Fish Swimming In Dappled Sunlight by Riku Onda

Set in Tokyo over the course of one night, Aki and Hiro have decided to be together one last time in their shared flat before parting. Their relationship has broken down after a mountain trek during which their guide died inexplicably. Now each believes the other to be a murderer and is determined to extract a confession before the night is over. Who is the murderer and what really happened on the mountain? In the battle of wills between them, the chain of events leading up to this night are gradually revealed in a gripping psychological thriller that keeps the reader in suspense to the very end.

About the author

Riku Onda, born in 1964, has been writing fiction since 1991 and has published prolifically since. She has won the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers, the Japan Booksellers' Award, the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize and the Naoki Prize. Her work has been adapted for film and television.

Review

‘Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight’ is an intense, claustrophobic read that makes you question everything and learn nothing! As in ‘learn nothing’ because you don't know how to trust the characters and everything suggested to the reader is based on conjecture. It is engaging, gripping and very intense. I honestly am going to find it hard to review this book as I don't want to give away spoilers. It's a book that is best approached fresh and without bias. But it is a book you should read!

Aki and Hiro are spending one last night in their tiny apartment in Tokyo. Their relationship broke down after a trip where their guide died and each of them suspects that the other had something to do with the events of that day. Did they cause that mans death and if so which of them are the guilty party?

This is one of those books that I don't think you can pigeonhole it into a genre. Yes, due to the death of their guide, it does fall into crime fiction but I would personally class it as literary fiction. It's a book that elevates the genre. It startles you, confuses you and makes you question what you have read. By the end, you ask yourself did anything happen but are also fatigued as so much happened. I felt detached as I read it, as if I was one of the fish swimming in my dappled sunlight, watching the action through my glass bowl. I mean this in Ya good way and hopefully, it was meant by the author and I'm not creating something that wasn't there. Aki and Hiro were experiencing such an intense emotional night that no one should be a witness to it. It's their story alone and we are being honoured with a glimpse of their experiences. Hence, feeling as if these characters are just out of grasp, reachable but not obtainable.

Kudos to the translator of this book, Alison Watts, as it was beautiful to read. At times the writing stunned me with its simplicity and ease of tone. This is a book I wouldn't be surprised if you saw it in the International Booker prize lists it's that good. This is the first book I have read by the author but it won't be the last as I just adored this one.

Let me know if you pick this one up!