Reviewed by Sin - Popular Hits of the Showa Era

POPULAR HITS OF THE SHOWA ERA
by Ryu Murakami
Amazon link


"Popular Hits of the Show Era" is about unlikable people doing horrible things to each other. It is also one of the funniest novels I have ever read. Written by Ryu Murakami, of "Almost Transparent Blue" and "The Audition" fame, it tells the story of two groups of people: six young men and six older women. The young men have no lives, outside of peeping and karaoke, and the women aren't any better. There wouldn't be much to say about their lives worth reading if they hadn't started killing each other.

It starts on an impulse. One of the young men, armed with a hard-on and no common sense, kills one of the women. Rather than go to the police, her friends discuss a course of action amongst themselves. Soon there's another dead body, and another murder being plotted. Hilarity, and more murder, ensue as Murakami gets inside each character's head and shows you that even the biggest losers can become heros - if only in their own minds. Set against the backdrop of Tokyo, Japan, this is a comedy for everyone with a dark sense of humor.