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"Ryu," hailed as the best work in the last twenty years is based on a high schooler witnessing the death of his grandfather in the 1970s of Taiwan. The thriller centres on the high schooler's journey of finding out the truth behind the murder in the time of the strict and unstable "Ryu," hailed as the best work in the last twenty years is based on a high schooler witnessing the death of his grandfather in the 1970s of Taiwan. The thriller centres on the high schooler's journey of finding out the truth behind the murder in the time of the strict and unstable Taiwan. Ryu has a smooth flow and a wellknit plot, and deftly kneads together mystery, fantasy, and realism. Shrouded in the depressive atmosphere of a bygone era, it has been hailed in Japan as one of the premier works of the past two decades. The protagonist is a young, frivolous high-school student who witnesses the brutal death of his grandfather. He decides to track down the truth behind the murder, and over the next while also goes through a wild phase. The book vividly describes life in a closed political system, echoing discussions on transitional justice in Taiwan society in recent years. The Taiwanese writer Hsiao Yeh (小野) has gone so far as to call this book "a gift from heaven." This alludes to the fact that such subject material was long left as unexplored territory in Taiwan's literary circle, and that the book's appearance now satisfies the needs of the times. The author's family, originally from Taiwan, moved to Japan when the author was nine years old. This background gives the book literary significance as a story by a writer who could be categorized as an immigrant author. But more important still are the natural flow and humor of the writing and its thrilling story. Combining a requiem to his father's and grandfather's generations with a coming-of-age story, this is a remarkable bildungsroman with universal appeal.
About the author
Akira Higashiyama, Chinese name Wang Zhen-xu ( 王震緒), born in Taipei (Taiwan) in 1968. Author of a number of Japanese-language novels, including prose and anime scripts. Recipient of numerous awards in Japan, including a grand silver and reader's choice awards as part of the Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! Awards (lit. "This Mystery Novel Is Excellent!"; 2002), Haruhiko Oyabu Award (2009), Mystery Writers of Japan Award (finalist; 2014), and Naoki Prize (2015). For this novel he was received by the President of Taiwan.
