The Gun was the first book to be written by Japanese author Fuminori Nakamura, back in 2002, but it is the most recent of his work to be published in English. In the meantime he’s found great success with his other books including the three of his sinister Japan Noir crime books that have also been translated into English: The Thief (for which he won the Kenzaburo Oe prize), Evil and the Mask and Last Winter We Parted.
Nishikawa (he has no family name) is an able but disinterested student, unsure of what he wants to do with his life. Adopted out of an orphanage to parents he appreciates, but with whom he has little in common, he spends most of his free time alone, walking the streets around his home in a Tokyo suburb, or with his friend Keisuke roaming cafes and bars,