I picked up the book with a nice cup of masala chai over a nice Saturday morning…. And the rest as they say was history. I never quite put the book down. It doesn’t let you. You just go on and one with it. You get engrossed in it, are smitten by it and forget how time flies. The book is called The Devotion of Suspect X and has been written by Keigo Higashino.
My expectations were already very high since I had read this on Wikipedia: “The Devotion of Suspect X is a 2005 novel by Keigo Higashino, the third in his Detective Galileo series and is his most acclaimed work thus far. The novel won him numerous awards, including the 134th Naoki Prize, which is a highly regarded award in Japan. The novel also won the 6th Honkaku Mystery Grand Prize, which is one of the most prestigious awards in the mystery novels category in Japan. 2006 Honkaku Mystery Best 10 and Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! 2006, annual mystery fiction guide books published in Japan, ranked the novel as the number one.” But the book did not disappoint me.
Translated really well by Alexander O. Smith, the book works well to serve its genere though at times I felt that more complex emotions needed to be described in detail. Still, the suspense and urgency build well.
As always I loved the characters and enjoyed the book more because I was able to sympathizes and empathize with them. The key people in the story are Ishigami: Brilliant mathematician masterminding the story, Kusanagi: Detective on the case, Yukawa: Physicist, eccentric genius, friend of both Kusanagi and Ishigami and Yasuko: Murders her ex-husband Togashi, along with daughter. Needless to say, it is Ishigami who wins your heart through and through.
The book was made into a movie in 2008 by Hiroshi Nishitani. I have not seen the movie so I searched a bit for it on the internet. An IMDB review says that the film has many many epic, well-executed slow motion scenes, and somehow he completely removed dorama cheesiness for majority of the play time. The review also says, “Although I liked the comedy in the dorama series, I'm glad they changed the style for this movie. The plot involved very little physics and mathematics, but focused on the human side of the guest characters: What was the motivation for Suspect X's involvement? The meaning of the title "Devotion of Suspect X", devotion indeed. This is one of those movies that sinks in a while after the ending credits.” I think I will have to watch this one!
Go pick up the book if you want a thrilling experience right on your couch in a stunning Japanese setting, with believable characters and a gripping storline.
This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!
Goa for me is the ultimate party destination. With the pristine beaches of the south and the loud bohemianism of the north, it never fails to excite and recharge me. Though I recently went there with a group of girls and we had the time of our lives, I would love to go back there if Kyra is there with me. I understand that she is fun loving, enjoys her music and loves traveling - I could not have asked for a better companion!
With the sunshine girl with me, I will not worry at all about getting burnt on the beaches or other outdoor spots. So, I will take her around and show her the best of Goa! And this is all that we will do:
Bagha first! We girls will hit the beach and the shacks on day 1. We will soak in the sun, lie on the beach chairs, stare at the water and play in it if we feel like!
Fort Aguada: Day 2 will be the fort where Dil Chahta Hai was shot. We will enjoy the stunning beauty of this place without caring about what papa sun is saying to us!
Adventure Sports!!! Para gliding, banana boat, scootering, you name it - we will do it. Kyra, that's me on my last trip by the way! This time, I will take you along and not ask the guy to bring me down sooner because I am worried about the heat and sweat! This time I will soar....
Day 4: Calangute and Vagatore. Kyra and Cnary will pick up books and lemon teas, lie on the beach till they kick us out!
I will try and find this cute puppy I found on my last trip, playing on the beach - I am sure Kyra will love him!
We will reflect in front of the beautiful sea with its melodious waves...
We will watch the sunset with its magical colours...
Day 5: We will wrap the trip with a trip to St. Francis Xavier church to see his sacred relics. We will then carry on with a quick trip to Panjim.
Boy, I cannot wait to hit Goa with Kyra! Seems like that will be the bst trip I will ever have, with fun, frolic, music, and no worries about my skin or hair!
This entry is a part of Indilogger Lakme Diva Blogger contest! All details are here! Come, fall in love with Lakme and Kyra!
With my sister based seven seas away in the US, our best bet to stay connected with each other is Skype, Whatsapp, Viber, Facebook and Google talk - on our respective phones. I have to admit that we use some of these technologies brilliantly to stay clued into each other’s lives. And the fact that we both use our phones to access internet means that we are always connected - even when we are on the move! And two of our favorite and popular topics are clothes and food. :)
So this is what happens when my sweetiepie sis prepares a hearty Indian meal in the cool beauty of Chicago – courtesy Whatsapp:
This is how I show her my latest purchase from the Goa flea market at the Aguada beach, thanks to G Talk:
When she finds a steal at the Thanksgiving sale, she pings me this on Skype:
And when I somehow manage to scrape through my limited culinary skills to match hers, I proudly share this on Facebook with her:
Finally (and strangely) when we both read a common recipe and plan an intercontinental cooking race, we show each other this picture as a motivation on e-mail...
The internet is surely A LOT OF fun for our shenanigans!
A harmless ‘go-coffee’ ultra slim gloss shine lipstick on a friend’s make-up table brought back the hazy memories. The impact of what had happened was so stunning that now I actually felt surprised I did not think of it again. It was at the Delhi international airport around a year back, late 2010. At the security check, a group of people were waiting for the bags to arrive on the security conveyor. While I had the fortune of being the frontrunner along with two gentlemen, the peeping row behind me was occupied by a delicate stewardess from one of the premier Indian airlines. Her two friends, having gotten their baggage already waited away from the desperate milieu, in their polished bubble.
The inspector at the monitor was taking his sweet time in busybodying everyone’s bags. And hence, all of us had drifted into our respective daydreams. A thump at the conveyor belt signaling the restarting of the bag movement semi-woke most of us. My bag was the second in the sequence and as commonly happens in such situation, my hands automatically extended and my body realigned itself to take and lift the weight off the belt and onto the floor. In that half-ninja and half-bharatnatyam dancer pose, I felt a tap on my tense shoulder. It was the beauty from behind. I looked at her and caught her no-expression form of expression. Not entirely sure if I got it right and preparing to dive towards my free-with-Nippo-battery little masterpiece of a handbag, I looked back at the belt. That is when all hell broke loose.
In a clean sweeping motion of all limbs, she positioned herself next to me, displacing the bamboozled man who moved a step aside. And then started all possible rude remarks she could think of, locking me in a confused ice cube. I was in that ice cube for an indefinite period of time, while I embarrassedly looked at her. She must have abused me for some good ten minutes because when I came back to life, the world looked a little different.
There were people staring at us so I thought I should end the tension for everyone. So I asked, “Sorry? What happened?”
“Can you step aside?” Her lips moved briefly.
“Uh, why?”
“This is my bag.” She pointed to a red leather one next to mine.
“Uh, ok. But that is mine.” I pointed embarrassedly to the Nippo branded gift bag. “So I am taking that.”
“Let me take mine.”
“Uh (again), but I am also taking my bag and you can then take yours.”
“Just move aside so everyone can take their bags.”
“I will do that once I am done?”
“Why can’t you move aside now?”
And so went the conversation. Meanwhile we both took our respective bags and she abused me again in some hi-fi language. To my credit, I finally realized she was being outright mean and I retaliated with whatever lame responses I could think of – in that taken-aback state of mind. She, in the interim, exchanged smirks and sarcastic glances with her other airhostess friends standing at a distance.
I remember walking back to my flight feeling insulted and yet thinking why anyone would treat another person like that.
***
Though it has been close to two years since this incident, I can freshly feel the hurt it caused. This and some other similar incidents have harshly reminded me how people can be utterly insensitive towards those around, caring only for their own needs and interests. I have often felt that if all of us were a little more careful about how we behaved with other people, the world will become a much more beautiful and delightful place. If in our own hurries, worries and agendas, we don’t overlook the need to be nice to fellow human beings; all of us will come home with a brighter and wider smile every day.
Please do see that in saying all this I am not saying that people should be overtly nice at all times, and not highlight things which may need assertion or aggression. This is not about super-sweet people being too coy to tell the truth. I don't want businesses to fail because clients were too polite to point weaknesses or friendships to suffer because both parties were too nice to resolve strong differences.
I would just like people around me (and everywhere in the world), in their everyday lives, to be more considerate, gentle and appreciative........ and yet, be honest!
p.s. For those interested, I was reading up and found this interesting at http://psychology.wikia.com: Politeness is best expressed as the practical application of good manners or etiquette. The British social anthropologists Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson identified two kinds of politeness, deriving from Erving Goffman's concept of face.
Negative politeness: Making a request less infringing, such as "If you don't mind..." or "If it isn't too much trouble..."; respects a person's right to act freely. In other words, deference. There is a greater use of indirect speech acts.
Positive politeness: Seeks to establish a positive relationship between parties; respects a person's need to be liked and understood. Direct speech acts, swearing and flouting Grice's maxims can be considered aspects of positive politeness because:
- They show an awareness that the relationship is strong enough to cope with what would normally be considered impolite (in the popular understanding of the term);
- They articulate an awareness of the other person's values, which fulfils the person's desire to be accepted.
This post has been written for the Indiblogger and Stayfree's 'Time to change' contest. You can find all the exciting activties around this here - do visit!
