This is brutal and upsetting, and at times I wondered if I could continue reading. But it’s not war porn by any means — Chang wanted to both educate and understand with this book. So she spends a lot of time pursuing the (predictably elusive) why of the event. It’s similar in some aspects to Shake Hands with the Devil, and certainly as unforgettable and haunting.

The final tragedy is Chang taking her own life in 2004, and my edition of this book contains an afterword by her widowed husband discussing her life and spiral into mental illness. Japan has come a long way in acknowledging what happened (it’s not for me to assess whether it’s enough, but I suspect Chang would say no), but maybe books like this will help us elect leaders who learn from history.

This book has so much sadness and tragedy.