The Last Train - Couverture souple

Pronko, Michael

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1942410123 ISBN 13 : 9781942410126

Editeur : Raked Gravel Press, 2017

Synopsis

THE LAST TRAIN is the gripping new Tokyo-based mystery by multi-award-winning author Michael Pronko

Detective Hiroshi Shimizu investigates white collar crime inTokyo. He's lost his girlfriend and still dreams of his time studying inAmerica, but with a stable job, his own office and a half-empty apartment, he'ssettled in.

When an American businessman turns up dead, his mentorTakamatsu calls him out to the site of a grisly murder. A glimpse from asecurity camera video suggests the killer was a woman, but in Japan, that seemsunlikely. Hiroshi quickly learns how close homicide and suicide can appear in acity full of high-speed trains just a step--or a push--away.

Takamatsu drags Hiroshi out to the hostess clubs andskyscraper offices of Tokyo in search of the killer. She's trying to escape Japanfor a new life by playing a high-stakes game of insider information. To findher, Hiroshi goes deeper and deeper into Tokyo's intricate, ominous market forbuying and selling the most expensive land in the world.

When Takamatsu inexplicably disappears, Hiroshi teams upwith ex-sumo wrestler Sakaguchi. They scour Tokyo's sacred temples, corporateoffices and industrial wastelands to find out where Takamatsu went, and why onewoman would be driven to murder when she seems to have it all.

After years in America and lost in neat, clean spreadsheets,Hiroshi confronts the stark realities of the biggest city in the world, where insideinformation can travel in a flash from the top investment firms to the bottomof the working world, where street-level punks and teenage hostesses sell theirsouls for a small cut of highly lucrative land deals.

Hiroshi's determined to cut through Japan's ambiguities--anddangers--to find the murdering ex-hostess before she extracts her finalrevenge--which just might be him.

PRAISE FOR PRONKO’S THREE AWARD-WINNING ESSAY COLLECTIONS

“An elegantly written, precisely observed portrait of a Japanese city and its culture.” Kirkus Reviews

“A rare glimpse of the structure and nature of Tokyo’s underlying psyche.” Midwest Book Review

“An insightful author capable of seeing a deeper beauty in everything he writes.” SPR Review

“An insider’s view of what life is really like in this pulsing, densely populated Asian metropolis.” Luxury Reading

“A memoir to be savored like a fine red wine, crafted with supreme care by a man who clearly has fallen in love with his adopted city.” Publishers Daily Reviews

“A terrific series of essays that captures the essence and allure of Tokyo with a lot of heart infused in the work.” Feathered Quill

“Pronko’s essays are engaging for how they capture the atmosphere and culture of the city.” Independent Publisher

“His book sparkles and succeeds as a love letter of sorts to Tokyo. The author’s writing is a joy to read, with wonderful phrasing and vivid descriptions.” OnlineBookClub

“These pieces feel flowing and natural, perhaps because many arose simply from walking around, people-watching.” Bookbag

“Each of his essays brought me closer and closer to an appreciation of the complex and complicated place Tokyo is, and the lifestyles of those who call it home.” Reader’s Favorite

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Michael Pronko has lived in Tokyo for twenty years, but was born in Kansas City, a very different world. After graduating from Brown University in philosophy, he hit the road, traveling around the world for two years working odd jobs. He went back to school for a Master's in Education, and then took a teaching position in Beijing. For two years, he taught English, traveled China and wrote.

After more traveling and two more degrees, another M.A. in Comparative Literature in Madison, Wisconsin and a PhD in English at the University of Kent at Canterbury, he finally settled in Tokyo as a professor of American Literature at Meiji Gakuin University. His seminars focus on contemporary novels and film adaptations, and he teaches other classes in American indie film and American music and art.

Pronko has published three award-winning collections of essays: Motions and Moments: More Essays on Tokyo (Raked Gravel Press 2015), Tokyo's Mystery Deepens (Raked Gravel Press 2014), and Beauty and Chaos: Essays on Tokyo (Raked Gravel Press 2014).

He has published books in Japanese and two textbooks in both English and Japanese. Over the years in Tokyo, he has written regular columns for many publications: The Japan Times, Newsweek Japan, Jazznin, ST Shukan, Jazz Colo[u]rs, and Artscape Japan. He runs his own website Jazz in Japan (jazzinjapan.com). He also continues to publish academic articles and helps run a conference on teaching literature.

More at:
michaelpronko.com
facebook.com/pronkoauthor
@pronkomichael

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Raked Gravel Press
• Date d'édition: 2017
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1942410123
• ISBN 13: 9781942410126
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 348
• Coordonnées du fabricant: Manufactured by Amazon on behalf of the author; https://www.amazon.fr/hz/contact-us; ; c/o Amazon Media EU S.à.r.l., 38 Avenue John F. Kennedy; Luxembourg; L-1855; Luxembourg