I have read one previous book by Yoshimura, the well regarded but unsettling '"Shipwrecks".

"On Parole" is a very moving story about a man who has been in prison for 15 or 16 years who becomes eligible for parole and is eventually released. Life back in the outside world is so different from his prison life. It is also so different from the world he left 15+ years before. He had been a model prisoner. He is released to a halfway house with a very concerned and sympathetic (but firm) parole officer. He learns that because of his sentencing he will be on parole for many more years and possibly forever. In the outside world things slowly seem to be getting better for him. The parole officer finds a job for him which helps him on his way back to the outside world in small steps. We the readers find out why he was in prison but note that the prisoner has repeatedly mentioned that he feels no remorse for his crime.

With "On Parole" our prisoner deserved to go to prison but his sentence may or may not be fair. Oddly he became comfortable with life in prison and works at a job there that he seems to enjoy very much (he is a printer and proofreader and had been a teacher prior to his crime). So although he had wished very strongly to be paroled (he was given an indefinite sentence which theoretically could be a life sentence) when it finally happened he was unprepared for it. The story is mostly about himself trying to reintegrate into Japanese society and provides many insights into Japanese life and culture of the 1980's when the story seems to be set. Japan had undergone a huge transformation between 1970 and the mid 80's. It was very important to the Japanese that the prisoner feel regret and remorse for his crime. Frankly, under the circumstances I could understand why he may not feel remorse. He certainly could have, but he didn't. That leads us to the very unhappy and unfortunate end of the story where despite all the help he had been given and everyone's good intentions, and the reader's hope that his life is finally getting better, something goes very wrong. Such a sad sad ending.

Recommended for those interested in Japanese literature ( )

The story of a guy who did sixteen years in prison and get out to find life has changed. As someone who has worked in the prison system for 6 years the story seems very plausible. I think that Mr Yoshimura must have talked to a few former inmates. ( )

The story of a guy who did sixteen years in prison and get out to find life has changed. As someone who has worked in the prison system for 6 years the story seems very plausible. I think that Mr Yoshimura must have talked to a few former inmates. ( )

Kikutani is a man who has just spent 16 years in prison for the murder of his wife and who has now been released under a provisional parole. This story is of his adjusting to a life he has never experienced, yet needs to survive. Yoshimura, as expected, excels again at describing the main character and his interaction with his environment. Every page is remarkable and brings you along with the story. The steady pace is impeccably well-done to emulate the thoughtfulness and slowness that Kikutani must calculate to yield a successful immersion into society. Additionally, Kikutani's relationship with his two parole officers, Kiyoura and Takebayashi, is something to be envious of. Unfortunately, as is typical with Yoshimura's works, tragedy is afoot and we know how the story must end. ( )

Shiro Kukatani, a high school English teacher, has been released on parole after 15 years in prison. He slowly reacquaints himself with the society he knew prior to his imprisonment. Feeling guilty that, despite his long years of confinement, he feels no remorse for his crime, Kukatani must adapt to living independently again albeit under the supervision of his probation officers.

ON PAROLE is a story unadorned with fluff, moving slowly and simply with words that evoke deep thought and emotions. It examines Kukatani’s feelings of tentativeness as he emerges from prison. Speaking of his attempts to reenter a world beyond prison bars, the reader can feel Kakatani’s yearning to reach back into his former life, the fascination and repulsion of discovering an environment that continued to change despite his stagnant years of imprisonment, and his longing to connect to other people while overpowered by his fear to do so. In essence, the story describes how a parolee’s life can never return to that of the past. The deed that sent Kukatani to prison is not the story, but rather it’s the psychological adaptation of a parolee to what lies beyond the prison’s gate and the question as to whether there is such a thing as true rehabilitation of a criminal. ( )