Koimonogatari - (Monogatari) by Nisioisin (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Circling back to a middle school girl's apotheosis, if we can call it that, in Otorimonogatari, and the mortal threat it poses to the hero and his girl, this "Season Two" finale is narrated, for the first time in the series, by a grown-up--but if the word conjures a sense of reliability, of stability and certainty to you, dear reader, then the lesson to take home from this is to trust no one.

Because the teller of the tale, who has been summoned by the heroine to defuse the situation, despite having been her nemesis since the very outset of the series, is--in the absence of the equally shady adult, Oshino, who at least was an expert--none other than his college frenemy, the fake ghostbuster who doesn't believe in ghosts, the shameless swindler Deishu Kaiki.

And it is indeed a con that he agrees to perpetrate, uncharacteristically pro bono, on a wrathful god--a mythic undertaking if true, which it may be, when a liar among liars holds that his story, like any other, is all a lie. But maybe not, when a man who claims to be wise in the ways of the world sounds just as self-conscious as his adolescent counterparts or a Russian anti-hero.

About the Author

There are few authors in Japan who have reached the heights of success as NisiOisin. Born in 1981, Nisio dropped out of Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, to pursue a career in story-telling. Initially he had ambitions to be a comic artist, but when he realized his art was not up to snuff, he began to focus on his writing, eventually winning the 23rd Mephisto Prize, for Decapitation(Vertical) recognizing his talents as a mystery writer, at the age of 20. Since his debut in 2002 Nisio has penned more than 50 novels and a number of comics. And he has quickly become one of Japan's top selling author's in recent memory with more than 5 million units sold since 2009. In 2014, as in 2012, he was the top selling author in Japan (outselling Haruki Murakami by more than half a million units).

Nishio's works often cover themes of youth, but are framed in genres that are familiar to the masses. His works tend to mix mystery with comedy and touches or romance and/or the supernatural. He is a modern author in every sense, sometimes even experiementing with the Japanese language itself. Many of his works have been adapted into animated television series and films. His best known works are the Monogatari series and Katanagatari.