Helpful Score: 8
I'll be frank: I cannot remember the last time I had such a visceral reaction to a book. I found this book to be so profound and so unflinchingly honest that even after I had finished it and closed it, I was unable to actually put the book down. I'll admit that it takes a strong stomach to swallow the graphic sex and unmitigated perversity, however, these elements are not gratuitous. Rather, they are vital to the tenebrous web that Kirino weaves. In the beginning I only wanted to read this book because as a Japanese translator I consider it part of my job to be educated concerning modern Japanese literature. (As a side note I'll say this: the translation work done by Copeland is stunning.) However, studying quickly fell by the wayside as I was drawn in by this haunting mystery. If you only read 1 book this year, it should be this one.
Helpful Score: 3
Grotesque is a riveting, razor-sharp indictment of societal and gender roles in modern Japan delivered through three vivid first-hand accounts. Two aging streetwalkers are brutally murdered; they were both students at the prestigious Q High School for Young Women in Tokyo. Stitched together by their diaries, depositions and the "overall" narrator--the plain, unnamed older sister of the once monstrously beautiful prostitute Yuriko--Natsuo Kirino sheds light on a universe of painful solitude, darkness, and how societal preoccupation with beauty and youth warp susceptible young women into grotesque beings. Yuriko was a lascivious Lolita-esque beauty preyed upon in youth only to become an undesirable whore later in life. Her older sister, always living resentfully in her shadow, never emerges from her inferiority complex. Katzue Sato, another Q student always awkwardly trying to fit in, splits into a career woman by day and prostitute by night. Billed as a work by an author of "feminist Japanese noir," this quick-paced novel will frustrate those who believe in the power of positive thinking. All the characters resent everything about the world. However, Grotesque, like Kirino's other works (Out and Real World), represents a masterfully spun cautionary tale of how characters find themselves in untenable situations when they let societal norms crush their psyche.
Helpful Score: 3
I'll be frank: I cannot remember the last time I had such a visceral reaction to a book. I found this book to be so profound and so unflinchingly honest that even after I had finished it and closed it, I was unable to actually put the book down. I'll admit that it takes a strong stomach to swallow the graphic sex and unmitigated perversity, however, these elements are not gratuitous. Rather, they are vital to the tenebrous web that Kirino weaves. In the beginning I only wanted to read this book because as a Japanese translator I consider it part of my job to be educated concerning modern Japanese literature. (As a side note I'll say this: the translation work done by Copeland is stunning.) However, studying quickly fell by the wayside as I was drawn in by this haunting mystery. If you only read 1 book this year, it should be this one.
Helpful Score: 2
I love Natsuo Kirino. This is an intriguing book. I am not sure what to say about it, because it is so deep and I am still digesting it. It is about relationships, women's power over men (and vice versa), prostitution, women in Japanese society. I liked it very much, but I need to marinate on this one awhile!
Helpful Score: 2
This novel is about the dark side of Japanese society, an intriguing look at their young women as they psychologically thrash each other in outrageous perversion.
Helpful Score: 1
I loved "Out," and really wanted to love "Grotesque." It was a long, drawn out, big whine from a self-absorbed young woman in modern Japan. Very depressing. Bleck!
This was a very bizarre look at the life of several young women in late 20th century Japan. The main narrator of the story is unnamed but she has a very beautiful younger sister named Yuriko so she is mostly referred to in the novel as Yuriko's older sister. The story tells of the narrator's struggle to get into the prestigious Q High School for Young Women by scoring high on the entrance tests. But when she gets there, she finds that she is a definite outsider with other girls considered insiders who have been in the Q system since grade school and who come from rich families. There are other outsiders including Kazue Sato, a very awkward young woman who also scored well enough on the entrance exams to get in. Then Yuriko, who had been in Switzerland with her mother and Swiss father, comes back to Japan and gets entrance into Q based solely on her extreme good looks. The novel goes on to tell how both Yuriko and Kazue are murdered years later after working as prostitutes. Yuriko had been a prostitute for years and used this as her only source of income. But Kazue actually graduated from Q University and had a good job as an office manager. So why did she turn to prostitution?
The book uses other sources in its narrative. These include the diary of Yuriko, Kazue's journal, and the confession of Zhang who is charged with the murders. Based on these other narratives, it is unclear really what is the truth. All of the narrators in the story appear to be unreliable with different stories told by each of them. Readers are left to decide for themselves what is the truth in their mind.
The author of the book makes several points and observations about life in Japan and how the classes are basically determined from birth. If you come from a rich family, you have it easy but if not, you have to struggle to get ahead. She also makes a point of the status of women in Japan and how they can become "monsters" in their own eyes as well as in the eyes of others.
The last part of the novel included Kazue's journal as an older prostitute and this really was a disturbing and sometimes disgusting narrative. She became a prostitute basically to get revenge on society and to try to find some kind of love. She was always alone and never had any romantic human contact. This part of the book was hard to stomach and was very heart rending. I don't think I have ever read anything quite like this novel. It was twisted and really showed the struggles of some women in modern Japan. I also have a copy of Kirino's Out but I'm not sure if I will read it anytime soon.
The book uses other sources in its narrative. These include the diary of Yuriko, Kazue's journal, and the confession of Zhang who is charged with the murders. Based on these other narratives, it is unclear really what is the truth. All of the narrators in the story appear to be unreliable with different stories told by each of them. Readers are left to decide for themselves what is the truth in their mind.
The author of the book makes several points and observations about life in Japan and how the classes are basically determined from birth. If you come from a rich family, you have it easy but if not, you have to struggle to get ahead. She also makes a point of the status of women in Japan and how they can become "monsters" in their own eyes as well as in the eyes of others.
The last part of the novel included Kazue's journal as an older prostitute and this really was a disturbing and sometimes disgusting narrative. She became a prostitute basically to get revenge on society and to try to find some kind of love. She was always alone and never had any romantic human contact. This part of the book was hard to stomach and was very heart rending. I don't think I have ever read anything quite like this novel. It was twisted and really showed the struggles of some women in modern Japan. I also have a copy of Kirino's Out but I'm not sure if I will read it anytime soon.
Be prepared to be depressed and to feel old after reading this book (if you are over 30), but it's an excellent glimpse into another culture and their value of women.
Lots of narrative to wade through, but overall it really makes you think.
Lots of narrative to wade through, but overall it really makes you think.
