- Paperback: 440 pages
- Publisher: Doubleday (Sep 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0385485522
- ISBN-13: 978-0385485524
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.5 x 4.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,254,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The New York Times called Peter Tasker's first thriller, Silent Thunder, "pure entertainment" that "pulls out all the fictional stops yet does so convincingly." With Buddha Kiss, Tasker takes his sophisticated brand of suspense to a whole new level.
Richard Mitchell used quick wits and a degree in Japanese Studies to turn his job as a bike messenger in central London into a position as securities analyst in Tokyo. Those wits should help make him a financial whiz-kid -if his career isn't ruined first by his having to recommend the underwriting of a run-down company at the insistence of his new boss, Yazawa, a strange, mercurial man who seemed to appear out of the blue three months ago. Meanwhile, Kazuo Mori, a maverick private eye in the world's most conformist society, is trying to retain his independence as he investigates the murder of a friend's daughter. His inquiries seem to be leading him toward the radical Peace Technology cult-it's just that any time he makes progress, somebody tries to kill him.
These are minor tremors from a disruption deep in Japan's unstable structure, a disruption so deep-from huge financial fraud to the narcotic ambitions of a religious zealot-so lethally crazy and so diabolically organized, it will destroy and reshape worlds.
Buddha Kiss is a superlative thriller with echoes of the Kobe earthquake, the Nick Leeson/Barings scandal, and the Tokyo subway gas attacks-though it was, uncannily, written before any of these stories made news. Gritty, fast-paced, filled with unique characters, and absolutely sizzling with the oddities and obsessions of Tokyo life, Buddha Kiss is a vivid journey to the complex heart of Japan
Richard Mitchell used quick wits and a degree in Japanese Studies to turn his job as a bike messenger in central London into a position as securities analyst in Tokyo. Those wits should help make him a financial whiz-kid -if his career isn't ruined first by his having to recommend the underwriting of a run-down company at the insistence of his new boss, Yazawa, a strange, mercurial man who seemed to appear out of the blue three months ago. Meanwhile, Kazuo Mori, a maverick private eye in the world's most conformist society, is trying to retain his independence as he investigates the murder of a friend's daughter. His inquiries seem to be leading him toward the radical Peace Technology cult-it's just that any time he makes progress, somebody tries to kill him.
These are minor tremors from a disruption deep in Japan's unstable structure, a disruption so deep-from huge financial fraud to the narcotic ambitions of a religious zealot-so lethally crazy and so diabolically organized, it will destroy and reshape worlds.
Buddha Kiss is a superlative thriller with echoes of the Kobe earthquake, the Nick Leeson/Barings scandal, and the Tokyo subway gas attacks-though it was, uncannily, written before any of these stories made news. Gritty, fast-paced, filled with unique characters, and absolutely sizzling with the oddities and obsessions of Tokyo life, Buddha Kiss is a vivid journey to the complex heart of Japan
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
The Japanese Tourist Board are unlikely to use Peter Tasker's `Buddha Kiss' as suggested reading for people thinking of visiting their country. The novel paints the land as one peculiar place full of weird mind games, murderers and cults. That may not seem like the recipe for a good holiday, but it sure sound right for a crime novel. So where does it all go wrong?
For one thing `Buddha Kiss' is far too long. At least 100 pages could have been edited from the book and done no harm to the storyline, just improved the pace of the book. Tasker also fails to combine the different main characters. Mostly told from the PoV of an investment banker and a PI, the two threads are separate until the end. This should not be an issue if you can see the threads moving closer, but you do not. Instead they crash into one another in a haphazard way that is very unsatisfying. A final issue is with the icky nature of the book; some of the scenes are not only weird, but creepy too. Tasker paints Japan as a rather strange and unsavoury place that has little respect for women in particular.
There are moments in the book that are very interesting. Tasker obviously lived as a foreigner in Japan as the way the British banker acts with the local Japanese people rings very true. Also some of the asides into Japanese culture are more compelling than the rather lacklustre crime story. The issue is that all the good stuff is lost in an overly long book; a more punchy narrative could have had all the great Japanese elements, but moved along at a far better pace. In the end the book becomes a chore to read.
For one thing `Buddha Kiss' is far too long. At least 100 pages could have been edited from the book and done no harm to the storyline, just improved the pace of the book. Tasker also fails to combine the different main characters. Mostly told from the PoV of an investment banker and a PI, the two threads are separate until the end. This should not be an issue if you can see the threads moving closer, but you do not. Instead they crash into one another in a haphazard way that is very unsatisfying. A final issue is with the icky nature of the book; some of the scenes are not only weird, but creepy too. Tasker paints Japan as a rather strange and unsavoury place that has little respect for women in particular.
There are moments in the book that are very interesting. Tasker obviously lived as a foreigner in Japan as the way the British banker acts with the local Japanese people rings very true. Also some of the asides into Japanese culture are more compelling than the rather lacklustre crime story. The issue is that all the good stuff is lost in an overly long book; a more punchy narrative could have had all the great Japanese elements, but moved along at a far better pace. In the end the book becomes a chore to read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
8 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Exciting Japanese Thriller
5 Feb 2003
Format:Paperback
I really enjoyed this book! It was tough at the beginning (getting used to the Japanese character names and organizing who is who) but once I got that figured out it was terrific. I have read only one other book based in Japan and ironically my husband was reading it ("Memoirs of a Geisha") at the same time I was ready this one. Wow, are they different! This is a great thriller with twists, turns and a story line that is new and fresh. It also gives you a look into current day Japan from the point of view of a "foreigner". The dialogue is so good and really made me feel like I was there and getting a real flavor for how the Japanese communicate with each other. I can't wait to read "Silent Thunder" and "Samarai Boogie" both of which I understand use the Mori private eye character again.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A modern day "Shogun".
21 Oct 1997
Format:Paperback
Tasker takes the reader to the heart of Japanese society known to few foreigners. From the inner sanctums of Shinto lore to the sleazy bath houses, one reads about the entire spectrum of modern day Japan through two wonderful and memorable characters, Mori and Mitchell. The perfect New-York to Tokyo plane book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
This is NOT "Memoirs of a Geisha"!
3 Sep 2002
Format:Paperback
I was a bit confused for the first couple of chapters of this galloping mystery, but then I realized that the principal characters were confused, too. There are three main proponents: Richard Mitchell, semi-novice financier from Yorkshire who has relocated to Tokyo to seek his fortune, Kazuo Mori, hard-boiled private detective (or "economic and social researcher"), who takes on a case involing the mysterious death of and old friend's daughter, and Tamura, assistant manager of one of the most important branches of one of Japan's most important banks, who wakes to find himself in a love hotel with the corpse of an attractive young woman. There are several memorable nemesises, too: Yazawa, the financial whiz-kid who drives Mitchell on with his unpredictable style, Ono, founder and godhead of a new cult, who seems to be behind the deaths of several of his female followers, and "Snowbird," a warped but very professional yakuza. As the several threads begin to draw closer together, and as you begin to discern what the real threats are, you'll find yourself staying up late to finish the book. Tasker is himself an English financier resident in Japan, and he writes with authoritative knowledge of both those worlds, so the story resonates with verisimilitude. Nor was I distracted by the "foreignness" of the world the author, and the characters, so ably move in.
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