“Each and everyone realize a dramatic physical law when it becomes a collective even if each lives in obscurity…like atoms.” A representative Japanese detective novel writer Higashino Keigo, conveys a gentle impression and moral lesson through his novel *Laplace’s Witch*, unlike other detective stories. Keigo densely condenses physics, mathematics, humanities of love and revenge along with his science-fiction aspect in the novel.
Higashino Keigo is a Japanese writer, proudly known for mystery novels. With his novel *The Devotion of Suspect X*, Keigo won an Edgar Allan Poe Award that honors the best mystery works of the year, wherein more than 15 of his novels have been made into a film in and out of Japan. Based on Keigo’s scientific knowledge, he is well loved for the variety of genres of his works ranging from mystery novels with chilling twists and thrilling storylines to unique fantasy novels.
In the novel *Laplace’s Witch*, Keigo carefully deals with the emotions and drama of each character behind the incident. A bodyguard with a strict sense of duty to save someone, a detective digging up the truth for a promise, and a researcher who jumped into the middle of a huge incident out of curiosity. These unique personalities struggle to get to the bottom of hydrogen sulfide poisoning accidents, trying to reveal whether the mysterious deaths are simply accidents or murders.
Through plotting a storyline based on hydrogen sulfide poisoning, the novel introduces an exquisite fusion of science and mystery. There is a saying that man is weak in the face of the inviolable laws of nature. However, what if we could accumulate and analyze all the physical phenomena? The background of this novel is Laplace’s equation. French physicist Laplace argues, “If there is anyone who knows the position and amount of movement of all atoms in the universe, we can explain all phenomena in the past and present, predict the future.” The author easily melted this esoteric science through a thrilling twist and flashy action.
Mystery novels often only focus on crime and investigation. *Laplace’s Witch*, however, contains a meticulous contemplation about humanity. It tells stories about the inner world of human beings that cannot be explained through science, such as tragedies that a family that lack love faces. Showing these diverse aspects of humanity through various characters who are not main characters of the story but *are* in each of their lives the author gives a tranquil impression. The author conveys a message, that through cooperation and harmony of each man, just like atoms, can achieve dramatic laws of physics and more.
With its distinctive characters and the author’s scientific knowledge complemented by his unique imagination, the book does not miss either amusement or impression. For those who live a busy and dauting lives, the book says, “There is no meaningless stone on a board, no meaningless atom in the physics.”
Book Information
Title: Laplace’s Witch
Author: Higashino Keigo
Publisher: Hyundai Munhak
Publication Year: 2016
Pages: 521
Kweon Seoyoung
kb071531@korea.ac.kr