Six Four

Had looked forward to something different but found it to be a relatively slow and sometimes confusing 'political' study rather than a 'crime thriller'. Perhaps something was lost in translation but...

It's a struggle to get into, the Japanese names and the regional British accent Burnip gives to them doesn't quite fit, it's also very dense almost an examination into the Japanese police system, however at about the 5 hour mark it clicked and turned into something quite special and unique. It also takes a direction that I never saw coming. Outstanding

It was hard at first to get all the characters names because they were Japanese.But the story was one not to put down. You wanted to know what was going to happen next. Being a true story and asking my Japanese Pen Friends it is really a big book and film. I would love to see the film too.

I loved the detective who had been given a new roll as the Press Director. The character is great all the way through the book.

I enjoyed the ending but will not say what happens. But it is not what you expect.

Yes the problems the Press Director went through with father of the kidnapped daughter and the problems he had with his own daughter.

It is hard work but worth the read. You will get into the characters and remember the names.

Slow fast awesome

Mikami, whose decency and honour shone

Laboured

I felt happier at the end

It's dreadfully slow and I nearly gave up, but if you can hang on through the relentless tedium in the first half, the story is suddenly intriguing and then more stuff happens and I found it hypnotic. I'm so glad I stuck with it.

I couldn't finish this I'm ashamed to say. Could be the cultural differences but I found it hard to get into the mindset and get emotionally involved with the characters. I got really fed up of the political stuff as it felt very repetitive. I also struggled with keeping track of who was who, however that could easily be down to the fact that I am unfamiliar with the style of names.

Far too long. Annoyingly correct and plummy English narrator spoiled it for me. Not good

This is a 'Marmite book' I would need to do a psychometric assessment first.

I liked this more than 'The Goldfinch' which is saying something.

Very good. Narrated with the paucity of emotion that I would expect from a policeman native of Japan.

On the far side of a dark river

OK, this isn’t the easiest book to follow with a seemingly endless list of characters with names that all sounded alien and disturbingly similar given there were no familiar identifiers such as Origami, Kawasaki or Sushi. Very early in the plot I felt the need to draw up an organisation chart to keep track. As the burden increased I transcribed to Powerpoint as approximately 50 individuals were finally identified. <br/><br/>This is a slow-burner and sometimes it felt like damp leaves were being added to a peat fire as the police politics were described in minute detail. But it was all very much worth it. It was worth if only for the last couple chapters when all the threads were deftly pulled together in a deeply satisfying, cleverly intimated, conclusion.

I wasn't to sure if this was for me but after only a short spell I was intrigued and interested until the end. Will read again I expect

The storyline itself, once untangled from all the fluff and the personal and political crisis of the man in character , was interesting and well thought out. But it gets lost amongst endless interpersonal conflict, and drawn out questions about the police as an institution.

Basically it's far, far to long. But the most frustrating part was having a bland narrator, with pompous interpretations of the characters voice with little consideration of the cultural nuances of the characters and structure. Why some of these characters sounded in part like Only Fools and Horses/ The Sweeny- I'll never understand. If this has been read by a person with an accent and understanding appropriate I would have enjoyed it far more.

Its read very, very slowly so first impression is that its boring. Just couldn't get in to it