Out: A Novel

Actually, I don't know what to say about this one. Very good, but fairly twisted. I don't know what it says about me...

If you can't handle grisly gore, you may want to skip this one!

I made a new friend at a party on New Year's Eve. She is Japanese and had recommended this to her bookgroup and they all loved it. It seems as if I have never been a crime reader until this last year (I made my way through all of Martin Cruz-Smith). This is a curious novel. I scanned some plot summaries of Japanese contemporary literature and a recurrent theme is debt. Debt...more

I made a new friend at a party on New Year's Eve. She is Japanese and had recommended this to her bookgroup and they all loved it. It seems as if I have never been a crime reader until this last year (I made my way through all of Martin Cruz-Smith). This is a curious novel. I scanned some plot summaries of Japanese contemporary literature and a recurrent theme is debt. Debt is one of the big motivator of the plot in this one. I am not sure where this one is going, but I am totally engaged. I am listening to it on CD! Be back later with my final opinion...   hide

Disturbing

Interesting criminal novel from Japan, which came in the end of 90’s. The author, Natsuo Kirino, have won award for this book as well. The story deals around four women, which also can be regarded as the real desperate housewives. One of them, by accident kills her husband. In order to get rid of the body, her colleagues, the other three women help her. The rest of the story is about...more

Interesting criminal novel from Japan, which came in the end of 90’s. The author, Natsuo Kirino, have won award for this book as well. The story deals around four women, which also can be regarded as the real desperate housewives. One of them, by accident kills her husband. In order to get rid of the body, her colleagues, the other three women help her. The rest of the story is about the characters, what they think, experience, and what kind of consequences this incident leads to. The fresh thing with this book is the un-typical end, which I weight a lot. Criminal novels tend to follow a formula kind of concept, where a number of the novels in this genre, more or less, will have the same kind of structure of the story. In this book, you’ll feel that there is a difference. I think that such things help to make a difference between good and average novels. But the length of this novel, 552 pages (Norwegian edition), is not a motivating factor to read this one.   hide

This is a very tough-minded book. I'm not sure I've ever read anything that more clearly laid out the kinds of lives and emotional estrangement that would lead to committing horrific crimes. And yet there is still a sense of connection to and respect for the characters. As an American reader, I occasionally experienced culture shock, which is a great thing to be able to get from...more

This is a very tough-minded book. I'm not sure I've ever read anything that more clearly laid out the kinds of lives and emotional estrangement that would lead to committing horrific crimes. And yet there is still a sense of connection to and respect for the characters. As an American reader, I occasionally experienced culture shock, which is a great thing to be able to get from a book.   hide

Such a different tone and perspective - and glimpse into Japanese culture and day to day life for the average women. But this circle of 4 women that work over night shift at a lunch box assembly factory conspire in something extraordinary as it turns out... And what an unusual twist in the ending! I'm so happy I stumbled over this female Japanese author, Natsuo Kirino, Winner of Japan's Grand...more

Such a different tone and perspective - and glimpse into Japanese culture and day to day life for the average women. But this circle of 4 women that work over night shift at a lunch box assembly factory conspire in something extraordinary as it turns out... And what an unusual twist in the ending! I'm so happy I stumbled over this female Japanese author, Natsuo Kirino, Winner of Japan's Grand Prix for Crime Fiction - THUMBS WAY UP for this book, OUT.   hide

An amazing and surreal book that takes a reader deep into the psyche -- and psychosis -- of a strong, determined, and divorced Japanese women who turns to murder as an escape from the suffocating burden of being a traditional house- slave and young mother; while also forced to work all night just to make ends meet in the modern world. Amazing, amazing novel! And Natsuo Kirino...more

An amazing and surreal book that takes a reader deep into the psyche -- and psychosis -- of a strong, determined, and divorced Japanese women who turns to murder as an escape from the suffocating burden of being a traditional house- slave and young mother; while also forced to work all night just to make ends meet in the modern world. Amazing, amazing novel! And Natsuo Kirino provides a perspective of foreigner wuold never be privy to.   hide

Four women work the graveyard shift in a box lunch factory. They all struggle with dysfucntional relationships and financial limitations: all want a way out of their sordid lives. Finally, one of the women- Yayoi- snaps and strangles her philandering, drunkard of a husband. She manages to convince her friends to help her cut up the body and dispose of it.... 'Out' is a scary potrayal of...more

Four women work the graveyard shift in a box lunch factory. They all struggle with dysfucntional relationships and financial limitations: all want a way out of their sordid lives. Finally, one of the women- Yayoi- snaps and strangles her philandering, drunkard of a husband. She manages to convince her friends to help her cut up the body and dispose of it.... 'Out' is a scary potrayal of the pitfalls of life in the Asia's only developed country: the constrained lives of women, the dangerous hold organized crime has on this society as well as the castigation of personal integrity. 'Out' is gruesome, disturbing and filled with unforgettable characters. It will make you and laugh bitterly at the raw putridness of life.   hide