(April 20th, 2016) “A sensual and cruel initiatory journey into Tokyo’s depth” These are the words chosen by the former Consul in Osaka to define “Doromizu – turbid water “(Mondadori – Blue Roads, 372 pages). After less than two months from its release in bookstores, Mondadori announced the reprint of the book: a Japanese noir novel by the diplomat Mario Vattani. The success was accompanied by the critics’ praise both for the issues addressed and the style adopted. This is an important result for Vattani’s first book, which is set in a noir and declining Tokyo at the beginning of the millennium. The protagonist is a penniless twenty-five years old Italian, who has been living in the Japanese capital for two years thanks to a student visa. He is motherless since he was a child and he grew up in London aspiring to become a filmmaker. Alex has a maniac relationship with Japan, which he lives through cinema, women, and the long and painful irezumi, the traditional tattooing technique. A series of coincidences plunge him into a downward spiral, a descent into the underworld towards the most immoral and dark places of the Japanese capital, endangering what he holds most dear. Vattani deals with a dark and mysterious megalopolis, described through the eyes of its young protagonist, with a plot full of twists, that captivates the reader until the last page. The inspiration for the book came from the imaginary of the films by Kenji Mizoguchi, Tadashi Imai, Yasujiro Ozu, and from the stories by the Japanese writer Ichiyō Higuchi. The same title “Turbid Water” recalls her famous story Nigori-e. Doromizu is not just a Japanese novel, it is a story that speaks about freedom and passion with a deep sense of humanity; and they are human also the archetypes represented by the characters. In the background another subject dear to Japanese literature, and that today fascinates many Italians: the pleasure of food and its narrative. (Red)
