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Matthew Legare - Thriller Author

Website for Matthew Legare, writer of historical, thriller, and noir novels, including the Reiko Watanabe/Inspector Aizawa series set in 1930s Japan.

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Reviews

The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura – A Fast-Paced Japanese Crime Story

March 16, 2023 by Matthew Legare Leave a Comment

The Thief by Fuminori NakamuraThe Thief by Fuminori Nakamura is a crime thriller set in modern-day Japan about an experienced pickpocket named Nishimura as he prowls the crowded streets of Tokyo, looking for his next mark. He floats through the metropolis, taking what he wants, as if in an ethereal, dreamlike state, unable to wake up.

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Tagged With: crime, Japan, Japanese fiction, literary, Thrillers

Shanghai by Riichi Yokomitsu – a Japanese Novel of Interwar Shanghai

February 17, 2023 by Matthew Legare 4 Comments

Shanghai by Riichi YokomitsuShanghai between the world wars is a fascination of Westerns, the Chinese themselves, but also the Japanese. The zeitgeist of 1920s Shanghai is reflected in the appropriately named Shanghai by Riichi Yokomitsu.
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Tagged With: China, Japan, Japanese fiction, Shanghai

Golden Kamuy Volumes 1-5 – A Shonen Manga of Adventure and History

January 15, 2023 by Matthew Legare Leave a Comment

Golden Kamuy Volume 1Golden Kamuy by Satoru Noda is a shonen manga series that covers a wide range of genres – adventure, war, political intrigue, comedy, and thrillers. Set shortly after the Russo-Japanese War (1904 – 1905) it follows Saichi Sugimoto, a veteran of the conflict, and his quest for a legendary stash of gold hidden in Hokkaido, the most northern of Japan’s main islands. While fighting at the vicious Battle of Port Arthur, he earned the nickname “Immortal Sugimoto,” given his almost legendary ability to avoid death, which he keeps throughout the remainder of this series.

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Tagged With: comics, historical fiction, Japan, Japanese fiction, Japanese History, Japanese Military, manga

Human Bullets by Tadayoshi Sakurai – A Memoir of the Russo-Japanese War

December 16, 2022 by Matthew Legare 1 Comment

Human Bullets by Tadayoshi SakuraiThe Russo-Japanese War is a fascinating conflict that, arguably, was one of the most important events in the 20th century. It contributed to the decline of the Russian Empire, paving the way for the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, and gave rise to the Japanese Empire, paving the way to Pearl Harbor. And yet, this war is often overlooked in the West, leading to a dearth of first-hand English language accounts. Thankfully, Human Bullets (1906) by Tadayoshi Sakurai survives to fill that void.

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Tagged With: History, Japan, Japanese History, Japanese Military, Memoirs, Military History

3 Japanese Mystery Novel Recommendations

November 16, 2022 by Matthew Legare 1 Comment

Tattoo Murder CaseNovember is the perfect time for noir aka Noirvember, and that means it’s the perfect time for mystery novels. In Japan, the mystery genre is called suiri shōsetsu (推理小説) literally ‘deductive reasoning fiction,’ and has a long history in the Land of the Rising Sun. Here are just a few recommendations by Japanese authors to read during Noirvember.

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Tagged With: Japanese fiction, mystery, recommendations

The Japanese Home Front 1937 – 1945 by Philipp Jowett & Adam Hook

September 17, 2022 by Matthew Legare Leave a Comment

Japanese Homefront OspreyAs I’ve stated many times, there’s long been a blind spot about the Asian Theater of World War II. You can stack the books written about Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan side by side, the former would dwarf the latter. When books do appear about Japan during World War II, they are usually about the front in the Pacific, or, less often, in the Chinese and Burma theaters. A notable exception is Japan At War: An Oral History. However, Osprey Publishing has recently released The Japanese Home Front 1937 – 1945, which aims to help fill that gap.

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Tagged With: Japanese History, Japanese Military

Serve the People! by Yan Lianke Review

August 15, 2022 by Matthew Legare 1 Comment

Serve the People coverThe Cultural Revolution has been a taboo subject in China, but confusing and forgotten to Westerners. The political upheavals instigated by Mao Zedong between 1966-1976 were baffling to those who observed and participated. Mao ostensibly sought to create a new, permanent revolutionary China, doing away with old ideas, old customs, and old culture, but his main aim was to purge all political rivals and enshrine himself as a godlike figure, which somewhat continues to this day. It is during this tumultuous era, that the novel Serve the People! by Yan Lianke takes place.

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Tagged With: Book Reviews, China, Chinese authors, Chinese History

Japan’s Greatest Victory, Britain’s Worst Defeat By Masanobu Tsuji Review

June 10, 2022 by Matthew Legare Leave a Comment

Japan's Greatest Victory by Masanobu Tsuji

It’s often said, “history is written by the victors,” and this only half true. While the narrative of World War II is definitely constructed from the Allied lens, this does not mean that the vanquished were unable to tell their stories. German officers and soldiers pumped out volumes of memoirs during the postwar years, many of which were consumed voraciously by readers in America and Britain. Japanese memoirs were more sparse, at least regarding translations that made it to the West. One notable exception was Masanobu Tsuji’s memoir Japan’s Greatest Victory, Britain’s Worst Defeat.

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Tagged With: History, Japan, Japanese History, Japanese Military, Memoirs, World War II

Tokyo Vice Book Vs TV Show Review

May 15, 2022 by Matthew Legare Leave a Comment

Tokyo Vice posterTokyo Vice is a crime thriller series currently on HBO Max and based on the memoirs by Jake Adelstein. Set in 1999 Japan, it follows an American reporter working for a Japanese newspaper as he delves deep into Tokyo’s seedy underworld and the criminal kingdom of the yakuza.

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Tagged With: film noir, Japan, noir, TV Series

Japanese Destroyer Captain – A Memoir of The Pacific War

April 14, 2022 by Matthew Legare 6 Comments

Japanese Destroyer Captain by Tameichi HaraJapanese Destroyer Captain is the postwar memoir of Tameichi Hara, a Japanese Navy officer who earned the nickname the “Miracle Captain.” He is one of the only Japanese captains to have survived the entire Pacific War from its beginning in 1941 to its end in 1945. Of the 175 destroyers the Imperial Navy possessed during World War II, 129 were sunk.

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Tagged With: History, Japan, Japanese History, Japanese Military, Memoirs, nonfiction, World War II

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