ナオミとカナコ

by Hideo Okuda, 奥田 英朗

二人は運命を共にし、男を一人殺すことにした。
「わたしたちは親友で、共犯者」
復讐か、サバイバルか、自己実現か——。
前代未聞の殺人劇が、今、動き始める。

望まない職場で憂鬱な日々を送るOLの直美。
夫の酷い暴力に耐える専業主婦の加奈子。
三十歳を目前にして、受け入れがたい現実に
追いつめられた二人が下した究極の選択……。
「いっそ、二人で殺そうか。あんたの旦那」

すべては、泥沼の日常を抜け出して、人生を取り戻すため。
わたしたちは、絶対に捕まらない——。

ナオミとカナコの祈りにも似た決断に、やがて読者も二人の〈共犯者〉になる。
比類なき“奥田ワールド”全開！　待望の犯罪サスペンス長篇!!

326 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 12, 2014

About the author

Hideo OKUDA (奥田 英朗) is a Japanese novelist.

Reviews

[Jie Hui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally finished reading after putting books aside for months to focus on works.
Naomi and Kanako tells the story of two friends who conspired to kill Kanako's husband, Tatsuro, who had been abusing Kanako physically and mentally.
Okuda, despite being a man, was able to illustrate in details the complicated psychological activities of Naomi and Kanako, from when they hesitate about killing Tatsuro, to when they decided to execute their "perfect" plan, the fear and confusion as the perfect plan fell apart, and the determination to run away from all these and live.
What makes a woman strong? Having a strong and loving husband as backbone? Having a successful career? The love for others ? The love for oneself ? But no matter how strong one can be, there is always weakness as human beings are never perfect. Just like the weak and frightened Naomi in the second part of the novel. No matter how weak one appears to be, they can turn unexpectedly strong willed when life demands so, just like Kanako, who decided to take charge of her life.
Killing is wrong, no matter what. But I think this novel brings out the argument of whether the motive could be justified, if yes, then is killing justified as well?
Though the description about Chinese in this novel is extremely stereotypical, and there are some plot holes (some illogical things when put in real life too), it has been a thrilling read.

[Tan Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

故事概念不错且合理，刻画细腻，但主题用意很不明确，不知是否以悬疑推理为主、抑或心理惊悚。

[Sehwan Choi · Rating 5 out of 5]

마지막 한장 까지 손에 땀을 쥐며 읽었다.

[Yumiko Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars 🌟

[Repix Pix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Precioso.

[Divya]

Engaging plot that gives a raw and emotional insight into how trauma shapes choices people make. Also liked how fragile yet resilient the bond between two best friends can be.

There were a few loose ends and subplots that didn’t get any outcome towards the end. Some wasted potential there for sure:/

[Ayaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

大学時代からの親友、ナオミとカナコ。普通の主婦だったはずのカナコと、百貨店の外商部門で働く普通のOLだったはずのナオミが、あることをきっかけに殺人、それも完全犯罪を目論むようになる。もちろん人殺しなんて褒められたものではないんだけど、二人の抱えた問題の重さや、二人の前に重なるある偶然を知ると、完全犯罪を計画するまでの経緯にも納得がいく。二人の計画が成功するのかどうか、結末が気になって一気読みしてしまった。手に汗握る展開で、テンポよく進む話。近い将来実写化されるニオイがプンプンする。

[Ally Yang · Rating 4 out of 5]

【taaze 訂299 -得194】