On Parole;Harvest Book

This book follows a man, Kikutani, after he is paroled after sixteen years for murder. The plot is sparse. Indeed, the first few chapters deal only with Kikutani's parole, his being taken to a department store to reacquaint him with modern life and his landing a low level job. Despite the subdued action, I was absolutely captivated. The author paints Kikutani's inner life so vividly that one can easily place oneself in his position and experience the same feelings of isolation, disorientation and amazement at the changes that have taken place during Kikutani's period of incarceration.The subtle portrait the author paints is such that we can feel the strength of relationships with minor characters even though they are barely described. We feel Kikutani's bond with Igarashi, a man paroled at the same time as Kikutani, even though they know each other for only a couple of days. We also feel the emotional pull of Kikutani's correspondence with Takasaki, who recognizes Kikutani from prison and is fearful of his past being discovered. We understand Kikutani's loss when that correspondence is abruptly cut off, even though neither Kikutani nor the reader ever meets Takasaki except through the letters he has written.More than any book I have read, ON PAROLE makes one consider conflicting questions about criminals. Although I am far from a bleeding heart, even I wondered to what extent are some murderers more sympathetic due to the circumstances surrounding their crimes. Are others partially responsible if their lies lead to someone else committing a crime when the truth up front might have prevented it? Are we all capable of a murderous rage given the right circumstances? If some people are more predisposed to being taken over by an uncontrollable rage, are they more or less responsible for violence they commit? To what degree does prison provide a degree of comfort by removing choice and temptation, especially for a person who may be predisposed towards violence but is ashamed of such tendencies?ON PAROLE makes one consider these questions by presenting them with a very human and likeable face. The reader empathizes with Kikutani and that empathy is then used by the author to project the reader into some uncomfortable areas. Based on this book, I will pick up other books by the same author without hesitation.

The story is simple and the prose chillingly free from embellishment. Shiro Kikutani, a high school teacher in a Tokyo suburb, kills his wife and stabs her lover when he catches them making love. Furious that the lover suffered no more than a wound, he burns down the man's house, inadvertently killing the adulterer's old mother.The two murders result in a sentence of indefinite incarceration. Kikutani is a model prisoner, hardworking and compliant with all the rules. The authorities decide to release him on lifetime parole after 15 years in prison.Time stands still in prison, but not so in Japan. A kindly parole officer guides Kikutani and a fellow parolee though modern Tokyo, where everything has changed in 15 years. Subway ticket purchases are now totally automated. Concrete condos have replaced old neighborhoods. Prices have skyrocketed.Kikutani adjusts beautifully to his rather horrific job at a poultry farm. But being far more comfortable with chickens and flies than with people, he suffers in his attempts at human interaction.This novel raises all sorts of compelling questions about the dark side of human nature, the ability of people to change - and what society can do, if anything, to heal a psyche with a fatal flaw.The artistry of the author is so subtle that the story feels more like real life than fiction. Kikutani, his fellow inmates and the people who try to help him are alive.

Whow what a great book.Yoshimura has wonderful psychological insight.I very much enjoyed his One Man’s Justice.Both of his books remind me of the great psychological insight of authors like:George Eliot – MiddlemarchSomerset Maugham – Moon and Sixpence, Razor’s Edge, and Of Human BondageAlso the lesser known New Grub Street by George Gissing (do not read this book if you are struggling financially right now).

This is a story of a man paroled from an indefinite sentence for a double murder - a man who is driven by fear and revulsion but whose only sense of guilt is in his inability to feel guilt.The novel begins on his first night on parole; it slowly reveals his past, his slow adjustment to the freedom from prison and the burden of life-long parole, his tentative reaching out for relationships with other humans ...The story is well-written in a slow pace that matches the adjustment to a world outside prison quite unlike the world at the time of his imprisonment. The joy of the book is in the details - the seeming heaviness of shoes after years of prison canvas shoes, the steaming miso after years of soup cooled before it reached your cell. Through these details the author provides a psychological novel exploring guilt, redemption, freedom, restriction, social ties ....This book is well worth reading, well worth a thoughtful reading.

This was an easy read. Though most of the action took place within the protagonist's thoughts and feelings, it was still very fast-paced. I sympathized with the main character and his difficulties to blend back into society, and it was quite depressing at times, but the deep meanings and thoughts within the book left me thinking. The main character is a likeable character and I really liked how there was a constant question of whether it was safer in prison than out in society. This book will definitely remain on my shelf for many years to come.

Very well written detailed book. Explores subjects inner thoughts and feelings thoroughly.Plan to read again.

An absolutely riveting read. Once you start it, you'll find it hard to put down, the story of a man serving life in prison for killing his wife and mother-in-law in a fit of jealous rage. Paroled, he slowly begins to resume his life, first by finding a job, then by finding his own place and finally by meeting a woman. And therein lies the tragedy. It's a haunting book that stays with you months after you've read it.

Like all the Yoshimura books I have read, this is brilliant. This guy is Tolstoy.