One Man’s Justice by Akira Yoshimura (out of print). A morally probing novel about a Japanese officer, Kiyohara Takuya, who is delegated to execute a captured American airman near the end of the war in the Pacific. Whatever one’s nationality, the reader’s sympathies gravitate toward Officer Takuya during his own attempts to evade capture—and execution—during the Allied occupation. Thoughtful about war and compassionate about guilt, this book is a light-shedder.
A Tomb for Boris Davidovich by Danilo Kis (Dalkey Archive, $13). A septet of tales, mostly set in Eastern Europe and all built around betrayal, hypocrisy, and corruption. Kis’ prose is bitter coffee, flawlessly prepared and served.
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