The Clown of the Phantom Image

Name: The Clown of the Phantom Image
ISBN: 9787530221297

Keigo HigashinoBeijing October Arts & Literature Publishing House2021

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Word count: 244K words
Chapters: 7
Series: Detective Galileo
ISBN: 9787530221297

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Summary

The Clown of the Phantom Image is a collection of short detective stories in Keigo Higashino's Galileo series. The original Japanese edition, Kyozō no Dōkeshi, was published by Bungeishunju in 2012. The complete simplified Chinese edition, brought in by New Classic Culture and translated by Li Yingchun, was published by Beijing October Arts & Literature Publishing House in June 2021 and contains seven stories. The book features University of Tokyo physics professor Manabu Yukawa and detective Kusanagi Shunpei (with Kaoru Utsumi appearing in some stories), centering on a series of bizarre cases that seem to involve supernatural forces: in "Illusion" (Genwaku), the leader of a new religious cult claims to have made someone fall to their death using mere "willpower"; in "X-Ray Vision" (Tōshi), a bar hostess is rumored to possess clairvoyance, and her body is later found; in "Mind Reading" (Chōshin), several people suffer from mysterious "auditory hallucinations"; "Curveball" (Kyūkyū) revolves around a baseball player and his late wife; "Thought Waves" (Nenpa) explores telepathy between twins; "Disguise" (Gisō) involves a double murder in a villa and the order of the deaths; and "Acting" (Engi) tells of an actress who fakes a murder scene to help a friend. Yukawa always dismantles the "incredible" surface with a physicist's eye, pointing out that what is truly covered in "phantom images" is often not only the case itself but also the lives of those involved. Beyond intricate tricks and scientific interest, the stories continue Higashino's observations of human nature, desire, and compromise, and several were adapted into scripts for the second season of the TV drama Galileo.

Editor's review

如果你是从《嫌疑人X的献身》或日剧《神探伽利略》走进汤川学世界的读者，这本书值得补上一课。它是简体中文完整版的首次出版，一次收齐七个短篇，比早年上海译文版《虚像小丑》的四篇篇目更全，能完整看到这一系列的面貌。东野圭吾自己说过，写这本书最大的感触是“刚登场时只是侦探机器的汤川与草薙成了有血有肉的人”——此话不假：本书的诡计依旧是物理学式的“硬核解谜”，念力、透视、心灵感应、幻听这些看似灵异的题目，最后都被还原为可解释的机制；但在解谜之外，汤川面对那些走投无路的人时，态度比早期柔和得多，冷面学者的温度恰好在这几篇里显影。七篇小说篇幅短、节奏快，适合通勤或睡前一篇一篇地读；每一篇都以“超常现象”开局，读来有本格解谜的爽利，又留有东野式的余味。对于想理解汤川学这个人物如何从符号变成“人”的读者，本书是不可跳过的一环。

Who it's for

A good fit for

读过《嫌疑人X的献身》、想系统补完“神探伽利略”系列的老读者
喜欢短篇本格解谜、偏好短时间读完一个完整谜团的读者
对日剧《神探伽利略》有好感，想读原著小说的观众
喜欢科学知识与推理结合、不排斥物理原理解释的读者

Not a good fit for

期待《白夜行》式厚重社会派长篇与深沉人性悲剧的读者
只爱连续长篇、不喜欢短篇集结构的读者
对物理、科学原理解释缺乏兴趣、只想看纯情感故事的读者

Reading tips

可把七篇当独立短篇随意挑读，但建议把《幻惑》放第一篇，它最能代表本书“超常现象—科学拆解”的基本公式。
若时间有限，可先读《伪装》与《演技》两篇，感受汤川学在解谜之外逐渐显露的人情味。
读时可留意每篇中“虚像”的双重含义：既是案件的伪装，也是当事人自我欺骗的人生。
读完全书后，不妨再看日剧《神探伽利略》第二季对应集数，比较改编与原著在推理链条上的差别。

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.

Chapter 1 Illusion
Chapter 2 X-Ray Vision
Chapter 3 Mind Reading
Chapter 4 Curveball
Chapter 5 Thought Waves
Chapter 6 Disguise
Chapter 7 Acting

FAQ

《虚像的丑角》和《虚像小丑》是同一本书吗？

是同一部作品的不同中文版。日文书名《虚像の道化師》，上海译文出版社2017年版译作《虚像小丑》，仅收录《幻惑》《心听》《伪装》《演技》四篇；北京十月文艺出版社2021年李盈春译本译作《虚像的丑角》，收录完整的七篇，是目前较全的简体中文版。

这本书属于哪个系列，需要按顺序读吗？

它属于东野圭吾的“神探伽利略”系列（也常被称作《嫌疑人X的献身》系列），日文原版为该系列第七部。各短篇彼此独立，不必按系列顺序阅读；但先读《嫌疑人X的献身》，会对汤川学与草薙的搭档关系更有体感。

没读过这个系列能直接读吗？

可以。本书是短篇集，每篇案件自足，主角关系也不复杂，新读者从任意一篇进入都不会有障碍；只是对汤川学性格变化的体会不如系列老读者深。

书里的案件是灵异或超能力题材吗？

不是。念力杀人、透视、心灵感应、幻听等只是案件表面的“虚像”，最终都由汤川学用物理学与科学原理给出合理解释，属于科学推理而非超自然故事。

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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.