| Kenzo
Kitakata, Japan’s undisputed don of hard-boiled and mystery
writing, has never had any of his more than one hundred novels
go out of print. Ashes, his brilliant portrait of an
opinionated, irritable, shrewd, and lonely yakuza, and
Kitakata’s first work to appear in English, is considered
his masterpiece. Full of originality, and a prime example of Kitakata’s
honed style and marvelous eye for detail, Ashes has recently
been a “VLS Beach Read” for The Village Voice and
a Book Sense 76 selection.
Tanaka, the novel’s hero, is a middle-aged yakuza.
Once regarded as the heir to his gang’s aging boss, he has
fallen out of favor and appears stuck as the head of one of the
gang’s sub-branches. Tanaka is not your typical gangster,
though. Not obsessed with expensive suits, jewelry, or prize women,
he is a convincing and heartbreaking study in memory and ambition.
 Filmmakers
have cinematized many of Kitakata’s incisive works, including
Ashes. One of Japan's most popular and revered novelists,
and a past president of the Japan Mystery Writers Association,
Kitakata's stature is also evident from the dozen literary prize
committees on which he sits. He lives in Kawasaki, Japan, near
Yokohama.
Kitakata is recently the recipient of the Eiji Yoshikawa Award,
given to revered veteran entertainment authors. |
“Discovering
this book -- the author's first work to appear in English -- is
to find a real gem…This story about a midlevel Japanese
yakuza (mafia) soldier going through a midlife crisis
showcases Kitakata's dialogue and descriptions, but especially
the cunning thought processes of the protagonist.”
--Bob Spear, BookSense
“Best enjoyed in a dimly lit, smoky room with a
glass of whisky on the rocks close at hand…Kitakata has
crafted a complex and contradictory character in Tanaka.”
--Daily Yomiuri
One of Las Vegas Mercury's Best 10 Novels of
2003!
"Structurally spare and brilliantly contradictory
perspectives on an aging yakuza; a refreshing crime novel from
a notable Japanese author."
--John Ziebell, LVM
“Male brutality suffuses Kenzo Kitakata’s portrait
of a middle-aged gangster in Ashes. Like Tony Soprano…this
man, whose name is Tanaka, attracts our interest and sometimes
our sympathy.” --The Globe and Mail
“Superbly translated into English by Emi Shimokawa,
Ashes is a gritty, hard-boiled mystery…Ashes depicts
yakuza life with a unique understanding and edge-of-your seat
reality.” --Midwest Book Review
“Kitakata…has stepped outside of genre fiction
to write this absorbing character study, part Spillane, part Dostoevsky,
but always hard-boiled.”
--Hackwriters.com
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