Book Club “The Man Who Died Seven Times”
For July, we chose the time-loop mystery The Man Who Died Seven Times. We love genre-mashing mysteries and were intrigued to see how the time loops would be utilized in the book. How would clues come out? Could the events be changed and the murder be stopped?
We couldn’t wait to dive in and see how time travel affects a would-be sleuth!
Book
The Man Who Died Seven Times by Yasuhiko Nishizawa
Translated by Jesse Kirkwood
Description:
A subversively cozy Japanese murder mystery with an ingenious Groundhog Day twist: a teenager’s time-loop race to solve—and possibly prevent—his grandfather’s murder!
Contemporary Japanese legend Yasuhiko Nishizawa makes his English-language debut with this slick, funny murder mystery which adds a sci-fi twist to an age-old setup: a murder in a wealthy family with an inheritance at stake.
Hisataro, a young member of the wealthy Fuchigami family, has a mysterious ability. Every now and then, against his will, he falls into a time-loop in which he is obliged to re-live the same day a total of 9 times. Little does he know how useful this ability will be, until one day, his grandfather mysteriously dies...
As he returns to the day of the murder time and again, Hisataro begins to unravel its secrets. With a sizeable inheritance up for grabs, motives abound, and everyone is a suspect. Can Hisataro solve the mystery of his grandfather’s death before his powers run out?
Written in a witty, lighthearted voice, this clever and playful book will appeal to fans of both traditional murder mysteries as well as readers of cozy mysteries. It's a delightful treat for fans of the intricate plotting of Agatha Christie, the gentle humor of Richard Osman, and audacious inventiveness of Stuart Turton.
Club
Snack suggestions:
For this book, New Year’s treats or Japanese cuisine are great options.
Because of how often it was mentioned by Runa and Fujitaka (admittedly, they were in a time loop), we decided to serve Nikujaga stew.
There are plenty of recipes available online!
We also had an Asian salad and mochi ice cream for dessert.
If your club likes to drink, you can serve saké - but be careful not to drink as much as the grandfather!
Check out Cozy Crimes’ book club questions that can be used for any mystery.
Here are our questions targeted to The Man Who Died Seven Times:
1. What were the rules for time loops in the book?
2. How did the time loops affect what you knew about the murder at any given point? How were clues and information doled out?
3. How did Hisataro’s choices and strategies affect each loop?
4. What do you think of Hisataro as a character? How does his condition affect him as a person?
5. Did you feel sympathy for the characters and suspects? What were your thoughts on the grandfather?
6. Who did you think should be named the heir throughout your reading?
7. What did you think of the final solution?
8. What complications muddied the waters for Hisataro to interpret what was happening for each loop? How much were the red herrings affected by the narrator’s perspective, the repetition of each day, and the suspects’ actions?
9. How does this genre-mashing mystery compare to other mysteries you have read? What tropes does it utilize well? What makes it unique?
10. Do you think Hisataro’s story has a happy ending?
Optional activity:
If you’d like to add an activity to your book club night, consider grabbing a mystery board game that deals with time travel!
We played “Undo, Weaving Fate Anew: Cherry Blossom Festival” since it also dealt with finding clues and manipulating time to save a man in Japan. It perfectly fit the evening thematically!
