The Rope Artist

2 stars (1 review)

The aftermath of the murder of a bondage teacher reveals the darkest corners of the human mind in this chilling new mystery from the master of Japanese literary noir. Two detectives. Two identical women. One dead body— then two, then three, then four. All knotted up in Japan’s underground BDSM scene and kinbaku, a form of rope bondage which bears a complex cultural history of spirituality, torture, cleansing, and sacrifice. As Togashi, a junior member of the police force, investigates the murder of a kinbaku instructor, he finds himself unable to resist his own private transgressive desires. In contrast, Togashi’s Sherlock Holmesian colleague Hayama is morally upright to a fault, with a stalwart commitment to the truth and nearly superhuman powers of deduction. When Hayama notices a dangerous measure of darkness within Togashi, he embarks on a parallel investigation, which soon spirals out of control. Unflinching in its flayed-raw treatment …

1 edition

A manga in words only

2 stars

Curious book where the narrator changes at about half the work. Lots of details where the narrators remember their past and solutions somehow, magically, appear out of nowhere.

I really had the feeling I was reading a manga without the images.

Not very sure how I cam by this book but once began I was intrigued, more by the style than by the plot itself...