy, pulp fiction and a philosophical parable, turning the idea of the gloomy in Japanese: depressive, introverted-suicidal, in the spirit of Kobo Abe and Yukio Mishima.
We have: a high-speed Shinkansen train following the Tokyo-Morioka route. This is, you know, a bullet train of futuristic design, flying at a speed of more than three hundred kilometers per hour: increased comfort, tickets at a special rate, the triumph of high technology. And on this train, a pair of gangsters Mandarin (an intellectual, quotes Virginia Woolf and Dostoevsky) and Lemon (a fan of the animated series about the Tommy train) must deliver to the father, the criminal boss, the son who was abducted from him, who was saved. Along with a suitcase of cash intended for ransom (which also somehow remained intact).
Старикам здесь ̶н̶е̶ место
Не имеет значения, кто твой противник: мужчина, женщина или ребенок. Если это профес��ионал, то нельзя поддаваться слабости.
Если искать кинематографических соответствий, то Тарантино, братья Коэн, Люк Бессон. Если жанровых - то гиньоль, Если литературных - как ни странно, Агата Кристи с "Убийством в восточном экспрессе". И все это даст лишь самое поверхностное представление о "Поезде убийц". Еще один немаловажный аспект: чтение/прослушивание обеспечит вам возможность выступить в роли эксперта, когда все начнут говорить о книге. А обсуждать станут, потому что: Та-Дамм!
Дэвид Литч снял фильм Bullet Train по этой книге с Бредом Питтом (Нанао), Аароном Тейлором Джонсоном (Мандарин), леди Гагой, Сандрой Баллок , еще десятком звезд и неожиданным гендерным перевертышем Джоуи Кинг (Принц), премьера ожидается в апреле 2022 и обещает быть яркой. Да и может ли быть иначе7 Неожиданная многоплановая история, которая соединяет триллер, спагетти-вестерн, черную комедию, криминальное чтиво и философскую притчу переворачивая представление о мрачном по-японски: депрессивном, интравертно-суицидальном, в духе Кобо Абэ и Юкио Мисимы.
Имеем: скоростной поезд Синкансен, следующий по маршруту Токио-Мориока. Это такой, знаете, поезд-пуля, футуристического дизайна, летящий со скоростью больше трехсот километров в час: повышенная комфортность, билеты по особому тарифу, триумф высоких технологий. И на этом поезде пара гангстеров Мандарин (интеллектуал, цитирует Вирджинию Вулф и Достоевского) и Лимон (фанат мультсериала про паровозика Томми) должны доставить папаше - преступному боссу, похищенного у него сына, которого удалось спасти. Вместе с чемоданом наличных, предназначавшихся для выкупа (которые тоже каким-то образом остались в целости).
Одновременно в том же поезде ("по той же дороге, чрез эту же местность") едут: 1. Кимура, в прошлом киллер, который ныне отошел от преступных дел и работает в охранной фирме, один воспитывает ребенка (мать нахапала кредитов и теперь в бегах, оставив семью), алкоголик в завязке, бросил пить недавно, когда с его маленьким сыном случилось несчастье; 2. Сатоши, четырнадцатилетний ангелоподобный демон, которого все называют Принцем, станем и мы его так называть; 3. Нанао (Божья коровка) самый неудачливый киллер в мире - 33 несчастья.
И если вы думаете, что число преступников в поезде этим исчерпывается, вы глубоко заблуждаетесь. И что станут делать все эти люди? А вот как раз это и составит содержание книги, которую можно читать, но я от души рекомендовала бы вам послушать, потому что аудиоверсию читает Игорь Князев, чье исполнение всегда подарок. Пользуясь случаем, поздравляю его с заслуженной победой в Rock&Book 2021
И еще об одном не могу не сказать. Перевела "Поезд убийц" Анаит Григорян, если вы сомневаетесь, та ли это девушка,которая написала "Поселок на реке Оредеж" - не сомневайтесь, та самая. Перевод, впрямь, замечательно хорош, не только в литературном смысле, но и в части комментариев, объясняющих далекие от нас реалии японской жизни, особенности иероглифоики, которые в этой культуре имеют серьезные самостоятельные значения и рождают у ее носителей множественные ассоциации, чуждые европейскому восприятию.
Так о чем все-таки книга? Ну, наверно о том, что внешность бывает обманчива. Что на всякого мудреца довольно простоты. Что не стоит недооценивать стариков. Что тотальная неудачливость может неожиданно обернуться самой большой удачей.
September 26, 2022
Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka is a 2021 Harry N. Abrams publication. (Originally published in 2010)
If you’ve seen the movie ‘Bullet Train’ starring Brad Pitt, this is the book it is based on. I have not seen the movie yet- but I probably will check it out someday… but this a review for the BOOK-
So- here are my thoughts…
This book is the English translation of this Japanese thriller, and I had no idea what to expect, really, but at least the blurb explains the book is satirical in nature- so I was prepared for something a little offbeat.
As it turns out, it is a bit off the beaten path- especially for American audiences, because the format is far removed from the formula most of us expect from a thriller.
But it is very stylish- and commanded my undivided attention from start to finish. As promised the story has some dark, but very funny humor if one can appreciate that sort of thing. I’m not sure dark humor and satire are always a good fit for mainstream audiences- so it might not be to everyone’s taste- but it’s right up my alley.
While this might seem like a ‘simple job’ it can get a little complicated- because while this bullet train is only carrying a small number of passengers, but they all have a sinister agenda. In this case, a particular suitcase is highly sought after by those on board for various reasons, while a psychopathic teenage boy has lured the revenge seeking father of a comatose child onboard- taunting him with the possibility that his child’s life could be in danger if anything were to happen to him.
Once the stage is set, the twists and turns are a non-stop mind trip. By turns the book is very clever, entertaining, philosophical, dark, smart and funny! Occasionally, it was little challenging for me, as I did have to work to keep everything straight sometimes, but in the end, the effort was worth it.
Overall, I can’t speak for the movie- but I really liked the book!!
4 stars
If you’ve seen the movie ‘Bullet Train’ starring Brad Pitt, this is the book it is based on. I have not seen the movie yet- but I probably will check it out someday… but this a review for the BOOK-
So- here are my thoughts…
This book is the English translation of this Japanese thriller, and I had no idea what to expect, really, but at least the blurb explains the book is satirical in nature- so I was prepared for something a little offbeat.
As it turns out, it is a bit off the beaten path- especially for American audiences, because the format is far removed from the formula most of us expect from a thriller.
But it is very stylish- and commanded my undivided attention from start to finish. As promised the story has some dark, but very funny humor if one can appreciate that sort of thing. I’m not sure dark humor and satire are always a good fit for mainstream audiences- so it might not be to everyone’s taste- but it’s right up my alley.
While this might seem like a ‘simple job’ it can get a little complicated- because while this bullet train is only carrying a small number of passengers, but they all have a sinister agenda. In this case, a particular suitcase is highly sought after by those on board for various reasons, while a psychopathic teenage boy has lured the revenge seeking father of a comatose child onboard- taunting him with the possibility that his child’s life could be in danger if anything were to happen to him.
Once the stage is set, the twists and turns are a non-stop mind trip. By turns the book is very clever, entertaining, philosophical, dark, smart and funny! Occasionally, it was little challenging for me, as I did have to work to keep everything straight sometimes, but in the end, the effort was worth it.
Overall, I can’t speak for the movie- but I really liked the book!!
4 stars
March 30, 2021
Utter lunacy in the best way possible. That’s what I thought when I’d finished Bullet Train.
If you read a crazier, more addictive novel this year I’ll be surprised.
So, there’s a train that moves as fast as the plot, little time at stations and strangely empty considering the number of seats available. Here though we will find a lot of nefarious people on nefarious missions who all end up in each other’s business and the nearer the train gets to its final destination the twistier and crazier it will all get.
This is going to be a movie and I can’t imagine a better one if you are looking for full on excitement, action in droves, contemplative moments in between and a plot that defies logic right up until it all falls into place. If they pretty much put the book directly to screen without messing too much with it that’ll be what you get.
I adored it. Definitely the most fun I’ve had with a book in 2021 so far..the characters pop and none of them are lovely but you’ll love them none the less. Well except maybe one who you’ll want to slap every time he appears..
Mad assassins, a popular suitcase, a bullet train that becomes literally just that and if I were you I’d avoid needing the bathroom whilst on a train for the rest of your life.
Most excellent. Highly Recommended.
If you read a crazier, more addictive novel this year I’ll be surprised.
So, there’s a train that moves as fast as the plot, little time at stations and strangely empty considering the number of seats available. Here though we will find a lot of nefarious people on nefarious missions who all end up in each other’s business and the nearer the train gets to its final destination the twistier and crazier it will all get.
This is going to be a movie and I can’t imagine a better one if you are looking for full on excitement, action in droves, contemplative moments in between and a plot that defies logic right up until it all falls into place. If they pretty much put the book directly to screen without messing too much with it that’ll be what you get.
I adored it. Definitely the most fun I’ve had with a book in 2021 so far..the characters pop and none of them are lovely but you’ll love them none the less. Well except maybe one who you’ll want to slap every time he appears..
Mad assassins, a popular suitcase, a bullet train that becomes literally just that and if I were you I’d avoid needing the bathroom whilst on a train for the rest of your life.
Most excellent. Highly Recommended.
January 18, 2022
5/5stars
This might be my new favorite thriller. This book was a perfect balance of humor, a character case study, high stakes, and incredibly smart interesting twists and turns but also bringing together so many different threads. The characters were so fascinating to me, especially the prince, and I thought the writing was both very smart but also very entertaining. Highly recommend!!
This might be my new favorite thriller. This book was a perfect balance of humor, a character case study, high stakes, and incredibly smart interesting twists and turns but also bringing together so many different threads. The characters were so fascinating to me, especially the prince, and I thought the writing was both very smart but also very entertaining. Highly recommend!!
April 8, 2021
'Steal someone's suitcase and get off the train. That's it.'
All aboard the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Morioka! Two hired goons have rescued a gangster's son from his kidnappers and are returning with the boy and the ransom money. Another killer has been hired to steal the suitcase with the money in it. And, just by coincidence, yet another killer has boarded the train looking for a psychopathic 14-year old boy who pushed his son off a roof, leaving him in a coma in hospital. So, steal the suitcase and get off the train. What could possibly go wrong....?
Well, pretty much everything, as Nanao (the self-proclaimed unluckiest killer in the world) is soon to find out. The two men with the money are known as Tangerine and Lemon, the vengeful father is Kimura, the schoolboy is known as the Prince, and as the train speeds through the Japanese countryside all manner of hell breaks loose both on the train and in the world of Japanese gangsters. As the book progresses, you start to doubt everyone who is on board: the mild-mannered schoolteacher, the conductor, the woman with the drinks trolley.... Are they genuine, or killers? And, as the body count rises, the mayhem gets ever more complicated as yet more hired killers and gangsters gather at every station on the line.
Other reviewers have compared this to Tarantino. For me, it's more like the (independent cinema) style of Hal Hartley: deadpan humour, almost slapstick violence and an oddball set of characters prone to meander into philosophical discussions on any number of subjects. What this means is that, for all the pace of the plot and the train itself, the book will take flight into these digressions, and then jump into a flashback, which results in the book actually being less frantic than you might expect. For me, that is the genius of the book: it's written in the present tense, which adds to the sense of immediacy and pace, but it is also a fully-fledged 'novel' rather than just a mindless thriller. Each of the main characters will grab your attention with their idiosyncrasies, and it's pretty much up to each individual reader as to which one you side with. Interestingly, the original Japanese title can be translated as 'ladybug', which forms part of the written form of one of the main character's name, which suggests that we are being led in one particular direction. The ending, when we finally reach the end of the line, is suitably chaotic and open-ended, which might frustrate some but actually forms the perfect way to wrap things up.
I absolutely 100% loved this! Possibly the most fun I have had with a book for years - it's bonkers, funny, violent and had me hooked from start to finish. The perfect book just to escape into and enjoy the ride. If I could give 6 stars I would!
(I'm not even going to dwell on the dreaded phrase 'soon to be a major Hollywood film'. Looking at the cast list, I genuinely shiver with dread at what they will do with it. Please, please - read the book, and don't bother with the film!).
All aboard the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Morioka! Two hired goons have rescued a gangster's son from his kidnappers and are returning with the boy and the ransom money. Another killer has been hired to steal the suitcase with the money in it. And, just by coincidence, yet another killer has boarded the train looking for a psychopathic 14-year old boy who pushed his son off a roof, leaving him in a coma in hospital. So, steal the suitcase and get off the train. What could possibly go wrong....?
Well, pretty much everything, as Nanao (the self-proclaimed unluckiest killer in the world) is soon to find out. The two men with the money are known as Tangerine and Lemon, the vengeful father is Kimura, the schoolboy is known as the Prince, and as the train speeds through the Japanese countryside all manner of hell breaks loose both on the train and in the world of Japanese gangsters. As the book progresses, you start to doubt everyone who is on board: the mild-mannered schoolteacher, the conductor, the woman with the drinks trolley.... Are they genuine, or killers? And, as the body count rises, the mayhem gets ever more complicated as yet more hired killers and gangsters gather at every station on the line.
Other reviewers have compared this to Tarantino. For me, it's more like the (independent cinema) style of Hal Hartley: deadpan humour, almost slapstick violence and an oddball set of characters prone to meander into philosophical discussions on any number of subjects. What this means is that, for all the pace of the plot and the train itself, the book will take flight into these digressions, and then jump into a flashback, which results in the book actually being less frantic than you might expect. For me, that is the genius of the book: it's written in the present tense, which adds to the sense of immediacy and pace, but it is also a fully-fledged 'novel' rather than just a mindless thriller. Each of the main characters will grab your attention with their idiosyncrasies, and it's pretty much up to each individual reader as to which one you side with. Interestingly, the original Japanese title can be translated as 'ladybug', which forms part of the written form of one of the main character's name, which suggests that we are being led in one particular direction. The ending, when we finally reach the end of the line, is suitably chaotic and open-ended, which might frustrate some but actually forms the perfect way to wrap things up.
I absolutely 100% loved this! Possibly the most fun I have had with a book for years - it's bonkers, funny, violent and had me hooked from start to finish. The perfect book just to escape into and enjoy the ride. If I could give 6 stars I would!
(I'm not even going to dwell on the dreaded phrase 'soon to be a major Hollywood film'. Looking at the cast list, I genuinely shiver with dread at what they will do with it. Please, please - read the book, and don't bother with the film!).
June 26, 2022
Special thanks to Brad Pitt and AMC Theaters for putting this book, and it’s upcoming film adaptation, on my radar.
You don’t need a lengthy review from me or anyone else to convince you to read this book. Let me just break down the plot for you briefly.
Five assassins enter a train.
Two of them are named after fruits, and they are returning a kidnapped son and a briefcase full of money back to the kid’s dad.
One of them is an alcoholic father seeking revenge on someone who put his kid in the hospital.
One of them is a sadistic teenage sociopath who calls himself The Prince.
And, finally, there’s the most unlucky guy in the world. He’s on a mission to recover a briefcase.
There may also be a snake on the train.
All of them are on a Japanese bullet train together. The action picked up from the very first chapter. Things do not slow down (the train nor the plot) until the very last page.
The action moves from train car to train car, into bathrooms, and often the story unfolds right in front of the other oblivious passengers. Cell phones are constantly ringing, lies are often being told, and plans are usually ruined.
This is honestly the most fun I’ve had reading a book in a long time, and I’m excited to see the movie when it premieres in August. This is an absolute thrill ride with plenty of comedy and ridiculousness mixed in to keep things light.
Five outta five for me. Take the next bullet train to your local library or bookstore and pick this up.
You don’t need a lengthy review from me or anyone else to convince you to read this book. Let me just break down the plot for you briefly.
Five assassins enter a train.
Two of them are named after fruits, and they are returning a kidnapped son and a briefcase full of money back to the kid’s dad.
One of them is an alcoholic father seeking revenge on someone who put his kid in the hospital.
One of them is a sadistic teenage sociopath who calls himself The Prince.
And, finally, there’s the most unlucky guy in the world. He’s on a mission to recover a briefcase.
There may also be a snake on the train.
All of them are on a Japanese bullet train together. The action picked up from the very first chapter. Things do not slow down (the train nor the plot) until the very last page.
The action moves from train car to train car, into bathrooms, and often the story unfolds right in front of the other oblivious passengers. Cell phones are constantly ringing, lies are often being told, and plans are usually ruined.
This is honestly the most fun I’ve had reading a book in a long time, and I’m excited to see the movie when it premieres in August. This is an absolute thrill ride with plenty of comedy and ridiculousness mixed in to keep things light.
Five outta five for me. Take the next bullet train to your local library or bookstore and pick this up.
June 5, 2023
[ESP/ENG]
Alguien a quien suele perseguir la mala suerte no puede evitar extrañarse de haber tenido dos golpes semejantes de buena suerte.
Antes que nada, debo hacer una confesión, y es que me he acercado a este libro a raíz de la película recientemente estrenada, y la he visto antes de leer el libro. Y aunque esto no se llame Goodwatch sino Goodreads, diré que ambos productos son bastante complementarios, pero he acabado más satisfecho con la peli, me ha parecido más redonda. Habiendo sacado este oscuro pecado de mi interior, puedo ir a la reseña del libro 😜😜
Tren bala nos cuenta, para sorpresa de nadie, una situación que ocurre a bordo de un tren bala japonés. Un grupo diverso de gente se encuentra a bordo de este tren con diferentes objetivos, pero todos ellos son criminales de uno u otro tipo, y todos ellos cuentas en su haber con ser asesinos a sueldo. El principal protagonista es Nanao, un tipo con muy mala suerte, que se cruzará en su simple misión de robar una maleta con gente como Limón y Mandarina, El Príncipe, El Lobo y otros elementos del mundo criminal de Japón. Esto es importante, puesto que muchas de las situaciones que se desarrollan tienen un fuerte carácter japonés, para lo bueno y para lo malo.
Cuando un tipo descuidado dice que tiene un plan, el noventa por ciento de las ocasiones se trata de una porquería de plan, pero oigámoslo de todos modos.
Todo transcurre en el viaje de Tokio a Morioka, un viaje de apenas tres horas, pero está narrado de una manera tal que te parece estar en ese tren viajando con todo este plantel, a veces viendo pasar el paisaje mientras piensas en un plan, a veces intentando escapar de algo. En el inicio de cada capítulo hay un dibujo del tren en el que se marcan los vagones en que transcurre la acción, para meterte todavía más en la novela.
"Sois unos trenes muy útiles." Cualquiera sería feliz si alguien le dijera que es útil.
Mi principal problema con esta obra es el tratamiento de los personajes; si bien es una lectura amena y en ocasiones divertidas, me cuesta empatizar con ninguno de ellos. De hecho la lectura de los capítulos del El Príncipe se me ha acabado haciendo tediosa, prefería que fuese cualquier otro antes que él. Incluso Limón y su incesante parloteo sobre "Thomas y sus amigos". Con esto lo iba a dejar en 3 ⭐, pero el final remonta bastante y le doy la cuarta porque al final me ha acabado gustando y porque ha dado lugar a la peli que me ha dejado muy satisfecho.
Así que ya sabéis, cuidado con el que va sentado al lado, y portaos todos como trenes buenos 😂
----------------------
Someone who is often haunted by bad luck can't help but be amazed at having had two similar strokes of good luck.
First of all, I must make a confession, and that is that I have approached this book as a result of the recently released movie, and I have seen it before reading the book. And although this is not called Goodwatch but Goodreads, I will say that both products are quite complementary, but I ended up more satisfied with the movie, it seemed more rounded to me. Having gotten this dark sin out of me, I can go to the book review 😜😜
Bullet Train tells us, to no one's surprise, a situation that occurs aboard a Japanese bullet train. A diverse group of people are aboard this train with different goals, but all of them are criminals of one sort or another, and all of them have a history of being hit men. The main character is Nanao, a guy with very bad luck, who will cross paths with people like Lemon and Tangerine, The Prince, The Wolf and other elements of the criminal world of Japan in his simple mission to steal a suitcase. This is important, since many of the situations that unfold have a strong Japanese character, for better or for worse.
When a sloppy guy says he has a plan, ninety percent of the time it's some crappy plan, but let's hear it anyway.
Everything takes place on the trip from Tokyo to Morioka, a trip of just three hours, but it is narrated in such a way that it seems to you that you are on that train traveling with all this staff, sometimes seeing the landscape go by while you think of a plan, sometimes trying to escape from something. At the beginning of each chapter there is a drawing of the train in which the cars in which the action takes place are marked, to get you even deeper into the novel.
"You guys are very useful trains." Anyone would be happy if someone told them that it is useful.
My main problem with this work is the treatment of the characters; Although it is an enjoyable read and sometimes funny, I find it hard to empathize with any of them. In fact, reading the chapters of The Prince has become tedious for me, I preferred it to be any other before him. Even Lemon and his incessant babble about "Thomas and his friends." With this I was going to leave it at 3 ⭐, but the ending goes back quite a bit and I give it the fourth because in the end I ended up liking it and because it has given rise to the movie that has left me very satisfied.
So now you know, be careful who is sitting next to you, and all of you behave like good trains 😂
Alguien a quien suele perseguir la mala suerte no puede evitar extrañarse de haber tenido dos golpes semejantes de buena suerte.
Antes que nada, debo hacer una confesión, y es que me he acercado a este libro a raíz de la película recientemente estrenada, y la he visto antes de leer el libro. Y aunque esto no se llame Goodwatch sino Goodreads, diré que ambos productos son bastante complementarios, pero he acabado más satisfecho con la peli, me ha parecido más redonda. Habiendo sacado este oscuro pecado de mi interior, puedo ir a la reseña del libro 😜😜
Tren bala nos cuenta, para sorpresa de nadie, una situación que ocurre a bordo de un tren bala japonés. Un grupo diverso de gente se encuentra a bordo de este tren con diferentes objetivos, pero todos ellos son criminales de uno u otro tipo, y todos ellos cuentas en su haber con ser asesinos a sueldo. El principal protagonista es Nanao, un tipo con muy mala suerte, que se cruzará en su simple misión de robar una maleta con gente como Limón y Mandarina, El Príncipe, El Lobo y otros elementos del mundo criminal de Japón. Esto es importante, puesto que muchas de las situaciones que se desarrollan tienen un fuerte carácter japonés, para lo bueno y para lo malo.
Cuando un tipo descuidado dice que tiene un plan, el noventa por ciento de las ocasiones se trata de una porquería de plan, pero oigámoslo de todos modos.
Todo transcurre en el viaje de Tokio a Morioka, un viaje de apenas tres horas, pero está narrado de una manera tal que te parece estar en ese tren viajando con todo este plantel, a veces viendo pasar el paisaje mientras piensas en un plan, a veces intentando escapar de algo. En el inicio de cada capítulo hay un dibujo del tren en el que se marcan los vagones en que transcurre la acción, para meterte todavía más en la novela.
"Sois unos trenes muy útiles." Cualquiera sería feliz si alguien le dijera que es útil.
Mi principal problema con esta obra es el tratamiento de los personajes; si bien es una lectura amena y en ocasiones divertidas, me cuesta empatizar con ninguno de ellos. De hecho la lectura de los capítulos del El Príncipe se me ha acabado haciendo tediosa, prefería que fuese cualquier otro antes que él. Incluso Limón y su incesante parloteo sobre "Thomas y sus amigos". Con esto lo iba a dejar en 3 ⭐, pero el final remonta bastante y le doy la cuarta porque al final me ha acabado gustando y porque ha dado lugar a la peli que me ha dejado muy satisfecho.
Así que ya sabéis, cuidado con el que va sentado al lado, y portaos todos como trenes buenos 😂
----------------------
Someone who is often haunted by bad luck can't help but be amazed at having had two similar strokes of good luck.
First of all, I must make a confession, and that is that I have approached this book as a result of the recently released movie, and I have seen it before reading the book. And although this is not called Goodwatch but Goodreads, I will say that both products are quite complementary, but I ended up more satisfied with the movie, it seemed more rounded to me. Having gotten this dark sin out of me, I can go to the book review 😜😜
Bullet Train tells us, to no one's surprise, a situation that occurs aboard a Japanese bullet train. A diverse group of people are aboard this train with different goals, but all of them are criminals of one sort or another, and all of them have a history of being hit men. The main character is Nanao, a guy with very bad luck, who will cross paths with people like Lemon and Tangerine, The Prince, The Wolf and other elements of the criminal world of Japan in his simple mission to steal a suitcase. This is important, since many of the situations that unfold have a strong Japanese character, for better or for worse.
When a sloppy guy says he has a plan, ninety percent of the time it's some crappy plan, but let's hear it anyway.
Everything takes place on the trip from Tokyo to Morioka, a trip of just three hours, but it is narrated in such a way that it seems to you that you are on that train traveling with all this staff, sometimes seeing the landscape go by while you think of a plan, sometimes trying to escape from something. At the beginning of each chapter there is a drawing of the train in which the cars in which the action takes place are marked, to get you even deeper into the novel.
"You guys are very useful trains." Anyone would be happy if someone told them that it is useful.
My main problem with this work is the treatment of the characters; Although it is an enjoyable read and sometimes funny, I find it hard to empathize with any of them. In fact, reading the chapters of The Prince has become tedious for me, I preferred it to be any other before him. Even Lemon and his incessant babble about "Thomas and his friends." With this I was going to leave it at 3 ⭐, but the ending goes back quite a bit and I give it the fourth because in the end I ended up liking it and because it has given rise to the movie that has left me very satisfied.
So now you know, be careful who is sitting next to you, and all of you behave like good trains 😂
September 15, 2022
The famous Japanese Bullet train is the decor of an unlikely battle of wits and violence verbally and physically.
Two assassins named after fruit have liberated the kidnapped son of a criminal lord and also saved the ransom in a suitcase.
There is the unluckiest assassin of the world who is hired to get the suitcase with the ransom money.
Then there is a father bent on avenging his son who lies in a hospital in a coma, his target a 14 year old kid who has no morality at all and is fascinated by hurting people.
The macguffin is of course the suitcase with the ransom. But as soon as the first person dies everything on the train including the story takes on breakneck speed of his own.
The recent released other book by this author also features in this book, but if you have not read that one it is no problem (but what the heck are you waiting for it is an excellent book as well about assassins). For me a aha moment nonetheless.
This book once more delivers a great Japanese noir.
I have not seen the Hollywood movie of this Japanese tale. Will in due time on some streaming service.
I do hope a few more kotaro Isaka novels get translated since this book once again surprised me a lot, he gives his characters space to breathe and evolve. The story like the train speeds up during the telling, which is no mean feat.
An excellent book that deserve to be read before you see the movie.
Two assassins named after fruit have liberated the kidnapped son of a criminal lord and also saved the ransom in a suitcase.
There is the unluckiest assassin of the world who is hired to get the suitcase with the ransom money.
Then there is a father bent on avenging his son who lies in a hospital in a coma, his target a 14 year old kid who has no morality at all and is fascinated by hurting people.
The macguffin is of course the suitcase with the ransom. But as soon as the first person dies everything on the train including the story takes on breakneck speed of his own.
The recent released other book by this author also features in this book, but if you have not read that one it is no problem (but what the heck are you waiting for it is an excellent book as well about assassins). For me a aha moment nonetheless.
This book once more delivers a great Japanese noir.
I have not seen the Hollywood movie of this Japanese tale. Will in due time on some streaming service.
I do hope a few more kotaro Isaka novels get translated since this book once again surprised me a lot, he gives his characters space to breathe and evolve. The story like the train speeds up during the telling, which is no mean feat.
An excellent book that deserve to be read before you see the movie.
August 17, 2022
Videorecensione: https://youtu.be/70gCEGB4CkU
May 9, 2024
Netflix film is out! Watch the trailer on YouTube.
Real Rating: 3.5* of five
The Publisher Says: Five assassins on a fast-moving bullet train find out their missions have something in common in this witty and electrifying thriller
Satoshi—The Prince—looks like an innocent schoolboy but is really a stylish and devious assassin. Risk fuels him as does a good philosophical debate, such as . . . is killing really wrong? Kimura’s young son is in a coma thanks to The Prince, and Kimura has tracked him onto the bullet train heading from Tokyo to Morioka to exact his revenge. But Kimura soon discovers that they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard.
Nanao, nicknamed Ladybug, the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world,” is put on the train by his boss, a mysterious young woman called Maria Beetle, to steal a suitcase full of money and get off at the first stop. And the lethal duo of Tangerine and Lemon are also traveling to Morioka. The suitcase leads others to show their hands. Why are they all on the same train, and who will make it off alive?
A bestseller in Japan, and soon to be a major film from Sony starring Brad Pitt and Joey King, Bullet Train is an original and propulsive thriller which fizzes with an incredible energy as its complex net of double-crosses and twists unwinds to the last station.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Not the movie. The movie is fast and loud, American and violent. The book is slower, more nuanced, and very Japanese. It also has a universal message for its readers: Nothing, but nothing!, can be allowed to get in the way of Revenge. Call it Retribution: It is the eternal weighing of deeds for the pinpoint-accurate design of their equal and opposite results.
Revenge alone is sacred.
If you haven't read Three Assassins, a lot of the why of this story is not going to make a blind bit of sense. I strongly recommend getting into the universe of the assassins before embarking on this exciting outing into their world. Don't spend a lot of time asking "why" of this book only to get the unsatisfying answer a) because, 2) read Three Assassins, that's why.
A must for initiates, though. The increased famailiarity the book assumes you have is license for it to really ramp up the use of multiple, intersecting though definitely not parallel, PoV chapters...and that narrative technique requires practice to get used to when decoding tangentially connected story lines. This weird story of five assassins doing similar but not causally related things on one speeding train that's going nowhere special or significant to no unusual purpose. It's just moving at speed, and it's not going to stop for a predetermined period of time; perfect for a murder or two. The assassins, like in the first book, are very highly skilled at very weird specialties of killing. They operate at a superhuman level of concentration. They are, in short, very fictional. Since this is unabashedly fiction, that's okay by me. Big fun, nothing deep; the original story had more of the Message, this one merely plays the videogame for you.
Now, about that film: Like 3 Body Problem, it shifts things to a safely western, US-white-male footing so as not to run afoul of the clucking hens of the right wing who glare with their beady little eyes and three functioning neurons at any and all things queer (let alone Queer!) because...well, here I sit with my teeth in my mouth, unable to come up with any reason for their hostility except "they's stupid." Anyway, whatever the source of their rage, the entertainment studios won't take risks that will unquestionably, positively not pay off as increased profits in short, medium, or long runs, so here we are with a pallid, denatured action flick of what was a more subtle, subversive idea once in its life.
Real Rating: 3.5* of five
The Publisher Says: Five assassins on a fast-moving bullet train find out their missions have something in common in this witty and electrifying thriller
Satoshi—The Prince—looks like an innocent schoolboy but is really a stylish and devious assassin. Risk fuels him as does a good philosophical debate, such as . . . is killing really wrong? Kimura’s young son is in a coma thanks to The Prince, and Kimura has tracked him onto the bullet train heading from Tokyo to Morioka to exact his revenge. But Kimura soon discovers that they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard.
Nanao, nicknamed Ladybug, the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world,” is put on the train by his boss, a mysterious young woman called Maria Beetle, to steal a suitcase full of money and get off at the first stop. And the lethal duo of Tangerine and Lemon are also traveling to Morioka. The suitcase leads others to show their hands. Why are they all on the same train, and who will make it off alive?
A bestseller in Japan, and soon to be a major film from Sony starring Brad Pitt and Joey King, Bullet Train is an original and propulsive thriller which fizzes with an incredible energy as its complex net of double-crosses and twists unwinds to the last station.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Not the movie. The movie is fast and loud, American and violent. The book is slower, more nuanced, and very Japanese. It also has a universal message for its readers: Nothing, but nothing!, can be allowed to get in the way of Revenge. Call it Retribution: It is the eternal weighing of deeds for the pinpoint-accurate design of their equal and opposite results.
Revenge alone is sacred.
If you haven't read Three Assassins, a lot of the why of this story is not going to make a blind bit of sense. I strongly recommend getting into the universe of the assassins before embarking on this exciting outing into their world. Don't spend a lot of time asking "why" of this book only to get the unsatisfying answer a) because, 2) read Three Assassins, that's why.
A must for initiates, though. The increased famailiarity the book assumes you have is license for it to really ramp up the use of multiple, intersecting though definitely not parallel, PoV chapters...and that narrative technique requires practice to get used to when decoding tangentially connected story lines. This weird story of five assassins doing similar but not causally related things on one speeding train that's going nowhere special or significant to no unusual purpose. It's just moving at speed, and it's not going to stop for a predetermined period of time; perfect for a murder or two. The assassins, like in the first book, are very highly skilled at very weird specialties of killing. They operate at a superhuman level of concentration. They are, in short, very fictional. Since this is unabashedly fiction, that's okay by me. Big fun, nothing deep; the original story had more of the Message, this one merely plays the videogame for you.
Now, about that film: Like 3 Body Problem, it shifts things to a safely western, US-white-male footing so as not to run afoul of the clucking hens of the right wing who glare with their beady little eyes and three functioning neurons at any and all things queer (let alone Queer!) because...well, here I sit with my teeth in my mouth, unable to come up with any reason for their hostility except "they's stupid." Anyway, whatever the source of their rage, the entertainment studios won't take risks that will unquestionably, positively not pay off as increased profits in short, medium, or long runs, so here we are with a pallid, denatured action flick of what was a more subtle, subversive idea once in its life.
October 18, 2022
Holy damn this was so much fun! Highly addictive!
The story sees five assassins on a train, each for their own reasons. Inevitably, they become entangled and chaos ensues.
I enjoyed this so thoroughly from start to finish. The characters are all so unique and interesting, and a few in particular just made things a lot of fun.
They're assassins, right, but there's a lot of light comedy happening to these brutal people. Things continuously go awry - especially for Nanao, the self-proclaimed 'unluckiest assassin in the world' - and it leads to some seriously entertaining consequences.
The action takes place almost entirely on the train, with the characters constantly moving back and forth between cars and seats, accidentally or intentionally mingling with one another. Some of these meetings are tense and loaded, others are light and humouous - and some are both.
Wildly unpredictable, the action is non-stop and takes us through the story at an addictive pace. I just wanted to keep reading to see what happened to this bunch of misfits.
Such an entertaining read and probably a stand out for me this year. I enjoyed it immensely, and highly recommend, particularly to those who enjoy black comedy.
The story sees five assassins on a train, each for their own reasons. Inevitably, they become entangled and chaos ensues.
I enjoyed this so thoroughly from start to finish. The characters are all so unique and interesting, and a few in particular just made things a lot of fun.
They're assassins, right, but there's a lot of light comedy happening to these brutal people. Things continuously go awry - especially for Nanao, the self-proclaimed 'unluckiest assassin in the world' - and it leads to some seriously entertaining consequences.
The action takes place almost entirely on the train, with the characters constantly moving back and forth between cars and seats, accidentally or intentionally mingling with one another. Some of these meetings are tense and loaded, others are light and humouous - and some are both.
Wildly unpredictable, the action is non-stop and takes us through the story at an addictive pace. I just wanted to keep reading to see what happened to this bunch of misfits.
Such an entertaining read and probably a stand out for me this year. I enjoyed it immensely, and highly recommend, particularly to those who enjoy black comedy.
October 10, 2022
Con el bombo que le han dado a esta película, era difícil resistirse a leer el libro. Cuando comienzo un libro de autoría japonesa, siempre lo hago con algo de miedito porque sin duda es una literatura bastante diferente a la que estamos acostumbrados. Sin embargo Murakami se encuentra entre mis autores favoritos (eso sí, sus libros hay que dosificarlos) por lo que me gusta ir probando otros autores.
Creo que este es el primer thriller japonés que leo ya que Confesiones no lo catalogaría como tal.
¿Qué me he encontrado? Pues lo primero que me viene a la cabeza es que todo es muy loco. Los personajes, la acción, la historia en sí. ¿Me ha gustado? Podría decir que sí. No va a estar entre mis favoritos pero no me arrepiento de haberlo leído.
El libro se estructura en capítulos con el nombre/mote del protagonista o protagonistas o algo que los identifique. Por ejemplo: Nanao, Fruta, El príncipe, campanilla morada… A lo largo de estos capítulos podremos conocer o bien como está viviendo en el presente el personaje la historia o bien algo de su pasado que nos ayude a entender su manera de actuar.
Reconozco que al principio es un poco lioso tener tantos personajes, pero con un pequeño croquis se arregla.
Todo se desarrolla en un tren bala o Shinkansen japonés, que es “parecido” al “Ave” español. En los diferentes vagones de una de las partes del tren (está dividido en dos hileras que no se comunican), coincidirán sin saberlo varios personajes cuya profesión no es precisamente la que querrías para tus hijos. Llamémosles eufemísticamente “solucionadores de problemas”. Cada uno con sus debilidades, sus fortalezas y sus rarezas. Nanano y su mala suerte, Limón y sus trenes, mandarina y sus citas literarias…
Durante todo el libro suceden cosas sin parar y hay que estar bien atento para no perder detalle.
Es un libro bastante original con unos protagonistas muy peculiares que no tienen desperdicio. El autor consigue que cojas cariño a algunos personajes que no son de la mejor ralea y lo mejor es que consigue que llegues a odiar a un niñato, ¡en mi vida me ha había pasado!.
En definitiva, no es un libro que recomendaría a todo el mundo pero que sin duda merece la pena probar. Tengo ganas de ver la película para ver cómo han llevado todo eso a la pantalla.
Para los que lo leáis: ¡Buen viaje! ¡Ah¡ y una cosas más yo que vosotros saldría con el pipí hecho en casa 😉
Creo que este es el primer thriller japonés que leo ya que Confesiones no lo catalogaría como tal.
¿Qué me he encontrado? Pues lo primero que me viene a la cabeza es que todo es muy loco. Los personajes, la acción, la historia en sí. ¿Me ha gustado? Podría decir que sí. No va a estar entre mis favoritos pero no me arrepiento de haberlo leído.
El libro se estructura en capítulos con el nombre/mote del protagonista o protagonistas o algo que los identifique. Por ejemplo: Nanao, Fruta, El príncipe, campanilla morada… A lo largo de estos capítulos podremos conocer o bien como está viviendo en el presente el personaje la historia o bien algo de su pasado que nos ayude a entender su manera de actuar.
Reconozco que al principio es un poco lioso tener tantos personajes, pero con un pequeño croquis se arregla.
Todo se desarrolla en un tren bala o Shinkansen japonés, que es “parecido” al “Ave” español. En los diferentes vagones de una de las partes del tren (está dividido en dos hileras que no se comunican), coincidirán sin saberlo varios personajes cuya profesión no es precisamente la que querrías para tus hijos. Llamémosles eufemísticamente “solucionadores de problemas”. Cada uno con sus debilidades, sus fortalezas y sus rarezas. Nanano y su mala suerte, Limón y sus trenes, mandarina y sus citas literarias…
Durante todo el libro suceden cosas sin parar y hay que estar bien atento para no perder detalle.
Es un libro bastante original con unos protagonistas muy peculiares que no tienen desperdicio. El autor consigue que cojas cariño a algunos personajes que no son de la mejor ralea y lo mejor es que consigue que llegues a odiar a un niñato, ¡en mi vida me ha había pasado!.
En definitiva, no es un libro que recomendaría a todo el mundo pero que sin duda merece la pena probar. Tengo ganas de ver la película para ver cómo han llevado todo eso a la pantalla.
Para los que lo leáis: ¡Buen viaje! ¡Ah¡ y una cosas más yo que vosotros saldría con el pipí hecho en casa 😉
July 23, 2022
¡Qué divertido ha sido este libro! Es una japonesada como una casa de grande, pero es muy muy muy divertido.
Tiene cosas predecibles y otras que no se ven venir, personajes chulos y personajes odiosos, mucha acción y sobre todo lo que dije antes, japonesadas sin parar. ¡Y aún así ha sido una gozada!
Es exactamente lo que promete, varios asesinos a sueldo que coinciden en un tren con intereses cruzados que desembocan en situaciones...interesantes.
En breve me pongo con la precuela que no es tal, sino que resulta que este "Tren bala" es una segunda parte.
PD. No tengo ni idea de cómo será la película que sale dentro de pocos días (aparte de haber "netflixeado" a casi todos los personajes) pero el libro merece la pena :)
Tiene cosas predecibles y otras que no se ven venir, personajes chulos y personajes odiosos, mucha acción y sobre todo lo que dije antes, japonesadas sin parar. ¡Y aún así ha sido una gozada!
Es exactamente lo que promete, varios asesinos a sueldo que coinciden en un tren con intereses cruzados que desembocan en situaciones...interesantes.
En breve me pongo con la precuela que no es tal, sino que resulta que este "Tren bala" es una segunda parte.
PD. No tengo ni idea de cómo será la película que sale dentro de pocos días (aparte de haber "netflixeado" a casi todos los personajes) pero el libro merece la pena :)
October 7, 2020
If you love Thomas the Tank Engine, this book is for you. One of the characters in the book often quotes lines from Thomas the Tank Engine. If it was once or twice, I might laugh but it happens too often that I skipped half of the book.
I can see this to be a good movie script but as a book, it's too painful to read. Maybe it's funny for Japanese people to hear about Thomas the Tank Engine but it's not funny for me.
I can see this to be a good movie script but as a book, it's too painful to read. Maybe it's funny for Japanese people to hear about Thomas the Tank Engine but it's not funny for me.
August 18, 2024
Yes this is the book that the movie is based on and yes this book is amazing.
5 Japanese underworld figures board the same bullet train traveling North from Tokyo. None of them are aware that the others are on the train, most don't even know who the others are, with the exception of Tangerine and Lemon who are working together. But are there only five?
Each chapter is from the personal point of view of one of these travelers, and at times, other insignificant travelers that come and go in the story but are describing events from the outside looking in. Central to the plot line is the safety of the child of an underworld figure and a suitcase full of cash. Some know of the case and the boy, some know of one but not the other and some seem to be there knowing very little at all, but all are tied one way or another to the central plot.
So, the Northerly train ride is approximately 2.5 hours long and the complete story takes place in that time frame. Each underworld figure needs to work out how to succeed in their mission, who they are actually working for, who else is on the train that is of concern and what the consequences of failure will be.
The back cover blurb on the book reads, "Why are they all on the same train. And who will reach the end of the line alive".
So there is a bit of a giveaway that some will not make it. This really adds to the story because as you read you form opinions on who is most ruthless, who is most cunning and who you believe will get through. See if you get it right!
5 Japanese underworld figures board the same bullet train traveling North from Tokyo. None of them are aware that the others are on the train, most don't even know who the others are, with the exception of Tangerine and Lemon who are working together. But are there only five?
Each chapter is from the personal point of view of one of these travelers, and at times, other insignificant travelers that come and go in the story but are describing events from the outside looking in. Central to the plot line is the safety of the child of an underworld figure and a suitcase full of cash. Some know of the case and the boy, some know of one but not the other and some seem to be there knowing very little at all, but all are tied one way or another to the central plot.
So, the Northerly train ride is approximately 2.5 hours long and the complete story takes place in that time frame. Each underworld figure needs to work out how to succeed in their mission, who they are actually working for, who else is on the train that is of concern and what the consequences of failure will be.
The back cover blurb on the book reads, "Why are they all on the same train. And who will reach the end of the line alive".
So there is a bit of a giveaway that some will not make it. This really adds to the story because as you read you form opinions on who is most ruthless, who is most cunning and who you believe will get through. See if you get it right!
January 29, 2024
A farcical thriller just like Three Assassins, with a deeper plot, but with less of those elements that make Japanese fiction so peculiar. I'd say it was better than the first one, but still nothing special.
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Un thriller farsesco come La vendetta del professor Suzuki, con una trama più sviluppata, ma con meno di quegli elementi che rendono la narrativa giapponese così peculiare. Direi migliore del primo, ma sempre niente di speciale.
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Un thriller farsesco come La vendetta del professor Suzuki, con una trama più sviluppata, ma con meno di quegli elementi che rendono la narrativa giapponese così peculiare. Direi migliore del primo, ma sempre niente di speciale.
July 8, 2023
Điều gì sẽ xảy ra khi 5 sát thủ cùng chạm trán trên cùng một chuyến tàu?
Trên chuyến tàu cao tốc Tohoku Shinkansen, từ Tokyo đến Morioka.
• Kimura, một cựu sát thủ với mong muốn trả thù cho con trai đang nằm viện.
• Prince, với vẻ ngoài ngây ngô của một học sinh cấp hai, nhưng thực chất bên trong hắn là một kẻ tâm thần.
• Nanao, sát thủ xui xẻo với biệt danh "Ladybug", với khả năng bẻ gãy cổ đối thủ.
• Và bộ đôi "Fruit"- Tangerine và Lemon, đang trên đường hộ tống con trai của một ông trùm cùng với chiếc vali đầy tiền.
Ai sẽ là kẻ sống sót cho đến trạm cuối cùng?
Đối với mình đây là một câu chuyện thú vị. Cách năm con người này liên kết với nhau bởi hận thù, nhiệm vụ, và... cả sự hiểu lầm. Điều mình thích ở cuốn sách này là nó không có cảm giác lạnh lùng và nặng nề, hay thiên về việc đấm đá của sát thủ, mà trong đó những kẻ đấy vẫn có lo sợ, có sơ suất, và đôi khi vẫn rất hồn nhiên.
Mỗi nhân vật điều được kể chính câu chuyện về cuộc đời họ.
Isaka Kotaro vẫn có cách khiến câu chuyện trở nên thú vị. Mình đã cười rất nhiều bởi những khoảnh khắc éo le của Nanao và cặp đôi "Fruit", đặc biệt là Lemon, anh ta bị ám ảnh bởi "Thomas Train". Và Isaka cũng biết cách khiến mình khó chịu, mình không thể tưởng tượng được một học sinh cấp hai như Prince có thể làm (một kẻ phản diện điên khùng). (๑`^´๑)
Diễn biến câu chuyện cứ xoay chuyển liên tục cùng các cuộc đấu trí, kể cả một hành động nhỏ cũng ảnh hưởng rất lớn đến diễn biến truyện. Dù vậy, đôi khi có những triết lí, cách nói dài dòng và lan man, có thể sẽ khó chịu đôi chút. Nhưng khi câu chuyện bắt đầu "loại bỏ" và có sự xuất hiện của những nhân vật khác thì câu chuyện trở nên kịch tính và bất ngờ hơn hẳn. Một cái kết hoàn toàn vui nhộn.
Trên chuyến tàu cao tốc Tohoku Shinkansen, từ Tokyo đến Morioka.
• Kimura, một cựu sát thủ với mong muốn trả thù cho con trai đang nằm viện.
• Prince, với vẻ ngoài ngây ngô của một học sinh cấp hai, nhưng thực chất bên trong hắn là một kẻ tâm thần.
• Nanao, sát thủ xui xẻo với biệt danh "Ladybug", với khả năng bẻ gãy cổ đối thủ.
• Và bộ đôi "Fruit"- Tangerine và Lemon, đang trên đường hộ tống con trai của một ông trùm cùng với chiếc vali đầy tiền.
Ai sẽ là kẻ sống sót cho đến trạm cuối cùng?
Đối với mình đây là một câu chuyện thú vị. Cách năm con người này liên kết với nhau bởi hận thù, nhiệm vụ, và... cả sự hiểu lầm. Điều mình thích ở cuốn sách này là nó không có cảm giác lạnh lùng và nặng nề, hay thiên về việc đấm đá của sát thủ, mà trong đó những kẻ đấy vẫn có lo sợ, có sơ suất, và đôi khi vẫn rất hồn nhiên.
Mỗi nhân vật điều được kể chính câu chuyện về cuộc đời họ.
Isaka Kotaro vẫn có cách khiến câu chuyện trở nên thú vị. Mình đã cười rất nhiều bởi những khoảnh khắc éo le của Nanao và cặp đôi "Fruit", đặc biệt là Lemon, anh ta bị ám ảnh bởi "Thomas Train". Và Isaka cũng biết cách khiến mình khó chịu, mình không thể tưởng tượng được một học sinh cấp hai như Prince có thể làm (một kẻ phản diện điên khùng). (๑`^´๑)
Diễn biến câu chuyện cứ xoay chuyển liên tục cùng các cuộc đấu trí, kể cả một hành động nhỏ cũng ảnh hưởng rất lớn đến diễn biến truyện. Dù vậy, đôi khi có những triết lí, cách nói dài dòng và lan man, có thể sẽ khó chịu đôi chút. Nhưng khi câu chuyện bắt đầu "loại bỏ" và có sự xuất hiện của những nhân vật khác thì câu chuyện trở nên kịch tính và bất ngờ hơn hẳn. Một cái kết hoàn toàn vui nhộn.
March 4, 2024
Este livro não me entusiasmou logo de início, apesar da premissa interessante. Havia lá um personagem que me estava a dar nos nervos, mas, no fim, teve o que mereceu.
October 8, 2019
An implausible, stupid thriller, but a fairly fun implausible, stupid thriller. Kind of like if Quentin Tarantino made a Yakuza movie.
(Do not get any ideas, Quentin!)
(Do not get any ideas, Quentin!)
September 5, 2021
Five contract killers all board the same bullet train. Each has his own individual mission and is unaware of the presence of the other killers on the train. As their paths start to converge, they begin to question if their objectives are somehow connected to one another’s. Chaos, rivalries, psychological warfare, and murder ensue. Will there be anyone left alive by the time the train arrives at its destination?
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This book was utterly bonkers from start to finish! The premise drew me in, but the characters are the ones that really shine throughout the pages. All five of them are unique, quirky, and filled with personality. There is one who apparently can never catch a break in life (the self-proclaimed ‘unluckiest assassin in the world’), another who seems to be obsessed with a children’s tv show, and yet another who is a genius psychopath manipulator that gets his jollies from ruining the lives of total strangers.
I loved the premise of this thriller, and it read very much like a cinematic adventure. Choosing one specific location as the setting upped the scales, because the restricted setting imposed limits on what the characters could do -- it was then up to the author to think of clever ways to move the plot forward. The point of view of each chapter jumps between the characters so the reader is given a glimpse at what goes on in these killers’ minds. This was one of my favorite parts of the book because it served to highlight the personal goals and motivations of every character. They played off of each other in interesting and unexpected ways, and I really got invested in each person’s storyline.
I thought the pacing was excellent as well. There are flashbacks mixed in with the present day events, and I enjoyed them since everything else that happens in the train is fast-paced. There are many details that become important further on in the plot, and the flashbacks provide little breaks in between the thrilling chapters to soak up and appreciate the suspense. There are also moments of dark humor, introspection, and at times just plain absurdity that provide variety in the mood of the story.
I think my only gripe was the ending. It seemed like it was reaching a precise conclusion by the end of the novel, but the final pages left some elements of the story up for interpretation. I was hoping for a straight-forward resolution of certain events from the train ride, and I wanted to know what happened to certain characters. I wouldn’t say I was left unsatisfied, I think I just wanted a little bit more expansion on the ending. I did very much enjoy this overall; it was fast-paced and heavy on the twists, with unique characters and an engrossing central plot. It is not only an action-packed thriller, but a character study about individuals with dangerous jobs on different walks of life. Hollywood has picked it up for a film adaptation and fingers crossed that it will stay faithful to the novel!
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This book was utterly bonkers from start to finish! The premise drew me in, but the characters are the ones that really shine throughout the pages. All five of them are unique, quirky, and filled with personality. There is one who apparently can never catch a break in life (the self-proclaimed ‘unluckiest assassin in the world’), another who seems to be obsessed with a children’s tv show, and yet another who is a genius psychopath manipulator that gets his jollies from ruining the lives of total strangers.
I loved the premise of this thriller, and it read very much like a cinematic adventure. Choosing one specific location as the setting upped the scales, because the restricted setting imposed limits on what the characters could do -- it was then up to the author to think of clever ways to move the plot forward. The point of view of each chapter jumps between the characters so the reader is given a glimpse at what goes on in these killers’ minds. This was one of my favorite parts of the book because it served to highlight the personal goals and motivations of every character. They played off of each other in interesting and unexpected ways, and I really got invested in each person’s storyline.
I thought the pacing was excellent as well. There are flashbacks mixed in with the present day events, and I enjoyed them since everything else that happens in the train is fast-paced. There are many details that become important further on in the plot, and the flashbacks provide little breaks in between the thrilling chapters to soak up and appreciate the suspense. There are also moments of dark humor, introspection, and at times just plain absurdity that provide variety in the mood of the story.
I think my only gripe was the ending. It seemed like it was reaching a precise conclusion by the end of the novel, but the final pages left some elements of the story up for interpretation. I was hoping for a straight-forward resolution of certain events from the train ride, and I wanted to know what happened to certain characters. I wouldn’t say I was left unsatisfied, I think I just wanted a little bit more expansion on the ending. I did very much enjoy this overall; it was fast-paced and heavy on the twists, with unique characters and an engrossing central plot. It is not only an action-packed thriller, but a character study about individuals with dangerous jobs on different walks of life. Hollywood has picked it up for a film adaptation and fingers crossed that it will stay faithful to the novel!
June 28, 2021
Absolutely one of the best thrillers of the year, one minute darkly funny and the next deeply poignant, a real rollercoaster.
This reads very cinematically but I think you can't help but read it that way when you see on the cover that it's going to be a movie. It'll be a great movie. But sometimes a really cinematic novel just doesn't work at all because it isn't trying to be good at being a novel. This time, though, it really works.
It takes a little while for this to get going. Not plot-wise, it's pretty much full speed from the get go there, but for the reader to get oriented. There are FIVE main characters who get their own chapters following them closely, and there are a few more who get added in as we go. This would be a lot of people to have to figure out and keep straight in any book, but it's trickier here because it sure seems like everyone on this train is a professional criminal. It does help that you only have to remember two names, the other three have nicknames, which is particularly helpful for US readers who won't be as familiar with Japanese names.
Early on this can feel silly, but I promise you this book will explain everything. It will actually make sense to you by the end, even how weirdly empty the train is letting all these fights and conflicts happen. I also really appreciated the illustration at the beginning of each chapter showing you where on the train you were. The tone also helps, letting you really get to know these characters even if the situation can feel ridiculous.
This is the kind of book where, looking down at my kindle to see I was only 20% in I thought, "How on earth will they sustain this for the next 80%?" I was skeptical. And I did lag a bit until I hit halfway, but eventually I relaxed and sped through the rest. I stopped fighting and just accepted that this was going to be a nonstop twisty caper, and after a while I got that Isaka is good at this. I can be skeptical of thrillers, pacing is one of the things I criticize most in my reviews of thrillers, and I guess I've been burned a little. It's just rare to see it done so very well. Especially with the switching POV, which isn't used too much (as it so often is in US domestic thrillers) but just enough so sometimes you know things other characters don't without making it the entire structure. Often having more information only makes things more confusing, which I loved.
I am not a big reader of books about hitmen or professional criminals, but the tone here is more KILL BILL than anything else, it is zany one minute and sad the next. Just surrender and let this book take you on a ride. It's a very good one.
This reads very cinematically but I think you can't help but read it that way when you see on the cover that it's going to be a movie. It'll be a great movie. But sometimes a really cinematic novel just doesn't work at all because it isn't trying to be good at being a novel. This time, though, it really works.
It takes a little while for this to get going. Not plot-wise, it's pretty much full speed from the get go there, but for the reader to get oriented. There are FIVE main characters who get their own chapters following them closely, and there are a few more who get added in as we go. This would be a lot of people to have to figure out and keep straight in any book, but it's trickier here because it sure seems like everyone on this train is a professional criminal. It does help that you only have to remember two names, the other three have nicknames, which is particularly helpful for US readers who won't be as familiar with Japanese names.
Early on this can feel silly, but I promise you this book will explain everything. It will actually make sense to you by the end, even how weirdly empty the train is letting all these fights and conflicts happen. I also really appreciated the illustration at the beginning of each chapter showing you where on the train you were. The tone also helps, letting you really get to know these characters even if the situation can feel ridiculous.
This is the kind of book where, looking down at my kindle to see I was only 20% in I thought, "How on earth will they sustain this for the next 80%?" I was skeptical. And I did lag a bit until I hit halfway, but eventually I relaxed and sped through the rest. I stopped fighting and just accepted that this was going to be a nonstop twisty caper, and after a while I got that Isaka is good at this. I can be skeptical of thrillers, pacing is one of the things I criticize most in my reviews of thrillers, and I guess I've been burned a little. It's just rare to see it done so very well. Especially with the switching POV, which isn't used too much (as it so often is in US domestic thrillers) but just enough so sometimes you know things other characters don't without making it the entire structure. Often having more information only makes things more confusing, which I loved.
I am not a big reader of books about hitmen or professional criminals, but the tone here is more KILL BILL than anything else, it is zany one minute and sad the next. Just surrender and let this book take you on a ride. It's a very good one.
June 20, 2021
This is a really fun ride of a thriller! I felt like this was rather cinematic in its style and humor (I definitely see the Tarantino references here), and so as a book, I'm not sure this was as successful as I had hoped. That said, this was a good time and really made me excited to see the upcoming film adaptation
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