Novel set in Japan – Falling From the Floating World – Nick Horan

Submitted: 17th July 2019

A story of Japan – Floating worlds of vice and mystery

Novel set in Japan – Falling From the Floating World – Nick Horan – Man goes to Japan. Meets girl. Girls father is found dead. Could it be murder? Daughter goes to find out. Then she goes missing. That’s just the start. And that’s when this novel really starts and hits its wonderful stride. This is no ordinary murder mystery, search for the truth or anything you’ve ever read before. This is a tapestry of a novel that when you stand back, it’s only then you appreciate the full picture.

That full picture involves a cultural immersion into Japan, past and present. There’s corruption, yakuza gangs, and the infamous floating worlds of sin and fun. That’s the world the man searching for his missing girlfriend falls into…… Down the rabbit hole, when the rabbit hole is a bottomless pit of despair and literary wonderment…..

BookTrail Travel to the locations in Falling From the Floating World

#Bookreview

@thebooktrailer

There’s novels with a sense of place and novels where place is a character. Both are true here and especially the last one. This is a novel about Japan in every sense of its being; the folklore, the red light district ie floating worlds, the yakuza gangs and the language. Not many novels can boast all of these ingredients and more and still have a coherent and interesting plot – but this one can!

A kaleidoscope of colour

It was like looking into a kaleidoscope of colour and seeing the various images, lines, drawings and carvings from yesteryear all at once. That’s the setting. The plot is a visit to the floating worlds of the title and one man’s search for his Japanese girlfriend. He speaks the language and understands the culture so this is not an outsider visiting and getting lost – but a man who hopes to be able to navigate his way through the maze of confusion and ultimately violence.

sweet and sour

If this were an Asian dish, it would be an infusion of sweet and sour – you never know what you’re going to get with your next page turn. Ray gets drawn further and further into the Japanese underbelly and takes you, the reader with him. It’s quite the experience. And if immersion into a violent society can still be lyrical? Then this is it. It’s quite a remarkable read.

Life when you come across a member of the Yakuza gangs is dangerous enough, but when you’re a gaijin – foreigner – it’s worse still. (weird fact – they seem to be semi- legal and have their own offices!) The world of entertainment such as these floating worlds is as horrifying as it is fascinating. Oh and wait until you learn how people here can fall on hard times and become homeless…honour runs deep.

Nick Hurst knows the culture and country like the back of his hand. He’s done some amazing research and conjures up a world of Japanese culture, texture and more. There’s so much to this novel – multilayered and textured – it’s impressive in more ways than one.

This is quite the visit and an immersive experience in Japan