Clarissa Goenawan is a new literary value of the black genre that shows that the extension of this genre is a worldwide phenomenon. From Indonesia to the world, this young writer invites us to new scenarios in which to discover that dark side of things that ends up leading to crime novels. From realities of the case section of the press or the increasingly proliferating television news.
The question is to add to what happens not infrequently in the real world, to compose a human story on the other side of the sensationalism of the evil that surrounds us.
On this occasion, Clarissa introduces us to Ren Ishida in a peculiar Japanese town invented for the occasion by the author: Akakawa.
This is where Ren will travel determined to soak up the reality of his sister Keiko, recently stabbed to death. What got you there from Tokyo? What could have caused this sinister outcome?
Akakawa is a shady town where everyone seems to walk like guilt-laden souls. The rain, the feeling of temporary suspense, the aberrant contrast to what she always was. Keiko's last paradoxical destination from a city as alive as Tokyo, that great city in which he seemed happy.
Because all Ren knew about his sister was that, that she seemed happy. Over the years, the separation between the two generated that abyss discovered with the definitive absence. For Ren, his sister always remained that girl ..., more than anything because there was not much life between the two later.
That is why his need to know goes beyond the murderer and revenge. The trip to Akakawa is due to his need to reconnect with the sister from whom the inertia of life had completely separated.
Following the same steps as her, Ren Ishida will look for the same accommodation, a house in which a room was left for her in exchange for the particular care of a relative. He will also occupy the same job position as a teacher.
At times we find vitalism amid hopelessness. The character of Rio, a wayward young woman who will lead Ren through frenzied sensations, will awaken his most vital part. But the void appears as soon as he is alone, waiting for a sister who will never return.
The reunion with the past, the notion of what they lived together…. Little by little the reconstruction of their short life together will also become a way to solve the case of his death.
Among sinister characters who seem to hide the truth with malicious intent, Ren will navigate between the obsession that will involve delving into his past and the emerging lucidity of those memories, of those words and hugs, of the dreams that revisit him, providing unmistakable clues for a Ren that know how to interpret them from your dream reading.
You can now buy the novel Rain Bird, Clarissa Goenawan's debut, here. With a small discount for accesses from this blog, which is always appreciated: