The Japanese noir genre is doubly exotic. Firstly, because of what such a distant culture entails. Secondly, because noir does not have that roots that in this case ends up blending into other types of genres as a complementary aspect rather than as a central node. In other words, crime novels are as little cultivated among Japanese storytellers as borage.
Still, if we think about it, at times Murakami it can bring us closer to the shadows of the wicked but with a touch more existential than merely criminal. Perhaps because death, also always treated as a matter of capital importance in Japan, is morally far from frivolity ...
But hey, that's what the exceptions are for, to stand out to a greater extent when they occur. AND Edogawa Rampo he becomes the writer of the shadows in the land of the rising sun. With distant inspirations brought from Mishima, or other compatriots with an extremely existential touch, and fused in a melting pot together with his approach to the darkest mystery of Poe, if not an even more macabre universe, Ranpo managed to break certain taboos and mark his own path. A very his own space halfway between cultures but revered today given its plot rarity and despite it its open tendency to the criminal covered by touches of mystery and assaulted by a grotesque vision of crime ...
Edogawa Rampo's Top 3 Recommended Novels
The black lizard
Published in 1934, this book is not only one of his most emblematic works, but also a clear example of the figure of the researcher, understood as a great master of deduction and logic, in the line of Poe's Auguste Dupin and the Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle. But Rampo's talent went even further and, under the influence of pulp American, combined the tradition of the genre like no one else with a frenetic action, extreme at times, and always seasoned with a sense of humor that seduced thousands of readers and turned this black in a genuinely popular phenomenon.
The story immerses us in the relentless struggle between two staunch enemies, whose mutual admiration and fascination are an incentive to maintain a non-negotiable rivalry. So, Kogor? Akechi - the immortal character of Rampo, a detective capable of solving any case with his brilliant interpretation of the crime scene and a gift to anticipate the next step of his rivals - must face the perfidious and sensual Madame Midorikawa, quintessential of the fatal woman, nicknamed "Black Lizard" for the spectacular tattoo that he wears on one arm. Midorikawa suffers from the sick need to collect the most beautiful objects on the planet, and when she sets out to get the most precious jewel in Japan, the force that drives her is not so much the desire to satisfy her desire as the opportunity to challenge Akechi and show him that her intelligence is superior to his.
The Cases of Detective Kogoro Akechi
Kogoro Akechi is not only the most popular character to emerge from the inventiveness of Edogawa Rampo, but also the most ubiquitous private investigator in Japanese popular culture. His brilliant wit and extraordinary deductive ability allow him to unravel the most unlikely cases and the most gruesome crimes.
Akechi's gaze always goes beyond appearances and his analytical mind does not overlook the smallest detail, always finding the truth no matter how dark and convoluted it may be. In this compilation of three of his early cases, Akechi faces a murderer who seems to have inexplicably vanished from the crime scene, a ghost suspect who haunts a prominent businessman, and ultimately the most terrible of criminals ...
Rampo. The Perverse Look
It never hurts to approach an author from his stories. Even more so when we have doubts about the comments about the author's blatantly gore delivery. Let's discover Rampo, in those little bits in which he gladly introduces us to the victims on duty ...
Six macabre and criminal fantasies with a morbid, exciting and exquisitely unhealthy flavor. Only for refinedly wicked palates. The Japanese Poe. Can a man become a murderer simply out of boredom? Can a woman become jealous of a doll? Can the disgusting and the grotesque awaken the most insatiable sexual desire?
Edogawa Rampo's stories answer these and many other questions about the darker and murkier side of human nature. A wicked look at the unmistakable world of Rampo, populated by deformed beings, murderous voyeurs, mad scientists, sadistic loves, fatal women and destructive dreams. We invite you to taste six delicious stories of the most twisted, fascinating and sickly cultivator of Japanese ero-guro, a mystery subgenre that combines eroticism with the grotesque and the perverse.
