This novel is so enigmatic I struggled to follow the story. There were so many different paths and twists that I felt exhausted emotionally. That is not to say it isn’t a well written novel. I admire Henshaw’s skill as a writer - but! - I’m still exhausted.
The story is about an Inspector Jovert, who is working as an interrogator for the French Forces during the war in Algiers. Jovert is confronted with a woman who claims to be his daughter and that takes us back to many different paths in Jovert’s life.
Tadashi Omura is the other important character in this novel. Through his involvement with Inspector Jovert we learn of Fumiko, Omura’s adopted daughter. Then a writer of fiction, Katsuo Ikeda, comes into the novel. He turns out to be narcissistic. This brings us to his two loves, Mariko and Sachiko.
If you’re having trouble following this, try making sense of the novel! I had to keep going back and re-reading. It’s a bit like watching a complex movie several times to sort it all out. Maybe well worth the effort, as some reviewers of “The Snow Kimono” suggest when they say it is rewarding to re-read this novel. But that’s one suggestion I won’t be following.
My impression is that the novel is about discovering (if you can) what is really the truth and what is not. I think it was Pontius Pilate who put the question to Jesus, “What is truth?”, but never sought the answer, if there is one.
I don’t expect to read anymore of Mark Henshaw’s novel, not because they are poorly written or weak stories. Far from it. I find them just too difficult to interpret or understand.
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