Out

Like all the best crime novels, this lengthy Japanese import offers more social commentary than straightforward intrigue. In many ways it's a feminist book, taking as its subject four Tokyo women working a tough night shift factory job packing bento boxes. Each is living a miserable existence in one way or another, and there's little prospect of hope for any of them. Kuniko is a shallow woman in her mid-20s who has gotten deeply into consumer debt due to her belief that the right car or the right designer accessory will bring her lasting happiness. Yoshie is a widow in her late 50s struggling to stretch each paycheck while being responsible for both her demanding bedridden mother-in-law and her increasingly nasty teenage daughter. Yayoi is a very pretty woman in her late 30s with two young children whose husband has just squandered their life savings on gambling and a bar girl. Masako is in her early 40s, and has a teenage son who completely ignores her and a husband who comes home and locks himself away all night. The first fifty pages establishes their dreary daily routine -- from miserable home life to arduous assembly-line factory work. In it, we are also introduced to an ex-yakuza bar and casino owner named Satake, a psychotic who once killed a woman so brutally that he was exiled from his former gang.

The inciting event in the story occurs when Yayoi snaps and strangles her husband after they fight. With no other friends, she confides in Masako, who coerces Yoshie and Kuniko into a scheme to dispose of the body and cover up for Yayoi. Fortunately for them, when the body does turn up, the police are inclined to think that the husband was killed due to gambling debts -- which leads them to Satake. The middle of the book builds a lot of tension around whether or not the police are going to prosecute Satake and whether the women have gotten away with the deception. Things get even more dangerous for them when the police clear Satake and start poking around again. Satake's businesses have been ruined by the investigation and the psychopath is focused on finding the true murderer and exacting revenge. What's kind of interesting is that the story is told primarily by the four women, who are transformed from normal people to egregious law-breakers to hunted prey over the course of the book. The daily lives of the women, as they struggle to keep their cool is probably the best part of the book.

This is all fairly well done, but the author crams in a few too many subplots. There's the story of Chinese immigrant bar girl Anna, who is doted upon by Satake and is the object of Yayoi's husband's obsession. There is also a Brazilian-Japanese immigrant who works at the factory and has been assaulting female workers. Then there's also a loan-shark who enters the picture, complicating matters. While some of the details of these subplots are interesting in and of themselves, they really bloat the book to a an unnecessary length. The writing style is very straightforward, with a kind of understated deadpan to it which accentuates some of the dark humor. In terms of illuminating the Japanese character, the book does provide good insights into understanding the premium placed on duty and appearances, all of which can lead to incredible pressure, alienation, and outright bizarre behavior. The theme of the normal person snapping is a pretty common one in Japanese crime fiction and film, and this fits into that mold quite well. The book is far too long, but otherwise is well worth it for those interested in Japan.

Natsuo Kirino is a prolific Japanese writer, who has published over 30 novels in Japanese. "Out" is the only novel I am aware of that has been translated into English, although I hope that many more will be.

Kirino gives the reader a view of the "real" Japan, although that may sound cliche, it is a novel about Japan today. She touches upon many issues that are facing Japanese society - social pressures, immigration issues, prostitution, credit card abuse, marital relationships, work ethic - just to mention a few. These topics are all wound around a killing of a man and a whodunnit scenario. It's a good murder mystery, but it's even better if you are interested in learning about the Japan away from cliches like manga, anime, hi-tech, rich economy etc.

Her recent novel, "Grotesque", has not yet been translated into English.

If you like Japanese writers, I would also highly recommend Miyabe Miyuki, who has written over 40 books in Japanese, with just a few having been translated into Japanese. "All She Was Worth" is a great moden Japanese suspense novel.

Kirino has written a novel that satisfies as both a mystery and an insight into the human condition, reminiscent of what Ian Rankin achieves in his best novel, 'Black & Blue.' Her powers of description are vivid - you can smell the congealing fat in the bento factory the woman work in, and you won't want to be eating when she describes their other work... Contemporary Japan is revealed warts and all, with problems women have looking after the ultra-elderly, disaffected kids, estranged marriage partners and shallow consumerism all faithfully depicted. Like other reviewers, I was disturbed and let down by the ending, hence four stars instead of five. However, I have encouraged my friends to read it as it is the kind of ending I want to talk over and hear other opinions on. Finally, congratulations to Snyder on the translation - all too often, Japanese writing fails internationally because of a lack in this area.

I approached this book with reservations. I had read very good reviews about it but I also read that much of its impact was from the atmosphere it creates and not simply from the plot. Usually this would not be a concern but as I have read some Japanese novels that were unbelievably esoteric, it raised a red flag. Also, I heard that there were heavy themes of women's "second class" status and "women's empowerment" throughout the book, which are usually code phrases for women who may be in tough spots, but often no worse than many men, and who respond by being as nasty as possible to men and are thereafter applauded for behavior for which a man would be trashed. I decided to buy the book with a gift certificate figuring I had nothing to lose and that the book would be either very bad or very good. It was very good.

The book is actually not a mystery but rather a crime novel. I dislike reviews that reveal significant plot twists, so let me assure any reader that I am not revealing anything noteworthy when I say the murder occurs early, we know it is the wife who did it, we know why and we know her friends on the night shift help dispose of the body. The mystery is whether they will be caught and how the crime affects the women, all of whom are indeed in tough personal spots. The murder acts as a catalyst for drawing their individual personal difficulties into the foreground and creating the types of conflict and tension that genuinely makes readers wonder what they would do in such situations.

Kirino does an excellent job of developing the plot. Loose ends are not only resolved but often the reader does not know something is a loose end until it arises a second time at the worst possible moment to push a character even further into a corner. The characters are well drawn and the reader can relate to them easily. Though, on one of the few drawbacks of the book, the actual language employed by the author is often a bit too clinical for a book of this type. Such language, almost technical in nature, is not so overpowering as to detract from the plot, the characters or the gloomy atmosphere created, but it was noticeable, especially in a novel with so many strengths going for it.

I find it difficult to say which was most powerful - the solid plot, the strong character development or the dark atmosphere about a side of Japan not seen in the travel brochures. What I can say is that the combination made for an excellent book that is well worth recommending.

A housewife murders her husband in a fit of pique, and then is faced with that old problem of how do you dispose of the body? Solution: get some of your women friends and co-workers to help out by slicing and dicing hubby into small, manageable parts. Put the parts in plastic bags and dump the bags in various garbage cans throughout the community. Well the idea seems great, but for a first effort it didn't totally succeed. The police find and identify one of the parts, and accuse an innocent man of the murder. The women body dissemblers however find that this could be a profitable business.

The reader becomes engrossed learning about one of society's lesser known occupations. But watch out, the innocently accused man is getting closer and closer to exposing the gals.

This is a great black humor thriller. It's fast and funny, but I was a bit disappointed with the bizarre ending. Then again the whole book is bizarre, so why should I criticize its equally peculiar climax (and, hey, the word climax has more than one meaning).

Natsuo Kirino has been hailed as the `Queen of Japanese Crime'. Out, her first book to be translated into English, is the story of four women who work the night shift at a factory making boxed lunches. When the youngest and prettiest of them strangles her husband to death in a fit of rage, the women all rally around their friend. They decide to cut up the pieces of the dead body and dispose it off in bags around Tokyo. This sets up the scenes for a grisly and deeply disturbing tale that reveals the underbelly of Tokyo. Out is a harsh and gritty novel, as the graphic cover suggests.

Out has been made into a successful apanese film, and a hollywood version is to be directed by Nakato hideo, the original director of "The Ring"

Reading this novel allowed me to experience one of the best rides ever. It pushed me into a journey full of heightening fear, sadness, and unpredictability. Natsuo Kirino pushed me in all sorts of directions, and I never knew what to expect from the beginning all the way to the end of the book. All the characters were full of personality and seemed so real. As I read I could feel the intense pressure of all the situations the 3 main women were put in. I was fascinated by Natsuo's way of writing, and how she kept me always wondering what would happen next. I would try and guess out the rest of the novel, and she always proved my theories wrong. There aren't many novels that leave you totally clueless to how it will end such as "Out". With everything being so unexpected, I enjoyed the novel even more. The only fault in this masterpiece of a novel would be the ending. The more I tried to understand Masako's emotions during her problematic situation at the end, the more confused I got. I didn't understand her joy in what was being done to her, and I didn't understand the way she felt to the person who had done it. The confusion left me unsatisfied and I look forward to reading this astounding novel again to reconnect with her once more in hopes of understanding her psyche. Natsuo Kirino is a genius in the sense of her ability to understand that most humans are confusing. We all have a way of thought that may be confusing to someone else. We all think differently, see situations in different angles, and have the power to react immorally in different settings. Basically she pinpoints that we are all unique, which many authors fail to acknowledge. I definitely look forward to her future works and recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys emotions, Japan, murder stories, or is interested in society in general. Another thing Natsuo cleverly does is show Japan in realistic aspects. Japan isn't full of anime leaping and dancing all over the place, it doesn't have millions of people full of geisha-esque politeness, and it's far from being a perfect country. She reveals Japan for what it is, behind all of its beauty & tradition. She discusses the prejudices towards racial minorites and what it truly is to be a woman living in Japan.

A surprising feat of literature: awful and upsetting while also having few to no twists. The gruesome descriptions of rape are almost as agonizingly long as the book itself. Needlessly disgusting and nauseating with an ending managing to be even worse than the rest of the book. Also, the characters place a confusing amount of weight on the activity of a cat. Possibly the worst book I have ever read.

Most mysteries fade from memory within days. Once an author establishes a recognizable anchor, all his novels become one of a piece. OUT breaks the molds of typical whodunit fiction. We know who the bad guys/gals are from the outset. The suspense is created by the question of which one will be the next to have their body disbursed into 15 garbage bags.

Set in present day Japan, the characters are mostly ordinary middle class people beset by difficulties that can tap our sympathies. The heroine of OUT is especially clever with great instintive presence. When she's on the page, things crackle as well as clarify. The mixture of eroticism with physical torture and death is a taboo pleasure more explored in Japanese sub-culture than in the West. It is the paramount theme in this novel and we keep reading because it is repellent yet bewitching. Most of these people are like somebody we know... yet they are caught in this gruesome business.

This novel is very insistent about keeping the reader informed. We are always clear about what has transpired as well as what the characters feel about each other. It satisfies extraverts and introverts. The climax is actually related twice, so we can hear it from both pro and antagonists. I would guess Kirino was spent at that juncture, for the novel concludes leaving a number of minor loose ends. I would have preferred that she had tucked them away before the climax, but that is a small criticism. You will not forget this engrossing work.

Four (4) women, various ages, all work together on the late night shift in a Japanese food factory. Each woman's personality dictates the particular place she takes on the assembly line. Their jobs are simply making lunch sandwiches - but about 600 sandwiches a night. On top of their awful low paying and boring jobs, each has a hard and miserable personal life. Early on in the novel one by one they come together to "help" one of the group who needs to cover up a murder she has committed. The women then justify their particpation in the cover up by claiming they are doing it for much needed money. The characters and scenery come to life in the way the details are presented, no matter the subject. In fact, it is because of these details that this book immediately sets itself apart from most others. The book is a real page turner. As the story draws to a close the pace quickens and what was already interesting is now compelling. This book a winner. For me, it's not just great storylines but those in combination with the fascinating and unusual Japanese customs and traditions, brings it way over the top. I'm glad I've found a new source for crime fiction that I'd never have predicted.

Four (4) women, various ages, all work together on the late night shift in a Japanese food factory. Each woman's personality dictates the particular place she takes on the assembly line. Their jobs are simply making lunch sandwiches - but about 600 sandwiches a night. On top of their awful low paying and boring jobs, each has a hard and miserable personal life. Early on in the novel one by one they come together to "help" one of the group who needs to cover up a murder she has committed. The women then justify their particpation in the cover up by claiming they are doing it for much needed money. The characters and scenery come to life in the way the details are presented, no matter the subject. In fact, it is because of these details that this book immediately sets itself apart from most others. The book is a real page turner. As the story draws to a close the pace quickens and what was already interesting is now compelling. This book a winner. For me, it's not just great storylines but those in combination with the fascinating and unusual Japanese customs and traditions, brings it way over the top. I'm glad I've found a new source for crime fiction that I'd never have predicted.

After reading 'Grotesque', last year, I decided to give 'Out' a try. I thought it got off to a very good start, as the reader is immediately immersed in the life of drudgery of the four main female characters, who work the nighshift in a boxed lunch factory, in the Tokyo suburbs.

The character development, particularly early on is very good, and the writing is vivid throughout. However, I felt after the inital murder, and body disposal, the novel became less interesting for me. I'm not really sure why, as there were still a number of events unfolding in the storyline. Overall, though a fairly good, creepy novel.

The story behind OUT is almost as interesting as the novel itself. OUT is the debut novel of Natsuo Kirino; published in 1998 in Japan, and garnering not only awards but also popular accolades, it has only recently seen publication here. Kirino has since gone on to become recognized as Japan's preeminent mystery novelist. Her second novel, SOFT CHEEKS, won the Naoki Prize for literature in 1999 and is scheduled for publication in the United States shortly. Aided by a fine translation by Stephen Snyder, OUT is a dark tale, occasionally relieved by grim humor that transcends cultural differences to tell a riveting story of revenge, betrayal and renewal.
OUT revolves around four women working in a food processing factory, preparing box lunches on an assembly line, performing physically challenging and mentally boring work while they struggle to stay financially and emotionally afloat. Masako Katori is perhaps the best off financially of the four, though she shares a household with a husband who is more like a distant brother and an uncommunicative teenage son who is, in his sullen silence, a total stranger. Yayoi Yamamoto is married to Kenji, an abusive layabout who fritters away his wife's salary and their meager savings in a clandestine baccarat room while showering a prostitute with unrequited love. Kuniko Jonouchi is kind of an odd duck in the group, all flash and no substance, living far beyond her means while she uses clothes and makeup as a quick fix for her physical and emotional unattractiveness. Yoshie Azuma, known as "Skipper" at the factory, is the oldest of the four and is perhaps the most trapped by circumstance. A widow, she is the sole support and caregiver of her invalid mother-in-law and poorly dispositioned teenage daughter.
The four women are dramatically brought together in a new way when Yamamoto, in a sudden fit of anger, murders Kenji. Yamamoto turns to Katori to dispose of the body. Katori, in turn, seeks the assistance of Azuma in doing so. Jonouchi is brought into the mix when she unexpectedly visits Katori while Katori and Azuma are in the process of preparing Yamamoto's diseased husband's body for disposal. Kirino does not flinch from graphic description, and OUT should by no means be mistaken for a "cozy." Kirino infuses the women with a sense of purpose, and while they bring a varying degree of dedication to the task at hand, each is able to bring enough frustration with her respective situation to the fore to get the job done.
It is only Yamamoto, whose act of passion was the catalyst for the conspiracy of concealment, who is ultimately unable to participate in the disposal of the body and who displays the most remorse. Janouchi's poor execution of her task results in Kenji's body --- or at least part of it --- being discovered. Satake, a psychotic mobster and owner of the baccarat club, which Kenji frequented, is suspected of the murder. Satake, although eventually cleared, loses everything and seeks revenge by attempting to target the real killer --- whom he suspects to be Yamamoto. His pursuit results in a catalytic ending that will leave the lives of the four women changed forever.
Kirino, as is the case with the best of mystery writers, combines a strong plot with a canny description of contemporary Japanese mores and culture to make this an unforgettable work. While OUT was initially slow to attract literary attention in the United States, the gradual critical attention and word of mouth that it has achieved will undoubtedly result in much-deserved popularity. This is a novel that will be shared, and discussed, for some time to come.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

This is not your average "Stone Barrington"/ James Patterson/CSI et. al. mystery/suspense pulp. Nor is it a "snuggle up with a cat and hot tea cozy mystery". This is hard stuff. It's darker than noir. It's grit: dark, dark points about human relationships may be found in these pages. The complex socio-economic and familial ties become the fabric of this tale, even more so than the "mystery".

The only (minor) drawback is that he author does tend to "tell" rather than show charecter motivations and the complexities of situations. This might help some readers unfamilar with the process of making logical and emotive connections between disparate relationships. Often, however, it simply shows a contempt for the reader's intelligence. We don't all read James Patterson's pulp.

Overall, a must-read.

Was thoroughly enjoying this book. Then I got to the last 45 minutes, and there is a violent rape, extremely graphic in description. What makes this 100 times worse: it's romanticized. The author uses words like "pleasure" and other descriptors one would see in a legitimate love scene. For a rape. With extreme physical violence. Let me say it one more time for the kids in the back: for a RAPE. And then the author tells the same scene again from the POV of the rape victim, and it's STILL romanticized. Seriously. WT actual F. I am so enraged I can hardly stand it. If you abhor rape (like, one would hope, the majority of the human race) take a pass on this one.

This award-winner from Japanese author Kirino is as much a psychological study of the underbelly of Tokyo life as it is a dark and gritty crime novel - and that's to her credit. The story focuses on four women working the night shift in a factory. When one of the women kills her abusive husband in a rage, she seeks help from her co-worker who in turn, must reluctantly involve the other two women as well. In Kirino's expert hands, what unfolds is a fascinating look at these women, each a victim trapped in a bleak life and desperate to get out. Recommended but not for the faint of heart!

"When I used to read about these dismemberings, I thought it sounded terrible. But, it's not really like that, is it? There's something about taking somebody apart so neatly, so completely, that feels almost respectful." -Yoshie Azuma, A.K.A. "The Skipper"
I'm not sure what it is about this book, exactly, that grabbed my attention. Perhaps it is the intriguing cover, or the "back of the book" description. I will say, though, the story is nothing like the description on the back cover. The "young mother" mentioned there is hardly an innocent victim trapped in an "abusive" marriage. Yayoi is a laughably weak character. It seems odd that Masako would feel in any way protective of such a frail and frivolous woman. Masako is a strong, intriguing and very real protagonist. I like the other characters, as well- tired, aging Yoshie, entrepreneur Jumonji, materialistic Kuniko and especially our villain, Satake. I like the way the book switches perspective every few pages- it heightened the suspense and meaning of the story to see it from the eyes of all of the major characters. Out has been my obsession since I started reading it. Now that it is over and I've read the final page, I am desperate for more. This is the first novel I have read by Natsuo Kirino, and thankfully, I ordered Real World and it has already arrived. I look forward to this new adventure.

As Edgar Allen Poe and Rod Serling both demonstrated, the best horror stories take place in the most mundane settings, involving the most ordinary people. Natsuo Kirino's OUT brilliantly follows this dictum, presenting a chilling tale of murder and dismemberment under the most ordinary of circumstances. The result is a gripping page-turner that turns victimizers into victims and ultimately probes the darkest corners of the Japanese psyche.

OUT begins with four typical Japanese women who work the night shift together at a box lunch factory. Masako Katori is a middle-aged, former office worker locked into a loveless marriage to a self-isolating husband and an intentionally mute teenage son. Yoshie Azuma is a widow in her late fifties, burdened with the care of an incontinent mother-in-law and two self-centered daughters. Kuniko Jonouchi is an overweight and materialistic young woman whose live-in "husband" has just abandoned her and her small mountain of credit debt. Yayoi Yamamoto is a pretty young mother of two children and wife to a gambling, skirt-chasing husband who has blown their life savings at the baccarat tables of a club owned by Mitsuyoushi Satake, a small-time hood with a horrifying secret past.

It is Yayoi who triggers events by strangling her husband in a fit of rage. Realizing what she has done, she calls Masako for help, and they jointly decide to hide the murder and get rid of the body. Their solution eventually sucks Yoshie and Kuniko into their plot, and Satake is fingered by the police as the most likely killer of Yayoi's husband. Satake loses both of his clubs as a consequence and sets out on a course of revenge. The four women's lives head into a free falling death spiral as they are unwittingly drawn into one another's lives and into the yakuza underworld. Desperation leads them to more and more shocking actions, resulting in two of their deaths and a chilling battle of wits, culminating in a sado-masochistic climax.

Kirino's writing is serviceable for this type of book, not rich in imagery or description but well-paced, focusing on actions and character motivations. She maintains her characters' sense of desperation and builds her story to a suspenseful climax, leaving the reader guessing how her main characters will respond to events. Kirino is most successful in tracing Masako's discovery of hidden strengths as well as her descent into horrifying depravity. We identify with Masako, leaving us wondering just how dark might be the deepest corners of our own souls.

OUT struck me as a particularly Japanese novel, following that culture's peculiar fascination with ritualistic murder and masochistic infliction of pain evidenced by writers like Mishima, movies like IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES, and even the recent spate of pop horror movies like THE RING. America's dark side tends toward mass murderers and serial killers, most of whom are regarded as social misfits or freaks (such as Jeffrey Dahmer, or Hannibal Lechter). The power of Kirino's OUT lies in the very ordinariness of its four female protagonists.

I bought OUT as an airplane read before an 18-hour flight; it proved to be an excellent choice for some badly needed escapism. I am hardly an expert on crime novels, but I recommend this book highly as a good read and a bleak look at the underside of modern Japanese life and culture.

Pleasantly surprised when I took a chance on this book. Great style of writing. Morbid and funny at the same time. You'll learn about the Japanese culture, and it's a heck-of-a-good crime fiction novel, if that's your thing. You get to go deep into the psyche of the four main characters, and you'll be impressed by the way the author interweaves their four story lines.

OUT begins innocently enough, introducing readers to four very different women who have only two things in common: their jobs on the night-shift at a boxed lunch factory in Tokyo, and their desire to escape from the drudgery and meaninglessness of their lives. They are Yoshie, an aging widow whose income supports an ailing mother-in-law and two ungrateful daughters; Kuniko, who's overweight and dangeroulsy materialistic and not as young as she says she is; Yayoi, a young mother with an abusive husband who's gambled away their savings; and Masako, the heart of the novel, a former high-powered career woman who now lives in solitude with an unresponsive husband and son. The women coexist in a drab factory, at a job that offers them no hope of increased salary or promotion. They go through the motions in quiet turmoil over their circumstances.

And then, everything changes: One of the women kills her husband on a whim and seeks the help of her coworkers to dispose of the body. From the moment they agree to help their co-worker, the lives of the four women spiral out of control, into a man's world of danger, intrigue, power and money -- a world that can liberate them from their mundane lives...if it doesn't destroy them first.

OUT is one of the most atmospheric, disturbing novels I've ever read. The imagery is startling and violent, and the characters are exquisitely drawn. Kirino succeeds better than any author I've read -- Japanese or otherwise -- at creating tension in her narrative. OUT is a harrowing tale, completely unexpected and unflinchingly intense. With expert pacing, Kirino reveals the underbelly of Japan -- a darker, more violent Japan that we Americans rarely see in the country's exported products. She reveals a society where money rules, where women are very much second-class, where the yakuza and loan sharks control all the major industries, where desperation permeates everyday life. And yet, while OUT has a lot to say about Japanese culture, it has even more to say about friendship, about loyalty, and about human nature itself. Kirino reveals the motivations behind her characters' actions in ingenious ways, as all four of her creations search for a way OUT of their individual circumstances. And kudos to Stephen Snyder for a brilliant, breathtaking translation!

OUT will make you shiver, make you squirm, and make you think. It's an unforgettable reading experience. Here's hoping we see many more of Natsuo Kirino's books on our shores!

The are 2 groups:
1.The food-factory assembly workers composed by 4 women who work at the night shift: Masako,Kuniko,Yoshie and Yayoi.
2.Ex-yakuza member, gambling club owner Satake.

The tie between these 2 is Yayoi's husband. He is a customer of Satake's gambling club who ruins all the family savings. Does not treat her wife gently and gets obsessed with a young women at the club whom the owner treats as a barbie pet.One day, Satake asks him to leave the club and and beats him.Then, he goes home and quarrels with his wife. The result is a gruesome death.

All 4 have a vague and uneasy past. The night shift work is a kind of a veil and an escape in the their routine and boring lives. Even though the sallary is relatively high with respect to a day time job, the job doesn't demand any skill and brings no satisfaction. Ýt leads to a futile path.
Yayoi:A Young beatuful lady who has an husband and 2 small children. Saves money for a better place to live. Shows no mercy while strangling her husband. Deceives the police and people around with her wierdly serene and innocent manner. Asks help from her colleague Masako to dispose the body.
Masako: Literally the group leader.Deals with the corpse issue subtely; chops him into pieces and allocates the pieces to different parts of the city. Since she can't handle the issue herself, she offers money to Kuniko and Yoshie in return for their assistance.
Kuniko: The unhappy,ugly, fat,jealous ,consumer mania women who buys anything she sees but can't afford to pay, can be bothersome but could easly be manipulated.

Yoshie: A conservative, poor women who looks after her ill mother in law and doughter.
Satake: The sadistic male protagonist who is ambitious, have "meaningless eyes that make you think you look at a swamp" who has a kind of detective mind.
The relation between satake and masako is kind of a unison of controversies. Ýn the end, there is a collapse and the final, breaking setting narrated by satake'a and masako's point of view shows the difference between how man and women differ interms of comprehending the same group of events. The book is enjoying, rather sad, kind of feministic but definetely good.

This one of my favorite novels. It so atmospheric and well written I felt that I was programmed into another reality and could not escape till I finished the book. And even then, it's been a couple of years and I still think about going back and visiting my friends in their dubious and unfortunate life circumstances. The best of what I've read from Kirino.

One of those rare books that forces you to surrender to it, like a fevered dream. It sports a large cast of characters, all of whom are strangely disconnected from themselves, their families and each other. Women who work together at a grueling night job find themselves thrust into a noir hell of gruesome dimension when one of the women murders her rotten husband.

The book begins by centering on the four women and their stoic leader, Masako, but in the last act the story shifts and its focal point is a strange relationship between an ex-con, haunted by a murder he'd committed years before, and Masako who has inadvertently destroyed his life.

The book is complicated and byzantine in its details but Kirino's story always seems exactly right somehow. One development send the characters sprawling into the next but the set-up is somehow always believable, even when you can't believe it.

The consummation at the end of the book is horrifying and strangely touching.

This is a fine book, completely fearless. Kirino is walking a tightrope throughout and she never slips. She takes Masako along on a hellish journey, where she and the reader will have to stare into the face of an implacable monster. Masako's choices as she confronts some ugly truths in that moment will outrage some and confuse others.

I can't describe how the book made me feel. I know I couldn't put it down. And I know that Masako's final decision seemed right and inevitable. I will be reminded of this book for a long time.

This novel ebbs as an ocean with its current carrying the reader along almost against their will. You'll feel the waves breaking against you as twists and turns, some predictable and some not, evolve the story plot and expose some of the best character development. By the end you feel you've been carried to foreign shores.

I had the great pleasure of seeing Kirino-sensei (yes, I give her that title) speak at the Kinokuniya here when Grotesque came out. She was a fascinating and kind woman with an edge that really kept you in a state of deference. Approachable, but still respectable. Her manner was just like her writing, direct but not confrontational. Softened by her speaking. It is a shame that the one star reviews are right on... the weaknesses come from translation, but not the translator. There are certain aspects that simply cannot be translated and the work, as a whole, suffers for it a little bit. Still a fantastic read!

I found this book riveting and memorable. I still think about it, months after reading. The perspective on Japan was different than anything I've ever read - a side of Japan I did not know existed. A very dark and disturbing side.
The characters were well drawn, the pacing excellent, and the plot extremely clever. The relationships among a group of women who toil in a factory were complex and believable. The book is a fast, gripping read and excellent for airplane reading (don't read before bed - you'll stay up too late to finish it!)

Words cannot describe how well this book captures the reader's attention with the stark reality it presents. It's certainly not a flowery "happy ending" story; it's a story of a real woman living a real life, and it certainly shows the reader that real life is never black and white. Kirino-san masterfully paints each image as she shows how one life connects with another, how it all starts with something as simple and complicated as a burst of passing anger.

This being my first heavy adult novel, it's a completely different outlook into the Japanese world, a world I've only been acquainted with through a child's eyes. Certainly, the extent to which a human soul's darkness can go is limitless. Kirino-san exposes this fact marvelously with the excellent characterization. The reader would never even think that the characters are mere fiction, despite the seemingly outlandish things they think of and do.

Definitely not for the faint of heart, this novel paints the darker, more elusive face of the world and of humanity. It most certainly is a page-turner that, once it catches your attention, will never let go.

I have enjoyed some recent translations of Japanese novels for English-reading audiences and was eager to compare the conventions of American and Japanese crime stories. I think this translation is very good - it captures the tone of the Japanese language and style of speech in English quite well. I found the final 40% of the novel to be a classic page-turner, but I was very surprised that it took nearly half the book to arrive at the point where anything resembling action took place. The first half of the book is more than simply character exposition, but - compared to American books of the same genre - be prepared to wade through a lot of details and background to get the excellent payoff at the end of the novel.

This novel is like a cyanide martini garnished with a blood-soaked olive. Ms. Kirino writes such an intense, involving, scary tale (not for the squeamish!) that I don't know if I would have the nerve to meet her in person. The female characters are at once mundane, complex and fearless as they are caught up in a nightmarish world of crime, deception and murder. This one is hard to forget, and I want to read more by Natsuo Kirino; she's the real deal.

Kirino is quite an interesting writer, different from any others I've read. She writes with an insight into women's psyche and is not afraid to expose raw and disturbing behavior, and provided a glimpse into Japanese society in the process.

I once read a Taiwanese reviewer who commented that Kirino is the queen of darkness whereas Miyuki Miyabe (the top woman writer in Japan) is the queen of sunshine. After reading both publications, even though Miyabe's books are not entirely of sunshine material, but they at least exude hope.

Anyway after reading this book, I became a fan of Kirino and started to look for more of her books. But it's so difficult to find them in English translation and this applies to many other Japanese writers like Miyuki Miyabe (whom I'm also a fan). Eventually it dawned on me that I might be able to find more of their books in Chinese translation. That turns out to be true and not only that the Chinese versions actually came out much earlier than the English ones. I'm not sure why, is it because it's easier to translate Japanese to Chinese than English or is it because there're alot more Chinese who understand Japanese? But one thing that interests me is how much difference is there in the translation in Chinese versus English. (I do have an inkling that the chinese translation may be able to bring out the subtleness better than English.) So I'm not keen on getting a copy of Kirino's latest English translated book "Grotesque" especially since reviewers mentioned of censorship. I think I'll stick to the Chinese translation.

This is, simply put, an amazing thriller and an astounding story. One can only hope this author will write more books that will come over to America!

But...

If you go into this book expecting something that copies how American novels run, you will be disappointed. This is written in Japan - and it's obvious once you read it. There is an amazing amount of subtlety and culture in this book that you will miss if you are not aware of it.

It is a great story - a wonderful satire that had me hooked, laughing, and eager to get to the next chapter. Give it a try - I highly recommend it!

Kirino has the ability to weave words into images of realism when it comes to how people act and behave. Her characters have such a depth and inner conflict about the things that unfold before them as we all do in life. Also Kirino strays far away from the cookie cutter type format of stories and the unexpected happens and along you go for the ride.

Natsuo Kirino's Out was simply captivating. The way she sets up scenes and the pacing of the novel is calculated with brilliance, and her characters are down to earth and believable. Yet, a heinous crime is committed by one of them who murders her own husband, and that is when everything spins out of control. Will her friends be able to save her and cover it up, will they all be arrested, or worse, killed?

The beginning was a little slow, but once the murder happened I could not put the book down. It is so graphic and gruesome, yet somehow real and insightful.

This very original author can certainly write. "OUT" is filled with many engrossing chapters and some startling imagery. Overall I enjoyed the book. It was recommended to me by a writer friend who raved about it. Although I don't share his extreme enthusiasm, I'm certainly glad I read it. I did like the weaving of different storylines together, all of which are linked in some way, but ultimately the book became too weight down with characters and I found myself skipping entire chapters about characters that were not central to the plot--as I felt impatient to "get on" with the story. But when the story was moviing along it was thrilling. With all the dreck out there it's worth picking up.

As someone who likes my reading to be realistic, this novel has it all and puts the story in a most real life situation. I could not put the book down. The worst feature is the long wait for another novel to come out by this author. For reading entertainment this author is the best I have found.. Jim

Absolutely my all time favorite crime novel of all time; I read the book when it first came out in 1997 in Chinese translation and I still take it out to read it from time to time. The book just recently torn up during a move, I'm about to purchase an English copy to read it all again.

I recently had the opportunity to read the psychological thriller Out by Natsuo Kirino. This intriguing novel is plot driven, but much of the story is dependent on character development and change. Each of the major characters is developed in detail, in all of their psychological complexity. Each of these four women go through her own turmoil, in an attempt to come to terms with what she has participated in. The novel also offers a look at the darker sides of Japanese society. Very normal lives are turned upside down by murder yet they must still focus on their day-to-day responsibilities and deal with the criminal world. Out is a good thriller and not for the faint at heart(there are passages of violence). It is a facinating storyline.

This novel is mesmerizing and tells the story of a brutal murder in the Tokyo suburbs. A young mother who works the night shift boxing lunches brutally strangles her abusive husband and then looks for the help of her coworkers to get rid of the body and cover up the crime. This is just the beginning of their adventures together. They become involved with the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia. Out is a thriller that also tells about women and the pressures that they feel while being consumed by prejudices and pressures from society. She had an abusive husband and probably Battered Wife Syndrome.

This is a mystery thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

This book was enjoyable--the writing was to the point, and often very funny. The author makes a very unlikely story seem natural and totally believable.

The ending caught me completely off guard. It felt a little out of sync with the rest of the book, which is why I gave it four stars. But maybe that was the intent, and if so, mission accomplished. I didn't see it coming...

During the reading of this novel I really wanted to be able to read Japanese. The translation at times confused me with euphimisms that I felt pandered to American expectations regarding this genre of fiction. I admired the protagonist but she unfortunatley fell in love with another. That love is what I found revolving around the central theme... and what makes the author a worthy competitor in the guessing game of looking into the well of human darkness.