"The Buoyancy of Death": The tenderness of the struggle between life and death

"The Accuracy of Death" was adapted into the movie "Sweet Rain", with Takeshi Kaneshiro playing the role of Death. He brought Death to life. From then on, when reading this novel, the handsome Death looks more vivid.

"Death's Accuracy" consists of six short stories, describing the six stories of Chiba, the god of death, coming to the world to investigate whether a specific object should die. Isaka designed a cute character of the god of death, and then put the god of death into different "movies". Suspense movies, gangster movies, romance movies, road movies, etc.

Eight years later, Death returns, this time in a novel, "The Buoyancy of Death" brings readers an extraordinary story of revenge. Because of the length of the book, the image of Chiba, the god of death, is more prominent and cuter, and the greatest appeal of this book comes from this god of death.

"The Buoyancy of Death" tells the story of a couple seeking revenge for the tragic death of their daughter. Many writers have written novels about revenge for their children, such as Keigo Higashino's "The Wandering Blade" which I have read before, Miyuki Miyabe's "Snake Hunt", Kanae Minato's "Confession", and even Isaka's work that I just finished reading "Ladybird" has similar plots, especially the villains in "Ladybird" and "The Buoyancy of Death" are demons who enjoy controlling other people's lives and possess pure evil.

Although the revenge story itself is not new, Isaka's inclusion of the character of Death in "The Buoyancy of Death" immediately adds great interest to the revenge story. It is no longer a simple question of whether or how to take revenge. Death's "participation" and "non-participation" make the process constantly variable, and the development is always unexpected, and there are often even surprising developments. The suspense is no longer limited to the process of revenge, but also how the God of Death decides the life and death of the avenger and the target of revenge (both the avenger and the target of revenge are targeted by Death).

The God of Death goes to the human world to conduct a week-long investigation based on the objects assigned by the Investigation Department, and decides whether the object of investigation should be "accepted" (death) or "released" (life). In order to conduct the investigation, the God of Death will try to get as close as possible to the object of investigation, so the God of Death and The subjects of the investigation join together on a seven-day journey of revenge.

In the eyes of the God of Death, revenge may not mean anything, but for the parents whose daughter died in vain, revenge is the biggest purpose of survival. Most human beings are influenced by their emotions. What basis does the God of Death use to judge human life and death? Who but the God of Death can decide who deserves to die and who doesn’t?

Revenge novels are inevitably heavy, but in "The Buoyancy of Death", Death's indifference to life and death dilutes the intensity of hatred, and there is no sense of heaviness in reading. Instead, interspersed with the inexperienced Death, it brings jokes from time to time, allowing readers to read from time to time. Another way to think about death and hatred. In the struggle between life and death, the emotionless Death brings a gentle soothing effect. The appearance of the God of Death made the couple smile again after losing their daughter for a year. This is probably a development that even the God of Death did not expect.

The whole book "The Buoyancy of Death" takes place in seven days, and it is very addictive to read. I couldn't breathe after reading it. Although the Isaka-style foreshadowing this time is not as breathtaking as the previous work, the humorous writing, unexpected plots, and interesting characters are still unique. Even when writing about death and revenge, there is still warmth. This is probably Isaka-style. Gentle.

Have you watched "Death's Precision"? You can also watch "Death's Buoyancy". After watching "Death's Buoyancy", I wanted to go back and watch "Death's Precision" again and have another date with Death.

(The following content includes the ending)

The fate of the villain in "The Buoyancy of Death" is of course a matter of concern to readers. When I knew that Death decided to let the villain go, I always wondered whether the ending would be like the movie "The Secret in Their Eyes" What about that? However, Isaka's writing goes even further, which is absolutely satisfying. It’s incredible, but whatever, I just love this absurdity. If anyone thinks that the description of the prince's fate in "Ladybird" is not pleasant enough, then read this book and you will be satisfied.

Title: "The Buoyancy of Death"

Author: Kotaro Isaka

Translator: Li Yanhua

Published by: Dubu Culture

2014/7/31

Purchase e-book: https://moo.im/a/4adptE

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