2 Min Read
Sankalpita Singh
Last Update: April 11, 2025
PLOT: 4/5
CHARACTERS: 4/5
WRITING: 3.5/5
ENTERTAINMENT: 3.5/5
GENRE & THEME: Japanese, Crime Fiction, Crime Noir, Crime Thriller
“But obviously if there was no concept of ownership there’d be no concept of stealing, would there? As long as there’s one starving child in the world, all property is theft.”
– Fuminori Nakamura, The Thief
Having read my fair share of Japanese fiction over the last couple of months, it was only natural that I next ventured into Japanese crime fiction. In my effort to get initiated into the genre, the first book that I chanced upon is The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura, a noir thriller that revolves around the life of a seasoned pickpocket who roams the streets of Tokyo, snatching people’s wallets as smoothly as a magician performing his well-rehearsed tricks.
Who can read?
This book may not be the best choice for beginners. That being said, those who have a taste for Japanese fiction, crime fiction, and especially noir thrillers would appreciate its nuanced storytelling and dark, atmospheric narrative.
What is the story like? (no spoilers)
The Thief is an anonymous man, just one more regular face in a crowd of multitudes. Blending in isn’t just his second nature—it’s essential to his craft. He is extremely skillful at his task, slipping in and out of his people’s business, grabbing a wallet here, and a card there, that he often doesn’t even remember the act itself.
He doesn’t have a present, and there are no family, friends, or connections that would anchor him to anything. But he does have a past, and that past comes knocking on his door when his former partner Ishikawa suddenly reappears in his life, offering him a job that is too good to be true.
It appears to be a simple job, this robbery that just involves tying up an old rich man and stealing the contents of his safe. But things are never that straightforward. What begins as a seemingly harmless robbery soon spirals into something that entangles the thief into a deep, dark, inescapable web. One that he would not be able to get away from.
My review
What strikes you the most in the book is the character of the thief himself. For the most part, he remains shrouded in mystery; an enigma whose identity is concealed within layers of detachment and skill.
In the beginning, the only thing we know about him is his craft – the way he steals, seamlessly maneuvering his way through the crowd, being the master of disguise and deception, carrying out each theft with meticulous precision. Since he steals from rich people, to blend in, he adapts their appearance, dressing just like them to blend in with the crowd.
However strong his lack of morality may seem, and however indifferent he may seem, he does have a heart that seems to beat. This is most evident when he is followed by a young, starving boy who wants to learn the tricks of the trade from him. What first seems like a fleeting act of kindness soon turns into an unexpected emotional connection with the boy. However, this soft and philosophical side to his personality is revealed only in stages, peeling away the layers of indifference and detachment one by one.
This, however, does not form the core of the book. The true heart of story lies in the robbery that goes wrong and the trap that the thief unwittingly falls into as the narrative progresses.
In the end
This isn’t a book for everyone. At times, it may seem that the story is going nowhere, and by the end, you might find yourself questioning what the point of it all was. But somewhere down there, there is a story worth telling – the tale of an immoral thief with a kind passionate heart, who just as he’s on the brink of forging a human connection after years of cold solitude gets embroiled in a vicious scenario with his fate uncertain, hanging in the balance and left to the ruthless whims of the Yakuza.
Can’t wait to read it? Buy your copy of The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura using the link below.
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Book Review, Fuminori Nakamura, Japanese Literature, Noir
