(W) Koushun Takami. Koushun Takami’s notorious high-octane thriller envisions a nightmare scenario: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where* as part of a ruthless authoritarian program* they are provided arms and forced to kill until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan where it became a runaway best seller Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century* a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world. A new translation by Nathan Collins.