A Yi

A teenager decides to commit a random murder. He puts together a detailed plan, selects his victim, does the deed and then goes on the run. The rest of the book deals with the ensuing manhunt and the aftermath.

The title of this book suggests a more intriguing idea than the book actually delivers. The plot is pretty pedestrian, and is based around a protagonist that doesn't elicit much sympathy. I was prepared to give this a so-so rating, but the final courtroom scene was just so silly and unrealistic, I downgraded it a star.

I can't recommend this, really.… (meer)

Déroutant, glaçant, perturbant... le sujet de ce roman n'est pas banal : un jeune homme mal dans sa peau tue sa meilleure amie de 37 coups de couteau, puis s'nefuit à travers une partie de la Chine, espérant une sorte de considération de sa famille, du public... c'est raté, d'autant qu'il espérait que tuer lui apporterait une sorte d'extase qu'il n'a pas du tout ressentie. Le jeune homme raconte son crime de façon totalement détachée, et ,ce qui lui arrive lors de sa fuite ne lui apporte rien de bon non plus, il finit par "se rendre" ou plutôt par décider de mettre fin à une expérience... décevante. Traduit du chinois, le style est bien tournée, sec comme il convient avec ce genre de personnage. L'auteur s’explique longuement sur la genèse de ce livre et le nombre d'années qu'il lui a fallu pour l'écrire. C'est une belle découverte.… (meer)

The mystery in this modern Chinese morality tale is not ‘whodunit’. We share the killer’s perspective as he plans and enacts bloody murder and a subsequent escape. No mystery there. Instead, the mystery is ‘whydunit’. Why would a young man choose to obliterate a friendly classmate, effectively ending both their lives in violent cruelty?

This slim novel is far removed from a conventional crime-thriller. Instead it’s an examination of motive, an attempt to understand the incomprehensible collapse of morality in 21st century society.

So, no mystery – but plenty of plot as the youthful killer goes on the run. We share his encounters with the sordid side of small town citizens. His essentially empty internal existence is echoed in the everyday examples of corruption and callousness which he encounters at each turn. Can the system bring him to justice? Who will be held responsible for his crimes? Indeed, who is responsible for his crimes?

It’s deeply unsettling stuff which challenges the standard conventions of the crime genre. You can read ‘A Perfect Crime’ simply at its superficial level, but there’s much more going on in its murky depths. What initially appears to be a psychological investigation into a single sociopath has far broader relevance to China's recent political, societal, familial and economic upheavals. This isn't a book about one unhinged individual: it's a book about a society that's fraying at the seams...

The text does suffer from the odd editing glitch here and there, but these rarely interrupt the flow.

A perfect novel for readers who enjoy explicit, challenging literary fiction. But don’t expect the ending to deliver tidy resolutions – this is a story which provokes many more questions than it answers.

8/10
There's a longer review of this book at:-
https://murdermayhemandmore.wordpress.com/2016/02/22/a-perfect-crime/… (meer)