The shadow of the kasha by Miyuki Miyabe

Original language: japanese

Original title: Kasha (train)

Translation: Purification Meseguer Cutillas

Year of publication: 1992

Valuation: recommendable

Since Japanese city pop is so fashionable, what better opportunity to use it as a soundtrack than to enjoy a thriller set in Tokyo in the 90s. Neon lights, skyscrapers, office workers, yakuzas, schoolgirls in sailor uniforms, what more do you want?

Novel written by the Japanese Agatha Christie, the Japanese Henning Mankell, the Stephen King of the Far East… well, you understand what I mean. Miyuki Miyabe is a celebrity in the literary world in Japan, although her literary career had a curious beginning. After graduating from a technical school, Miyabe-san worked at a law firm as a typist, very useful for writing detective novels. Well into her twenties, she entered a writing workshop where she would professionalize her hobby of writing. To date, she has not stopped writing compulsively.

The novel directly addresses the problem of debt overhang, which became especially problematic during the lost decade. Easy access to credit in the years before the economic bubble burst led many Japanese to accumulate unsustainable debt. “Kasha”, the burning cart that takes souls to hell, seems to me to be a good metaphor for the spiral of debt and descent into that underworld of vices, gambling and debts. The novel also presents us with a critical view of the Japanese credit system and its impact on individual identity. Throughout history, Miyabe suggests that a person’s worth has been reduced to his financial solvency or credit history. The plot highlights how the economic crisis and the credit system deeply affected the perception of identity and personal worth, leading some to adopt extreme measures to escape their debts (seppuku is no longer exclusive to samurai).

Miyabe was already an expert in the craft of writing genre novels when she wrote “Kasha.” A textbook detective novel, in the good sense of the word. Miyabe develops the plot at a very good pace, although it takes a while to get going. The plot twists are not abrupt or completely unexpected, but the whole thing gives a feeling of coherence and roundness, where no loose ends are left. The main characters are well developed, although some of the secondary characters lack depth and fall into stereotypes. This could be due to the focus on plot development and social themes rather than deep exploration of each character. Other than that, it is certainly a recommended book for those who long for faxes and telephone directories.

Note: The cover of this edition is horrendous and has nothing to do with the plot, if you can, tear it off.

Signed: Alain Rios