{"product_id":"lady-joker","title":"Lady Joker","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cu\u003e*\u003cb\u003eTHE JAPANESE CRIME CLASSIC - ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cfont size=\"+1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e'One of the great masterpieces of Japanese crime fiction and one of the must-read books of this or any year' David Peace\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eTokyo, 1995.\u003c\/b\u003e Five men meet at the racetrack every Sunday to bet on horses. They have little in common except a deep disaffection with their lives, but together they represent the social struggles and griefs of post-War Japan: a poorly socialized genius stuck working as a welder; a demoted detective with a chip on his shoulder; a Zainichi Korean banker sick of being ostracized for his ethnicity; a struggling single dad of a teenage girl with Down syndrome. The fifth man bringing them all together is an elderly drugstore owner grieving his grandson, who died in suspicious circumstances.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Intent on revenge against a society that values corporate behemoths more than human life, the five conspirators decide to carry out a heist: kidnap the CEO of Japan's largest beer conglomerate and extract blood money from the company's corrupt financiers.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Inspired by the unsolved true-crime kidnapping case perpetrated by \"the Monster with 21 Faces,\" \u003ci\u003eLady Joker\u003c\/i\u003e has become a cultural touchstone since its 1997 publication, acknowledged as the magnum opus by one of Japan's literary masters.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'A novel that portrays with devastating immensity how those on the dark fringes of society can be consumed by the darkness of their own hearts'\u003c\/b\u003e Yoko Ogawa, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Memory Police\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'Takamura's prismatic heist novel offers a broad indictment of capitalist society'\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'\u003ci\u003eLady Joker\u003c\/i\u003e is a work you get immersed in, like a sprawling 19th century novel or a TV series like \u003ci\u003eThe Wir\u003c\/i\u003ee'\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eNPR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Unity Books","offers":[{"title":"Lady Joker","offer_id":44514687844549,"sku":null,"price":30.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0625\/6679\/3413\/files\/978-1-5293-9421-4.jpg?v=1740802427","url":"https:\/\/unitybooks.myshopify.com\/products\/lady-joker","provider":"Unity Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}