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Shadow Family
Miyuki Miyabe
Translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter
Hardcover 192 pages
152 x 226mm
ISBN : 978-4-7700-3002-3 / 4-7700-3002-9
Publish : Feb, 2005
Price : $22.95 |
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[ About the Book ]
Selected by The Chicago Tribune as one of the "Best Books of 2005, Mysteries & Thrillers"
Shadow Family is a compelling murder mystery focusing on the murky world of Internet chat rooms populated by people from all walks of life attracted by the possibility of being whoever they want to be.
Police investigating the double murder of a middle-aged salary man and his college-aged girlfriend discover email correspondence linking the victim with members of an online fantasy family, in which he plays the part of "Dad." Meanwhile, his real-life teenage daughter is assigned police protection after complaining of being stalked. The investigation focuses increasingly on the "shadow family," as there is evidence that the members emerged from the chat room and started meeting up offline.
Veteran Desk Sergeant Takegami finds himself unexpectedly in center stage of the investigation after his colleague is hospitalized. Adding to his surprise, he is partnered with his old friend Detective Chikako Ishizu after a break of fifteen years. Working on a hunch, they collaborate to unravel the fine line between fantasy and the harsh reality of murder.
Shadow Family is excellent detective fiction that keeps you guessing until the end. Within a skillful web of intrigue, Miyabe sensitively explores the meaning of family and relationships, and the devastating effect of betrayal...
Reviews
"...The theatrically constructed plot is soon swirling with the naked emotions of unattached, deeply unhappy people eager to express their yearnings for an idealized family life no longer possible in the fractured social structure of modern-day Japan."
—The New York Times Book Review
"[Miyuki Miyabe's] true subject is the mystery of modern Japanese identity ... she is a master of small gestures, the precise geometry of meaning as it moves between people ... a subtle observer of a country on the cusp. Her American readers can only hope for more chances to see through her eyes."
—The Los Angeles Times
"Nuclear family dystopia is at the center of Miyuki Miyabe's Shadow Family, a smartly observant police procedural about two Tokyo murders linked to the Internet .... Shadow Family blossoms into both a suspenseful murder mystery and an astute running commentary on the parallel cyberspace world inside which millions of people now spend so much of their time."
—The Washington Post Book World
"The [Ruth] Rendell comparison is particularly apt: Shadow Family starts like one of her Inspector Wexford police stories and then slides gradually into the kind of dark psychological mystery she often writes ...Of special interest is a portrait of a part of Tokyo—a long way from the sleek electronic metropolis depicted in films like "Lost in Translation"—where ordinary people live, work and play out their dark fantasies."
—The Chicago Tribune
"Whether it is the loneliness and bitterness of the real and online relationships of Shadow Family, the credit-card fraud and identity theft in All She Was Worth, or the crimes and characters of her extensive backlist, Miyabe's intricate plots are painted on the canvas of contemporary Japan and played out by the kind of people milling about on the streets below."
—The Financial Times
"The traditional murder mystery à la Agatha Christie is updated in Miyuki Miyabe's cyberspace offering, Shadow Family, where the eerie possibility of strangers entering closed quarters via chat rooms and email, and families deteriorating into strangers behind the locked doors of their respective rooms become reality."
—Flaunt Magazine
"... A psychological drama of the first order."
—Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine
"Shadow Family uses Internet role-playing to explore ideas of family and identity. The result is absolutely mesmerizing, and Miyabe skillfully positions the reader in the role of detective, a neat trick that keeps the pages turning."
—Ruminator Review
"Pirandello (Six Characters in Search of an Author) would have reveled in the constant refractions of reality that Miyuki Miyabe presents to the reader: six authors in search of their characters, albeit through false identities that allow them to perform the role of the perfect family they do enjoy in real life....Shadow Family offers ample proof that Miyabe represents the next cutting-edge crime wave of this postmodern ethnography. May Juliet Winters Carpenter and her fellow translators bring more of Miyabe's work into English posthaste."
—Rain Taxi Review of Books
"What starts as a dry police procedural intensifies into an Agatha Christie-style closed-room puzzle in this intriguing look at contemporary Japanese family life from Miyuki Miyabe (All She Was Worth) ... Miyabe expertly manipulates mood and pace as the action builds to a house-of-mirrors-like interview that slowly reveals the killer's surprising identity. The clean, crisp translation is the perfect vehicle for this satisfying read."
—Publishers Weekly
"...Family ties can be murder, even if they've been forged online...a clever puzzle whose commentary on the fragility and reinvention of families gives it a special edge."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Shadow Family has all the breathless immediacy of a courtroom drama... It is reminiscent of the heart-pounding twists and shocking turns of a Hitchcock film. The revelation of the murderer is only a prelude to the completely unexpected denouement Miyabe lays out in the final pages...at its heart the novel is about the fractures and disconnects suffered by families in any modern urban culture."
—Pages
"Offers a fascinating look at the dark side of the Internet."
—Booklist
"Miyabe achieves a brilliant tour de force maintaining suspense throughout. She tells a gripping story while exploring questions such as the breakdown of the nuclear family and the use of the Internet to escape problematic relationships. Highly recommended."
—Deadly Pleasures
"Known for her attention to detail and thorough research on the criminal mind and the legal system, she also uses her books to examine Japan's social issues. In this one she explores the breakdown of the family, isolation, and the Internet as a substitute for social relationships."
—Multicultural Review
"This is a neat little book that might be a breath of fresh air for jaded mystery readers fed up with guns, car chases and hasty, outlandish, impossible endings... As a fresh plot twist we don't have the usual murder...what we have is the police playing a hunch, gathering the main players and letting them unravel the final threads. As everything gently unfolds it is a tale obviously linked to the mystery of, and need for, 'family.'"
—Barcelona Review
"The translation by Juliet Winters Carpenter captures the essence of the author's winning narrative, which has a new-noir flavor."
—Border Patrol
"An interesting cat-and-mouse game with a nice twist at the end.... An interesting glimpse of a different type of police department than what one is used to in American crime fiction."
—www.TheCompleteReview.com
"The masterful pacing allows the suspense to build to a nerve-wracking pitch...and the chatroom characters reveal the isolation and longing that led them to pretend to be family...The intricate puzzle of the story is expertly constructed. Miyabe builds her plot layer upon layer, twisting and turning the readers' attention like a magician... A thought-provoking read."
—www.ReviewingTheEvidence.com
"A Japanese mystery by talented Miyuki Miyabe, this tale offers something different in plot and villain for mystery buffs."
—www.NewMysteryReader.com
"Miyuki Miyabe stands in the tradition of realistic crime fiction that delivers a commentary on contemporary Japanese society as well as a damned good mystery... Miyabe's books have no strong central characters dominating her stories; she prefers to allow the plot to dominate....Ultimately it is Miyabe's superb plotting that keeps this shortish book rolling along and makes it a gripping read."
—www.AsianReviewofBooks.com
"The mystery plot is an interesting one and...it builds into an intriguing police procedural. The characterizations are deft, well-timed and the interactions between [Sergeant] Takegami and his associates are subtle... a most enjoyable read."
—www.InternetWritingJournal.com
[Interview with Miyuki Miyabe] *This interview was conducted by Publishers Weekly, and most of it appear on their website.
PW: You have had a prolific, award-winning career in your country. How have American audiences responded to your work?
Miyuki Miyabe:I was so glad to receive favorable comments for my first novel published in English All She Was Worth, a mystery about the devastating effects of credit card debt and identity theft. The book came out in 1996, so I am curious to see the response to Shadow Family which is all about the Internet.
PW: Has there been any film or TV interest in your work? Which novels? How do you feel about your novels being made into films?
MM:Two of my novels have already been made into feature length films—CROSSFIRE and MOHOHAN (Copycat Criminal)—and Shadow Family (RPG in Japan) was made into a TV movie by the Japanese language TV network NHK last year. RIYU (The Reason) is scheduled to be released as a film at the end of this year. I wrote RIYU in a somewhat documentary style and for this reason I imagined that it would be a challenge for the director to make it into a movie; however, he did a marvelous job remaining true to the tone of my original work and I am very happy with it.
I am pleased to see my works being made into movies, either feature films or TV adaptations. I consider my works and their screen adaptations to be two totally different mediums. As far as I am concerned, the screen adaptations are the sole creations of the producers, directors, screenwriters and actors. I usually don't say much on casting or screenplays.
PW: The politics and procedures of police work seem very authentic in Shadow Family. What kind of research do you do?
MM: "True crime" books are deeply interesting as well as useful references for me. Police training manuals can't be obtained by the general public but books about forensic medicine and scientific crime detection are published for general readers. Some of those books describe the highly technical investigative procedures of police departments, so they are very valuable materials for writing mysteries. I've also done some interviews with the Public Relations department at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
PW: Shadow Family explores societal problems that plague both our cultures, what other modern ills do you think we share?
MM: Both Japan and the United States share a continuing high rate of unemployment. In Japan, many young people such as new college graduates face difficulties in finding a job. This becomes a more serious issue every year. The current reality makes it extremely difficult for young people to find a purpose in life and to find a place where they can be themselves in their own home or in society.
PW: And what are some problems exclusive to Japanese
MM: This year, Japan has frequently been struck by large natural disasters, and this experience has raised a huge awareness of how we should prepare for major disasters in the future. It makes me think that although it is hard to prepare for natural disasters it is even harder to prepare for a breakdown within the family because there are aspects going on that one may not know about. People don't easily recognize the identity breakdown of a family or of an individual.
PW: What does "family" mean to you?
MM: Family is important for living a normal life and is the basis of my life.
PW: Do you have any favorite American authors?
MM: I love reading works by Michael Z. Lewin and Lawrence Block. Both writers are also very popular in Japan.
PW: Are more of your novels scheduled to be translated into English? Do you know what the next one will be?
MM:I believe that Kodansha has plans to publish my novel CROSSFIRE in English sometime in 2006.
PW: What is next on your writing agenda?
MM: I would like to continue to explore how the dignity of people is discovered in the current consumer society, where even affection, heart, and happiness might be treated as a commercial product. I want to discover, in writing my characters lives, those things that could NEVER be bought or sold for any price. At the same time, I am very interested in how adults would answer this question when they are asked by their children or a younger generation.
© 2005, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.
About the Author
MIYUKI MIYABE was born in downtown Tokyo in 1960, and worked in a law office before becoming a full-time writer. She is one of Japan's most popular authors, having written a number of best-selling mysteries and suspense novels, as well as some historical fiction. Her first work translated into English, All She Was Worth, won the Shugo Yamamoto Prize in Japan. Shadow Family is her second novel to be published in English.
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