A Man

By: Keiichiro Hirano, Eli K. P. William - translator

Narrated by: Brian Nishii

A man follows another man's trail of lies in a compelling psychological story about the search for identity, by Japan's award-winning literary sensation Keiichiro Hirano in his first novel to be translated into English.

Akira Kido is a divorce attorney whose own marriage is in danger of being destroyed by emotional disconnect. With a midlife crisis looming, Kido's life is upended by the reemergence of a former client, Rié Takemoto. She wants Kido to investigate a dead man - her recently deceased husband, Daisuké. Upon his death she discovered that he’d been living a lie. His name, his past, his entire identity belonged to someone else, a total stranger. The investigation draws Kido into two intriguing mysteries: finding out who Rié's husband really was and discovering more about the man he pretended to be. Soon, with each new revelation, Kido will come to share the obsession with - and the lure of - erasing one life to create a new one.

In A Man, winner of Japan’s prestigious Yomiuri Prize for Literature, Keiichiro Hirano explores the search for identity, the ambiguity of memory, the legacies with which we live and die, and the reconciliation of who you hoped to be with who you’ve actually become.

©2018 Keiichiro Hirano. Translation © 2020 by Eli K. P. William. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Superb, delightful complex storytelling

This is my first novel translated from the original Japanese. At first, I wasn't sure where the narrator was leading me into as we "walked into a bar". Eavesdropping? Snooping? Hirano has a way of drawing us in into the characters of this story and weaving them into an amazing tale of perception, identity, self-doubts, dreams, and redemption. But it's more than that. It's more than that. It has art, architecture, literature, jazz, social commentary, history lessons, family feuds, inner struggles, late-night reflexions, thoughtful side-note vignettes... Very enjoyable, a delight to read.

Difficult

This book is extremely well written. I could “see” the characters and their surroundings and feel the confusion of the main character. But, whether it is my pitiful ignorance of the Japanese and Korean history/culture or the ambiguity of his feelings…. I just could not understand his conflict or the point of the situation. Probably my fault.
The narrator is TERRIFIC! I saw, in browsing books, his name pop up somewhere and considered acquiring that book just for his reading - although the title/subject did not interest me. I cannot even remember the book. I highly recommend him as a reader.

WTF... it's so good

I love this story so much. The narrator was also top notch.
I'm recommending this to everyone I know

Great story

Interesting philosophical questions posed. I enjoyed the premise and the way the author accessed important moral dilemmas we all face.

Intriguing

This is my first book by Japanese writer in English translation. Audible narrator does good job pronouncing Japanese names and places naturally.

A Somebody was Once a Nobody...

A Man by Keichiro Hirano exceeded my expectations. The title is a deceptively simple choice for such a complex and heartfelt work. I would have given this book five stars except that the author veers too often onto a soapbox, which causes a loss of focus and slightly reduces the overall impact of the story. That said, the writing is very strong and its many layers are fascinating and compelling. The narration performance by Brian Nishii is strong and supports and enriches the material very well. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in modern life in Japan and how Buddhism and other spiritual practices and beliefs impact it.

Interesting story, good narration

This was an interesting story, somewhat hard to relate to if you don't understand Japanese culture and the pressures to conform and be accepted by society.

I enjoyed it a lot

Wow! I was entertained all over the story, though it has its lows and a few details that didn't make sense. It's beautifully written and I connected with the story. I also appreciate the good performance.

the writers style was so elegant and intelligent

disliked the ending with the potential cheating by Kyori but we were warned
I learned a lot about the Japanese way

Sutil

Poetic . Philosophical. Beautifully written. Entreating cinematographic description . Contemplative. sincere out pour of emotions
Highly recommend