There is a supremely compelling grace to the opening pages of What’s Left of Me is Yours, the debut novel by Singaporean/British author Stephanie Scott. Set in Tokyo’s recent past and based on a true crime event it augers both a mystery and a tragic love story, revolving around the wakaresaseya or marriage break-up industry which has since escaped its previous underworld associations to become a recognised enterprise in modern-day Japan. The raison-d’etre of the wakaresaseya is simple: for a fee a spouse can hire an agent to seduce their marriage partner with a view to providing legally advantageous ground in subsequent divorce proceedings.

When Kaitaro Nakamura, a wakaresaseya agent, is hired by a man to seduce his wife Rina it seems like just another job. But then Rina and Kaitaro fall in love. Why, then, at the novel’s start is Kaitaro in prison, accused of Rina’s murder? Twenty years after the fact, Rina’s surviving daughter, Sumiko, recently qualified at the Tokyo Bar, decides to find out what really happened.

Whilst the quest for truth and justice is an established theme in literature, Scott’s novel is elevated above the usual by its assiduous attention to both the landscape and anthropology of the culture she chooses to inhabit. It is no accident that Sumiko is a solicitor, for the machinations of the Japanese courts are something which the novel deals with in detail as she fights to make sense not only of her mother’s death, but of the subsequent trial and punishment which ensues. The concept of Justice, however, is a movable feast, and by the end of the novel the reader, along with Sumiko, is forced to question their initial instincts about its morality.

This is a contemplative, rather than a fast-paced novel, with much of its page time dedicated to the evolution of the relationship between Kaitaro and Rina. As much as the genesis of their love affair reveals the fallacy of chance, however, so too are we asked to consider the presence of it in our everyday lives: the accident of a phone call that first sets Sumiko on her quest; the possibility that our soulmate resides in the wrong place at the wrong time in our history; the accident of our birth which determines who and why we marry within the prescription of our culture.

Conversely, however, we are also asked to consider urgent questions about our own agency: the ambiguous boundaries we draw for ourselves when faced with threats to our entitlement, our pride, our freedom; the psychological damage caused by the sense that we have become “forgotten people”.

Even within the canon of Oriental literature this is a unique culture with its own unique traditions and judicial system. People Who Eat Darkness, Richard Lloyd Parry’s account of the Lucie Blackman trial (and which Scott cites as a reference in her acknowledgements) shows us that Japan is a country unlike any other when it comes to laws and expectations.

Indeed, if there is a fault to be found in the novel, it is that Scott does not always wear her considerable (and assiduous) research lightly. Though never less than interesting, her long paragraphs on the topology of Japan, or the intricacies of legalese and the workings of the judicial system sometimes threaten to slow the pace of the story too much, and it would have been preferable to have had these latter passages interwoven into action or dialogue between characters rather than presented introspectively.

If this is a criticism it is a small one, thrown into relief by the beauty of Scott’s writing elsewhere in the novel. There is a balleticism to her prose, the observations of a character captured in moments of movement or stillness that are occasionally breathtakingly visual. Cleverly, these are often the movements that are also captured through the lens of Rina or Kaitaro’s cameras, and which subsequently form the basis of permanent memories, for good or ill in the novel.

Of all the book’s considerable merits, however, what both impressed and captivated me the most was its tone: a resigned sort of stoicism, or sadame, in Japanese, which interestingly Sumiko herself relates towards the end of the novel:
“We have many words for fate. Some are sentimental; others carry energy within them, cycles of luck and choice. The word that occurred to me...was old, archaic even, but the most appropriate: sadame. A resigned fate that must be accepted because it cannot be changed.”

Sadame is here, not only in the impersonal pathology reports and court transcripts, but woven into the lives of the characters themselves, an acceptance of their fate under the strictures of their culture. Anyone who has read Japanese fiction in translation - especially that of Natsuo Kirino - and even the works of Ishiguro - will know what I mean by this. There is a gentle restraint to the surface of the prose which only reveals its simmering frustrations when seen in toto.

Whilst the rest of the novel may not - for me - have entirely lived up to the promise of its staggering opening pages I would still not hesitate to push it into the hands of readers looking for a fresh take on the thriller genre. An intelligent, compelling read and widely deserving of the accolades it has already garnered for Scott who is definitely a writer to watch out for.

In the interests of completeness, I am adding a content warning for one detailed description of homicide. My thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers Orion for kindly providing me with the ARC in return for a fair review.

A wonderful debut and beautifully written book, I will definitely be looking forward to future work by Stephanie Scott, I was impressed by how much research the author had clearly done as this was so informative as well as insightful. The characters are so well developed, the story draws you in and doesn’t let you go, even once it’s finished it stays with you. A very good debut, highly recommended


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This is a brilliantly written debut about family secrets and the power they hold. It was a far more emotional read than I had anticipated, but what I really appreciated about this book is how elegant the writing is. A very promising new writer.

According to synopsis this book was inspired by true crime in Japan, but it's hard to say how much of this fictional story relate to true facts and how much was a pure fiction.

However it is very insightful and detailed debut novel and author had done an amazing job on her research. I always found Japanese culture fascinating and interesting and this book was a real treat for me with all these cultural facts and stories about Japanese way of living.

The story is told from the multiple POV's which I don't particularly like in the books, but Stephanie Scott done a great job in writing the story this way because it allowed the reader to see different perspectives to the events that happened to the characters and the depth of affect it had on each of them, which I thought gave a story an extra layer of emotions and feelings. I didn't like the story been told in a mixture of past and present perspectives, while it wasn't overly difficult to understand whether it was a present or a past, I found it a bit distracting and annoying as it always took several minutes to figure out what was what. I think the simply writing present (now) or past (then) beside the each paragraph title could've helped to avoid that confusion and increase the enjoyment of the story.

Overall this is a beautifully told family story, dramatic, shocking and unfortunately sad. I cannot understand why one of the main character's had to do what he's done and until the very last moment I was hoping there was going to be a mistake or some sort of self-sacrifice action but unfortunately I was wrong. I don't feel that his actions suited his protagonist's character at all. I found him caring and loving and not at all the way the author pictured him at the culmination of the events. But again this is inspired by true crime and maybe this is how it happened in real life and author decided to leave it the same way in her novel. If this part was complete fiction then I'm not a fan of it because in I my personal opinion that particular character's personality wasn't developed properly.

If you like cultural fiction, if mystery and crime is your story to go to I'm sure you would enjoy this book.

I'm rating this story 4* because:
* author done an enormous research work writing this book and I could feel that throughout the book
* this is my first ever crime/thriller/mystery type of story I read and I don't have any other similar stories to compare it to to make my fair judgement
* I didn't particularly liked the ending
* author has a beautiful story telling and writing skills that was

This was a truly standout debut for me, with a story which immersed me at a time when I had a lot of difficult things going on in my own life (some thematically related too, so it could have been unbearable!). It’s definitely more literary mystery than thriller but the gentler pace is effective in allowing the reader to savour some exquisite writing and exposure to a culture most readers won’t be familiar with - the writer clearly is. It’s a desperately sad story but my empathy with Sumiko kept me onside.

This book had an amazing cover that drew me in, and it wasn't disappointing. It's a very well written story of the familiar plot line centered around the consequences of passion and family secrets.
I think the spotlight of this book is really the writing. The characters are well drawn, the plot is paced well, and the writer managed to awaken emotions in me.
I'd recommend it.

Thanks a lot NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

What's Left of Me is Yours, Stephanie Scott

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: General Fiction (Adult)

What a haunting read, an uncomfortable subject, an unimaginable tragedy for all concerned. Its told in alternating time spans, and that allowed me to really get to know the characters. Of course the Japanese legal system is different too, and it was interesting seeing the whole culture and legal ramifications of the events as they happened.
I didn't think I'd like this when it started, it felt slightly stilted by I was soon pulled into the story and it felt so incredibly real. Who was to blame for what happened? Everyone I guess except for Sumiko. Its hard to read a story where love has such tragic actions, and greed can be manipulated in that way. I was desperately hoping that maybe, just maybe, there'd been a mistake, that events weren't as they seemed by no, sadly there was no happy ending, just a beautiful and tragic love story, that ended hurting so many.

Its not a story I would reread I don't think. At least not for some time, but beautifully written and one I'm glad I chose. The sorrow from the events will stay with me for a long time I think, showing what flawed characters we humans are. Things could have been so different if only.....

Stars: 5. An amazing, tragic read, so full of emotion but where there's no happy ending, just shadows of an unimaginable love.

Arc via Netgalley

This is a beautifully written but rather slight novel about the consequences of passion and long-held family secrets. What lifts it above many books in the same space is the elegant precision of the writing, and the insight into modern Japanese culture. The structure of a daughter reconstructing her mother's life is very familiar, but the relationship at the heart of the book is rendered with a visceral sense of bodies. Nicely done but not a book to linger once read: 3.5 stars.