六人の嘘つきな大学生
(Roku-nin no Uso-tsukina Daigakusei)
by 浅倉 秋成 (Akinari Asakura)
Author: 浅倉 秋成 (Akinari Asakura)
Japanese Level: Advanced (JLPT N1)
Genre: Mystery, work drama
Pages: 368
Bookwalker Japan: 六人の嘘つきな大学生
Japanese Summary
成長著しいIT企業「スピラリンクス」が初めて行う新卒採用。最終選考に残った六人の就活生に与えられた課題は、一カ月後までにチームを作り上げ、ディスカッションをするというものだった。
全員で内定を得るため、波多野祥吾は五人の学生と交流を深めていくが、本番直前に課題の変更が通達される。それは、「六人の中から一人の内定者を決める」こと。仲間だったはずの六人は、ひとつの席を奪い合うライバルになった。
内定を賭けた議論が進む中、六通の封筒が発見される。個人名が書かれた封筒を空けると「●●は人殺し」だという告発文が入っていた。彼ら六人の嘘と罪とは。そして「犯人」の目的とは――。
English Summary (translation by Japanese Talk Online)
The quick to grow IT company Spira Link is accepting their first new graduates to the company. The six remaining candidates are assigned to work together to make a team the month leading to the job offer and are invited to a discussion at the company.
Shogo Hatano is working with his fellow candidates so they can all receive a job offer to the company, but there’s a change in plans just before the discussion is meant to happen. “Only one person from the remaining six will receive the job offer.” The six supposed colleagues quickly turn into rivals.
As they sit down to discuss who will get the job offer, they find envelopes with their names written on them. When one opens their envelope a message inside reads “OOO is a murderer.” Each of the six candidates lies and sins are revealed. But what it the culprits true goal?
Why You Should Read 六人の嘘つきな大学生 (Roku-nin no Uso-tsukina Daigakusei)
This is a great novel for mystery lovers who are looking for something a little different from regular Japanese mysteries.
The story follows six soon-to-be graduates as they debate who should be given the job offer to a newly prestigious IT company. But there’s a twist when their deepest, darkest secrets are revealed one by one through envelopes left on the meeting room table with the company watching.
The story then focuses on the discussions between all members. Why is this happening? What does each secret mean? Who put the envelopes there? Why would they do this?
This mystery is actually wrapped up half way through the story, and there’s a sudden shift from a fast-paced mystery to a slow burning introspective look at events in the second half. The shift in tone can be very jarring and I know a lot of Japanese learners didn’t like it. Specifically that the culprit reveal felt like it fell flat.
But the second half also has a lot of twists and turns and I really enjoyed it in the end.
Why Japanese Learners Should Read 六人の嘘つきな大学生 (Roku-nin no Uso-tsukina Daigakusei)
This is a great novel for more advanced language presented in an entertaining manner. Because the first section of the book focuses on 就活 (shuukatsu), the practice of finding a job in your last year of university, there’s a lot of work related and business vocabulary.
The sentences can be quite long and convoluted, with dense descriptions, making it a challenging read for intermediate level readers. There’s a lot of N1 grammar in the latter half of the book, which is great for people studying for the exam.
Summary
六人の嘘つきな大学生 (Roku-nin no Uso-tsukina Daigakusei) is an interesting mystery that’s split into two related stories. The first half begins as a fast-paced drama focused discussion, while the second is a slower introspective look at the issues surrounding 就活 (shuukatsu). The switch half-way through can be quite jarring if you’re not expecting it, but I enjoyed the introspective discussion in the latter half.
The split in the novel and discussion reminded me of 傲慢と善良 (Gouman to Zenryou) but I think I enjoyed 六人の嘘つきな大学生 more.
This is a great book for Japanese learners wanting to pick up more business related vocabulary and practice their advance grammar.
You can read a sample here on Bookwalker!
Other Japanese Mystery Novels You Might Like
A Mysterious Look at Society “Pride and Virtue” – 傲慢と善良 (Gouman to Zenryou)
Strange House, Strange Mystery – 変な家 (Henna Ie)
Who Killed the Hero? 誰が勇者を殺したか (Dare ga Yusha wo Koroshita ka)
The Inconvenient Convenience Store – 不便なコンビニ (Fubenna Konbini)