Barry Eisler Quote

In the last six months, he went on, there have been two deaths, apparently by suicide. The victims were both high-level banking executives in soon-to-be merged institutions. Each seems to have leaped to his death from the roof of a building. I shrugged. From what I’ve been reading about the condition of the banks’ balance sheets, I’m surprised only two have jumped. I would have expected more like fifty. Perhaps twenty years ago, or even ten, that would have been the case. But atonement by suicide now exists in Japan more as an ideal than as a practice. He took a sip of his tea. An American-style apology is now preferred.

Barry Eisler

In the last six months, he went on, there have been two deaths, apparently by suicide. The victims were both high-level banking executives in soon-to-be merged institutions. Each seems to have leaped to his death from the roof of a building. I shrugged. From what I’ve been reading about the condition of the banks’ balance sheets, I’m surprised only two have jumped. I would have expected more like fifty. Perhaps twenty years ago, or even ten, that would have been the case. But atonement by suicide now exists in Japan more as an ideal than as a practice. He took a sip of his tea. An American-style apology is now preferred.

Related Quotes

About Barry Eisler

Barry Mark Eisler (born 1964) is an American novelist. He is the author of three thriller series, the first featuring anti-hero John Rain, a half-Japanese, half-American former soldier turned freelance assassin, a second featuring black ops soldier Ben Treven, and his most recent centered on Seattle detective Livia Lone. Eisler also writes about politics and language on his blog Heart of the Matter, and at the blogs CHUD, Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, MichaelMoore.com, The Smirking Chimp, and Truthout.