Friday, December 27, 2013

The Strange Tale of Panorama Island by Suehiro Maruo

This manga is sold in a large, hardcover edition with beautiful gold foil letter in the cover. The whole book is like one of my dreams. It's beautiful and collects a wide variety of different cultural architectures and eras. It debuted in July of 2013 and immediately caught my attention. Many of the reviews and write-ups were devoid of plot description but pictures of the artwork could be found splattered around the internet and the artist's blog. They gripped my curiosity as did the title!

The Strange Tale of Panorama Island is based on the novella by the famous Edogawa Rampo. Rampo was one of Japan's most famous pulp mystery writers. The story centers around a failing writer named Hitomi who steals the identity of a wealthy and deceased university comrade who happens to share a very similar appearance. No one suspects the deception. He takes his friend's fortune and dedicates it to the construction of a massive amusement park on a remote island. He converts the ilse into his mind's fantasy. An island of wonder; a colossal living panorama that resembles the Grecian decadence of Dionysian proportions. i.e. lots of orgies. 
This tale includes, murder and deception. Although it's beautiful and captivating, this book is not suitable for people under 18 years of age. I highly suggest you read it. 

No comments:

Post a Comment