Koshun Takami
Instead of going on a school trip, 42 junior high school students from the small town of Shiroiwa find themselves on a tiny island in Japan’s Inland Sea. There, they are told that they were chosen for “The Program”, an annual competition where they have to fight each other to the death until only one is left alive. Each of them is given rations for a few days and a randomly chosen weapon and sent off, the game starting immediately.
New, uneasy alliances are forged and old friendships are broken as each one of the 15-year-olds struggles with their conscience, their fear, and raw survival instinct. But who will make it out – the smartest, the most ruthless, or those who can fly under the radar until the end?
This is a fast-paced thriller where I never knew what to expect next. I was worried of losing track of the students’ names, but the author’s choice of introducing them only when they become relevant (i.e., when they get into their first fight) helps to avoid confusion. He also describes the thought processes of the students in realistic terms, with all their juvenile flaws and misplaced confidence and flashes of both brilliant insight and childish ignorance. The deaths were all described in bloody detail, but overall, this didn’t bother me too much, and the twist at the end is satisfying.
What I found most interesting was the setting in a dystopian Japan. While depictions of authoritarian governments in fiction are nothing new, the author lets Japan fall from the Edo period (and the opening of the country) straight into a totalitarian system. Set in modern times when the kids have mobile phones and computers, unfettered access to information, in particular from abroad, is forbidden, just like free travel or rock music. In some ways, it reminded me of the situation in countries like China (in particular Hong Kong) or Iran: As long as you stay within the government-approved mould, you’ll be just fine. Quite worrisome, somehow…
Koshun Takami was born in 1969 in Amagasaki and grew up in Shikoku. After obtaining a degree in literature from Osaka University, he worked as a reporter for the Shikoku Shimbun for five years. Battle Royale, published in 1999 is his first, and so far only novel. Although its violent premise caused it to lose out on a literature prize, the controversy surrounding it made it an instant bestseller. It was adapted into manga and film.
Given the number of dead people in the end, I wouldn’t call this “light reading” or “enjoyable” by any stretch, but it’s a book worth reading. Get it from amazon in many different versions.