The Devil of Nanking Paperback – January 14, 2014

When English girl Grey was very young she found a book about the Japanese invasion of Nanking. Reading about the atrocities committed there, she found a description of something so terrible she had to ask somebody if it were really true. But nobody would believe her when she told them that she read it and she was labeled 'sick', 'twisted' and 'evil'. And the book vanished, leaving her with no evidence to back up her protests.Ever since then Grey has been obsessed with proving that that atrocity did occur, that she did read about it, and that she is not evil or insane. The story picks up in Tokyo, where Grey's obsession has lead her to an old Chinese university professor who was actually at Nanking, and who may have the only existing video footage of the event. But the professor won't show it to her unless she does something for him in return: get close to a dangerous old Yakuza boss and discover the source of the Chinese folk remedy that is keeping him alive.The Devil of Nanking is a meditation on evil. The (real) atrocities that occurred at Nanking in 1937 were both horrific and unnecessary. Why did they happen? Was it ignorance, or evil, or both? Is there a difference between ignorance and evil? Grey is obsessed with this question, because she has herself done bad things, but out of a childlike ignorance, not out of malice.Grey and the Chinese Professor, Shi Chongming, have both been brutalized by the events of Nanking, although in different ways. Its horror colors everyone it touches, even the society of modern Japan, blissfully ignorant (for the most part) of the horrors their people once perpetrated.Every character in this book has secrets - dark, dark secrets - our two protagonists included. And whether they are evil or just ignorant, the people they are investigating are definitely and unequivocally evil, the kind of evil capable of perpetrating unthinkable crimes: the ancient Yakuza mob boss and his sexually ambiguous Nurse.Probably nothing I have written about this book so far gives you any desire to read it. But this is one of the most well-written books I have read in a long time. To label it 'crime fiction' or 'mystery' or some other genre is to do it a grave disservice. At times it comes closest to horror, although author Mo Hayder seldom rubs our noses in the details. She seems to belong to the school of writers who prefer to let the reader's imagination fill in the details. Depending on how vivid your imagination is, this may be a good or bad thing.Certainly this is not a 'feel good' book. But I found it strangely irresistible. The prose is beautifully written and the story is meticulously paced and plotted. Again, this is one of the best-written books I have read in quite some time.I also think, and I believe that the author would agree, that the historical Rape of Nanking should not be forgotten. The atrocities committed there are on the same level, if not on the same scale, as those of the Holocaust. In a sense, though, they are worse, since no evil dictator or twisted mastermind ordered the Rape of Nanking. It was a disaster without purpose or meaning. But the whole event has been largely buried and forgotten both in Asia and in the Western world.Hayder's almost poetic prose unearths the story as only good fiction can.This book is not for the faint of heart. But it is definitely worth reading.

This isn’t a book I would normally read. It was recommended in a book group and since I lived and worked in Japan for a while I decided to give it a go. This book was an excellent heart breaking read that pulled me in from the very beginning. I devoured this book every free chance I got. It’s an excellent blend of heart break, history, war, love, belonging and mental health wrapped into two colliding stories. And my god do those stories collide. I highly recommend this book and will be following this author now.

I almost never leave reviews and I’ll be honest; at the halfway point of this book I didn’t think I’d be leaving a good review.My ONLY critique is that the first half seems to drag a bit. It’s a very slow build of palpable anticipation, written in beautiful, mature writing. Her writing style is so elegant that I couldn’t give up on the book even though I didn’t feel that it was living up to the “thriller” genre in which it had been categorized.And then- very, very suddenly- it became a terrifying, heart-wrenching, action thriller for the entire second half. I was literally breathless for most of it and fully in tears at the end.Some of the more mundane details that are so eloquently described in the first half become INTEGRAL pieces of the story during the rising action and in the conclusion. Every character and all of their flaws are woven together in an emotional story that will leave you frayed and raw. This story will most certainly stay with me for a very long time.

Although as a (semi-retired) specialist on modern Asian history I have a big interest in fictional depictions of the region, especially Japan, I was reluctant at first to download Mo Hayder's THE DEVIL OF NANKING because other reviewers claimed it was so horrific. But in fact, anyone who is familiar with the history of modern Asia, especially Japan's invasion and ravaging of China, will not be shocked by this novel. For example, there are many accounts of cannibalism practiced by members of the Japanese Imperial Army from diverse, non-fiction sources - not only in China but in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. And much of this cannibalism was not due to starvation conditions but a kind of perverted militarist macho.The characters are vivid: the yakuza chief, Fuyuki, is evil incarnate, as well as his sadistic accomplice The Nurse. The protagonist, Grey, is profoundly broken, but finds redemption of sorts through her tireless search for grim details about the Nanjing Massacre in uneasy partnership with a Chinese professor, Shi Chengming. Then, there is Jason, her creepy "boyfriend." As someone who has lived in Japan for a long time, Hayder's description of Tokyo in the 1990s rings (largely) true. The narrative sustains itself admirably, and builds to a very satisfying climax.The present rightwing government of Japan tries hard to suppress discussion the Nanjing Massacre and other atrocities such as the "comfort women" and Unit 731. If THE DEVIL OF NANKING raises awareness about this history among westerners, it will have served a very good purpose.

A thought provoking dark story.I admit I didn't understand the female protagonist's reason for traveling to Japan and her hunt for the film up until the very end.And I'm still not 100% sold.But it is still a good written book.

El producto llegó en buen estado y antes de lo previsto.Sin embargo, poco tiempo después (cuestión de días) bajó su precio aprox un 30%... lo cual me decepcionó.

it was a very dark yellow pages book....very disappointing!

Unglaubliche Geschichte, die Elemente aus wahren Begebenheiten enthält, die mir gar nicht bekannt waren. So habe ich mein internationales Geschichtswissen wieder weiter ausgebaut.

C'est un livre que je relis sur Kindle quelques années plus tard et Mo Haider on aime ou on n'aime pas, je fais partie des fans du premier jour. Un roman noir a souhait ou le fantastique rejoint l'histoire et ses abominations. Il y a quelques longueurs a mon avis dans les passages sur les événements de Nanjing, mais le livre se dévore d'une traite a l'autre, permettant de découvrir une autre face de l'Asie, entre le Japon et la Chine. Un excellent livre que je recommande, mais âmes sensibles s'abstenir.

I initially read Birdman and the Treatment, and while I enjoyed both, I didn't really find myself as gripped as I thought that I would be. The whole police/whodunnit/serial murderer thing has been done to death (no pun intended!), and while both books WERE very good I longed for a bit more of the extreme from Mo Hayder. I found this in Tokyo. Each and every character in the book is so well developed that you can completely picture what they look like in your head. As I was reading it, it was almost as if a film was playing in my head because the characters are so vivid and interesting. The heroine, Grey, is an endearing character despite her dodgy past and her obsession with Nanking, and you find yourself really routing for her. I also liked the "character" of the Nurse which may sound weird if you have read the book, but I found "her" really terrifying, especially when she visits Jason. Nasty nasty nasty. The book is written in an interesting way in that it is told from two people's perspectives during two different time periods. I enjoyed this writing style and found myself gripped to both storylines. I also liked the way not everything is spelled out to you. There are times when Mo gives you the bare minimum and leaves the reader's mind to run wild, which can be very effective (although perhaps a little frustrating at times). Some people may think that the story is a little far fetched, but I think that this is because it is hard to relate to a place like Tokyo unless you have ever been there (don't get me wrong....I don't really think that the Japanese are all "meat eaters"). I think the fact that Grey's story is located in an unfamiliar city adds to the creepiness and overall horror of this story. All in all, an absolutely brilliant book. Read it NOW!