Books Read in 2023

Happy New Year to you all.

After a gap of several decades I started reading seriously again in 2023. I particularly enjoyed revisiting my interest in books by Japanese authors. In 2023 I read 21 books from that fascinating country. I discovered Japanese locked room mystery books this year and went a bit overboard on them so have split them (and short stories) out. Rating out of 5 in brackets.

Literature
Outstanding (I don't give 5's away easily)
The Housekeeper and the Professor - Yoko Ogawa (5)
Kokoro - Natsume Soseki (5)
- Not much happens in either book. Both focus on the relationships between a few characters and are beautifully written.

Very good - encouraged me to seek out other works by the author
Shipwrecks - Akira Yoshimura (4)
- If I were to promote one to a 5 rating it would be this. Great story however not as well written as the two books above in my opinion.
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea - Yukio Mishima (4)
- Possibly the best written book of them all.
The Memory Police - Yoko Ogawa (4)
Botchan - Natsume Soseki (4)
Snow Country - Yasunari Kawabata (4)
- Maybe a touch lucky to get a 4
Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata (4)
- Enjoyed the book but not actively seeking out her other work

OK
The Little House - Kyoko Nakajima (3)
Weasels in the Attic - Hiroko Oyamada (3)
- Have subsequently purchased The Factory - Hiroko Oyamada as I have seen a number of other recommendations for the work on LT.

Did not enjoy at all
Silent Cry - Kenzaburo Oe (1)
- My first book by Nobel Prize winning author. I purchased A Personal Matter at the same time. Hoping that is better.

Short Stories - Not my favourite form of literature. I keep trying but rarely get blown away.
OK
Hell Screen - Ryunosuke Akutagawa (3)
The Cake Tree in the Ruins - Akiyuki Nosaka (3)

Locked Room / Murder Mystery
Outstanding
The Inugami Curse - Seishi Yokomizo (5)
The Mill House Murders - Yukito Ayatsuji (5)

Very good
The Honjin Murders - Seishi Yokomizo (4)
- Started out on this one and read all the others because of it.
The Decagon House Murders - Yukito Ayatsuji (4)
The Master Key - Masako Togawa (4)
Murder in the Crooked House - Soji Shimada (4)
- A bit far fetched but loved the book

OK
Malice - Keigo Higashino (3)
- Enjoyed many aspects but overly intricate methinks.

Disappointing
My Annihilation - Fuminori Nakamura (2)
- Complicated and ambiguous. Got lost. Purchased The Thief - Fuminori Nakamura at the same time. Hoping for better.

I finished the year reading The Village of Eight Graves - Seishi Yokomizo which I am thoroughly enjoying. My TBR pile includes novels by Kobo Abe, Natsuo Kirino, Seicho Matsumoto, Haruki Murakami, Hikaru Okuizumi, Riku Onda, Shohei Ooka, Natsume Soseki, Akimitsu Takagi and Akira Yoshimura as well as short stories by Yukio Mishima, Kenji Miyazawa and Kenji Nakagami - the search for good short stories goes on! Recommendations gratefully received.

Enjoy your reading in 2024.

Lots of great reading from this list. I have a lot of the locked room/mysteries on my list. They really aren't my normal reading but seem to be a big trend in translation, and a lot of modern work skews that way.

In a Grove by Ryunosuke Akutagawa is probably the best story I've read by him so far. Might be worth looking up if you are still in the mood for trying a short story.

The Factory gets weird pretty quickly, worth it if you are into the strange Kafka levels of strange.

>2 stretch: They really aren't my normal reading but seem to be a big trend in translation, and a lot of modern work skews that way.

Nor for me too until recently. As I get older I am reading for fun more whilst still seeking out great literature. Mixing it up. The Japanese mystery books I have read are all about solving puzzles. There's not much in the way of suspense, action or drama. For example bodies are found, the act of murder and the fear etc this entails is not described.

Yes, I have read In a Grove. It's a good story. Maybe it takes the longer form to get me emotionally invested.

I love Kafka so am looking forward to The Factory all the more now. Thanks!

>1 Pendrainllwyn:

Thought I'd pop in to say hello to our new member. I'm the admin of this group by the way.

With the exception of the mystery thrillers on your list as that isn't a main genre for me, I've read everything on your read list and have read most from the authors on your TBR list so feel free to ask for questions when needed!