is a 1998 novella collection by Hideo Yokoyama, published by Bungeishunju. The English translation, by Jonathan Lloyd-Davies, was published by the MCD imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2020.
There are four novellas in the collection:
The novellas take place in "Prefecture D", which itself is not specified. Paul Sedan of The Christian Science Monitor argued that it would likely be "one in a mountainous location in the middle of the country."[1] They focus more on day-to-day business of the police agency of that fictional prefecture, including personal conflicts.[2] Kirkus Reviews stated that "politics" rather than "mayhem" is the focus.[3]
The translator originated from Wales.[1]
Sedan argued that the work has "attention-grabbing prose" and that the translator did "a yeoman’s job here."[1]
Publishers Weekly stated that the book is "disappointing", arguing that the resolutions "are largely anticlimactic" and that the characters are not "memorable".[4]
Other works by Yokoyama: