The World of Laughter

Keigo HigashinoBeijing October Arts & Literature Publishing House2018

4.0

Chapters: 4

Summary

The World of Laughter is a hardcover collector's omnibus of Keigo Higashino's four "laughter novels," gathering the short story collections The Strange Laughter Novel, The Poisonous Laughter Novel, The Black Laughter Novel, and The Crooked Laughter Novel. These four books occupy a special place in Higashino's vast body of work: they have little to do with mystery-solving, instead using what Higashino calls "human comedy" to examine everyday life through exaggeration, absurdity, and irony. Here readers meet the "truth gas" that, once leaked, makes a whole train of passengers speak their minds; residents of a community who collectively brainstorm how an unidentified corpse might not affect property prices; a muddled self-surrenderer who is told his wife has been murdered yet can never get the police to take his case; writers who repeatedly make "practice runs" at a literary prize; and a string of oddities in the publishing world and literary scene. Higashino has said that before writing "something that makes people laugh," he always thinks carefully about "what people laugh at," turning his gaze to the unpredictability of the human heart and the ridiculous, ugly sides of humanity. These stories are short, light in tone, and often draw a laugh, yet leave a slight chill afterward: humor here is not mere entertainment but a blade for dissecting society and human nature. This hardcover omnibus suits readers who want to meet Higashino's "other face," and is also a good choice for short-form reading and bedtime browsing.

Editor's review

提到东野圭吾，多数读者先想到《白夜行》《嫌疑人X的献身》式的冷峻与精巧。但真正让他的写作版图完整的，是这套“笑的小说”：四本短篇集，几十个短故事，围绕买房、教育、追星、挤电车、职场与文坛生态展开，把社会新闻里那些说不出口的荒唐，用夸张到失真的方式摆到台面上。它的好读是显而易见的：每篇篇幅不长，伏笔干净，结尾往往一记反转；适合通勤路上随手翻一篇，也适合睡前读两篇放松。难得的是，笑过之后并不空。东野写的是“人心的滑稽与丑陋”，《毒笑小说》里机械执行规章的荒诞、《歪笑小说》里文学奖与出版业的怪现状，都带着过来人的自嘲与体谅。四册精装成套，装帧统一，作为东野书迷的收藏或赠礼都体面。想了解推理小说家如何写喜剧、想换个口味读东野的人，这套非常合适。

Who it's for

A good fit for

已经读过东野圭吾长篇推理，想看他轻松幽默一面的读者
喜欢短篇小说、习惯碎片化阅读的通勤族与学生党
对日本社会现象与文坛、出版业内幕有好奇心的读者
想找一本轻松又不失锋芒的书作为礼物或收藏的东野书迷

Not a good fit for

期待严密诡计与推理破案过程的硬核推理迷
偏好沉重深沉、情感浓烈长篇故事的读者
不喜欢荒诞夸张设定、对黑色幽默无感的读者

Reading tips

不必按四册顺序通读，可先挑自己感兴趣的题材，如追星、买房、文学奖等主题切入。
每读一篇可停顿片刻，想一想故事讽刺的现实原型，笑点往往藏着社会观察。
《歪笑小说》涉及文坛与出版业内幕，若读过东野创作谈或访谈，会更能体会其中自嘲。
适合当作睡前或通勤的短篇读物，一天一两篇，避免一次性读完导致讽刺感钝化。

About the publisher

Beijing October Arts & Literature Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Founded in 1983, Beijing October Arts & Literature Publishing House is a professional literary publisher under the Beijing Publishing Group. Public information is limited; judged from the 21 titles in the catalog, its publishing focuses on social fiction, documentary literature, quality fiction, classical poetry, folk literature and prose miscellany, covering both contemporary full-length works and popular classical readers. Representative books include Ye Guangqin's Last Year's Weather, the Old Pavilion and The Top Scholar's Matchmaker, Zhou Zuoren's Reminiscences of Zhitang, Zhou Meisen's In the Name of the People, Chen Yan's The Broad Mansion of the Human World, and Shi Jiepeng's My Heart Lingers: Twenty Lectures on King Hui of Liang's Classical Poems. Its authors include Ye Guangqin, Zhou Zuoren, Chen Yan, Zhou Meisen, Shi Yifeng, Ma Xiaosheng and Sunan, giving it a solid publishing character in contemporary fiction, prose and poetry.

The Strange Laughter Novel
The Poisonous Laughter Novel
The Black Laughter Novel
The Crooked Laughter Novel

FAQ

《笑的世界》是东野圭吾的一部长篇小说吗？

不是。它是东野圭吾四部短篇小说集《怪笑小说》《毒笑小说》《黑笑小说》《歪笑小说》的精装典藏合集，由北京十月文艺出版社出版，收录大量独立成篇的短故事。

这套书属于推理小说吗？

不属于典型推理小说。四部作品以东野圭吾所说的“人间喜剧”为题材，多用荒诞、夸张与反讽描摹社会现象与人性弱点，推理成分很淡，阅读重点在幽默和讽刺。

四册之间需要按顺序读吗？

不需要。四册是各自独立的短篇集，篇目之间没有连续性情节，可以按兴趣任选一册、任选一篇开始读。

适合作为礼物送给不常读书的朋友吗？

比较合适。短篇篇幅短、节奏轻快、笑点密集，入门门槛低；精装成套也适合作为礼物。但若对方只爱看情节紧凑的推理小说，未必合口味。

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About the author

Keigo Higashino Author · Japan · 1958–2026

Keigo Higashino was a Japanese mystery novelist, born on February 4, 1958, in Ikuno Ward, Osaka, and a graduate of Osaka Prefecture University. He made his debut in 1985 with After School, which won the Edogawa Rampo Prize. He went on to write prolifically, spanning honkaku mystery, socially engaged suspense, and warm-hearted narrative, with representative works including Journey Under the Midnight Sun, The Devotion of Suspect X, and Miracles of the Namiya General Store. In 2006 he received the Naoki Prize. His novels often wrap intricate deduction around human conflict, featuring frequent plot twists and unexpected endings, and have had a wide influence on Chinese-language readers. This site carries 24 of his works, mostly catalogued under foreign literature, classic works, and mystery and suspense. He died on July 23, 2026.