The Kingdom
A Novel
(Sprache: Englisch)
Zen-Noir master Nakamura returns to the Tokyo of The Thief, where a young grifter named Yurika finds herself in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with the shadowy crime lord Kizaki.
Yurika is a freelancer in the Tokyo underworld. She poses as a...
Yurika is a freelancer in the Tokyo underworld. She poses as a...
lieferbar
versandkostenfrei
Buch (Kartoniert)
16.70 €
Produktdetails
Produktinformationen zu „The Kingdom “
Klappentext zu „The Kingdom “
Zen-Noir master Nakamura returns to the Tokyo of The Thief, where a young grifter named Yurika finds herself in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with the shadowy crime lord Kizaki.Yurika is a freelancer in the Tokyo underworld. She poses as a prostitute, carefully targeting potential johns, selecting powerful and high-profile men. When she is alone with them, she drugs them and takes incriminating photos to sell for blackmail purposes. She knows very little about the organization she s working for, and is perfectly satisfied with the arrangement, as long as it means she doesn t have to reveal anything about her identity, either. She operates alone and lives a private, solitary life, doing her best to lock away painful memories.
But when a figure from Yurika s past resurfaces, she realizes there is someone out there who knows all her secrets: her losses, her motivations, her every move. There are whispers of a crime lord named Kizaki a monster, she is told and Yurika finds herself trapped in a game of cat and mouse. Is she wily enough to escape one of the most sadistic men in Tokyo?
Lese-Probe zu „The Kingdom “
Chapter 1When did I realize I would never get what I wanted most?
Maybe I was in my twenties. Or maybe I was a child, just old enough to make sense of the world. Back when I did nothing but glare at everyone around me, what I wanted most was far away. It was not something tangible. It made my skin burn. It ignored all the rules. It went beyond morals and reason. It was something that could overturn the foundations of everything I thought my life would become. I wonder if I still want it. What would I do if I got it?
The man in front of me, bathed in blue light, was looking at me. I smiled and watched the passion build in his eyes. He glanced at my chest, then returned his gaze to my face. He acted relaxed as he closed in on me one step at a time.
I can t believe it. I d never have thought you were a prostitute.
Properly speaking, I m not a prostitute, but I smiled anyway. The man slid his fingers between mine.
I don t tell anyone I don t like, I said. It s wonderful. Much better than watching TV.
I pressed my body against his and kissed his neck. I held his hand gently, and brought it up to my chest. He touched my chest reluctantly. Though I didn t feel anything special, I began to mix heavy breathing into my speech.
. . .You can forget it all. Do what you want to me. Mmm . . . Whatever you want.
His temperature rose. Humans do not always make
rational decisions. When our senses are shaken, we become defenseless. I felt the hand on my breast growing bolder. I stroked the man s lips with my finger, and put a pill in his mouth.
What s this?
It s kind of like a mild Viagra. You can get it at any pharmacy, but it s pretty good.
... mehr
I stretched my legs from my short skirt and forced them between his. I kissed his neck, wrapped my arms around him, and whispered, Let s do it. Let s do it. With my lips pressed against his neck, I felt him swallow the pill. He pushed me violently onto the bed. He was completely engrossed in me. I held his body against my chest. The feeling that I was in control of him got me hot. There was no sign of his turning back. I pretended to fool around, avoided his kisses, and wrapped my arms around his neck. I gently petted the man s head. His face was buried in my chest. I continued stroking his head until he stopped moving.
I watched the man with detachment as his hands began to slow. Strangely, looking into those half-closed eyes, I got hot again at my own act of treachery. The heat traveled through my body, raising my pulse and causing sounds of joy to gurgle up from deep inside me. I slowly brought my mouth to his ear.
Don t worry. It s not poison.
There was something evil in the glow of the room s blue lights. I felt the weight of the man on top of me. He could no longer move. His eyes were closed. I stared long into his face. I realized that I wanted him. I wanted the passion he had until a moment ago. I wanted his shoulders, which were quite muscular for his age, and his naturally tan face. I got out from under his body, sat in a chair, and lit a cigarette. I had to wait like this until he fell into a deep sleep.
It was raining outside.
The quiet rising up from the man s body joined the sound of the rain.
I carefully removed the man s light
I watched the man with detachment as his hands began to slow. Strangely, looking into those half-closed eyes, I got hot again at my own act of treachery. The heat traveled through my body, raising my pulse and causing sounds of joy to gurgle up from deep inside me. I slowly brought my mouth to his ear.
Don t worry. It s not poison.
There was something evil in the glow of the room s blue lights. I felt the weight of the man on top of me. He could no longer move. His eyes were closed. I stared long into his face. I realized that I wanted him. I wanted the passion he had until a moment ago. I wanted his shoulders, which were quite muscular for his age, and his naturally tan face. I got out from under his body, sat in a chair, and lit a cigarette. I had to wait like this until he fell into a deep sleep.
It was raining outside.
The quiet rising up from the man s body joined the sound of the rain.
I carefully removed the man s light
... weniger
Autoren-Porträt von Fuminori Nakamura
Fuminori Nakamura has won numerous prizes for his writing, including the e Prize, Japan s largest literary award; the David L. Goodis Award for Noir Fiction; and the prestigious Akutagawa Prize. The Thief, his first novel to be translated into English, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His other works include Evil and the Mask, The Gun, The Boy in the Earth, and Last Winter, We Parted.
Bibliographische Angaben
- Autor: Fuminori Nakamura
- 2017, 240 Seiten, Maße: 12,7 x 19 cm, Kartoniert (TB), Englisch
- Übersetzer: Kalau Almony
- Verlag: Soho Crime
- ISBN-10: 1616958103
- ISBN-13: 9781616958107
- Erscheinungsdatum: 12.09.2018
Sprache:
Englisch
Pressezitat
Praise for The Kingdom Nakamura has described The Kingdom as a sister novel to The Thief . . . But the new novel bests its companion.
The New York Times Book Review
"Few protagonists in modern crime fiction are as alienated as those in the challenging, violent, grotesque tales of Japanese author Fuminori Nakamura . . . Yurika s struggle to escape her vexed fate elevates this shocker well above the lurid."
The Wall Street Journal
"Multilayered and intense . . . [The] monstrous crime lord Kizaki is a formidable nemesis."
The Independent (UK)
"The Kingdom offers another sample of Japanese author Fuminori Nakamura's heady blend of disaffected philosophy and noir suspense."
Shelf Awareness
"Dark and strangely seductive... A recommended read for fans of noir as well as for anyone looking to be mesmerized by a masterful storyteller."
Pank Magazine
"A face-paced, dark novel of psychological suspense, told in a succinctly poetic style."
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
"[Yurika] makes an ideal guide into Nakamura s nightmare kingdom, one node in a nihilistic entanglement of lives forged outside of conventional legal and moral frameworks."
Publishers Weekly
"With a complex yet sympathetic antiheroine who must outwit the most cunning and twisted minds, Nakamura s dark crime novel sets the bar for gritty, twisted plots that keep readers constantly guessing."
Library Journal
Nakamura is in a class by himself . . . His straightforward prose advances the story quickly, even as he creates an atmosphere that shimmers around the edges while slowly transforming the environment and the characters.
Book Reporter
"On a par with Jo Nesbo or Don Winslow."
Lit Hub
"Suspense writing at its tautest and most philosophical."
Politics and Prose Bookstore
"Unsettling, The Kingdom offers both psychological suspense on the
... mehr
most intimate personal level as well as some sinister geo-political (un-)doings in the background . . . A quick, dark read, in which the reader is like Yurika constantly kept off balance."
The Complete Review
"A classic in the making... Just make sure there's room in your schedule for recovery from this highly purposeful journey into darkness."
Kingdom Books
"If I had to name just one author who is absolutely iconic in the field of border- and boundary-crushing noir, it would be Fuminori Nakamura."
Shotgun Logic
Nakamura excels in writing brief, taut suspense and both this work and his exemplary The Gun really should be on your reading list.
Bookgasm.com
Praise for Fuminori Nakamura
Japan Objects' Best Japanese Authors of All Time
Crime fiction that pushes past the bounds of genre, occupying its own nightmare realm . . . Guilt or innocence is not the issue; we are corrupted, complicit, just by living in society. The ties that bind, in other words, are rules beyond our making, rules that distance us not only from each other but also from ourselves.
Los Angeles Times
This slim, icy, outstanding thriller, reminiscent of Muriel Spark and Patricia Highsmith, should establish Fuminori Nakamura as one of the most interesting Japanese crime novelists at work today.
USA Today
Nakamura s prose is cut-to-the-bone lean, but it moves across the page with a seductive, even voluptuous agility.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Some of the darkest noir fiction to come out of Japan or any country in recent years . . . Nakamura s stories, however labeled, are memorable forays into uncomfortable terrain.
Mystery Scene
The Complete Review
"A classic in the making... Just make sure there's room in your schedule for recovery from this highly purposeful journey into darkness."
Kingdom Books
"If I had to name just one author who is absolutely iconic in the field of border- and boundary-crushing noir, it would be Fuminori Nakamura."
Shotgun Logic
Nakamura excels in writing brief, taut suspense and both this work and his exemplary The Gun really should be on your reading list.
Bookgasm.com
Praise for Fuminori Nakamura
Japan Objects' Best Japanese Authors of All Time
Crime fiction that pushes past the bounds of genre, occupying its own nightmare realm . . . Guilt or innocence is not the issue; we are corrupted, complicit, just by living in society. The ties that bind, in other words, are rules beyond our making, rules that distance us not only from each other but also from ourselves.
Los Angeles Times
This slim, icy, outstanding thriller, reminiscent of Muriel Spark and Patricia Highsmith, should establish Fuminori Nakamura as one of the most interesting Japanese crime novelists at work today.
USA Today
Nakamura s prose is cut-to-the-bone lean, but it moves across the page with a seductive, even voluptuous agility.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Some of the darkest noir fiction to come out of Japan or any country in recent years . . . Nakamura s stories, however labeled, are memorable forays into uncomfortable terrain.
Mystery Scene
... weniger
Kommentar zu "The Kingdom"
0 Gebrauchte Artikel zu „The Kingdom“
Zustand | Preis | Porto | Zahlung | Verkäufer | Rating |
---|
Schreiben Sie einen Kommentar zu "The Kingdom".
Kommentar verfassen