Customer Reviews

The Japanese Corpse: A Novel

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Janwillem van de Wetering's fifth Gripstra & De Gier novel is a somewhat convoluted mystery that takes you from the Netherlands to Japan, and back
again.The Amsterdam murder brigade is called on to investigate the disappearance of a mysterious Japanese art dealer.As usual, in this unique mystery series, the detectives are attempting to solve the case, while at the same time they are attempting to expand their understanding of the philosophies of zen Buddhism.In this story, their
investigation takes them to Japan where they encounter the Japanese version of organized crime,
called the yakusa.
The Dutch detectives engage in a philosophical chess match with the yakusa leader that is somewhat confusing to follow, even if you are a fan of this series.
If you are not at all interested in eastern religion and philosophy, then this book is not for you. This series is hardly typical compared to any other detective novels. The emphasis here, as in all of the author's novels in this series, is on Buddhism.
Van de Wetering has an ability to educate his readers while distracting them with subtle humor, and biting sarcasm. If you want to experience a combination of mystery, humor, religion, and philosophy then you will enjoy The Japanese Corpse, as well as the authors other books in this
series.

It shocks and dismays me that the previous reviewer does not have the ability to analyze abstract novels. This is not a Tom Clancy book. Van de Wetering has practiced Zen Buddhism, been a cop in Amsterdam, and traveled the world. His writing is original in style and very abstract. This is not an author whose books I would recommend trying to tear up in an afternoon. But for those out there who have the time and mental capacity to let go and think about a book, Van de Wetering is an excellent choice. Do yourself a favor and don't allow the previous reviewers rant discourage you.

One of the best Amsterdam Cops mysteries by Janwillem van de Wetering. The author, once a monk in Japanese Zen monastry I visited while in Kyoto, relies heavily on his in-depth knowledge of Japanese culture and customs. Van de Wetering has an eye for detail without neglecting the plot.

In this fifth book of the Grijpstra en de Gier sequence, the commisaris plays a more central role than ever before. The character of commisaris - as the author tells us in one of his interviews - is a blend of his late Kyoto Zen master, his father, and the chief inspector of the Amsterdam police, when van de Wetering served as a cop in this force.

True, the book is a bit on the extreme. Especially the scenes with the Yakuza. But then again, if it were too realistic it wouldn't be a real van de Wetering or good entertainment for that matter. If you like unorthodox books, you will love this one. I most certainly did.

The beautiful Joanne Andrews goes to the police looking for her missing boyfriend. The search for him takes Grijpstra and De Gier into the world of art dealers, Yazuka and Zen treasures.

The Japanese Corpse is quite affecting to read. Van De Wetering is more emotionally extreme than usual as he leads De Gier into personal tragedy on his way to solving the mystery.

I have never failed to enjoy a Van de Wetering book-- his ruminitive detectives are just my speed. I have enjoyed some of the other books more than this one (Death of a Hawker, The Blond Baboon), but it is still enjoyable reading.

If you are a fan of smart meditative mysteries, then I cannot recommend Van de Wetering hightly enough.

Rich and entertaining and wise and surprising, and ultimately very satisfying. It would certainly help to have read at least the previous volume of this series to fully appreciate the two main characters and their current states of mental, emotional, and spiritual being. I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Having previously read his tomes on Zen, I began reading Janwillem van de Wetering's Grijpstra & De Gier mystery series from the beginning. Each thus far, has been better than the previous (this is the fifth). I don't expect the arc to necessarily continue in a constant rise, but as yet he has not disappointed. It's also fascinating to experience crime prevention and police procedural from the Dutch perspective, which is so utterly more humane than the American approach. If you're looking for a down and gritty Harry Bosch experience, this may not be your cup of tea. But if you're up for a cerebral shot of ice cold jenever (in the form of very quirky but unique and interesting protagonists), van de Wetering's Grijpstra & De Gier mysteries will be to your liking.

Yes, van de Wettering is a plodding writer. Yes, his detectives don't do much detecting in this book.

But give him credit for his strengths, including characterization, and for even attempting the bizarre marriage of Zen and the mystery novel.

If you want a Dutch-flavored detective, read Baantjer. In Van de Wettering's books, the cops are far too unearthly to be nailed down to a specific locale; the Netherlands is just as good a place as any to borrow street names from.

All that said, "The Japanese Corpse" is not his best effort. He does seem quite uncomfortable trying to navigate the Japanese scenes, and character motivation is either too blunt (girlfriend and cat die, therefore you punch out punks who are torturing another kitty) or essentially nonexistent.

This is part of a series and it took me a while to separate the two detectives due to the difficulty of the Dutch names. I found the story line interesting, the characters were certainly well drawn and different from the usual. The action in Japan was illuminating. The author however left a number of important details unresolved.

I have never struggled so hard to finish a book as I did this one. I don't know if van de Wetering is a native Dutchman writing in English or if he just had a shockingly bad translator, but neither of these possibilities explains the utter ineptitude of the plot, characterization, and dialog of this truly excruciating book.

The plot ostensibly involves the murder of a Japanese working in Holland. The two detectives assigned to the case (who apparently appear in several other of v.d. Wetering's novels) travel to Japan and by some obscure means identify the drug-running yakuza gang responsible while having a series of random cultural "experiences".

Having lived in both Japan and Holland, the author's depictions of both countries and their inhabitants were peculiar to say the least. I got the strong impression that he had read a Tokyo Olympics-era Reader's Digest article about Japan and had used this as his reference material. His favoured dialog technique goes along the lines of `"Would you like to try sushi", said the pretty young waitress in her traditional costume known as a kimono. "Sushi? Isn't that small balls of rice soaked in vinegar with a slice of raw fish on top and flavoured with horseradish paste?"' The effect is vaguely reminiscent of something out of Airplane. The detectives, for their part, like nothing better than to whip out their respective flute and drum and play a little Bach. No, really.

The increasing feeling of being on a bad hallucinogenic experience while reading the book was brought to a climax by the truly bizarre ending in which the detectives infiltrate the yakuza headquarters unnoticed and witness the gang having a knees-up to the intoxicating foreign strains of...jazz which thereby renders them defenceless to arrest. Hmmm. Perhaps v.d. Wetering was the one having the hallucinogenic experience.

What I found most peculiar was the collection of fulsome reviews on the back cover praising the gripping pace and the evocative picture of Japan (More Digest readers obviously). Had some goblin switched covers at the printers? Who knows. In short I wouldn't recommend this unless you are stuck on a desert island, in which case it will come in handy for lighting a fire.