Naoko is a book by mystery writer Keigo Higahino. Called 秘密 (ひみつ, himitsu, secret) in Japanese, it is the first of his books to appear in English. It received the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1999 and was later adapted into both a Japanese film and nine episode television series. The novel was also the basis for the 2007 Film The Secret.
I picked this book up after catching most of the movie on TV during my trip to Tokyo in December of 2010. I'd heard the movie and series had different endings, but hadn't heard which was closer to the book and was curious to see the original work the film was based on.
Taking place in Japan from 1985 to 1994, the story revolves around the three members of the Sugita family: Heisuke, his wife Naoko, and their daughter Monami, who is in the 6th grade at the start of the story. When Naoko and Monami are involved in a disastrous bus accident, Naoko's consciousness is transferred from her battered corpse into the brain dead body of her daughter. What follows is a very intense examination of the ways in which this complicated situation affects Heisuke and Naoko's lives, both privately and publicly.
The back of the book describes Naoko as a "dark-comedy" but I must confess I never found the situation the characters found themselves in as anything other than tragic. Perhaps my viewing of the film tainted my view of the situation. Heisuke struggles with the notion that he has, in a sense, lost both his wife and daughter despite retaining a piece of each. Naoko likewise has to deal with the challenges of living out her daughter's life while reflecting on the choices she made in her previous one. There are a number of side-stories related to factors contributing to the accident, Heisuke's work, and Naoko's relationship with her family. The parts about the causes behind the accident play out nicely and tie into the main story in a big way whereas the others mostly serve as character development. I don't want to spoil too much about the story, as it holds a few plot twists, but it is consistently good throughout and the short chapter lengths make picking it up and putting it down easy.
I can't comment too much on the translation. I haven't read the original nor am I skilled enough to attempt it. This was a problem for the details of the movie as well. Still, I found a few things stood out. First, I'm not clear why the title was changed. I don't find Naoko to be any more or less important to the story than Heisuke or Monami. Furthermore, the story is told from the perspective of Heisuke. If "secret" was nixed for some association with another product (as is often the case with title changes) I would have preferred something that maintains the neutral, inclusive nature of the title rather than one that singles out a certain character.
There were several times in the book where cultural facts were weaved quite nicely into the story. For instance, Heisuke mentions a shrine where he and Naoko took Monami "for her third, fifth, and seventh birthdays, important childhood milestones in Shinto tradition." It is unclear to me if these kinds of details exist in the original text, as a Japanese reader would likely be as familiar with this notion as we are with the fourth of July, but they are very helpful in explaining some of the more nuanced cultural aspects of the book.
Despite the dreary subject matter, I found this to be a wonderful book. I like the supernatural twist and the layered storytelling that was able to comment on everything from gender relations, working conditions, and the hierarchal nature of Japanese society in a natural way that never became pedantic. Having a better sense of the characters, I want to see the movie again and see if my initial (negative) impression of it has changed. Maybe I can track it and the series down during my upcoming trip. Highly recommended.
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