Compelling, funny and beautifully written, this novel is one of those rare treats - a book you won't want to put down

Jonathan Lee paints an exhilarating portrait of modern day Tokyo in limpid, intelligent prose as we accompany his narrator along his wildly labyrinthine voyage through the city.

Funny and moving, Who Is Mr Satoshi? introduces another newcomer who will catch prize judges' attentions. Set in Japan, it concerns Rob Fossick, an English photographer who has been unable to work since his wife died. When his mother, too, is suddenly killed, he discovers she has left instructions that he must deliver a package to a mysterious Mr Satoshi in Tokyo. Lurching from crisis to crisis as he stumbles drunk and weeping through a strange culture, he engages the help of a pink-haired Japanese girl and a former sumo wrestler. Fossick (a great name for someone on a quest) eventually unravels a mystery stretching back to the time of the Allied occupation.

an elegant and incisive examination of how history and our perceptions of the world are partial, filtered, and continually revised...Who is Mr Satoshi? ask[s] intriguing questions about how we see, remember and narrate our lives.

a lyrical page-turner

Confident, sharply-written, and refreshingly direct...Tokyo is, of course, a descriptive writer's dream and Lee is not cowed by that culture's omnipresent and exhaustive literary heritage; he instead revels in his character's conflicts...[The] dialogue is playful and well-observed...More experienced authors might milk drug-addled protagonists for all they're worth; Lee's subtlety in this regard speaks volumes of the appeal, depth and maturity of his central character, as well as his writing.

"Assured debut" is a tired old phrase, but it really does sum up this first novel...Satisfying, well-paced, just the right length for the story it's telling, Who Is Mr Satoshi? is a literary novel that also happens to be a highly accessible one...Lee skilfully and inexorably draws us into his story as the clues mount up to Mr Satoshi's identity...Lee's prose manages to maintain...a sparse elegance that does great service to the characters and setting and bodes well for his future.

Lee lays the groundwork for Foss's trip with care...patiently weaving exposition into early events...Lee has a pleasingly straightforward style...spiced with metaphoric flourishes...A promising first novel.

There's an almost dream-like quality to the narrative...An unusual, playful and clever book.

Who is Mr Satoshi? is a clever, gripping and unusual novel that provides a whole host of hugely enjoyable mysteries. It is also a sensitive portrayal of a man brought back from the brink of breakdown. Reminiscent of some of Haruki Murakami's best work, this is a debut to treasure.

Funny and moving

Funny, insightful and beautiful