Honeybees and Distant Thunder, Riku Onda
‘Honeybees and Distant Thunder is a hopeful melody on the natural world, love, and loyalty.’
In a small coastal town near Tokyo, the 6th Yoshigae International Piano Competition has begun, and Honeybees and Distant Thunder – two-time winner of the Japanese Bookseller Award – tells the journey of four contributing musicians who are inextricably linked, and not only by their talent.
The pied piper of the group is the elusive and eccentric Jin Kazama, the son of a beekeeper, who soon becomes a pebble in the judges’ shoes for his unconventional approach to the music he performs. Performing alongside Jin is the ambitious golden boy Masaru, keen to reform contemporary music, and Akashi, a father steeped in full-time work and unsure of his place amongst child prodigies. And then there is Aya, the girl who hears galloping horses in rainfall; a fallen prodigy facing concert piano for the first time since she lost her mother, who was the very inspiration behind her musical talent.
The narrative follows the linear structure of the competition itself, with academic and explanatory passages being complemented by Onda’s attentive character development and liberal use of metaphor. Her bountiful words personify music as an embodied being that breathes through the pages.
This is a book about a love for music, and the absurdly addictive quality of an often-cruel competition. Onda seems driven by musings on the philosophy of sound, and the differences between music created by skilled beings and the music inherent within all of us.
Honeybees and Distant Thunder is a hopeful melody on the natural world, love, and loyalty. A web of friendship is spun by the inspiration each musician passes on to the others, creating a tale that is both phenomenal and humbling.
