Scarlet Gang of Asakusa by Yasunari Kawabata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa is hard to describe – it’s written in the “modernist” style so there is no linear plot, but instead we follow the narrator as he wanders through the Asakusa district of Tokyo. The story is set in 1929 or 1930, and Asakusa (and Tokyo) have been rebuilt since the devastating earthquake of 1923. As we follow the narrator, we meet the “gang” – a loose association of youths who are mostly down on the luck and just try to get by.

The Asakusa area at this time was similar to Alexanderplatz in Berlin or Montmarte in Paris – an entertainment area with some illicit fun. As we follow the narrator, we meet the homeless people living in the park, we visit shooting galleries and theaters, and we get to know some of the gang: Yumiko, Haruko, Umekichi and others.

The narrative drifts at points, and there is a place where the narrator takes several months off and then returns to the story. It can be a little frustrating and/or boring at times, but it’s an interesting picture of life in Asakusa in 1930.

I enjoyed the book, but it took me a while to get into the modernist-style of the novel. It’s very interesting to read but it does leave a lot of unanswered questions at the end.

Fateful Hours: The Collapse of the Weimar Republic by Volker Ullrich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fateful Hours is an examination of the history of the Weimar Republic. The author focuses mostly on events that were potential turning points in the 14 years between the proclamation of the German Republic to the accession of Adolf Hitler as chancellor. One of the important points that the author makes is that there was nothing inevitable about the rise of Hitler to power.

This is not a complete history of the Weimar Republic; by focusing on the turning points in the Republic’s story, there is not much commentary on the regular, day-to-day events, or even longer stretches such as the “five good years” 1924 to 1929. But as we move through the story there are many questions that really don’t have answers. For example, why did the Communist Party (KPD) refuse to work with the Social Democrats (SPD) even after the rise of the far right parties? And why were the conservatives around President Hindenburg so certain that they could “tame” and control the Nazi Party?

It’s a very interesting and well-written book. I think it does help if you have some general background in the history of the Weimar Republic, but it’s not required. I really enjoyed reading this book and I learned quite a lot along the way.

Death on Gokumon Island by Seishi Yokomizo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Death on Gokumon Island is another mystery in the Kosuke Kindachi series by Seishi Yokomizo. It is set just after World War 2 on an isolated island in the Inland Sea. Detective Kindachi is headed to the island to tell the Kito family that their son and heir, Chimata, passed away due to illness on the ship that was bringing them back to Japan. Chimata had told Kindachi that he was afraid that his three sisters would be murdered after his own death.

Gokumon island is a fishing community, and the Kito family controls most of the fishing trade. There is also a branch of the Kito family which runs their own trade separately from the main family. There are a series of murders on the island after Kindachi arrives, and there are many suspects, including Kindachi himself. That’s about all I can say without spoiling the mystery.

This is another well-written mystery by the author. There are plenty of clues to the mystery, but some are red herrings. It kept me guessing, right up until the murders were solved. I highly recommend this book.

Murder at the Black Cat Cafe by Seishi Yokomizo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Murder at the Black Cat Cafe is another mystery from Seishi Yokomizo in his Detective Kosuke Kindaichi series. It actually contains two mystery stories, Murder at the Black Cat Cafe and Why Did the Well Wheel Creak. Both stories are quite good but not as long as the novels in the series.

Murder at the Black Cat Cafe is a “faceless corpse” kind of mystery. The author often creates stories based on classic English mystery story types. I enjoyed this story a lot; it begins with finding a body buried behind the Black Cat Cafe. The body has been buried long enough that it has begun to decompose, so it is not possible to identify the dead woman. And a dead black cat was also found in the grave.

There are a lot of things happening, and for fear of spoilers I really won’t go into any details. But it is an interesting story with a few twists in it. Thankfully Detective Kindaichi arrives to help sort things out.

The second story is a little different. Detective Kindaichi has a much smaller role than he usually does. But it is a story of some complicated family dynamics in a small village. The Honiden family comes out on top and the Ono and Akizuki families become poor and leave the area and move to the city. During the war, they are evacuated and return to their home village. This sets up the conflict that leads to two murders. And that’s about all I will say for fear of spoilers.

I enjoyed this book and I recommend it. Both of the stories are good and well-written, though perhaps not as exciting as the typical Detective Kindaichi mystery story.

The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV by Helen Castor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Eagle and the Hart is the story of two cousins, both grandsons of Edward III, who became kings of England. Richard was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Edward III’s oldest son, and Henry was the son of John of Gaunt, the third son of Edward III. After the death of his father, Richard was the heir to his grandfather, and indeed inherited the crown when he was about 10 years old.

One of the problems Richard faced was that his father and especially his grandfather did not plan very well for the transition. Although Richard did quite well when put to the test – for example during the Peasants Revolt of 1381 – he increasingly relied on his favorites and did not get along well with his council and Parliament. Eventually, he could not tolerate any dissent, and this led to the crisis of 1399, when his cousin Henry, who had been banished, returned to England and deposed Richard.

Henry became Henry IV – he was the closest to Richard in the male line of descent, but not in the female line. He was much more successful as king, though he was marked as having usurped the throne. And he always struggled financially. His health suffered too, especially in the last years of his reign. For many years it was thought that he had leprosy, but this doesn’t seem to be the case.

His son succeeded him as Henry V, but the issue of the female line vs. the male line resurfaced during the reign of his grandson Henry VI. This was one of the issues of the Wars of the Roses, but that’s a story for another day.

I really enjoyed this book. The author does a great job of leading us through the story. It can be a little confusing, but thankfully there are genealogical tables and a list of who the main characters are and how they are related. I knew the basics of the story of these two cousins, but I really learned quite a bit by reading the book. I recommend it if you are interested in this period of history.

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Tales by Robert Louis Stevenson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first read this novella many years ago, and it was a pleasure to read it again. The basics of the plot are pretty well known, but I will try to avoid any spoilers. I confess that having seen the episode of Gilligan’s Island entitled “And Then There Were None” I knew how the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ended long before I read it for the first time.

The novella has three narrators; the first is a lawyer, who learns of some violent incidents involving a man named Hyde. The lawyer knows Dr Jekyll, and there seems to be some relationship between Dr Jekyll and the man Hyde. The second narrator is a doctor who is a friend of Dr Jekyll. And the third narrator is Dr Jekyll himself. It is only during Dr Jekyll’s narrative that we learn the nature of the relationship between him and Hyde.

I highly recommend this book. It’s a very easy read, and the novella is fairly short. The other short stories are also worth reading.

The Shortest History of Japan: From Mythical Origins to Pop Culture Powerhouse―The Global Drama of an Ancient Island Nation by Lesley Downer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I visited Japan this year, and I quickly realized how little I really knew about Japanese history. Sure, I know some bits and pieces from the Meiji Restoration to the present, but that’s about it. So I decided to read this book, to at least get a good overview of the history of Japan.

It’s pretty good; it does not go into a lot of details, but it provides a nice overview of Japanese history and culture from the mythical origins to the current emperor. It’s very well written and easy to read. I certainly learned a lot, and I feel that I’m ready to take on a more in depth history of Japan. If you are interested in Japanese history, I recommend this book

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Night to Remember is the story of the night in April 1912 when the Titanic struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage and sank. This book was originally published in 1955 so the author had the opportunity to talk with more than 60 survivors of the Titanic and also with people from the Carpathia which rescued the survivors.

Walter Lord does an amazing job of presenting almost a minute by minute account of the sinking and the rescue, using the accounts from the survivors as well as some written accounts that were published by survivors. It is a compelling story and well worth the effort to read it. However there are some gaps in the story, as the author points out – there is just not a lot of information about the passengers in Third Class. This mainly because the survival rate of the steerage passengers was not nearly as good as it was for the First and Second Class passengers.

I read this book for the first time when I was in grade school. It is a very easy read – the author has a great sense of the narrative. I highly recommend this book!