All She Was Worth (edit title)

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Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It Rated 4 stars “Good book. Miyabe does it again. Another contemporary theme - impact of credit cards on an unsuspecting public. This is happening to all of us. Inspite of our degrees and education we still are caught in this debt trap. As i was reading the book, i was caught up in...” see full review » see other reviews »

Didn’t Like It Rated 2 stars “The book was written during the time of the economic bubble of the 90’s in Japan. The author appears to have been trying to capitalize on the emotion surrounding this to make a social statement about credit misuse and the perils of a borrowed existence. While the book was ok as a light read,...” see full review » see other reviews »

Newest Reviews

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  • Rated 4 stars

  “Good book.
  
  Miyabe does it again. Another contemporary theme - impact of credit cards on an unsuspecting public.
  
  This is happening to all of us. Inspite of our degrees and education we still are caught in this debt trap.
  
  As i was reading the book, i was caught up in the thrill and the suspense. After the book, i kept chewing on the impact of debt trap on a society.
  
  Good book. ”

  Ajay Krishnan wrote this review Sunday, May 31 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 3 stars

  “Interesting story. It felt a bit preachy, as if the author was attempting to educate her audience. The ending was a little disappointing, I wanted to know more! And I was not fully satisfied with the characters; more character depth would have been nice. I have noticed, with this book as well, Japanese characters all seem similar.”

  Mari wrote this review Monday, March 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 2 stars

  “The book was written during the time of the economic bubble of the 90’s in Japan. The author appears to have been trying to capitalize on the emotion surrounding this to make a social statement about credit misuse and the perils of a borrowed existence. While the book was ok as a light read, it’s really hard to imagine how it won “best” of anything. I imagine it has to do with the translation to English. Obviously something was lost and unfortunately at times the writing reads a little corny. New characters sloppily pop up to contribute one small action within the plot. The ending feels rushed but yet little closure. I’d probably put this one on the back burner and only read in the event little else is available.
  ”

  Darla wrote this review Sunday, November 9 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 5 stars

  “First rate. Very compelling. I carried it with me constantly to read whenever I had a minute to spare. This is one of my annual birthday gift books from Ted -- a great choice! You'll learn a lot about easily-available Japanese consumer credit and resulting problems, which one hears about often when living in Japan. Very cool book.”

  genkiman wrote this review Sunday, October 19 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 4 stars

  “excellent translation, this story is a modern mystery that brings suspense to seemingly ordinary people the gravity of the situation produces a twisted path of despair as a modern society fails a young woman and the very system that we're supporting betrays this woman the main character is a thoughtful person and deeply believes that he has to help the woman and wants to uncover the truth but he fears that he may be too late a police drama and suspense story that produces a renewed awareness of the world and direction (i recommend "Pattern Recognition" by William Gibson if the reader enjoys this title) ... ”

  Harry wrote this review Monday, May 19 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 3 stars

  “Miyuki Miyabe's All She Was Worth is perfect for mystery lovers or for those who wish to learn that some crimes are universal. Set in early 1990s Japan, it centers around Honma's investigation for Jun's--his wife's cousin's son--missing fiance, Shoko Sekine. Soon, Honma discovers that Shoko--and others connected to her--are victims of a true "debtor's prison," individuals shackled to their ballooning credit card and mortgage debts. It's a world of stolen identities, missing persons and fractured lives. Miyabe creates a great mystery and an outstanding detective. Honma may not win in a fight against Hercule Poirot or Phillip Marlowe, but he sure could hold his ground! ”

  ordovician wrote this review Sunday, October 14 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No