CY@CY Says Welcome to my dreamscape. Where a Lim is also a Ling.
I became a great fan of Keigo Higashino after reading Devotion of Suspect X more than five years ago. Since then, I have read Malice, Salvation of a Saint, Journey Under the Midnight Sun and A Midsummer’s Equation. I have been looking forward to read Naoko, his first book to be translated into English, for years. I kept a lookout for the book in the local bookstores as well as on MPH Online but to no avail. It was only recently that I got to know about the online Book Depository where you can buy books at a good discount in Ringgit Malaysia and with free shipping from UK. My first search on Book Depository was Keigo Higashino books and was pleased to find that his books Naoko, The Name of the Game is Kidnapping and Newcomer are available. I immediately ordered the three books.
Naoko, original title is Himitsu (秘密 Secret), won the 52nd Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Best Novel. Even though this book is not the whodunit genre that Keigo is famous for, I was so engrossed that I finished reading it in two days.
Naoko by Keigo Higashino
Heisuke Sugita enjoys a simple life filled with love for his dear wife Naoko and daughter Monomi until a catastrophic ski bus accident turns his world upside down. During the bus crash, Naoko throws herself upon Monami thus saving Monami’s life.
Both initially survive, but Naoko dies in hospital and Monomi falls into a coma. Except that Naoko doesn’t really die: in an inexplicable transference Monami’s body survives, but Naoko’s soul and memories and personality now inhabit it.
So when Monomi comes out of her coma, her personality and memories are that of her mother Naoko, rather than her own. Both Heisuke and Naoko come to accept this bizarre occurrence. Unable to explain what has happened and knowing they would be ridiculed if they tell the truth, they decide to keep it a secret while Naoko lives as Monami from then on.
Heisuke faces living with his wife in his daughter’s body, putting him sometimes under intense turmoil, not the least of which is sexual. But he is happy because at least is wife is still with him in spirit.
But complications arise as Monami becomes older and blossoms into a beautiful young woman. She is very bright in her studies and popular in her school. Naoko takes the opportunity to pursue her own unfulfilled dreams. Her growing independence begins to cause a rift between her and Heisuke, who struggles to remain a faithful husband and keeping his sexual desire under wraps. They cannot have a sexual relationship as Naoko is now biologically Heisuke’s daughter. When Heisuke discovers Naoko carrying on telephone conversations with a young man, he becomes insanely jealous.
When Monami’s consciousness begins resurfacing, Heisuke and Naoko are able to repair their relationship as they ensure that Monami and Naoko, now sharing the same body, will be able to function and transition back to the life that Naoko has lived for her. As Monami’s consciousness begins to dominate, Heisuke and Naoko eventually part ways forever and Heisuke is content to raise Monami as his daughter again.
On the day that Monami is about to marry, Heisuke comes to a heartbreaking realisation. I won’t reveal this as it would be a huge spoiler.
The novel is beautifully written with a very intriguing premise. The actions and emotional changes in Heisuke arouse in me a feeling of disgust at times but as the story progresses, I slowly find empathy for him. Is he mourning the death of his wife, the death of his daughter or the death of his own marriage? He struggles with the confusion of whether he’s a husband, or a father. It’s as if he has lost neither his wife nor his daughter.
I find it difficult to put down this book despite it being a mentally disturbing book, the most troubling facet being the looming of incest. It is an absorbing tale of tragedy.
Kudos, Keigo!