As part of the Blackthorn Books Blog tour, it’s my stop to tell you about Return to Hiroshima, a stand alone noir fiction by Bob Van Laerhoven! I’ve mentioned this before that I do not read a lot of crime novels, but as it always happens, my curiosity gets the better of me and I choose books outside my usual genres. I am glad I picked up this one because it was a roller coaster ride! I even made a mindmap to go with it! Let’s get started with a quick look at the synopsis.
1995, Japan struggles with a severe economic crisis. Fate brings a number of people together in Hiroshima in a confrontation with dramatic consequences.
Xavier Douterloigne, the son of a Belgian diplomat, returns to the city, where he spent his youth, to come to terms with the death of his sister. Inspector Takeda finds a deformed baby lying dead at the foot of the Peace Monument, a reminder of Hiroshima’s war history. A Yakuza-lord, rumored to be the incarnation of the Japanese demon Rokurobei, mercilessly defends his criminal empire against his daughter Mitsuko, whom he considers insane. And the punk author Reizo, obsessed by the ultra-nationalistic ideals of his literary idol Mishima, recoils at nothing to write the novel that will “overturn Japan’s foundations”….
Hiroshima’s indelible war-past simmers in the background of this ultra-noir novel. Clandestine experiments conducted by Japanese Secret Service Unit 731 during WWII become unveiled and leave a sinister stain on the reputation of the imperial family and the Japanese society as a whole.
The Short Take
I have always been fascinated by stories set in Japan and that is why I chose this book. There are a number of characters in the story, many of them with hidden identities. We start off with Mitsuko, a young woman who has run away from her home on the Hashima Island, escaping from her father. She is pregnant and does not want to lose her child. Soon after, a baby is found by the peace monument, embalmed with a chrysanthellum flower on its foot.
This is a fast-paced novel, dark, at every turn, with twists that I did not see coming. As the name suggests, the story starts to develop when Mitsuko, Xavier and Beate arrive in Hiroshima. The characters are well thought out, all of them struggling with their past. Since there are so many of them, it can be hard to keep track of them all. I actually ended up creating a mindmap to represent their introductions and connections (it has some spoilers for the first half of the book).
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I am not quite sure how Xavier’s story line was relevant in the grand scheme of things, but every character had its moments. I’m also unsatisfied by the conclusion, but over all it was a good read that kept me glued to my spot.
Themes for Thought
In my mind, a novel that broadens my world view and makes me ask big questions is a work worth talking about. In this book, I had a number of such moments and below I share two of the main ideas I wondered about.
On The Past
People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.
James Baldwin (Wisdom Quotes)
This book revealed a side of history that I was not aware of. I find this with every historic fiction and memoir that I read, set in the Second World War period. My knowledge about the experiments and research going on in Japan during the war times was next to nothing, so it was a refresher to learn new things, while at the same time, be entangled in a captivating story line!
Return to Hiroshima brings to light the Japanese Secret Service Unit 731, the unit responsible for biological warfare, weapon testing and other experiments during the war. As I learned more, I thought about how much watered-down the history we learn in school is, and for good measure, for sure! It is not surprising that every country that participated in the war made some effort to try to stay adrift of it and get the upper hand in some way.
The novel shows the consequences of some of those experiments as well as making the reader ask another big question – for how many generations, how many innocents that were not even alive in those times or had anything to do in the war, how many lives are affected? And what do horrific acts of war do to the common people? The ones who are on the receiving end of catastrophes?
On Acceptance
In Return to Hiroshima, I felt that all the characters were struggling with their pasts, whether it was the choices that they made or others made for them. A lot of it was focused around the parents and family of the characters, and at some point or another, almost every character felt like an intruder, an outsider in their society.
While Yori didn’t seem to fit anywhere, Reizo was no longer talking to his parents and Mitsuko was running away from her father. Inspector Takeda had been born out of an act of aggression and this has deeply affected his thoughts on having children, and the meaning of parents. I found it quite interesting that there was such a diversity among the characters in terms of origin, which made the question of how these strangers were related, even more of a mystery.
Through all the stories, mingled together, Bob does an amazing job of showing the hurt and anxiety that comes with not belonging in the society.
This actually begs the question of why people who are unhappy in their situations do not do anything to change them… Or is that whatever they do is just not enough?
Overall, I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes fast-paced books, does not mind keeping track of multiple characters, and is open to experiencing the many (dark) sides of the events that are taking place. I am thankful to Blackthorn Book Tours for a complimentary copy of the book as part of the blog tour.
** Return to Hiroshima is available in all stores so get a copy and let me know what you think! Let’s have a book-discussion! **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
(available on Kindle Unlimited)
Stay tuned for my Q&A with Bob!
Cover image (Japanese lantern in the dark): Photo by Jase Bloor on Unsplash
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