The Flame of the Blue

Finish reading the novel The Blue Flame (青の炎) by the Japanese writer Yusuke Kishi (貴志祐介). This is probably one of his best. Though generally categorized as an author of thrillers, Mr. Kishi in this novel successfully leads his readers into a juvenile world that is constantly disturbed by an anger with adults, a nebulous sense of justice, and an unbalanced motivation of rush actions. The "blue" in the book title refers both to a heated fire burning with sufficient amount of oxygen and to the wrath of the young that finally triggers the protagonist's action to set up a scheme for a "complete crime" (a flawless crime that will forever remains silent).

The protagonist, to be sure, is not a cold-blood killer. He simply wants to protect his family from the intrusion of his stepfather that has breached, bit by bit, the otherwise happiness of his family life. After his careful design for terminating the man's life and his successful execution of the plan, the young boy, however, is besieged by regret and shame for his killing a person alive before his eyes. Yet he has to continue making another crime plan to cover his tracks that have been followed by one of his friends whose death ensues shortly after. In the end, the young boy chooses to kill himself to protect his family from the cruel inquisition that would have come from media, police, and the whole society if he were arrested and convicted of the crimes he has committed.

The plot is captivating. The protagonist is a round character worth the readers' sympathy and criticism at the same time. His world swinging between determination and hesitation, between strong will and weak heart, between clarity and confusion in thinking, would have no difficulty finding an echo in today's juveniles. A sad story indeed. Yet the whole description of the process from his plan-making to his plan-execution is breath-taking. As a larger social context is strongly suggested therein, the novel gains a depth rarely found in the author's previous novels.

Some reviewers think of this novel as a Japanese version of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. I can't agree more.