Marie Iida Livres

'One of the great masterpieces of Japanese crime fiction' David Peace, author of Tokyo Year ZeroThis second half of Lady Joker, by Kaoru Takamura, the Grand Dame of Japanese crime fiction, concludes the breathtaking saga introduced in Volume I.Inspired by the real-life Glico-Morinaga kidnapping, an unsolved case that terrorized Japan for two years, Lady Joker reimagines the circumstances of this watershed episode in modern Japanese history and brings into riveting focus the lives and motivations of the victims, the perpetrators, the heroes and the villains. As the shady networks linking corporations to syndicates are brought to light, the stakes rise, and some of the professionals we have watched try to fight their way through this crisis will lose everything-some even their lives. Will the culprits ever be brought to justice? More importantly-what is justice?'A novel that portrays with devastating immensity how those on the dark fringes of society can be consumed by the darkness of their own hearts' Yoko Ogawa, author of The Memory Police

One of Japan’s great modern masters, Kaoru Takamura, makes her English-language debut with this two-volume publication of her magnum opus. Tokyo, 1995. Five men meet at the racetrack every Sunday to bet on horses. They have little in common except a deep disaffection with their lives, but together they represent the social struggles and griefs of post-War Japan: a poorly socialized genius stuck working as a welder; a demoted detective with a chip on his shoulder; a Zainichi Korean banker sick of being ostracized for his race; a struggling single dad of a teenage girl with Down syndrome. The fifth man bringing them all together is an elderly drugstore owner grieving his grandson, who has died suspiciously after the revelation of a family connection with the segregated buraku community, historically subjected to severe discrimination. Intent on revenge against a society that values corporate behemoths more than human life, the five conspirators decide to carry out a heist: kidnap the CEO of Japan’s largest beer conglomerate and extract blood money from the company’s corrupt financiers. Inspired by the unsolved true-crime kidnapping case perpetrated by “the Monster with 21 Faces,” Lady Joker has become a cultural touchstone since its 1997 publication, acknowledged as the magnum opus by one of Japan’s literary masters, twice adapted for film and TV and often taught in high school and college classrooms.

One of Japan's great modern writers, Kaoru Takamura, makes her English-language debut with Lady Joker, the million copy bestselling Japanese phenomenon.

BestsellerautorinMarie Kondo zeigt uns in ihrem neuen, bisher persönlichsten Buch zentrale Werte und Traditionen derjapanischen Kultur, die ihrem eigenen Leben Halt und Orientierung geben und die sie nachfolgenden Gernerationen vermitteln möchte: Bewahren & Wertschätzen: Wir erfahren durch die Verehrung der Kirschblüte und den Einfluss der Jahreszeiten, wie wir die Schönheit im Kleinen erkennen und würdigen. Vervollkommnung & Perfektion: Am Beispiel der meditativen Kunst der Teezeremonie und der Präzision von Manga lernen wir, nach Meisterschaft in unserem Tun zu streben. Rücksicht & Fairness: Durch das Konzept des Onsen (der Fürsorge für öffentliche Orte) zeigt uns, wie das Achten auf unsere Umgebung und Mitmenschen unser Handeln leiten kann. Harmonie & Ausgleich: Die japanische Gartenkunst und der japanische Kunst des Verhandelns lehrt uns, ein Leben in Balance führen und Konflikte elegant zu lösen. Reinigung & Läuterung: Meditation und eine bewusste Aufräumkultur helfen uns dabei, nicht nur unser Zuhause, sondern auch unseren Geist zu klären. Genuss & Freude: Wir erlernen Wege, den bewussten Genuss als festen und nährenden Bestandteil in unser Leben zu integrieren. Anhand persönlicher Anekdoten macht Marie Kondo die zeitlose Weisheit ihrer japanische Heimat greifbar und zeigt, wie wir inmitten des modernen Chaos die Harmonie in uns selbst finden und pflegen können.