At this time, words cannot express our deepest apologies for the grave concern we have caused our shareholders, our clients and customers, and of course the public as well. Centered around an extortion case involving a beer company, Lady Joker would ordinarily be categorized in the crime or mystery novel genre, yet the book deserves to be called an exemplary literary work that depicts contemporary society . . . A magnum opus . . . It requires extraordinary skill to fully depict the ambivalence of Japanese society, in all its detail. Reading Lady Joker together with James Ellroy’s American Tabloid and the drama behind the Kennedy assassination serves as an intriguing comparison. Viewing a society through the lens of a crime is like examining a disease or a corpse to get at the person: it exposes the foundations of human existence.” Noguchi is a burakumin, from Japan's 'untouchable' community, born in: "a buraku village, one of the segregated areas where members of feudal outcast communities still lived". Admirers of intricate crime fiction, which both engages the intellect and offers insights into the hidden parts of a society, will hope for further translations of this gifted author’s work.” Translated by Allison Markin Powell and Marie Iida — Lady Joker, Kaoru Takamura’s 1997 epic and the first of her novels to be translated into English, is part crime fiction and part social commentary. The publication in Japan came at a turning point in the author’s career, moving from crime fiction to literary fiction. Lady Joker is so large in scale that it required two translators, and has been published in two volumes, with the second due in 2022. It’s epic.

With a host of slots that are guaranteed to make old-timers of slot gaming nostalgic, Amatic has tried to capture a good part of slot gaming community in a solid grip. Sound effects used here admittedly leave us wanting for something better. But that rarely messes up the gameplay, and hence, we would rather choose to pay much attention to it (you can always hit the mute button, you know!). All You Need to Know Among the most striking scenes in the novel is that of one of the company's press conferences, shortly after Hinode president Shiroyama has been freed by the kidnappers, with two executives: "bowing so deeply that their foreheads almost touched the desk", their statement about the crime and its resolution then going so far as to say:

To have only the first half of a crime story may seem like a cruel tease, and readers may be tempted to wait out the year until the conclusion is available as well, but, as noted, Lady Joker is anything but your usual mystery.

Eventually' is the operative word here: if they come across as somewhat beaten down and frustrated -- some more than others -- they're not thinking anything of the criminal sort here yet.

Joker in the Pack

This book is also about Japanese corporate culture and how boardroom politeness and ass-kissing and ass-covering inaction result in tragedies such as suicide, murder, and organized crime ties! Sounds like a great book for me and all my people on Goodreads! It's the first book I've read in a long time without a single non-cis-male main character. Takamura's female characters are wives, secretaries, nieces, daughters and they have no point of view of their own in her telling of the story. She seems deeply fascinating by a society made by, run by and destroyed by men and men only. Challenging but rewarding, Lady Joker is a panoramic view of late 20th-century Japanese society, rife with social injustice and corporate corruption: a fascinating slow burn of a book, detailed, complex and immersive." - Laura Wilson, The Guardian Volume I closes with Goda beginning his assignment, arriving early at Shiroyama's home -- just after Shiroyama received the message with the kidnapper's true demands.