Lady Joker, Volume One
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-24 14:50:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Kaoru Takamura
- ISBN：1616957018
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Summary
One of Japan’s great modern masters， Kaoru Takamura， makes her English-language debut with this two-volume publication of her magnum opus。
Tokyo， 1995。 Five men meet at the racetrack every Sunday to bet on horses。 They have little in common except a deep disaffection with their lives， but together they represent the social struggles and griefs of post-War Japan: a poorly socialized genius stuck working as a welder; a demoted detective with a chip on his shoulder; a Zainichi Korean banker sick of being ostracized for his race; a struggling single dad of a teenage girl with Down syndrome。 The fifth man bringing them all together is an elderly drugstore owner grieving his grandson， who has died suspiciously after the revelation of a family connection with the segregated buraku community， historically subjected to severe discrimination。
Intent on revenge against a society that values corporate behemoths more than human life， the five conspirators decide to carry out a heist: kidnap the CEO of Japan’s largest beer conglomerate and extract blood money from the company’s corrupt financiers。
Inspired by the unsolved true-crime kidnapping case perpetrated by "the Monster with 21 Faces"， Lady Joker has become a cultural touchstone since its 1997 publication， acknowledged as the magnum opus by one of Japan’s literary masters， twice adapted for film and TV and often taught in high school and college classrooms。
Tokyo， 1995。 Five men meet at the racetrack every Sunday to bet on horses。 They have little in common except a deep disaffection with their lives， but together they represent the social struggles and griefs of post-War Japan: a poorly socialized genius stuck working as a welder; a demoted detective with a chip on his shoulder; a Zainichi Korean banker sick of being ostracized for his race; a struggling single dad of a teenage girl with Down syndrome。 The fifth man bringing them all together is an elderly drugstore owner grieving his grandson， who has died suspiciously after the revelation of a family connection with the segregated buraku community， historically subjected to severe discrimination。
Intent on revenge against a society that values corporate behemoths more than human life， the five conspirators decide to carry out a heist: kidnap the CEO of Japan’s largest beer conglomerate and extract blood money from the company’s corrupt financiers。
Inspired by the unsolved true-crime kidnapping case perpetrated by "the Monster with 21 Faces"， Lady Joker has become a cultural touchstone since its 1997 publication， acknowledged as the magnum opus by one of Japan’s literary masters， twice adapted for film and TV and often taught in high school and college classrooms。
Reviews
Cecil
，
You don’t have to know a lot about Japanese corporate culture to enjoy Lady Joker as a straightforward crime novel， but if you do have any background in the weirdness that is corporate life in Japan you will enjoy this multi-faceted and weird novel even more。 I hate trying to fit non-English language authors into a recognizable English box， but if you need a reference point I suggest you try to imagine a collaboration between Elmore Leonard， Richard Powers， and David Foster Wallace。 I love Lady You don’t have to know a lot about Japanese corporate culture to enjoy Lady Joker as a straightforward crime novel， but if you do have any background in the weirdness that is corporate life in Japan you will enjoy this multi-faceted and weird novel even more。 I hate trying to fit non-English language authors into a recognizable English box， but if you need a reference point I suggest you try to imagine a collaboration between Elmore Leonard， Richard Powers， and David Foster Wallace。 I love Lady Joker; the four stars instead of five is for some occasionally clumsy translation and the fact that Soho Press chose to issue it as two volumes， thus making me wait another year to finish it。 。。。more
Biggus
，
It did nothing for me after an hour。 Not sure why， but it didn't。 Next。 It did nothing for me after an hour。 Not sure why， but it didn't。 Next。 。。。more
Fran
，
Available 4/13/2021"Hinode Beer had generally valued its employees。" After World War II， however， "as long as beer remained under the Price Control Ordinance and with no prospect of a quick recovery。。。it was clear that there would soon be a surplus of equipment and manpower。。。the provisional solicitation for voluntary resignation began suddenly。。。40 employees left-each citing a family issue， an illness or vague reason for leaving。" "For the briefest of moments， Katsuichi Noguchi- like [Seiji Oka Available 4/13/2021"Hinode Beer had generally valued its employees。" After World War II， however， "as long as beer remained under the Price Control Ordinance and with no prospect of a quick recovery。。。it was clear that there would soon be a surplus of equipment and manpower。。。the provisional solicitation for voluntary resignation began suddenly。。。40 employees left-each citing a family issue， an illness or vague reason for leaving。" "For the briefest of moments， Katsuichi Noguchi- like [Seiji Okamura] and many others had dreamt of prosperity in a company called Hinode。" Noguchi was born in a buraku village， a segregated community。In 1947， Seiji Okamura wrote a letter to Hinode Beer describing unfair termination of employment。 Okamura， like many other "resigned employees" was destitute。 "My body always remembered poverty。。。I am sensitive to sounds and smells。。。when I inhale。。。they seep through me。。。settling in my empty stomach。。。a futile and unchanging past。。。"。 Okamura's threatening letter from half a century ago would resurface。 Was the 1947 letter still relevant in the 1990's？ Was Hinode Beer compliant with any sinister criminal behavior？ Were there deeply buried secrets？1995-Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu。 Every Sunday， five men from different walks of life， bet on the horses。 "For the simple lack of money， [he] had lived a life untouched by quiet spiritual satisfaction。。。with his meager income。。。he had the constant feeling that he was gradually being left behind。。。he threw his empty [beer] can into the road， where it was swiftly crushed beneath the tires of an uncoming truck。。。that's me， right there。。。it was not about happiness or lack there of- just that each person led their own fragile life"。"A fortune had been amassed from every last drop wrung from the have-nots and the guileless"。 Five men- a pharmacy owner， a truck driver， a lathe operator， a credit union employee， and a disgraced police officer decide to "milk money out of a big corporation。。。squeezing money out of Hinode Beer。。。the money was there for the taking。。。compared to what moneylenders do everyday， shaking down a company is nothing。。。when attacked on a matter that concerns their reputation and credibility a company will generally pay-up"。 A fail-safe plan was hatched to kidnap the CEO of Hinode Beer。"Lady Joker， Volume 1" by Kaoru Takamura is a hefty six hundred page crime mystery that masterfully describes a kidnapping with the goal of milking beer manufacturer Hinode Beer， however， it is so much more。 In intricate detail， a cast of twenty seven characters is revealed。 The inner workings of the corporate-criminal world is explored as the Hinode Beer Corporation tries to shed its criminal connections。 The Violent Crime/ White Collar Crime Units come out in full force and the reader is privy to their operations。 Journalists and news organizations arrive like scavengers ready to pounce on the latest information。 We are introduced to Assistant Police Inspector Yuichiro Goda who will play a prominent role in Lady Joker Volume II which will be released in 2022。 I can hardly wait！Thank you Soho Crime and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell
，
Not for me :/GR review to come， or read it early HERE。 Not for me :/GR review to come， or read it early HERE。 。。。more
Max
，
Anyone who wants to buy Lady Joker will definitely get their money's worth， it's the perfect book to read and mull over for a long period of time。 If there was any book you wanted to completely surround yourself with and dive into， this would be a great selection。 Takamura has written a novel with interesting characters that resemble all different parts of society， and an incident that all spurred from a corporation's past misdeeds。 It's a challenging and long read that does end up paying off if Anyone who wants to buy Lady Joker will definitely get their money's worth， it's the perfect book to read and mull over for a long period of time。 If there was any book you wanted to completely surround yourself with and dive into， this would be a great selection。 Takamura has written a novel with interesting characters that resemble all different parts of society， and an incident that all spurred from a corporation's past misdeeds。 It's a challenging and long read that does end up paying off if you stick to it。 Watching a sort of psychological chess game with men who have nothing to lose makes this a great read to sink your teeth into。 Takamura's writing is great。 It feels precise and distinctive， giving every chapter a specific purpose and tone。 Over the course of six hundred pages， it clearly describes the formulation， execution， and aftermath of a kidnapping plot against the wealthy owners of Hinode Beer。 Everyone involved in the incident has complex motives and connections， making them more than just villains。 With many moving parts and even a character list that I referred back to many times， it's just more reason to take this novel slowly and making sure that you're getting all of the information that is being thrown at you。 I'll also note that this is the first volume in a series。 But anyone who decides to read Lady Joker in it's bulk will probably be clamoring over the release of the next volume。 。。。more
Ann Marie
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Thank you sooo much SOHO PRESS for the ARC that I just received in the mail。 The cover of this book is going to grab you， nevermind the book。 There will be a print-over-board cover with a semi-translucent wrap that will stop people in its tracks， so if you are like me， you'll probably like to have it displayed on your coffee table or bookshelf。 The computer， kindle， phone or whatever tablet or device you use does not do it justice！ This modern masterpiece of literary fiction， has plenty of Japan Thank you sooo much SOHO PRESS for the ARC that I just received in the mail。 The cover of this book is going to grab you， nevermind the book。 There will be a print-over-board cover with a semi-translucent wrap that will stop people in its tracks， so if you are like me， you'll probably like to have it displayed on your coffee table or bookshelf。 The computer， kindle， phone or whatever tablet or device you use does not do it justice！ This modern masterpiece of literary fiction， has plenty of Japanese customs， traditions， and preconceptions in it。 After this book， there is another that follows， so I'm really excited for that as well。 The translation from Japanese to English， took 600 pages in this book and has 25 central characters， not POVs， just in this first book that had to be split into twoThe book starts in 1990， covering months leading up to the kidnapping of a president of a beer and snack company， by an untraceable group of criminals who actually send back the victim unharmed， and to his corporate board with his own ransom note 。 They want a huge sum of money or else they will poison their food chain。 There are all kinds of things that ensue， such as a police investigation that is thwarted at every turn， the corporations response is slow because they have mafia ties that they don't want revealed and they also don't want attention drawn to something in the company's history that is so embarrassing and humiliating that it leaves them open to all kinds of blackmail。 At the heart of this story are 5 angry men who decide to risk their lives， their families， and everything else for revenge on a system that has destroyed them！But the book is so much more！ It's definitely a crime drama， but it's also about the detectives， the journalists who crack the case， and the kidnappers and their lives and what drove them to lash out this way！ This book is also about Japanese corporate culture and how boardroom politeness and ass-kissing and ass-covering inaction result in tragedies such as suicide， murder， and organized crime ties！ Sounds like a great book for me and all my people on Goodreads！Again thank you so much for the hand-held copy of this book！ 。。。more
Osamu Sugimoto
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Wow， Unknown Author 258！ 高村薫の代表作。ぜひお勧めします。
Hyo Jung
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Kaoru Dakamura。 Her works always carries authority。 It's really hard to read。 But it's worthy。（Actually I'd like to publish in Korean language。。。Can I make it？） Kaoru Dakamura。 Her works always carries authority。 It's really hard to read。 But it's worthy。（Actually I'd like to publish in Korean language。。。Can I make it？） 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Lady Joker, Volume One
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Lady Joker, Volume One&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft