Book review: A Perfect Crime by A Yi - aimless killer in a crowded world

"Here is the meaning of life: Boredom. Repetition. Order. Entrapment. Imprisonment." It wouldn't be a spoiler to say this sums up The Perfect Crime, the tale of an alienated teenaged boy in provincial China who stabs his classmate to death and stuffs her body upside down in his aunt's washing machine.

There's nothing boring about this novel, however, which opens with the teenager's meticulous, almost ceremonial, preparation for a crime even though he hasn't yet chosen his victim.

A loner at school, the student resents his mother for sending him to live with his arrogant, wealthier aunt when his father dies in a mine. His alienation allows him to set up the perfect escape: there's no emotional bond for police to follow. He's calm, cold and calculated.

He buys a plane ticket, then stuffs it down a drain; he also prepares his physical transformation, packing a bag with a suit, belt, cologne and a fake ID. He buys a switchblade, which gives him a secret feeling of empowerment, flicking it open and shut in his bag as he walks down the street.

Finally, he chooses a "worthy" victim: Kong Jie, ironically the only person at school he has feelings for, who shows compassion and affection for him.