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Grotesque
Two prostitutes are murdered in Tokyo. Twenty years previously both women were educated at the same elite school for young ladies, and had seemingly promising futures ahead of them. But in a world of dark desire and vicious ambition, for both women, prostitution meant power. Grotesque is a masterful and haunting thriller, a chilling exploration of women's secret lives in modern day Japan.
467 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
Natsuo Kirino
93 books2,939 followersNATSUO KIRINO (桐野夏生), born in 1951 in Kanazawa (Ishikawa Prefecture) was an active and spirited child brought up between her two brothers, one being six years older and the other five years younger than her. Kirino's father, being an architect, took the family to many cities, and Kirino spent her youth in Sendai, Sapporo, and finally settled in Tokyo when she was fourteen, which is where she has been residing since. Kirino showed glimpses of her talent as a writer in her early stages—she was a child with great deal of curiosity, and also a child who could completely immerse herself in her own unique world of imagination.
After completing her law degree, Kirino worked in various fields before becoming a fictional writer; including scheduling and organizing films to be shown in a movie theater, and working as an editor and writer for a magazine publication. She got married to her present husband when she turned twenty-four, and began writing professionally, after giving birth to her daughter, at age thirty. However, it was not until Kirino was forty-one that she made her major debut. Since then, she has written thirteen full-length novels and three volumes of collective short stories, which are highly acclaimed for her intriguingly intelligent plot development and character portrayal, and her unique perspective of Japanese society after the collapse of the economic bubble.
Today, Kirino continues to enthusiastically write in a range of interesting genres. Her smash hit novel OUT (Kodansha, 1997) became the first work to be translated into English and other languages. OUT was also nominated for the 2004 MWA Edgar Allan Poe Award in the Best Novel Category, which made Kirino the first Japanese writer to be nominated for this major literary award. Her other works are now under way to be translated and published around the world.
After completing her law degree, Kirino worked in various fields before becoming a fictional writer; including scheduling and organizing films to be shown in a movie theater, and working as an editor and writer for a magazine publication. She got married to her present husband when she turned twenty-four, and began writing professionally, after giving birth to her daughter, at age thirty. However, it was not until Kirino was forty-one that she made her major debut. Since then, she has written thirteen full-length novels and three volumes of collective short stories, which are highly acclaimed for her intriguingly intelligent plot development and character portrayal, and her unique perspective of Japanese society after the collapse of the economic bubble.
Today, Kirino continues to enthusiastically write in a range of interesting genres. Her smash hit novel OUT (Kodansha, 1997) became the first work to be translated into English and other languages. OUT was also nominated for the 2004 MWA Edgar Allan Poe Award in the Best Novel Category, which made Kirino the first Japanese writer to be nominated for this major literary award. Her other works are now under way to be translated and published around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,785 reviews
December 2, 2024
Few books start with a crackerjack opening; Lolita, Anna Karenina, The Journalist and the Murderer
and Tale of Two Cities are the only other ones I know of. This is the 5th.
And for a while she reuses the opening idea when other characters are introduced.
An innovative technique.
That is, she's walking down the street, see's a man she's attracted to,
and begins to wonder what a baby would look like if she had one with him.
His eyes? His mouth? His chin? His ???
Do women all around the world think like this?
I think this book went over the heads of most readers;
almost everything in the book is either a lie or a delusion.
For readers that "willingly suspend disbelief", this can be a challenge.
Because the author gives multiple accounts of the major events in the book the reader can judge what the truth is.
Multiple unreliable narrators.
This book has the same major themes that her book OUT has:
1. The curious phenomena that people are unable to see their own actions and character as clearly as other people can.
2. The author doesn't like the class system in Japan where people born into the lucky sperm club can get into the good schools and have connections to get the good jobs.
3. She doesn't like the status of women in Japan, and unlike the libbers in America who tried to make women look better than men, this author does the opposite: she posits that current Japanese culture makes "monsters" out of women, and that the solution is freedom and equality.
Without change they can only expect more monsters.
Monsters that destroy themselves and others.
I think this is one of the few great books of our generation and future generations will consider it one of the great classics.
The first book I've read where I wondered why the author didn't get a nobel prize for literature.
The main objection I have to the book is that the translation is poor. So much american slang is used that I needed to remind myself it is a Japanese book about Japanese culture.
There is a note that the book was presented in Japan in a somewhat different form, but details about the differences are not given. It would be nice to read it in the original Japanese.
The translation of the text is not only poor, but also the title.
In English, Grotesque generally means bizarre, ugly, deformed.
In Japanese Grotesque means: The world of darkness within us.
The inner darkness of the soul.
and Tale of Two Cities are the only other ones I know of. This is the 5th.
And for a while she reuses the opening idea when other characters are introduced.
An innovative technique.
That is, she's walking down the street, see's a man she's attracted to,
and begins to wonder what a baby would look like if she had one with him.
His eyes? His mouth? His chin? His ???
Do women all around the world think like this?
I think this book went over the heads of most readers;
almost everything in the book is either a lie or a delusion.
For readers that "willingly suspend disbelief", this can be a challenge.
Because the author gives multiple accounts of the major events in the book the reader can judge what the truth is.
Multiple unreliable narrators.
This book has the same major themes that her book OUT has:
1. The curious phenomena that people are unable to see their own actions and character as clearly as other people can.
2. The author doesn't like the class system in Japan where people born into the lucky sperm club can get into the good schools and have connections to get the good jobs.
3. She doesn't like the status of women in Japan, and unlike the libbers in America who tried to make women look better than men, this author does the opposite: she posits that current Japanese culture makes "monsters" out of women, and that the solution is freedom and equality.
Without change they can only expect more monsters.
Monsters that destroy themselves and others.
I think this is one of the few great books of our generation and future generations will consider it one of the great classics.
The first book I've read where I wondered why the author didn't get a nobel prize for literature.
The main objection I have to the book is that the translation is poor. So much american slang is used that I needed to remind myself it is a Japanese book about Japanese culture.
There is a note that the book was presented in Japan in a somewhat different form, but details about the differences are not given. It would be nice to read it in the original Japanese.
The translation of the text is not only poor, but also the title.
In English, Grotesque generally means bizarre, ugly, deformed.
In Japanese Grotesque means: The world of darkness within us.
The inner darkness of the soul.
December 29, 2016
If you are coming into this book expecting a mystery novel then I’m sorry to tell you that you are likely to be disappointed. This book shows a different face to mystery, more than the circumstantial kind, it offers something deeper, darker. It probes beyond merely what happens and dives into the inner being of those involved in the horrifying set of events that unfold. If I were to coin a name for this genre then I daresay this should be called existential mystery. It transcends the whodunit and mystifies us with whoami. It threatens the reader and taunts us with questions that we all dread, one men have asked for centuries: why do women sell their bodies? Is prostitution an act of courage or cowardice? If everyone is claiming to tell the truth yet have conflicting stories, who do I believe in? What kind of truth are we searching for? Is there even such a thing? Told in different narratives by multiple characters in a non-linear progression, the truth may never be clear but the path of those who seek it is never dull.
Yuriko and Kazue, both alumni of the prestigious Q high school, end up as dead prostitutes in Tokyo. In the span of a year both killed by the same man, the impoverished Chinese immigrant Zhang. One was the Helen of Troy incarnate, a stunningly beautiful girl with an excessive sexual drive, the other a model daughter, a hardworking intelligent student who lived to please her strict father. How does one arrive from point A to point B? What prompted them to prostitution when they come from such an elite setting? What has to happen to a woman for her to choose that kind of life?
Prostitution is the central theme of this deeply layered novel, but it doesn’t limit itself to the comfortable confines of black and white simplicity. It engenders a chimeric sort of problem rooted in different backdrops from the confined society of privilege, to the highly competitive corporate structure, the multicultural home, a superbly impoverished upbringing, and of course a very patriarchal parentage. The query of character is given many facets from the stunning nymphomaniac, the vengeful monster, the bullied little sister, and the sacrificial aunt. All play different roles and have different driving forces that started them off the path that led to this precarious occupation, but is anything holding the disparate pieces together? What is the unifying thread in this entangled web of carnal debauchery?
“Women have only one reason for turning into prostitution. It’s hatred for others, for the rest of the world. No doubt this is incredibly sad, but men have the capacity for countering such feelings in a woman. Still, if sex is the only way to dissolve these feelings, then men and women really are pathetic.”
This passage confounds me. I do not know what to make of it. It could mean that women prostitute themselves in order to feel less hatred for the world when she is in the arms of a man, or it could be interpreted as a joyful celebration of her triumphant revenge against a society that tells her that she should be something else yet she proudly defies whenever she sells her body. Both could be true, both can co-exist together. Would it matter if one holds a degree of truth higher than the other? Probably not, I do not even know if degrees of truth can be different. But I think what we can all agree on is that prostitution stems from hatred: of society, of men, of poverty, of self. It could all be true. And the last few bits about how pathetic we are, we men and women who play games of hatred and love totally blind yet assuming airs. It is a tiresome affair no matter where you look at it.
Different viewpoints and narratives all clash and come together, equally negating and supporting the perspectives of those who came before it, and squashing those to come after it. Each embellishing their own lives and stories with tinges of self-justification and portrayals of their ideals, every narrative with emotional depth, all with self-righteousness and doses of self-hatred. What then is the truth? Is there a truth relative to each point of view? Are they all beacons of truth revealing the hidden self they have masked for no one else to see or are they all telling lies covering our eyes with reconstructed mists of wishful thinking?
This novel never once takes a moralist view, which I find comforting. It reads “I was flesh and blood – just an everyday, ordinary person rife with intolerance, resentment, and jealousy.” Rather it hints at criticism towards our flawed patriarchal society that conditions women to sell their bodies. Prostitutes are not a problem, the problem lies with the kind of environment we live in which still sees women as commodity and lets them see the benefits of such an action because that is the best choice they can make given their situations. Who are we to judge?
“Was I with Zhang? I strained my eyes to see.”
This brilliant parting line considers the latent patriarchal tendencies inculcated in every male. Every man will promise to the woman he is with that he will be good, that he will do nothing but love her, yet deep inside lies the potential for violence and tendency to thirst for dominance and control which, if awakened, will slowly strangle the life and vitality out of the woman, like forceful hands around her throat, until death consumes her wilted body.
Every man is a dormant Zhang, a potential manipulative exploiting murderer of the woman in his arms. Can we blame women for wanting to gain a little money when they partake in an affair that is quite dangerous for them? I cannot. I only wish to suppress my tendency to embrace this conditioned role that generations of patriarchal men before me have played. I know I am Zhang, yet I strain my heart not to be.
Yuriko and Kazue, both alumni of the prestigious Q high school, end up as dead prostitutes in Tokyo. In the span of a year both killed by the same man, the impoverished Chinese immigrant Zhang. One was the Helen of Troy incarnate, a stunningly beautiful girl with an excessive sexual drive, the other a model daughter, a hardworking intelligent student who lived to please her strict father. How does one arrive from point A to point B? What prompted them to prostitution when they come from such an elite setting? What has to happen to a woman for her to choose that kind of life?
Prostitution is the central theme of this deeply layered novel, but it doesn’t limit itself to the comfortable confines of black and white simplicity. It engenders a chimeric sort of problem rooted in different backdrops from the confined society of privilege, to the highly competitive corporate structure, the multicultural home, a superbly impoverished upbringing, and of course a very patriarchal parentage. The query of character is given many facets from the stunning nymphomaniac, the vengeful monster, the bullied little sister, and the sacrificial aunt. All play different roles and have different driving forces that started them off the path that led to this precarious occupation, but is anything holding the disparate pieces together? What is the unifying thread in this entangled web of carnal debauchery?
“Women have only one reason for turning into prostitution. It’s hatred for others, for the rest of the world. No doubt this is incredibly sad, but men have the capacity for countering such feelings in a woman. Still, if sex is the only way to dissolve these feelings, then men and women really are pathetic.”
This passage confounds me. I do not know what to make of it. It could mean that women prostitute themselves in order to feel less hatred for the world when she is in the arms of a man, or it could be interpreted as a joyful celebration of her triumphant revenge against a society that tells her that she should be something else yet she proudly defies whenever she sells her body. Both could be true, both can co-exist together. Would it matter if one holds a degree of truth higher than the other? Probably not, I do not even know if degrees of truth can be different. But I think what we can all agree on is that prostitution stems from hatred: of society, of men, of poverty, of self. It could all be true. And the last few bits about how pathetic we are, we men and women who play games of hatred and love totally blind yet assuming airs. It is a tiresome affair no matter where you look at it.
Different viewpoints and narratives all clash and come together, equally negating and supporting the perspectives of those who came before it, and squashing those to come after it. Each embellishing their own lives and stories with tinges of self-justification and portrayals of their ideals, every narrative with emotional depth, all with self-righteousness and doses of self-hatred. What then is the truth? Is there a truth relative to each point of view? Are they all beacons of truth revealing the hidden self they have masked for no one else to see or are they all telling lies covering our eyes with reconstructed mists of wishful thinking?
This novel never once takes a moralist view, which I find comforting. It reads “I was flesh and blood – just an everyday, ordinary person rife with intolerance, resentment, and jealousy.” Rather it hints at criticism towards our flawed patriarchal society that conditions women to sell their bodies. Prostitutes are not a problem, the problem lies with the kind of environment we live in which still sees women as commodity and lets them see the benefits of such an action because that is the best choice they can make given their situations. Who are we to judge?
“Was I with Zhang? I strained my eyes to see.”
This brilliant parting line considers the latent patriarchal tendencies inculcated in every male. Every man will promise to the woman he is with that he will be good, that he will do nothing but love her, yet deep inside lies the potential for violence and tendency to thirst for dominance and control which, if awakened, will slowly strangle the life and vitality out of the woman, like forceful hands around her throat, until death consumes her wilted body.
Every man is a dormant Zhang, a potential manipulative exploiting murderer of the woman in his arms. Can we blame women for wanting to gain a little money when they partake in an affair that is quite dangerous for them? I cannot. I only wish to suppress my tendency to embrace this conditioned role that generations of patriarchal men before me have played. I know I am Zhang, yet I strain my heart not to be.
February 28, 2016
THE THREE LEVELS, OR, READING NOVELS IN TRANSLATION
Manny Rayner, peerless reviewmeister of Goodreads, insists that you should learn the language and then read the novels; all translation is ba-a-a-ad! I can’t disagree and if I had a machine which could stop time, I would certainly follow this advice. However, as I do not have such a device, I read the occasional translated novel and I come up with a variation of the problem here.
[Note - see discussion in messages below all about this interesting topic.]
The language in Grotesque is very often ridiculously stilted, hackneyed, and sounds like a trashy potboiler from 1870. Here are a few favourite examples:
“Well, it looks like you’re quite the victor!” I said, letting a hint of cynicism seep into my voice.
My greatest joy in life is trying to improve my scores.
If the Q gang were to see this they’d have a field day.
It’s the last straw. I’m cutting my ties with that man once and for all!
“I don’t reply to strangers who address me so impertinently.” When Kijima realised I was rebuffing him, a contemptuous smile crossed his lips.
I’d heard that a girl from Sichuan could go to any city in the world and be assured of a warm welcome.
Yu Wei fought to bite back a sardonic laugh. “Yu Wei, my sister doesn’t come cheap.”
I gasped. How reprehensible! How could Yurio have been left in the hands of such a monster?
I was starving for mother’s affection. So I’m really happy to be living with you, aunt.
You can see the moustache-twirling and hear the gasps of horror from the audience. I kept expecting that one of the characters would be tied to a railroad track. Now – is this because
A – the first person narrators here think and write stiltedly, a deliberate style given to them by an author who wishes to reveal the paucity of their interior lives
Or
B – the translator has taken perfectly modern Japanese prose and perhaps due to demonic possession has turned it into hackneyed, stilted English
Or
C – Natsuo Kirino can’t write worth a damn?
I think readers of this translation can’t tell, so we have to roll with it and make of it what the hell we can.
IT’S TELEVISION
Me and daughter Georgia are big fans of The Walking Dead and she has pointed out to me how all the characters are always dressed so stylishly, and I have pointed out how all the actors are so good-looking, and she has said well, both of these things are because it’s television.
TV drama may try to create more realistic drama these days (assuming that is that the dead can come back to life) but they’ll never hire bad-looking actors and then dress them badly.
Likewise when you get characters’ diaries and journals, as you do in this novel, they always lapse into the kind of dialogue-and-detail-heavy prose which no-one except novelists would ever be able to sit down and write. The characters, whether they’re 16 year old schoolgirls or grizzled professors, become novelists.
That’s because it’s television.
WHAT IS THIS LONG BOOK ABOUT THEN?
It’s NOT a thriller, the murderer of the two prostitutes is casually revealed quite quickly, there’s zero suspense. It’s more like an elaborate enraged meditation on rigid class-bound Japanese society seen first through the prism of an elite high-school (Japanese Mean Girls but without the humour) and then through the grisly, sordid lives of two of them who become hookers. It’s also about Looksism – we’re told how beautiful the younger sister is and how not-the-least-attractive the older one is every third paragraph, it becomes most wearing, and Looksism is an ism which is of course true for the whole human race. (Which actors get called “character actors”? The ugly ones. ) So it's a kind of feminist howl of anger, too.
All the main characters hate each other, and one of them killed two of them, they’re all miserably intertwined. There is no fun to be had here – except to hoot at the various hilariously jaw-dropping zingers which these people say to each other - and here are a few favourites!!
I have to think about myself and all the people I’m involved with now : my family, Professor Kijima, all the people I killed.
I have to say, and I know this may seem harsh, that you’ve really changed. You look like you’ve got a few screws loose.
Once she turned 18 she became such a stunning beauty she even outdid Farrah Fawcett.
For a nymphomaniac like myself, I suppose there could be no job more suitable than prostitution.
She looked like some kind of swamp creature. So even a creature as ugly as this can fall in love?
I probably shouldn’t say this, but you’ve been warped for as long as I can remember.
Oh and also, one character who narrates great wedges of this novel is obsessed with physiognomy, so every gosh-darn time she meets someone we get variants of this:
His head was small, compact and nicely-shaped. His face had delicate lines, and his nose was high and thin, reminding me of the blade of a finely honed knife. His lips were fleshy, the kind girls would surely find sexy and swoon over.
MY CAT HATTER
This was a weird novel. After every chapter, which is a lengthy quote from someone’s diary or journal, another character will say “oh you can’t believe a word he says” or “I read those letters – what a load of rubbish”.
I asked my cat Hatter what he thought and he just said “Cut the chat and open the door, I got people to see” and he rushed off into the night. I nearly ran him over the other day, by the way. He streaked across the road just in front of my car. Stupid idiot. Now, flattening your own cat, that would be Grotesque.
This could be Hatter, the resemblance is eerie
Manny Rayner, peerless reviewmeister of Goodreads, insists that you should learn the language and then read the novels; all translation is ba-a-a-ad! I can’t disagree and if I had a machine which could stop time, I would certainly follow this advice. However, as I do not have such a device, I read the occasional translated novel and I come up with a variation of the problem here.
[Note - see discussion in messages below all about this interesting topic.]
The language in Grotesque is very often ridiculously stilted, hackneyed, and sounds like a trashy potboiler from 1870. Here are a few favourite examples:
“Well, it looks like you’re quite the victor!” I said, letting a hint of cynicism seep into my voice.
My greatest joy in life is trying to improve my scores.
If the Q gang were to see this they’d have a field day.
It’s the last straw. I’m cutting my ties with that man once and for all!
“I don’t reply to strangers who address me so impertinently.” When Kijima realised I was rebuffing him, a contemptuous smile crossed his lips.
I’d heard that a girl from Sichuan could go to any city in the world and be assured of a warm welcome.
Yu Wei fought to bite back a sardonic laugh. “Yu Wei, my sister doesn’t come cheap.”
I gasped. How reprehensible! How could Yurio have been left in the hands of such a monster?
I was starving for mother’s affection. So I’m really happy to be living with you, aunt.
You can see the moustache-twirling and hear the gasps of horror from the audience. I kept expecting that one of the characters would be tied to a railroad track. Now – is this because
A – the first person narrators here think and write stiltedly, a deliberate style given to them by an author who wishes to reveal the paucity of their interior lives
Or
B – the translator has taken perfectly modern Japanese prose and perhaps due to demonic possession has turned it into hackneyed, stilted English
Or
C – Natsuo Kirino can’t write worth a damn?
I think readers of this translation can’t tell, so we have to roll with it and make of it what the hell we can.
IT’S TELEVISION
Me and daughter Georgia are big fans of The Walking Dead and she has pointed out to me how all the characters are always dressed so stylishly, and I have pointed out how all the actors are so good-looking, and she has said well, both of these things are because it’s television.
TV drama may try to create more realistic drama these days (assuming that is that the dead can come back to life) but they’ll never hire bad-looking actors and then dress them badly.
Likewise when you get characters’ diaries and journals, as you do in this novel, they always lapse into the kind of dialogue-and-detail-heavy prose which no-one except novelists would ever be able to sit down and write. The characters, whether they’re 16 year old schoolgirls or grizzled professors, become novelists.
That’s because it’s television.
WHAT IS THIS LONG BOOK ABOUT THEN?
It’s NOT a thriller, the murderer of the two prostitutes is casually revealed quite quickly, there’s zero suspense. It’s more like an elaborate enraged meditation on rigid class-bound Japanese society seen first through the prism of an elite high-school (Japanese Mean Girls but without the humour) and then through the grisly, sordid lives of two of them who become hookers. It’s also about Looksism – we’re told how beautiful the younger sister is and how not-the-least-attractive the older one is every third paragraph, it becomes most wearing, and Looksism is an ism which is of course true for the whole human race. (Which actors get called “character actors”? The ugly ones. ) So it's a kind of feminist howl of anger, too.
All the main characters hate each other, and one of them killed two of them, they’re all miserably intertwined. There is no fun to be had here – except to hoot at the various hilariously jaw-dropping zingers which these people say to each other - and here are a few favourites!!
I have to think about myself and all the people I’m involved with now : my family, Professor Kijima, all the people I killed.
I have to say, and I know this may seem harsh, that you’ve really changed. You look like you’ve got a few screws loose.
Once she turned 18 she became such a stunning beauty she even outdid Farrah Fawcett.
For a nymphomaniac like myself, I suppose there could be no job more suitable than prostitution.
She looked like some kind of swamp creature. So even a creature as ugly as this can fall in love?
I probably shouldn’t say this, but you’ve been warped for as long as I can remember.
Oh and also, one character who narrates great wedges of this novel is obsessed with physiognomy, so every gosh-darn time she meets someone we get variants of this:
His head was small, compact and nicely-shaped. His face had delicate lines, and his nose was high and thin, reminding me of the blade of a finely honed knife. His lips were fleshy, the kind girls would surely find sexy and swoon over.
MY CAT HATTER
This was a weird novel. After every chapter, which is a lengthy quote from someone’s diary or journal, another character will say “oh you can’t believe a word he says” or “I read those letters – what a load of rubbish”.
I asked my cat Hatter what he thought and he just said “Cut the chat and open the door, I got people to see” and he rushed off into the night. I nearly ran him over the other day, by the way. He streaked across the road just in front of my car. Stupid idiot. Now, flattening your own cat, that would be Grotesque.
This could be Hatter, the resemblance is eerie
September 23, 2020
”My lascivious blood leaves me no choice but to lust for men. No matter how common I become, how ugly, how old, as long as there is life in my body I will go on wanting men. That’s just my fate. Even if men are no longer amazed when they see me, even if they no longer desire me, even if they belittle me, I have to sleep with them. No, I want to sleep with them. It’s the retribution for a divinity that no one can sustain forever. I suppose you could say my ‘power’ was little more than sin.”
Yuriko was born grotesquely, monstrously beautiful. It is unsettling to be around someone so excruciatingly gorgeous. Someone so ethereal that they suck all the oxygen out of a room and every head turns to watch them as if a unicorn has just pranced through the door. We believe that being born beautiful is a ticket to a lifetime of happiness, but being universally alluring and beguiling brings difficulties that are sometimes worse than being born painfully plain.
For instance, even as a pre-teen, grown men become prancing puppies around her.
Yuriko’s mother and father are mystified by her. They are proud of her, but also unsure of exactly how someone so lovely was spawned by their copulation. Yuriko is so beautiful that people struggle to believe that she is her mother’s daughter. To make matters worse, her sister loathes her. She speaks of her in terms usually used to describe diabolical creatures. For most of the book, the sister provides an unreliable narrative about not only Yuriko but the other people around her. We are never given her name, but as we get to know her, we start to understand that her personality has been warped by jealousy, deep seated anger, and bitterness. She is a destructive force in Yuriko’s life, but we also see that her gift for dreadful manipulations is a skill she shines on all who surround her.
We also follow the life of Kazue, a frequently stiff-armed friend of the narrator and a girl who worships Yuriko by doing everything she can to be as much like her as it is possible for someone who is not born with the gift of ethereal beauty. She is destined for failure, and the narrator has no small part ensuring that her insecurities are properly cultivated to assure her eventual destruction. Yuriko, with all her promise, becomes a plaything of men. Her fall down the ladder is not quick, but a rung at a time, until she finally lands on a street corner selling her body for a handful of coins. Kazue also becomes a prostitute. She is a graduate of university and uses that as an enticement for men who fantasize about having sex with a woman of her social standing. She sees prostitution as merely an opportunity of capitalism. ”By day a businesswoman; by night a whore. I was capable of using both my brains and my body to make money. Ha!” She wins!?
We are also introduced to a Chinese man named Zhang, who becomes a free floating electron bouncing between the atoms of Kazue and Yuriko. He was also born very handsome and carries his own bitterness at being abandoned by his sister, who becomes a prostitute. His love/hate for his sister leaves rattling rocks in his head that make him a ticking time bomb of derangement.
Our narrator goes on about her pathetic, unhappy life completely unaware of her influence on the outcomes of others. As Kazue says to Zhang at one point, “please be good to me,” which could have just as easily been Yuriko saying that. Everyone needs someone to be good to them, and unfortunately, most people never find someone who will provide that emotional safe harbor for them.
”Sperm, spit: a woman receives what men excrete.”
Natsuo Kirino puts us on a train with rattling boxcars and loosely bolted seats and pries up a few rails in front of the chugging engine to make sure we eventually crash. We know happiness for these characters has flown away, never to return again, and yet I have to keep reading. It isn’t about knowing the outcome. I have people frequently ask me...tell me how it ends, but the ending is not the sum of the book. Sometimes the ending is the least important part. As readers, we have to choose to get on that rust bucket of a train, even if the windows are broken and the pale conductor looks like he crawled out of a sarcophagus. The journey is discovering the nuances and the intrigue hidden in the shadows. Who are these people, really? And why must they continue down a path with no way to return? Why are people consumed by envy? Why do we continue to let destructive forces into our lives?
A strange, unsettling book.
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Yuriko was born grotesquely, monstrously beautiful. It is unsettling to be around someone so excruciatingly gorgeous. Someone so ethereal that they suck all the oxygen out of a room and every head turns to watch them as if a unicorn has just pranced through the door. We believe that being born beautiful is a ticket to a lifetime of happiness, but being universally alluring and beguiling brings difficulties that are sometimes worse than being born painfully plain.
For instance, even as a pre-teen, grown men become prancing puppies around her.
Yuriko’s mother and father are mystified by her. They are proud of her, but also unsure of exactly how someone so lovely was spawned by their copulation. Yuriko is so beautiful that people struggle to believe that she is her mother’s daughter. To make matters worse, her sister loathes her. She speaks of her in terms usually used to describe diabolical creatures. For most of the book, the sister provides an unreliable narrative about not only Yuriko but the other people around her. We are never given her name, but as we get to know her, we start to understand that her personality has been warped by jealousy, deep seated anger, and bitterness. She is a destructive force in Yuriko’s life, but we also see that her gift for dreadful manipulations is a skill she shines on all who surround her.
We also follow the life of Kazue, a frequently stiff-armed friend of the narrator and a girl who worships Yuriko by doing everything she can to be as much like her as it is possible for someone who is not born with the gift of ethereal beauty. She is destined for failure, and the narrator has no small part ensuring that her insecurities are properly cultivated to assure her eventual destruction. Yuriko, with all her promise, becomes a plaything of men. Her fall down the ladder is not quick, but a rung at a time, until she finally lands on a street corner selling her body for a handful of coins. Kazue also becomes a prostitute. She is a graduate of university and uses that as an enticement for men who fantasize about having sex with a woman of her social standing. She sees prostitution as merely an opportunity of capitalism. ”By day a businesswoman; by night a whore. I was capable of using both my brains and my body to make money. Ha!” She wins!?
We are also introduced to a Chinese man named Zhang, who becomes a free floating electron bouncing between the atoms of Kazue and Yuriko. He was also born very handsome and carries his own bitterness at being abandoned by his sister, who becomes a prostitute. His love/hate for his sister leaves rattling rocks in his head that make him a ticking time bomb of derangement.
Our narrator goes on about her pathetic, unhappy life completely unaware of her influence on the outcomes of others. As Kazue says to Zhang at one point, “please be good to me,” which could have just as easily been Yuriko saying that. Everyone needs someone to be good to them, and unfortunately, most people never find someone who will provide that emotional safe harbor for them.
”Sperm, spit: a woman receives what men excrete.”
Natsuo Kirino puts us on a train with rattling boxcars and loosely bolted seats and pries up a few rails in front of the chugging engine to make sure we eventually crash. We know happiness for these characters has flown away, never to return again, and yet I have to keep reading. It isn’t about knowing the outcome. I have people frequently ask me...tell me how it ends, but the ending is not the sum of the book. Sometimes the ending is the least important part. As readers, we have to choose to get on that rust bucket of a train, even if the windows are broken and the pale conductor looks like he crawled out of a sarcophagus. The journey is discovering the nuances and the intrigue hidden in the shadows. Who are these people, really? And why must they continue down a path with no way to return? Why are people consumed by envy? Why do we continue to let destructive forces into our lives?
A strange, unsettling book.
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October 23, 2021
Normally when you think of Japan, the things that come to your mind would be manga, kawaii, hello kitty, polite people, sushi, cosplay, etc, etc and all that fun stuff. This book will definitely crush some of the stereotypes regarding Japanese society. This definitely isn’t a book for everyone as it might make you uncomfortable and possibly suicidal. But if you are feeling miserably adventurous, then you should try this weird reading experience!
‘Grotesque’ is narrated by an unnamed, average-looking half Japanese woman who tells the story of her life. She’s bitter as she had to live in her younger sister’s shadow all her life; the sister, being insanely beautiful drew the attention of many and she couldn’t quite measure up to her. The tragedy is that her sister and her friend turned prostitutes end up dead and the journals they kept are handed over to her. So from her narration and the journals, we learn the story of all the characters.
What I loved most about the book was how the characters are presented to us but how they’re perceived by other characters. It gives you an insight into the complex personalities of people. The book also sheds light on issues in the Japanese society like the patriarchy, the unfair school system, the class divide. However, the key theme is prostitution. It talks about how the unequal society oppresses both types of women- those who are beautiful and those who are not, what causes both women to turn into prostitutes and how unfair societal expectations make a monster out of women.
I mostly enjoyed the narration of the unnamed narrator and her younger sister. It was raw and unembellished which I really liked. When it comes to the third character, it made me queasy to a whole another level to the point that I wanted to chuck the book away! (I couldn’t because I was reading in Kindle) The first half of the book is good but the next half, I just couldn’t figure out what’s really going on, as there were so many things happening all at once. The problem also lies in the translation. The word ‘monster’ was used in so many different contexts that the effect got lost.
Secondly, I did love the story and the overall message but I felt like the author tried to cram so many things into one, that the message kind of got jumbled like the characters’ actions. The ending was bizarre, to say the least. There’s another Chinese guy in the story but honestly, I didn’t find him that interesting. I had high expectations from this book as I read her other book ‘Out’ before but this just wasn’t my cup of tea.
This book isn’t a murder mystery but it’s more of an investigation into the characters involved in the mystery and you’re free to draw your own conclusions. If you’re looking for a creepy and dark story, look no further.
‘Grotesque’ is narrated by an unnamed, average-looking half Japanese woman who tells the story of her life. She’s bitter as she had to live in her younger sister’s shadow all her life; the sister, being insanely beautiful drew the attention of many and she couldn’t quite measure up to her. The tragedy is that her sister and her friend turned prostitutes end up dead and the journals they kept are handed over to her. So from her narration and the journals, we learn the story of all the characters.
What I loved most about the book was how the characters are presented to us but how they’re perceived by other characters. It gives you an insight into the complex personalities of people. The book also sheds light on issues in the Japanese society like the patriarchy, the unfair school system, the class divide. However, the key theme is prostitution. It talks about how the unequal society oppresses both types of women- those who are beautiful and those who are not, what causes both women to turn into prostitutes and how unfair societal expectations make a monster out of women.
I mostly enjoyed the narration of the unnamed narrator and her younger sister. It was raw and unembellished which I really liked. When it comes to the third character, it made me queasy to a whole another level to the point that I wanted to chuck the book away! (I couldn’t because I was reading in Kindle) The first half of the book is good but the next half, I just couldn’t figure out what’s really going on, as there were so many things happening all at once. The problem also lies in the translation. The word ‘monster’ was used in so many different contexts that the effect got lost.
Secondly, I did love the story and the overall message but I felt like the author tried to cram so many things into one, that the message kind of got jumbled like the characters’ actions. The ending was bizarre, to say the least. There’s another Chinese guy in the story but honestly, I didn’t find him that interesting. I had high expectations from this book as I read her other book ‘Out’ before but this just wasn’t my cup of tea.
This book isn’t a murder mystery but it’s more of an investigation into the characters involved in the mystery and you’re free to draw your own conclusions. If you’re looking for a creepy and dark story, look no further.
August 26, 2008
Recently, in a coffee shop near my home, I overheard one teenage boy intimating to another that if he were to ever marry it would not be to an American woman but a Japanese one because, “… they’re pretty, submissive, and just plain happy to be women.” Noting that more than a few eyelids batted at this exclamation, I wondered how these American teenagers happened upon their conclusions.
Kirino’s Grotesque is a tale of two sisters growing up in Japan. Yuriko, the youngest of the pair, lacks the mental acumen enjoyed by her older sister. However, in magnificent contrast to her elder sibling, Yuriko possesses a physical beauty so profound and holistically perfect she’s considered by many to be “unnatural”. Sibling rivalry comes to a head when a biology instructor at the prestigious Q High School for Young Women (the same school the elder sister immersed herself in study in order to pass its entrance exams) pulls strings to have Yuriko admitted so he may observe “…what happens when a mutant member of a species is introduced into a population”. Needless to say, this expands sibling conflict and upsets the tenuous balance between “the insiders” – those who are beautiful, wealthy, popular, and cool – and everyone else: “the outsiders”. This, of course, is what transpires on the novel’s surface. Beneath, the message is much grimmer.
Grotesque is an intriguing work. In it Kirino casts a wary eye on what could be ostensibly viewed as the fundamental cause of many of the ailments found in Japanese society today: the “intensification of individuation [resulting from:] being trapped within the same social community”. In this work characters with promising futures select paths which lead to their demise. Yuriko and Kazue, two female protagonists who attended the elite Q School, embrace prostitution throughout their lives. Kazue feels empowered by the sense of freedom she derives from “selling” her body to men and remarks to this in her journals. Mitsuru, another character which graduates the Q School system and continues on to become a physician, joins a cult and is incarcerated after the group engages in numerous terrorist acts. The desire to feel something – anything – seems to be the motivating force behind the destructive decisions these three characters make. It should be noted that neither of these three were ever actually “insiders” though Yuriko and Mitsuru were granted temporary passes. Is Kirino suggesting something by this? Perhaps. Perhaps not. In attempting to explain the strange synergy that exists between social pecking order, individual identity, and one’s place in the Japanese corporate hierarchy, Kazue puts it best when her “customer” terminates their relationship due to his pending retirement. She asks, “If a man has a retirement age in the corporate world, then should he also retire from buying prostitutes?”
Grotesque is a work which invites discussion. Readers seeking to peek into the envelope that contains Japanese social consciousness may very well find more than they bargained for in Kirino’s hand. It’s about time. Also, gratuitous formula sex is conspicuously absent from this book. Again, it’s about time. Kirino’s placement on the list of consequential modern authors is secure.
© Joel Glenn, Book Critic –The NYLS Book Review, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Kirino’s Grotesque is a tale of two sisters growing up in Japan. Yuriko, the youngest of the pair, lacks the mental acumen enjoyed by her older sister. However, in magnificent contrast to her elder sibling, Yuriko possesses a physical beauty so profound and holistically perfect she’s considered by many to be “unnatural”. Sibling rivalry comes to a head when a biology instructor at the prestigious Q High School for Young Women (the same school the elder sister immersed herself in study in order to pass its entrance exams) pulls strings to have Yuriko admitted so he may observe “…what happens when a mutant member of a species is introduced into a population”. Needless to say, this expands sibling conflict and upsets the tenuous balance between “the insiders” – those who are beautiful, wealthy, popular, and cool – and everyone else: “the outsiders”. This, of course, is what transpires on the novel’s surface. Beneath, the message is much grimmer.
Grotesque is an intriguing work. In it Kirino casts a wary eye on what could be ostensibly viewed as the fundamental cause of many of the ailments found in Japanese society today: the “intensification of individuation [resulting from:] being trapped within the same social community”. In this work characters with promising futures select paths which lead to their demise. Yuriko and Kazue, two female protagonists who attended the elite Q School, embrace prostitution throughout their lives. Kazue feels empowered by the sense of freedom she derives from “selling” her body to men and remarks to this in her journals. Mitsuru, another character which graduates the Q School system and continues on to become a physician, joins a cult and is incarcerated after the group engages in numerous terrorist acts. The desire to feel something – anything – seems to be the motivating force behind the destructive decisions these three characters make. It should be noted that neither of these three were ever actually “insiders” though Yuriko and Mitsuru were granted temporary passes. Is Kirino suggesting something by this? Perhaps. Perhaps not. In attempting to explain the strange synergy that exists between social pecking order, individual identity, and one’s place in the Japanese corporate hierarchy, Kazue puts it best when her “customer” terminates their relationship due to his pending retirement. She asks, “If a man has a retirement age in the corporate world, then should he also retire from buying prostitutes?”
Grotesque is a work which invites discussion. Readers seeking to peek into the envelope that contains Japanese social consciousness may very well find more than they bargained for in Kirino’s hand. It’s about time. Also, gratuitous formula sex is conspicuously absent from this book. Again, it’s about time. Kirino’s placement on the list of consequential modern authors is secure.
© Joel Glenn, Book Critic –The NYLS Book Review, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
September 8, 2022
ah… sì… quasi 900 pagine di pippone femminista giapponese che mi sono silurata in dieci giorni IN SESSIONE, che dire………..
June 9, 2019
‘’...something inside me has begun to crumble. I would go anywhere and at almost any price.’’
This is just a big ball of sadness.
There are 3 narrators. Yuriko, her unnamed sister and their former classmate Kazue:
⚫ I feel really bad for Kazue. Her life was just depressing.
⚫ Yuriko's sister is a bitter and jealous cunt. ‘’You idiot. Your IQ must not even top fifty!’’
⚫ I love Yuriko. After a while homegirl was just waiting to die. ‘’Death awaits.’’
The sex industry is tough. Prostitution is a difficult job.
So there is this guy in here and he is like 'well I’m a homosexual'... everything i'm reading this month contains lgbt characters? i didn't plan this. Happy pride month I guess.
I don’t know why it took me so long to buy this but oh well. Honestllyyy i don't wanna tell you much. Just read it but know this is more of a character study and a commentary and less of a crime/horror/mystery.
The translation issue:
‘’Publisher Knopf censored the American translation, removing a section involving underage male prostitution, as it was considered too taboo for U. S. audiences.’’
Thanks Wikipedia. Now I’m kinda pissed. I fucking hate censorship. I read some reviews on Goodreads and a lot of people mentioned the changes in the translation so I decided to go look into it. It’s so fucking annoying. Here is the link my link text to an analysis of the book I found if you are interested.
The original ending sounds so much better and I’m pissed they made a lot of changes and cut out things but don’t get me wrong, I still loved the ending. It’s pretty much the same. This will spoil the ending so read it, don’t read it, I’m not your mom:
This is just a big ball of sadness.
There are 3 narrators. Yuriko, her unnamed sister and their former classmate Kazue:
⚫ I feel really bad for Kazue. Her life was just depressing.
⚫ Yuriko's sister is a bitter and jealous cunt. ‘’You idiot. Your IQ must not even top fifty!’’
⚫ I love Yuriko. After a while homegirl was just waiting to die. ‘’Death awaits.’’
The sex industry is tough. Prostitution is a difficult job.
So there is this guy in here and he is like 'well I’m a homosexual'... everything i'm reading this month contains lgbt characters? i didn't plan this. Happy pride month I guess.
I don’t know why it took me so long to buy this but oh well. Honestllyyy i don't wanna tell you much. Just read it but know this is more of a character study and a commentary and less of a crime/horror/mystery.
The translation issue:
‘’Publisher Knopf censored the American translation, removing a section involving underage male prostitution, as it was considered too taboo for U. S. audiences.’’
Thanks Wikipedia. Now I’m kinda pissed. I fucking hate censorship. I read some reviews on Goodreads and a lot of people mentioned the changes in the translation so I decided to go look into it. It’s so fucking annoying. Here is the link my link text to an analysis of the book I found if you are interested.
The original ending sounds so much better and I’m pissed they made a lot of changes and cut out things but don’t get me wrong, I still loved the ending. It’s pretty much the same. This will spoil the ending so read it, don’t read it, I’m not your mom:
March 9, 2017
4.5 para nada fue lo que esperaba. A ratos complejo de leer pero ufff, intenso. Es de esos libros que voy a tener que digerir antes de poder escribir una reseña en forma.
Read
July 3, 2021Anyone who has as much of a passing interest or contact with Japanese culture is familiar with "ganbaru": difficult to translate, the verb means something like, "try one's best", "persevere", with the added implication of, "no matter what, in the face of any and all adversity and you will succeed".
At first blush, this seems like a wonderful notion. An exaltation of the human spirit, not so much via arbitrary ideas like "talent" but through a kind of tenacious dedication to a goal, a persistent effort toward something. And in many ways, "ganbaru" can be good.
Kirino Natsuo, though, is concerned with the dark undertows of the world at large and her country in particular. Grotesque is about many things, including the mechanisms society has for destroying women but for me it is first and foremost about how "ganbaru" has been hijacked to serve capitalism, in a sickening confluence of native misogyny and imported means of exploitation.
It is this interaction, a crucible of sorts, that Kirino dissects with her typical zest for digging deep beneath the glitter into the rot just beyond the surface.
The stage picked to explore these themes is the school, the company and the streets as experienced by prostitutes. The first two are the standard template for Japanese normativity: you go to a good school and then you get a good job as a salaryman. It is no surprise that as this model begins to show the cracks, it was already under severe pressure in the early 2000's when this book was published, so does much of Japanese identity buckle underneath it, giving rise to a sense of loss and confusion. The third one, the streets, seems to be cut from another cloth entirely but as Kirino intelligently leads the reader to see, there is a direct connection between working in a company as a drone to prostitution, in a very real sense since the clients are mostly company workers themselves who are already used to sidelining their female subordinates.
I mention "salarymen" and not "salarywomen" for a reason. The term applies exclusively to men. Women get to be "OL", "Office Ladies", lower salaried members of said companies whose chances of promotion into the higher echelons is zero and who are expected to retire once they marry.
Kazue, the character that I found most interesting in this cast of misfits, becomes a misfit because she has taken "ganbaru" to heart. The game is rigged from the start but Kazue does not think so. She deeply believes that she tries hard enough, her so-called peers in the affluent school she can barely afford to attend, will accept her as one of them. She believes that if she studies very hard, her grades will gain her recognition as "the best". She believes the world can be conquered by sheer gumption, hard effort and work.
But Kazue is a woman in Japan. And not one from the extremely rich elite either. From the very start, there were obstacles she could not possibly overcome no matter how very hard she tried. The POV that introduces Kazue to us is profoundly unsympathetic, it is, in fact, nothing short of vicious as it shines a light on all of her flaws with a kind of avid greed in catching her at fault. Which turns out to be extremely easy, as is to be expected.
That she ends up stranded in no man's land in her profession is also sadly predictable to anyone but herself: she is qualified and even wrote a report that receive an award but she cannot even reach the level of salaryman but is stuck, forever, not being precisely an OL but close enough.
The glorification of work along with the systematic sidelining women within the workplace form a double blind in which Kazue squirms, helplessly, very much like an unfortunate creature caught in the pinchers of a system that is overwhelmingly bent on breaking, making mince meat out of her and spitting out the bones when done. That the only way of balancing her work life should be more work, this time as a prostitute, may seem odd but makes perfect sense in a warped way.
There is only work, only effort, only trying really hard, and ganbaru, ganbaru, ganbaru. Tread water until you can't and then sink as Kazue says, at one point.
Because while "ganbaru" promises results, life, does not. "Ganbaru" can be something of a collective illusions and like so many illusions, there is pain and guilt at the bottom. Because if you are supposed to triumph if you try, and try, and try again then what is left to do if you fail after you tried, and tried, and tried yet again?
The answer is a gaping nothingness. You failed because it was your fault, of course.
You just didn't try hard enough.
Not every character falls prey to the illusion of "ganbaru" in this novel full of unreliable narrators. The nameless narrator, who aggregates every other narrative despite- or maybe because- she is so detached, is one who see through it with great lucidity. Her strategy is one of aggressive non-engagement with the world, punctured by vicious interventions that make the life of those she hates a little- or a hell lot-harder. She takes a particular kind of delight in setting up Kazue for failure, probably because harboring illusions is about the one sin she simply cannot abide. Kazue tries, the nameless narrator by definition does not because it will not make a lick of difference.
Whether the nameless narrator- who is eventually described as being more like Kazue than might seem- with her pathological horror and fascination with beauty, her hang-ups with her "monstrously" beautiful sister whom she blames for virtually all that ever goes wrong- is not frustrated because her own effort, when applied, went nowhere, is not entirely clear. But that is very likely part and parcel of the state of things.
In other words, even if you do not believe in "ganbaru", it still has an impact in your life.
Once an illusion has become infused with the way a nation perceives itself and has become assimilated to structures deemed too deep to possibly be contested, it can only have devastating effects a bit all over.
I wish I had read this book in the original as I cannot help but wonder how many times "ganbaru" appears throughout. So I will finish this review with a bit of amateurish linguistic analysis. [頑張る], "ganbaru": while full of very positive connotations, I find it very interesting that it is written with the kanji [頑], meaning, "stubborn" in plenty of contexts. The ways in which different significants aggregate around the same signifier is particularly telling in a language like Japanese in which meaning is conveying in logograms.
[頑] carries this ambiguous charge, it is an example of the darkness contained in official narratives.
At first blush, this seems like a wonderful notion. An exaltation of the human spirit, not so much via arbitrary ideas like "talent" but through a kind of tenacious dedication to a goal, a persistent effort toward something. And in many ways, "ganbaru" can be good.
Kirino Natsuo, though, is concerned with the dark undertows of the world at large and her country in particular. Grotesque is about many things, including the mechanisms society has for destroying women but for me it is first and foremost about how "ganbaru" has been hijacked to serve capitalism, in a sickening confluence of native misogyny and imported means of exploitation.
It is this interaction, a crucible of sorts, that Kirino dissects with her typical zest for digging deep beneath the glitter into the rot just beyond the surface.
The stage picked to explore these themes is the school, the company and the streets as experienced by prostitutes. The first two are the standard template for Japanese normativity: you go to a good school and then you get a good job as a salaryman. It is no surprise that as this model begins to show the cracks, it was already under severe pressure in the early 2000's when this book was published, so does much of Japanese identity buckle underneath it, giving rise to a sense of loss and confusion. The third one, the streets, seems to be cut from another cloth entirely but as Kirino intelligently leads the reader to see, there is a direct connection between working in a company as a drone to prostitution, in a very real sense since the clients are mostly company workers themselves who are already used to sidelining their female subordinates.
I mention "salarymen" and not "salarywomen" for a reason. The term applies exclusively to men. Women get to be "OL", "Office Ladies", lower salaried members of said companies whose chances of promotion into the higher echelons is zero and who are expected to retire once they marry.
Kazue, the character that I found most interesting in this cast of misfits, becomes a misfit because she has taken "ganbaru" to heart. The game is rigged from the start but Kazue does not think so. She deeply believes that she tries hard enough, her so-called peers in the affluent school she can barely afford to attend, will accept her as one of them. She believes that if she studies very hard, her grades will gain her recognition as "the best". She believes the world can be conquered by sheer gumption, hard effort and work.
But Kazue is a woman in Japan. And not one from the extremely rich elite either. From the very start, there were obstacles she could not possibly overcome no matter how very hard she tried. The POV that introduces Kazue to us is profoundly unsympathetic, it is, in fact, nothing short of vicious as it shines a light on all of her flaws with a kind of avid greed in catching her at fault. Which turns out to be extremely easy, as is to be expected.
That she ends up stranded in no man's land in her profession is also sadly predictable to anyone but herself: she is qualified and even wrote a report that receive an award but she cannot even reach the level of salaryman but is stuck, forever, not being precisely an OL but close enough.
The glorification of work along with the systematic sidelining women within the workplace form a double blind in which Kazue squirms, helplessly, very much like an unfortunate creature caught in the pinchers of a system that is overwhelmingly bent on breaking, making mince meat out of her and spitting out the bones when done. That the only way of balancing her work life should be more work, this time as a prostitute, may seem odd but makes perfect sense in a warped way.
There is only work, only effort, only trying really hard, and ganbaru, ganbaru, ganbaru. Tread water until you can't and then sink as Kazue says, at one point.
Because while "ganbaru" promises results, life, does not. "Ganbaru" can be something of a collective illusions and like so many illusions, there is pain and guilt at the bottom. Because if you are supposed to triumph if you try, and try, and try again then what is left to do if you fail after you tried, and tried, and tried yet again?
The answer is a gaping nothingness. You failed because it was your fault, of course.
You just didn't try hard enough.
Not every character falls prey to the illusion of "ganbaru" in this novel full of unreliable narrators. The nameless narrator, who aggregates every other narrative despite- or maybe because- she is so detached, is one who see through it with great lucidity. Her strategy is one of aggressive non-engagement with the world, punctured by vicious interventions that make the life of those she hates a little- or a hell lot-harder. She takes a particular kind of delight in setting up Kazue for failure, probably because harboring illusions is about the one sin she simply cannot abide. Kazue tries, the nameless narrator by definition does not because it will not make a lick of difference.
Whether the nameless narrator- who is eventually described as being more like Kazue than might seem- with her pathological horror and fascination with beauty, her hang-ups with her "monstrously" beautiful sister whom she blames for virtually all that ever goes wrong- is not frustrated because her own effort, when applied, went nowhere, is not entirely clear. But that is very likely part and parcel of the state of things.
In other words, even if you do not believe in "ganbaru", it still has an impact in your life.
Once an illusion has become infused with the way a nation perceives itself and has become assimilated to structures deemed too deep to possibly be contested, it can only have devastating effects a bit all over.
I wish I had read this book in the original as I cannot help but wonder how many times "ganbaru" appears throughout. So I will finish this review with a bit of amateurish linguistic analysis. [頑張る], "ganbaru": while full of very positive connotations, I find it very interesting that it is written with the kanji [頑], meaning, "stubborn" in plenty of contexts. The ways in which different significants aggregate around the same signifier is particularly telling in a language like Japanese in which meaning is conveying in logograms.
[頑] carries this ambiguous charge, it is an example of the darkness contained in official narratives.
April 27, 2016
4.5/5
Boy meets girl, boy wants girl, girl falls in love, girl dies in a fire so that the boy may be thrust into full frontal character development via manpain spectaculair, but how about sex work. How about corporatized masculinity. How about the mixes and all their monstrous and rapeable glory. How about we instead traverse the lifelines of chick lit beyond that undefined age range of early teens to the liminal space of menopause and delve into the prepubescent rape. Into the dead under a bridge at the age of 39. Into the sex objects that for whatever reason are now being introduced to the world of Self and Self-Worth and expected to strive at four, at fourteen, at the internal hierarchy of growth till a woman's too old to be worth very much. I know, the gender dichotomy's old hat and really not as ingrained as the present Eurotopia would like to believe, but there's still a Lolita in the halls of the classics. There's still a Fantine in the struts of the stage. There are still spinsters in the halls and beauty in the incest and girlfriends in the refrigerators and grudges straining upside down and backwards down the stairs of haunted houses; from the looks of The Tale of Genji, their lineage has been a long one.
Part of why I'm making a distinction between the ease in which the prose conveys itself to my sensibilities and the concepts I parse in between is the whole mess that's involved whenever translation rears its head. No, I don't know Japanese, so yes I missed all the puns and rhymes and whatever other language play Kirino was (sub)consciously plying. Yes, I'm also not Japanese, so now there's culture clash blending its way into the already tricky business of translating languages with disparate ontological roots. The book was published in a different form in 2003, translated four years later, read eight years after that, and I can't say at all whether the contemporary time has enabled my comprehension or sucked it dry with history too recent to be learned from. All I can say is, the bloodbound hierarchy's very familiar. The fascination white people have for Japan and vice versa, all to an extremely abusive degree on their respective diaspora, is very familiar. Late capitalism's going to be very familiar for who knows how long, rape culture plus globalization is resulting in this whole family tree of genome clusters and distinctively mutated fuckery, and that training to highly educated perfection with society's respect on the one hand and the (highly disguised) need to exist on the other? Loud and clear, especially when everyone's their own individual and all want to be on top.
All I'm trying to say is that, in fiction, you usually don't view the oncoming gang rape from all perspectives and follow each and every one of those stalks back to their socially indoctrinated roots of respectability politics. It may be used quite often by any old creative director who thinks their narrative needs a boost, but contextualized? Contrasted? Trained, experienced, and acclimatized? Nah. It's rare enough that you can't really say only the classics would tackle it well, or only the pop fiction would stoop to those levels.
The pain of being treated like a mere object. And a sense that this pain would turn into pleasure.I've noticed an expansion in my reading standards of late that is old enough to have partway integrated itself into instinct, young enough for the instincts themselves to seem of peculiar make. It all boils down to a sense that, alright, since so much is passed over for the sake of beauteous prose, how about the same be held to when it comes to uncommon ideological groundwork. An author's writing may flow over my comprehension as smoothly as silk over lubricated skin, but pleasure's a thing of friction and reading's my Mnemosyne, so understanding's not worth much if nothing's left to contemplate.
Boy meets girl, boy wants girl, girl falls in love, girl dies in a fire so that the boy may be thrust into full frontal character development via manpain spectaculair, but how about sex work. How about corporatized masculinity. How about the mixes and all their monstrous and rapeable glory. How about we instead traverse the lifelines of chick lit beyond that undefined age range of early teens to the liminal space of menopause and delve into the prepubescent rape. Into the dead under a bridge at the age of 39. Into the sex objects that for whatever reason are now being introduced to the world of Self and Self-Worth and expected to strive at four, at fourteen, at the internal hierarchy of growth till a woman's too old to be worth very much. I know, the gender dichotomy's old hat and really not as ingrained as the present Eurotopia would like to believe, but there's still a Lolita in the halls of the classics. There's still a Fantine in the struts of the stage. There are still spinsters in the halls and beauty in the incest and girlfriends in the refrigerators and grudges straining upside down and backwards down the stairs of haunted houses; from the looks of The Tale of Genji, their lineage has been a long one.
Part of why I'm making a distinction between the ease in which the prose conveys itself to my sensibilities and the concepts I parse in between is the whole mess that's involved whenever translation rears its head. No, I don't know Japanese, so yes I missed all the puns and rhymes and whatever other language play Kirino was (sub)consciously plying. Yes, I'm also not Japanese, so now there's culture clash blending its way into the already tricky business of translating languages with disparate ontological roots. The book was published in a different form in 2003, translated four years later, read eight years after that, and I can't say at all whether the contemporary time has enabled my comprehension or sucked it dry with history too recent to be learned from. All I can say is, the bloodbound hierarchy's very familiar. The fascination white people have for Japan and vice versa, all to an extremely abusive degree on their respective diaspora, is very familiar. Late capitalism's going to be very familiar for who knows how long, rape culture plus globalization is resulting in this whole family tree of genome clusters and distinctively mutated fuckery, and that training to highly educated perfection with society's respect on the one hand and the (highly disguised) need to exist on the other? Loud and clear, especially when everyone's their own individual and all want to be on top.
All I'm trying to say is that, in fiction, you usually don't view the oncoming gang rape from all perspectives and follow each and every one of those stalks back to their socially indoctrinated roots of respectability politics. It may be used quite often by any old creative director who thinks their narrative needs a boost, but contextualized? Contrasted? Trained, experienced, and acclimatized? Nah. It's rare enough that you can't really say only the classics would tackle it well, or only the pop fiction would stoop to those levels.
A woman who does not know herself has no choice other than to live with other people's evaluations. But no one can adapt perfectly to public opinion. And herein lies the source of their destruction.To be honest, I know better than to trust a narrative involving sex workers that wasn't actually written a member of that particular trade. However, Kirino being Kirino, I don't have to trust her to learn something worth knowing.
March 3, 2023
Puneti-va centura de siguranta! Este genul de roman care o sa va zguduie precum intr-un roller coaster. Fiind tulburator, socant, obraznic, bizar, erotic si provocator iti capteaza atentia de la inceput pana la sfarsit fiind imposibil de lasat din mana.
Ca sa intelegem cat mai bine personajele romanului trebuie sa le analizam pe toate prin prisma a patru elemente centrale: ura, frumusete, saracie si sex. De altfel cartea este un adevarat cult al urii, geloziei si invidiei iar personajele parca se straduiesc sa atinga cea mai joasa forma a degradarii si distrugerii.
Protagonista al carei nume nu il aflam nici pana la sfarsit este sora mai mare a lui Yuriko si o detesta pe aceasta pentru ca este foarte frumoasa. Ea este si naratoarea primei parti a cartii si aflam povestea din perspectiva ei care, o sa vedem mai tarziu este inexacta, plina de ura si rautate. Virgina pana la 40 de ani, uraste barbatii, i-ar fi placut sa-si distruga sora pentru frumusetea ei si are o abordare cinica si dispretuitoare cu colegele ei. Desi se auto-considera inteligenta nu se realizeaza nici din punct de vedere al carierei si ne lasa impresia unui fruct expirat, sterp si uscat de propria rautate.
Trecand la sex si frumusete trebuie sa avem in vedere jurnalul lui Yuriko. Obisnuita fiind sa obtina totul prin trasaturile ei estetice ea are lumea la picioare insa nu o intereseaza nimic altceva decat puterea pe care i-o ofera sexul si barbatii. Ea iubeste atat sexul cat si barbatii si devine prostituata inca din liceu. Din pacate sfarseste foarte rau fiind ucisa intr-o noapte de catre un client. Constienta fiind de soarta unei asemenea femei, care-si vinde trupul noapte de noapte este convinsa ca moartea va fi unica ei izbavire.
In ceea ce priveste saracia trebuie sa citim depozitia lui Zhang, chinezul imigrant care este ucigasul lui Yuriko. Saracia descrisa este una crunta, urata, neagra, deloc romantata asa cum poate ne-au obisnuit unele carti. Aflam cat de importanta poate sa fie o sticla aproape goala de Coca-Cola cu cativa stropi ramasi si mirosul unei mandarine atunci cand nu ai avut niciodata acces la ele. Acestea sunt metafore ale saraciei pentru Zhang. O alta ar fi numele designerului vestimentar Ralph Lauren
brodat de catre Kazue pe soseata uniformei ei de la scoala pentru a nu fi mai prejos decat colegele sale bogate. Romanul ne da astfel ocazia sa aflam cat de mari sunt discrepantele dintre elevii bogati si saraci ai unui liceu de elita din Japonia. Tot de la Kazue, colega de clasa a celor doua surori de mai sus aflam ca in casele sarace exista o ordine ierarhica in care membrii pot manca, tatal primind bucatele cele mai bune iar restul familiei, in functie de performante. Aceste descrieri ale traiului lor sunt destul de socante.
In ultimul rand trebuie sa vorbim despre Kazue care desi lucreaza intr-o companie de elita, innegrita de invidie pentru Yuriko, urand tot ce o inconjoara, mai ales oamenii, ajunge si ea noaptea sa se prostitueze si sa fie ucisa. Jurnalul ei ne dezvaluie totate fatele urate ale meseriei de prostituata. Este ca o numaratoare inversa, pentru auto-distrugere si degradare, client cu client.
Insa cea mai graitoare imagine a "mizu-shobai"-ului (eufemism pentru industria amorului pe bani) este "hoasca de Marlboro", o batrana prostituata de la coltul strazii care inca isi continua rondurile de noapte nevrand sa-si cedeze locul tinerelor practicante.
Romanul este extraordinar de viu conturat cu personaje intr-adevar grotesti si am selectat aici cateva citate reprezentative:
"Am invatat ca pentru a putea supravietui exista un singur fel in care ma puteam lupta cu un barbat."
"De fapt, cu cat era mai pervers partenerul meu, cu atat mai atrasa ma simteam de el, pentru ca doar satisfacand dorintele amantului meu simteam ca traiesc."
"Si in pupilele ochilor mei larg deschisi se vede ceva pe care nu-l mai am: o frica de barbati si un dor navalnic."
"Nu-mi pot inchipui o fiinta mai dezgustatoare ca barbatul, cu muschii si oasele sale puternice, pielea asudata, par pe tot corpul si genunchi nodurosi."
"O femeie care nu se cunoaste pe sine nu are alta alternativa decat sa traiasca dupa evaluarile celorlalti."
"Numai ca frumusetea pare sa-si aiba propria busola; frumusetea atrage frumusete si, o data ce s-a stabilit legatura, asa va fi de-a pururi."
"Ma durea ca eram tratata ca un simplu obiect. Simteam ca aceasta durere se va transforma in placere."
"Pe atunci nu intelegeam de ce barbatii destepti nu aleg mereu o femeie inteligenta."
"Sangele meu senzual nu-mi da alta posibilitate decat sa ravnesc la barbati. Indiferent cat de stearsa, urata si batrana voi ajunge, cat timp mai exista viata in acest trup, o sa-mi doresc barbati. Asta e soarta mea."
Ca sa intelegem cat mai bine personajele romanului trebuie sa le analizam pe toate prin prisma a patru elemente centrale: ura, frumusete, saracie si sex. De altfel cartea este un adevarat cult al urii, geloziei si invidiei iar personajele parca se straduiesc sa atinga cea mai joasa forma a degradarii si distrugerii.
Protagonista al carei nume nu il aflam nici pana la sfarsit este sora mai mare a lui Yuriko si o detesta pe aceasta pentru ca este foarte frumoasa. Ea este si naratoarea primei parti a cartii si aflam povestea din perspectiva ei care, o sa vedem mai tarziu este inexacta, plina de ura si rautate. Virgina pana la 40 de ani, uraste barbatii, i-ar fi placut sa-si distruga sora pentru frumusetea ei si are o abordare cinica si dispretuitoare cu colegele ei. Desi se auto-considera inteligenta nu se realizeaza nici din punct de vedere al carierei si ne lasa impresia unui fruct expirat, sterp si uscat de propria rautate.
Trecand la sex si frumusete trebuie sa avem in vedere jurnalul lui Yuriko. Obisnuita fiind sa obtina totul prin trasaturile ei estetice ea are lumea la picioare insa nu o intereseaza nimic altceva decat puterea pe care i-o ofera sexul si barbatii. Ea iubeste atat sexul cat si barbatii si devine prostituata inca din liceu. Din pacate sfarseste foarte rau fiind ucisa intr-o noapte de catre un client. Constienta fiind de soarta unei asemenea femei, care-si vinde trupul noapte de noapte este convinsa ca moartea va fi unica ei izbavire.
In ceea ce priveste saracia trebuie sa citim depozitia lui Zhang, chinezul imigrant care este ucigasul lui Yuriko. Saracia descrisa este una crunta, urata, neagra, deloc romantata asa cum poate ne-au obisnuit unele carti. Aflam cat de importanta poate sa fie o sticla aproape goala de Coca-Cola cu cativa stropi ramasi si mirosul unei mandarine atunci cand nu ai avut niciodata acces la ele. Acestea sunt metafore ale saraciei pentru Zhang. O alta ar fi numele designerului vestimentar Ralph Lauren
brodat de catre Kazue pe soseata uniformei ei de la scoala pentru a nu fi mai prejos decat colegele sale bogate. Romanul ne da astfel ocazia sa aflam cat de mari sunt discrepantele dintre elevii bogati si saraci ai unui liceu de elita din Japonia. Tot de la Kazue, colega de clasa a celor doua surori de mai sus aflam ca in casele sarace exista o ordine ierarhica in care membrii pot manca, tatal primind bucatele cele mai bune iar restul familiei, in functie de performante. Aceste descrieri ale traiului lor sunt destul de socante.
In ultimul rand trebuie sa vorbim despre Kazue care desi lucreaza intr-o companie de elita, innegrita de invidie pentru Yuriko, urand tot ce o inconjoara, mai ales oamenii, ajunge si ea noaptea sa se prostitueze si sa fie ucisa. Jurnalul ei ne dezvaluie totate fatele urate ale meseriei de prostituata. Este ca o numaratoare inversa, pentru auto-distrugere si degradare, client cu client.
Insa cea mai graitoare imagine a "mizu-shobai"-ului (eufemism pentru industria amorului pe bani) este "hoasca de Marlboro", o batrana prostituata de la coltul strazii care inca isi continua rondurile de noapte nevrand sa-si cedeze locul tinerelor practicante.
Romanul este extraordinar de viu conturat cu personaje intr-adevar grotesti si am selectat aici cateva citate reprezentative:
"Am invatat ca pentru a putea supravietui exista un singur fel in care ma puteam lupta cu un barbat."
"De fapt, cu cat era mai pervers partenerul meu, cu atat mai atrasa ma simteam de el, pentru ca doar satisfacand dorintele amantului meu simteam ca traiesc."
"Si in pupilele ochilor mei larg deschisi se vede ceva pe care nu-l mai am: o frica de barbati si un dor navalnic."
"Nu-mi pot inchipui o fiinta mai dezgustatoare ca barbatul, cu muschii si oasele sale puternice, pielea asudata, par pe tot corpul si genunchi nodurosi."
"O femeie care nu se cunoaste pe sine nu are alta alternativa decat sa traiasca dupa evaluarile celorlalti."
"Numai ca frumusetea pare sa-si aiba propria busola; frumusetea atrage frumusete si, o data ce s-a stabilit legatura, asa va fi de-a pururi."
"Ma durea ca eram tratata ca un simplu obiect. Simteam ca aceasta durere se va transforma in placere."
"Pe atunci nu intelegeam de ce barbatii destepti nu aleg mereu o femeie inteligenta."
"Sangele meu senzual nu-mi da alta posibilitate decat sa ravnesc la barbati. Indiferent cat de stearsa, urata si batrana voi ajunge, cat timp mai exista viata in acest trup, o sa-mi doresc barbati. Asta e soarta mea."
January 29, 2026
"In order to induce the process of decay, water is necessary. I think that, in the case of women, men are the water."
Natsuo Kirino's Grotesque is not so much a crime novel as it is a complex, multi-narrative character study that hones in on the slow-building self-destruction of its melancholic cast.
This novel was fascinating to explore.
Grotesque loosely follows the murders of two prostitutes, Yuriko and Kazue, who are both killed less than a year apart while working the gritty backstreets of Shibuya.
Yet, there's not really a crime to solve in this book. It's revealed immediately by the unnamed narrator that her younger sister and childhood 'friend' are slaughtered by the hands of an undocumented immigrant— a Chinese laborer named Zhang.
As swiftly as the narrator provides this information is precisely as fast as she moves on from the topic of homicide.
Well, that's simply because she doesn't care.
Grotesque is about examining every event leading up to Yuriko and Kazue's untimely demise.
These events are depicted bitterly— doused in spite, hatred, and plenty of vitriol. Primarily through the eyes of the anonymous narrator, only acknowledged as Yuriko's unsightly, older sister— the reader is offered the opportunity to delve into the tumultuous backgrounds of the two women.
Readers of Grotesque will quickly recognize that the unnamed storyteller is morally grey. This understanding will cast its audience into a conundrum, and the narrator knows that.
In that case, she'll toss in some other information. The multi-narrative perspective comes from a collection of journal entries left behind by both Yuriko and Kazue, a lengthy personal statement from their killer detailing his reason for the crimes, letters from a high school teacher, and a couple of alternating perspectives from secondary characters.
This is all provided by the narrator for clarification.
But everyone's perspective is shockingly different.
And you never really know who is lying.
Grotesque offers very little on why two promising young women found themselves in the depths of prostitution— but focuses on the varying sociopolitical issues that may have pushed them into darkness, starting from their childhoods.
This book is dense, and I'd rather my review not give everything away.
What I will say, is that Natsuo Kirino uses an array of powerful commentary regarding the lives of young women in Japan as a canvas to eventually paint a bleak, hopeless, and deafeningly dark portrait.
She delves into topics such as beauty standards, classism, mixed-race identity, ageism, patriarchal Japanese structures, and broken self-identity to push the narrative forward. What I thought would be a fast-paced crime novel— turned out to be a complex piece of masterful literature about the human psyche.
Everyone in this book is a mess, and all of them equally fragmented.
Natsuo Kirino leaves it that way— a true noir, a seedy underbelly that has stripped every character of their bearings.
There's no build-up, and ultimately there is no resolve.
There are two dead women, and the rest of the characters remain cast in their darkness, haunted by their unpleasant pasts.
While Grotesque may feel flat, dense, and tedious to some readers— I'm advocating heavily for it. The book is stunning. It deserves every bit of my ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ star rating. Natsuo Kirino writes Japanese feminist noir like none other, and her ability to interweave horrific crimes with important social commentary always leaves me hungry to turn the page. This novel has worked its way into the top spot when it comes to my favorite writing work from the author.
A masterpiece.
Note: While I absolutely disliked the translation, I know that Kirino’s thoughts and commentary were still vastly conveyed. I’ve read that this book’s ending was apparently botched and parts left out, which seems true due to its vague and abrupt ending. I will look into this further and continue to advance my knowledge on reading in Japanese. I read way too many Japanese literature books to remain idle. I need the stories directly from the source.
Natsuo Kirino's Grotesque is not so much a crime novel as it is a complex, multi-narrative character study that hones in on the slow-building self-destruction of its melancholic cast.
This novel was fascinating to explore.
Grotesque loosely follows the murders of two prostitutes, Yuriko and Kazue, who are both killed less than a year apart while working the gritty backstreets of Shibuya.
Yet, there's not really a crime to solve in this book. It's revealed immediately by the unnamed narrator that her younger sister and childhood 'friend' are slaughtered by the hands of an undocumented immigrant— a Chinese laborer named Zhang.
As swiftly as the narrator provides this information is precisely as fast as she moves on from the topic of homicide.
Well, that's simply because she doesn't care.
Grotesque is about examining every event leading up to Yuriko and Kazue's untimely demise.
These events are depicted bitterly— doused in spite, hatred, and plenty of vitriol. Primarily through the eyes of the anonymous narrator, only acknowledged as Yuriko's unsightly, older sister— the reader is offered the opportunity to delve into the tumultuous backgrounds of the two women.
Readers of Grotesque will quickly recognize that the unnamed storyteller is morally grey. This understanding will cast its audience into a conundrum, and the narrator knows that.
In that case, she'll toss in some other information. The multi-narrative perspective comes from a collection of journal entries left behind by both Yuriko and Kazue, a lengthy personal statement from their killer detailing his reason for the crimes, letters from a high school teacher, and a couple of alternating perspectives from secondary characters.
This is all provided by the narrator for clarification.
But everyone's perspective is shockingly different.
And you never really know who is lying.
Grotesque offers very little on why two promising young women found themselves in the depths of prostitution— but focuses on the varying sociopolitical issues that may have pushed them into darkness, starting from their childhoods.
This book is dense, and I'd rather my review not give everything away.
What I will say, is that Natsuo Kirino uses an array of powerful commentary regarding the lives of young women in Japan as a canvas to eventually paint a bleak, hopeless, and deafeningly dark portrait.
She delves into topics such as beauty standards, classism, mixed-race identity, ageism, patriarchal Japanese structures, and broken self-identity to push the narrative forward. What I thought would be a fast-paced crime novel— turned out to be a complex piece of masterful literature about the human psyche.
Everyone in this book is a mess, and all of them equally fragmented.
Natsuo Kirino leaves it that way— a true noir, a seedy underbelly that has stripped every character of their bearings.
There's no build-up, and ultimately there is no resolve.
There are two dead women, and the rest of the characters remain cast in their darkness, haunted by their unpleasant pasts.
While Grotesque may feel flat, dense, and tedious to some readers— I'm advocating heavily for it. The book is stunning. It deserves every bit of my ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ star rating. Natsuo Kirino writes Japanese feminist noir like none other, and her ability to interweave horrific crimes with important social commentary always leaves me hungry to turn the page. This novel has worked its way into the top spot when it comes to my favorite writing work from the author.
A masterpiece.
Note: While I absolutely disliked the translation, I know that Kirino’s thoughts and commentary were still vastly conveyed. I’ve read that this book’s ending was apparently botched and parts left out, which seems true due to its vague and abrupt ending. I will look into this further and continue to advance my knowledge on reading in Japanese. I read way too many Japanese literature books to remain idle. I need the stories directly from the source.
March 14, 2008
(3.75) The other reviews can reveal what this book is about. What I wanted to share is the extreme responses this book incited in my boyfriend and me. He alternately found himself loving the narrator, Yuriko's sister, for her brutal honesty and hating her for her malice and psychological bullying of Kazue. Meanwhile, I found myself rooting the narrator on as she spoke the cruel truth about the pitiful hopelessness of Kazue's meritocratic dreams, but a moment later I wondered if that made me a bully myself or as bitter and heartless as the narrator. Perhaps it reminded me too much of what I had seen growing up to shock me.
Then, there was the simultaneous hilarity and pain of Kazue's cluelessness. Was she a tragic figure, blind, or both? I admired Kirino for inspiring me to feel so much for her characters, even for Yuriko, who is certainly not the ditsy airhead her older sister wants us to believe she is (I also found it hard to believe she was as ghastly as she considered herself in her 30s: is it just because women past 25 in Japan are regarded as Christmas cake, as a friend from Japan says?).
My attention was quite strained by Zhang's tale of Chinese hardship (it seemed the wrong book to educate the reader about how difficult it is for immigrants in Japan), but I immediately forgave Kirino when Yuriko's older sister admitted herself Zhang's account was tedious and could be skipped (I'd recommend others to skim it as well).
Again, my patience was tested by Kazue's journal: I just kept on thinking, aren't you ready to die yet? But I see this was intentional on Kirino's part, to make the reader struggle between our (or my) wanting Kazue to just give up on life and our feeling ashamed for our coldness and complicity in her bullying. It also made my boyfriend and me think concurrently of the people we loved in our own lives who were heading towards the same fate as Kazue and Yuriko, not through prostitution but through drugs.
What did disappoint me in the end was the last chapter, which seemed a cop-out. If only an editor had suggested it was unconvincing and encouraged her that an alternative, though more shocking, would be more in line with the narrator's character, but that is wishful thinking on my part. When I give this book to others, which I will, I will make sure to discuss with them, when they've finished, what they thought of the ending.
This book could have been edited down a hundred pages (back when it was written in Japanese), but for what it did offer, I have no regrets for its consuming my attention entirely and will always look forward to further translations of Kirino's books. This book may not be the masterpiece "Out" was, but for anyone who has gone to an elite school on scholarship, striven to remain a petite zero, wanted to excel while recognizing how off-the-mark our values of judgment are, or wondered just how much her body could be worth, reading "Grotesque" is just as powerful an experience as reading "Out" was.
Then, there was the simultaneous hilarity and pain of Kazue's cluelessness. Was she a tragic figure, blind, or both? I admired Kirino for inspiring me to feel so much for her characters, even for Yuriko, who is certainly not the ditsy airhead her older sister wants us to believe she is (I also found it hard to believe she was as ghastly as she considered herself in her 30s: is it just because women past 25 in Japan are regarded as Christmas cake, as a friend from Japan says?).
My attention was quite strained by Zhang's tale of Chinese hardship (it seemed the wrong book to educate the reader about how difficult it is for immigrants in Japan), but I immediately forgave Kirino when Yuriko's older sister admitted herself Zhang's account was tedious and could be skipped (I'd recommend others to skim it as well).
Again, my patience was tested by Kazue's journal: I just kept on thinking, aren't you ready to die yet? But I see this was intentional on Kirino's part, to make the reader struggle between our (or my) wanting Kazue to just give up on life and our feeling ashamed for our coldness and complicity in her bullying. It also made my boyfriend and me think concurrently of the people we loved in our own lives who were heading towards the same fate as Kazue and Yuriko, not through prostitution but through drugs.
What did disappoint me in the end was the last chapter, which seemed a cop-out. If only an editor had suggested it was unconvincing and encouraged her that an alternative, though more shocking, would be more in line with the narrator's character, but that is wishful thinking on my part. When I give this book to others, which I will, I will make sure to discuss with them, when they've finished, what they thought of the ending.
This book could have been edited down a hundred pages (back when it was written in Japanese), but for what it did offer, I have no regrets for its consuming my attention entirely and will always look forward to further translations of Kirino's books. This book may not be the masterpiece "Out" was, but for anyone who has gone to an elite school on scholarship, striven to remain a petite zero, wanted to excel while recognizing how off-the-mark our values of judgment are, or wondered just how much her body could be worth, reading "Grotesque" is just as powerful an experience as reading "Out" was.
February 19, 2009
While I had loved "Out", I was interested but certainly not enthralled by "Grotesque".
Through recollections, confessions and diaries, we follow the destinies of 4 Japanese girls who meet in an exclusive Junior High School and drift apart through adulthood only to be reunited in the end through a trail of murders and sexual crimes. While one of those girls, the most brilliant and driven, gravitates towards terrorism and finds redemption through love, the other three, all of them misfits in their own right, are only able to assert their own power as women via prostitution ans sexual exploitation. Of course, this choice will lead to their ultimate doom and destruction.
This is a very dark novel on women's status in modern Japan, with an overpowering sense of doom that permeates the book from beginning to end.
This is a very powerful story, with a very interesting discourse on montruosity, power and sex, but I thought the book was too long, but not in the verbose sense... As I was reading along, I could not help thinking how much more powerful the point would have been if the story had been more compact.
Through recollections, confessions and diaries, we follow the destinies of 4 Japanese girls who meet in an exclusive Junior High School and drift apart through adulthood only to be reunited in the end through a trail of murders and sexual crimes. While one of those girls, the most brilliant and driven, gravitates towards terrorism and finds redemption through love, the other three, all of them misfits in their own right, are only able to assert their own power as women via prostitution ans sexual exploitation. Of course, this choice will lead to their ultimate doom and destruction.
This is a very dark novel on women's status in modern Japan, with an overpowering sense of doom that permeates the book from beginning to end.
This is a very powerful story, with a very interesting discourse on montruosity, power and sex, but I thought the book was too long, but not in the verbose sense... As I was reading along, I could not help thinking how much more powerful the point would have been if the story had been more compact.
September 30, 2015
Nhìn bìa sách thì chẳng có gì sợ. Đại ý là những vết cào xước, rạch cứa trên da thịt tạo thành chữ “Xấu” nhưng do vẽ quá xấu nên thành ra nhìn trông xấu
Nhưng sờ vào nó thì cũng hơi hơi
Con đàn bà thứ nhất làm gái điếm, con đàn bà thứ hai y như vậy, con đàn bà thứ ba cũng hệt như thế.
Một người làm điếm khi mới còn trung học. Người nọ làm điếm cho dù giữ vị trí quan trọng ở một cty hàng đầu. Người kia làm điếm ở tuổi 40 mà lý do chưa thực hiểu thấu.
Nghe giống kiểu “Hồi ức về những cô gái điếm buồn của tôi”
Người có tâm hồn ngây thơ trong sáng thì tốt nhất không nên sờ vào. Năng nề, u ám tăm tối, tiêu cực như 1 lẽ tự nhiên, tuyệt đối trung thành với cái nhìn dửng dưng về mọi sự xấu xa, lệch lạc
Không 1 chút tô hồng…
Sự tốt đẹp hầu như không hiện hữu trong cuốn sách
#quotes
“Tất cả chúng ta đều bị tổn thương theo cách này hay cách khác. Nhưng điều tốt nhất nên làm là phải tiếp tục sống như không hề có chuyện gì xảy ra
Nhưng sờ vào nó thì cũng hơi hơi
Con đàn bà thứ nhất làm gái điếm, con đàn bà thứ hai y như vậy, con đàn bà thứ ba cũng hệt như thế.
Một người làm điếm khi mới còn trung học. Người nọ làm điếm cho dù giữ vị trí quan trọng ở một cty hàng đầu. Người kia làm điếm ở tuổi 40 mà lý do chưa thực hiểu thấu.
Nghe giống kiểu “Hồi ức về những cô gái điếm buồn của tôi”
Người có tâm hồn ngây thơ trong sáng thì tốt nhất không nên sờ vào. Năng nề, u ám tăm tối, tiêu cực như 1 lẽ tự nhiên, tuyệt đối trung thành với cái nhìn dửng dưng về mọi sự xấu xa, lệch lạc
Không 1 chút tô hồng…
Sự tốt đẹp hầu như không hiện hữu trong cuốn sách
#quotes
“Tất cả chúng ta đều bị tổn thương theo cách này hay cách khác. Nhưng điều tốt nhất nên làm là phải tiếp tục sống như không hề có chuyện gì xảy ra
December 16, 2015
Tôi đọc bản dịch của Quỳnh Lê, và rất may, đây là một bản dịch khá trơn tru, rành mạch. Song vẫn còn đôi chỗ xử lý chưa được mượt mà.
Thứ nhất, khó tính một chút, tôi thấy có lỗi ở khâu biên tập (edit), nhỏ thôi nhưng nằm ngay một khúc đối thoại cao trào nên dễ thấy và làm đứt mạch cảm hứng của người đọc. Thứ hai, tôi không hiểu sao đại từ xưng hô trong các tiểu thuyết Nhật Bản luôn bị dịch thành "cậu" và "tớ". Lúc các nv còn đi học thì còn chấp nhận được, nhưng tới lúc họ đều là người trung niên, lại đương lại cãi cọ mạt sát nhau, mà cứ phang "cậu cậu tớ tớ" thì vô duyên lãng không chịu được.
Ngoài ra, tôi thấy "Grotesque" dịch là "Xấu" thì không sai nhưng không được đắt từ. Trong nghĩa “Xấu” của Grotesque còn bao hàm nghĩa “Tởm”, chỉ cái gì đó rất quái đản, méo mó, dị dạng, bệnh hoạn—xấu tởm lợm, xấu đui xấu điếc, xấu gớm xấu ghiếc, v.v. Nếu muốn trung thành với tên gốc, cũng để đúng với bản chất của nội dung truyện, tôi thấy chữ “Gớm” hay “Tởm” hợp lý hơn. Nếu muốn văn vẻ thì có chữ "Dị".
Nói về nội dung, truyện dài dòng, rối rắm, là một cái vòng lẩn quẩn, tối tăm của những con người u muội, tự hoại. (Đọc xong chỉ muốn vớ lấy một cuốn tiểu thuyết hoa mộng bay bổng nào đó để xua đi cái ám ảnh bế tắc của truyện.) Song biến chuyển nội tâm phức tạp của các nhân vật đặt trên bối cảnh-văn hóa đặc trưng của Nhật Bản lại có sức hấp dẫn kì lạ. Càng đọc càng thấy hiếu kỳ. Càng đi sâu càng thấy ghê sợ. Bởi sự thối nát, tuyệt vọng, chấp nê bất ngộ của các nhân vật lẫn những tấn bi kịch quẩn quanh, cay đắng, nhục nhã trong đời họ. Tùy cảm nhận riêng mà ta thấy những nhân vật ấy đáng thương hoặc đáng đời, rằng họ là nạn nhân của xã hội hay của chính mình.
Nhân vật chính là bốn cô gái vừa tương đồng vừa đối lập lẫn nhau. Cô gái dẫn truyện là người có đầu óc nhưng nhan sắc hạng trung, luôn bị lu mờ bởi sắc đẹp thiên phú của cô em gái Yuriko. Xuyên suốt truyện, tên cô không một lần được nhắc đến, người ta cũng chỉ nhớ đến cô như “chị gái của Yuriko”. Bản thân cô cũng không bao giờ tự giới thiệu mình, đây dường như là biểu hiện của một sự tự ti sâu ngầm. Khác chị mình, Yuriko sở hữu một vẻ đẹp khác thường tới độ ma mị, nhưng thường bị cho là “rỗng não.”
Cùng lớp với chị gái Yuriko có Mitsuru và Kazue. Mitsuru có thể xem là nv tương đối hoàn hảo nếu nói về tài sắc. Ngặt nỗi, cô mặc cảm về xuất thân “tầm thường” có mẹ làm chủ quán bar. Kazue ngoài khả năng học hành ra thì cái gì cũng xoàng xĩnh, theo cái nhìn của các nv khác, cái “tội” hoặc khuyết điểm lớn nhất của cô này có là tự tin thái quá, thích trèo-cao-té-đau.
Khác biệt là thế song bốn cô đều bị rơi vào cái vòng đời khắc nghiệt để tự khẳng định mình. Yuriko và Kazue như mặt trăng mặt trời, khởi đầu từ hai cực vô cùng đối lập, mỉa mai thay lại có cùng một kết cục bi thảm như nhau. Yuriko và Kazue đều tin rằng gen di truyền quyết định tất cả. Từ đó họ đặt niềm tin vào “dục”, cho rằng nó là vũ khí tối thượng của đàn bà, chỉ nhờ nó họ mới có thể khống chế và được đàn ông công nhận.
Chị gái Yuriko ôm nhiều phức cảm tự ti, sống hai mặt. Cô chọn cách tách mình hẳn khỏi mối quan hệ nam-nữ xã giao thông thường, bởi cô độc nên cay nghiệt với tất cả mọi người. Sự cay nghiệt này có mối liên hệ tác động tinh tế với số phận của chính cô và các nv khác. Tuy thế, cô cũng không tránh khỏi hệ lụy của tương quan nam-nữ, Kết truyện, cô vẫn là cái bóng của em gái, vẫn đi theo vết xe đổ của Yuriko và Kazue, Ở một góc cạnh khác, cô trở thành con quái vật mà cô găm ghét nhất.
Sự hoàn lương và kết cục của Mitsuru có thể xem như một “điểm sáng” trong hầm tối. Trong truyện, cô là người duy nhất dường như đã “giác ngộ”, cũng là người duy nhất chấp thuận tình cảm nam-nữ. Tuy nhiên, thủ pháp dẫn truyện bao gồm nhiều góc kể khác nhau, lấp lửng, hoang tưởng, nên không đáng tin cậy. Bởi thế, cuộc đời của Mitsuru về sau tốt hay xấu, có hậu hay không vẫn luôn là một ẩn số.
Ở đây, khái niệm “bản chất và môi trường” (Nature vs. Nurture) dường như là đề tài chủ đạo của tác phẩm, song song là tư tưởng nữ quyền (Feminism) phản ảnh số phận trắc trở của nữ giới trong một xã hội đầy phân cách và định kiến về giới tính, giai cấp, ngoại hình, v.v...
Nhìn chung, tác giả xoáy sâu vào khai thác sự bất lực của con người, đặc biệt là giới nữ, trước những trói buộc sinh học và xã hội. Lúc sơ sanh không thể lựa chọn bố mẹ, gia cảnh, giới tính hay sắc đẹp—gen di truyền quyết định Mệnh. Khi trưởng thành lại vướng vào các guồng quay vận động mang tính quy ước của xã hội—môi trường tạo ra Vận. Đặc biệt ở Đông Nam Á, căn cước cá nhân và vị trí xã hội của người phụ nữ thường lệ thuộc vào những người đàn ông xung quanh họ. Tiêu biểu là đạo “Tam tòng”—nhỏ theo cha, lớn theo chồng, già theo con trai. Dù đã bị bài trừ, lối suy nghĩ này đã ăn sâu vào tiềm thức của người châu Á và vẫn còn bộc lộ ra ở nhiều khía cạnh tinh tế (hay lắm khi phô trương) của cuộc sống. Natsuo Kirino không hề né tránh hay vòng vo về vấn đề này, cô thẳng tay chọc ngoái cái chướng của một xã hội thiếu bình quyền-bình đẳng:
Dĩ nhiên, số phận và tư tưởng của những nv trong truyện đã được đẩy lên tới mức cực độ, cực đoan. Song giá trị hiện thực của nó vẫn không thể bị chối bỏ.
Thứ nhất, khó tính một chút, tôi thấy có lỗi ở khâu biên tập (edit), nhỏ thôi nhưng nằm ngay một khúc đối thoại cao trào nên dễ thấy và làm đứt mạch cảm hứng của người đọc. Thứ hai, tôi không hiểu sao đại từ xưng hô trong các tiểu thuyết Nhật Bản luôn bị dịch thành "cậu" và "tớ". Lúc các nv còn đi học thì còn chấp nhận được, nhưng tới lúc họ đều là người trung niên, lại đương lại cãi cọ mạt sát nhau, mà cứ phang "cậu cậu tớ tớ" thì vô duyên lãng không chịu được.
Ngoài ra, tôi thấy "Grotesque" dịch là "Xấu" thì không sai nhưng không được đắt từ. Trong nghĩa “Xấu” của Grotesque còn bao hàm nghĩa “Tởm”, chỉ cái gì đó rất quái đản, méo mó, dị dạng, bệnh hoạn—xấu tởm lợm, xấu đui xấu điếc, xấu gớm xấu ghiếc, v.v. Nếu muốn trung thành với tên gốc, cũng để đúng với bản chất của nội dung truyện, tôi thấy chữ “Gớm” hay “Tởm” hợp lý hơn. Nếu muốn văn vẻ thì có chữ "Dị".
Nói về nội dung, truyện dài dòng, rối rắm, là một cái vòng lẩn quẩn, tối tăm của những con người u muội, tự hoại. (Đọc xong chỉ muốn vớ lấy một cuốn tiểu thuyết hoa mộng bay bổng nào đó để xua đi cái ám ảnh bế tắc của truyện.) Song biến chuyển nội tâm phức tạp của các nhân vật đặt trên bối cảnh-văn hóa đặc trưng của Nhật Bản lại có sức hấp dẫn kì lạ. Càng đọc càng thấy hiếu kỳ. Càng đi sâu càng thấy ghê sợ. Bởi sự thối nát, tuyệt vọng, chấp nê bất ngộ của các nhân vật lẫn những tấn bi kịch quẩn quanh, cay đắng, nhục nhã trong đời họ. Tùy cảm nhận riêng mà ta thấy những nhân vật ấy đáng thương hoặc đáng đời, rằng họ là nạn nhân của xã hội hay của chính mình.
Nhân vật chính là bốn cô gái vừa tương đồng vừa đối lập lẫn nhau. Cô gái dẫn truyện là người có đầu óc nhưng nhan sắc hạng trung, luôn bị lu mờ bởi sắc đẹp thiên phú của cô em gái Yuriko. Xuyên suốt truyện, tên cô không một lần được nhắc đến, người ta cũng chỉ nhớ đến cô như “chị gái của Yuriko”. Bản thân cô cũng không bao giờ tự giới thiệu mình, đây dường như là biểu hiện của một sự tự ti sâu ngầm. Khác chị mình, Yuriko sở hữu một vẻ đẹp khác thường tới độ ma mị, nhưng thường bị cho là “rỗng não.”
Cùng lớp với chị gái Yuriko có Mitsuru và Kazue. Mitsuru có thể xem là nv tương đối hoàn hảo nếu nói về tài sắc. Ngặt nỗi, cô mặc cảm về xuất thân “tầm thường” có mẹ làm chủ quán bar. Kazue ngoài khả năng học hành ra thì cái gì cũng xoàng xĩnh, theo cái nhìn của các nv khác, cái “tội” hoặc khuyết điểm lớn nhất của cô này có là tự tin thái quá, thích trèo-cao-té-đau.
Khác biệt là thế song bốn cô đều bị rơi vào cái vòng đời khắc nghiệt để tự khẳng định mình. Yuriko và Kazue như mặt trăng mặt trời, khởi đầu từ hai cực vô cùng đối lập, mỉa mai thay lại có cùng một kết cục bi thảm như nhau. Yuriko và Kazue đều tin rằng gen di truyền quyết định tất cả. Từ đó họ đặt niềm tin vào “dục”, cho rằng nó là vũ khí tối thượng của đàn bà, chỉ nhờ nó họ mới có thể khống chế và được đàn ông công nhận.
Chị gái Yuriko ôm nhiều phức cảm tự ti, sống hai mặt. Cô chọn cách tách mình hẳn khỏi mối quan hệ nam-nữ xã giao thông thường, bởi cô độc nên cay nghiệt với tất cả mọi người. Sự cay nghiệt này có mối liên hệ tác động tinh tế với số phận của chính cô và các nv khác. Tuy thế, cô cũng không tránh khỏi hệ lụy của tương quan nam-nữ, Kết truyện, cô vẫn là cái bóng của em gái, vẫn đi theo vết xe đổ của Yuriko và Kazue, Ở một góc cạnh khác, cô trở thành con quái vật mà cô găm ghét nhất.
Sự hoàn lương và kết cục của Mitsuru có thể xem như một “điểm sáng” trong hầm tối. Trong truyện, cô là người duy nhất dường như đã “giác ngộ”, cũng là người duy nhất chấp thuận tình cảm nam-nữ. Tuy nhiên, thủ pháp dẫn truyện bao gồm nhiều góc kể khác nhau, lấp lửng, hoang tưởng, nên không đáng tin cậy. Bởi thế, cuộc đời của Mitsuru về sau tốt hay xấu, có hậu hay không vẫn luôn là một ẩn số.
Ở đây, khái niệm “bản chất và môi trường” (Nature vs. Nurture) dường như là đề tài chủ đạo của tác phẩm, song song là tư tưởng nữ quyền (Feminism) phản ảnh số phận trắc trở của nữ giới trong một xã hội đầy phân cách và định kiến về giới tính, giai cấp, ngoại hình, v.v...
Nhìn chung, tác giả xoáy sâu vào khai thác sự bất lực của con người, đặc biệt là giới nữ, trước những trói buộc sinh học và xã hội. Lúc sơ sanh không thể lựa chọn bố mẹ, gia cảnh, giới tính hay sắc đẹp—gen di truyền quyết định Mệnh. Khi trưởng thành lại vướng vào các guồng quay vận động mang tính quy ước của xã hội—môi trường tạo ra Vận. Đặc biệt ở Đông Nam Á, căn cước cá nhân và vị trí xã hội của người phụ nữ thường lệ thuộc vào những người đàn ông xung quanh họ. Tiêu biểu là đạo “Tam tòng”—nhỏ theo cha, lớn theo chồng, già theo con trai. Dù đã bị bài trừ, lối suy nghĩ này đã ăn sâu vào tiềm thức của người châu Á và vẫn còn bộc lộ ra ở nhiều khía cạnh tinh tế (hay lắm khi phô trương) của cuộc sống. Natsuo Kirino không hề né tránh hay vòng vo về vấn đề này, cô thẳng tay chọc ngoái cái chướng của một xã hội thiếu bình quyền-bình đẳng:
Đàn ông sống bởi những quy định do chính họ đặt ra. Và một trong những quy định đó cho rằng đàn bà chỉ là một thứ hàng hóa thuộc quyền sở hữu của đàn ông. Một đứa con gái là của bố cô ta, một người vợ là sở hữu của người chồng. Những ham muốn dục vọng của một người phụ nữ mà không có lợi cho đàn ông thì tốt hơn là nên xếp xó...
[...] Một phụ nữ không biết chính mình thì sẽ không có sự lựa chọn nào khác là sống bằng thước đo của người khác... Nguồn gốc của tự hoại chính là đây.
[...] Đàn ông chính là chất nước xúc tác cho quá trình thối rữa của phụ nữ...”
Dĩ nhiên, số phận và tư tưởng của những nv trong truyện đã được đẩy lên tới mức cực độ, cực đoan. Song giá trị hiện thực của nó vẫn không thể bị chối bỏ.
March 9, 2023
E' un libro da contestualizzare? Sì.
Ha un bellissimo messaggio di denuncia? Sì.
Ci vogliono due palle così per pubblicare nel 2003, in Giappone, un libro così? Sì.
Servivano 900 pagine? NO. Probabilmente manco 500.
Ho fatto una cosa che non avevo mai fatto, dopo 500 pagine sono andata direttamente all'epilogo perché non mi importava più nulla.
Lo stile della narrazione è terribile, non ha un ritmo, non è incalzante.
La narratrice si rivolge al lettore in modo molto irritante, consapevole anche di quanto sia noiosa, arrivando anche a dire "lettore, ti sto annoiando?" "vuoi sapere com'è andata qui? e come è andata qui? va be tanto ci tornerò più avanti".
No. Un enorme no. Ha smesso di interessarmi proprio cosa le fosse successo, l'unico pezzo interessante è quello dove parla sua sorella, il che è tutto dire.
Bella la denuncia femminista, sì, ma il messaggio sarebbe arrivato uguale con molte meno pagine e soprattutto intrattenendo un po' di più.
E' un libro che vuole solo parlare parlare parlare ma non gli importa di essere letto.
Ha un bellissimo messaggio di denuncia? Sì.
Ci vogliono due palle così per pubblicare nel 2003, in Giappone, un libro così? Sì.
Servivano 900 pagine? NO. Probabilmente manco 500.
Ho fatto una cosa che non avevo mai fatto, dopo 500 pagine sono andata direttamente all'epilogo perché non mi importava più nulla.
Lo stile della narrazione è terribile, non ha un ritmo, non è incalzante.
La narratrice si rivolge al lettore in modo molto irritante, consapevole anche di quanto sia noiosa, arrivando anche a dire "lettore, ti sto annoiando?" "vuoi sapere com'è andata qui? e come è andata qui? va be tanto ci tornerò più avanti".
No. Un enorme no. Ha smesso di interessarmi proprio cosa le fosse successo, l'unico pezzo interessante è quello dove parla sua sorella, il che è tutto dire.
Bella la denuncia femminista, sì, ma il messaggio sarebbe arrivato uguale con molte meno pagine e soprattutto intrattenendo un po' di più.
E' un libro che vuole solo parlare parlare parlare ma non gli importa di essere letto.
August 12, 2010
Grotesque is an exploration of many things. Japanese society, coming of age and also the yearnings / struggles of privileged women. I should probably mention that I read the Chinese translation of this book, and also that I didn't end up finishing the book.
I thought the book was long, drawn out and tedious. The book revolves around a girl of mixed heritage (Yuriko) who is beautiful to the point of unnatural, like she should not even exist on this earth. The girl's older sister is the unnamed narrator, and her account of the events is unreliable in comparison to what was written in Yuriko's diary. The older sister is vindictive, jealous and spiteful. She puts down another girl she goes to school with (Kazue), and is constantly tormenting the girl. Kazue is also irritating because of her nature. She believes that everyone starts out equal and hard work will pay off in the end, often with disastrous results.
None of the characters are sympathetic or even remotely interesting. They are all bitter and selfish, making this book a misery to attempt to read.
I thought the book was long, drawn out and tedious. The book revolves around a girl of mixed heritage (Yuriko) who is beautiful to the point of unnatural, like she should not even exist on this earth. The girl's older sister is the unnamed narrator, and her account of the events is unreliable in comparison to what was written in Yuriko's diary. The older sister is vindictive, jealous and spiteful. She puts down another girl she goes to school with (Kazue), and is constantly tormenting the girl. Kazue is also irritating because of her nature. She believes that everyone starts out equal and hard work will pay off in the end, often with disastrous results.
None of the characters are sympathetic or even remotely interesting. They are all bitter and selfish, making this book a misery to attempt to read.
September 9, 2013
Không những xấu mà còn xoàng.
Viết theo kiểu nhật kí kiêm hồi kí, để kể về số phận của 4 cô gái, một cách lê thê vài dài dòng. Có cô muốn dùng khủng bố giết người để đạt được tình yêu và hạnh phúc, có cô dùng mại dâm để tự cho mình quyền lực và động lực để sống, có cô xem mại dâm như thỏa mãn tình dục, và cuối cùng người xưng tôi dẫn truyện lại định dùng mại dâm để kiếm thêm tiền ở cuối truyện càng làm truyện trở nên chán phèo, và khiên cưỡng.
Tác giả dựng nên nhân vật đều tối tăm mù mịt và giả tạo. còn người kể/dẫn chuyện ở đây đã thực sự ko thành công khi ko tạo được độ tin cậy với người đọc. Tuy truyện đề cập đến nhiều vấn đề nào là tội phạm tình dục, mại dâm, bình đẳng giới, bạo lực học đường, căm ghét xã hội, hòa nhập xã hội, rồi tất cả những cái của nợ ấy, kết thành một xã hội nhật bản vừa xấu xa vừa tăm tối. Các nhân vật luôn mắc kẹt giữa ghen tuông thù hận, áp lực háo danh, cô đơn và tình dục và kết cục phải là cái chết.
Túm lại truyện đã nhạt cho chớ, lại còn chán, đã chán cho chớ lại còn dài, đã dài cho chớ lại còn đắt. Phí tiền.
Viết theo kiểu nhật kí kiêm hồi kí, để kể về số phận của 4 cô gái, một cách lê thê vài dài dòng. Có cô muốn dùng khủng bố giết người để đạt được tình yêu và hạnh phúc, có cô dùng mại dâm để tự cho mình quyền lực và động lực để sống, có cô xem mại dâm như thỏa mãn tình dục, và cuối cùng người xưng tôi dẫn truyện lại định dùng mại dâm để kiếm thêm tiền ở cuối truyện càng làm truyện trở nên chán phèo, và khiên cưỡng.
Tác giả dựng nên nhân vật đều tối tăm mù mịt và giả tạo. còn người kể/dẫn chuyện ở đây đã thực sự ko thành công khi ko tạo được độ tin cậy với người đọc. Tuy truyện đề cập đến nhiều vấn đề nào là tội phạm tình dục, mại dâm, bình đẳng giới, bạo lực học đường, căm ghét xã hội, hòa nhập xã hội, rồi tất cả những cái của nợ ấy, kết thành một xã hội nhật bản vừa xấu xa vừa tăm tối. Các nhân vật luôn mắc kẹt giữa ghen tuông thù hận, áp lực háo danh, cô đơn và tình dục và kết cục phải là cái chết.
Túm lại truyện đã nhạt cho chớ, lại còn chán, đã chán cho chớ lại còn dài, đã dài cho chớ lại còn đắt. Phí tiền.
July 28, 2013
Okay, so the one and only complaint I have about this book is the third hand translation. I hate translators who chose this job just for the hell of it. There are things that sound amazing in one language and that just don't work in another.
I read this book in romanian. Nothing bad with that. Except the author wrote and published this book in Japanese. It was translated from Japanese to English, then it was translated from English to Romanian. I don't know where the flaw lies. The book is so well structured that I can immediately tell it's not the author's flaw.
Let me explain it, so that you understand what I mean, and not call me an unjustified complainer.
The main character, Hirata, who told the majority of the story, is a very serious and rigid character. She is defined by the word hatred, for which she has lived her entire life. She feeds off the misery and the wrath that swirls in her blood. I don't know how to explain it well enough, but you'd expect that kind of person to be somehow a bit more harsh while telling the story. In romanian, it sounded fake, it sounded pushed, for that kind of person to willingly tell that story in such a friendly manner.
I will read this in English, and hopefully one day, when I will have learned enough of it, read it in Japanese, so I can taste the real flavour of Natsuo Kirino's writing, for she is one of my favorite writers.
Now, on to the characters.
Hirata-san, as I will call her, is the character that tells the story of the other two main dead characters. She is inevitably my favorite, even though she has quite a few of flaws.
Yuriko Hirata is the second main character, and she's Hirata-san's sister. Stupid, but sly and beautiful, she spends her early life in the Heaven made by everyone else, who worship her beauty.
Kazue Sato is the third one, and she's quite the foolishly confident person that never actually figured how life worked.
Hirata-san has always lived under people's subappreciative's stares, being the sister of the unflawed Yuriko. Okay, thst is not only obvious, but a softer description of reality. She has never even had a single chance of being compared to Yuriko, and I think in reality, that's all she really wanted. Her parents hated her, I think her sister was too stupid to hate her, and everyone around her was repelled by her hateful attitude. All because of Yuriko, who spent every possible minute of her life sleeping with men for money. They wanted her, and she wanted them. She was born to emanate sensuality from every perfect pore of hers. I think somewhere in her diary, she herself says that. And Kazue is also a completely other deal. Not having beauty by her side, but studying continuously to raise herself in her father's eyes, she lived her early life in complete obliviousness, and from Hirata-san's opinion, not being aware of how the world worked. That's why Hirata-san hated her, for her inability of swallowing the fact that she wasn't worth a dime for others, and therefore, being happy.
Things are incredibly well put together in the book. It blew my mind, and if you read it and you're open minded about opening your eyes to another culture's lower, hidden side, I'm sure it will blow yours too.
I read this book in romanian. Nothing bad with that. Except the author wrote and published this book in Japanese. It was translated from Japanese to English, then it was translated from English to Romanian. I don't know where the flaw lies. The book is so well structured that I can immediately tell it's not the author's flaw.
Let me explain it, so that you understand what I mean, and not call me an unjustified complainer.
The main character, Hirata, who told the majority of the story, is a very serious and rigid character. She is defined by the word hatred, for which she has lived her entire life. She feeds off the misery and the wrath that swirls in her blood. I don't know how to explain it well enough, but you'd expect that kind of person to be somehow a bit more harsh while telling the story. In romanian, it sounded fake, it sounded pushed, for that kind of person to willingly tell that story in such a friendly manner.
I will read this in English, and hopefully one day, when I will have learned enough of it, read it in Japanese, so I can taste the real flavour of Natsuo Kirino's writing, for she is one of my favorite writers.
Now, on to the characters.
Hirata-san, as I will call her, is the character that tells the story of the other two main dead characters. She is inevitably my favorite, even though she has quite a few of flaws.
Yuriko Hirata is the second main character, and she's Hirata-san's sister. Stupid, but sly and beautiful, she spends her early life in the Heaven made by everyone else, who worship her beauty.
Kazue Sato is the third one, and she's quite the foolishly confident person that never actually figured how life worked.
Hirata-san has always lived under people's subappreciative's stares, being the sister of the unflawed Yuriko. Okay, thst is not only obvious, but a softer description of reality. She has never even had a single chance of being compared to Yuriko, and I think in reality, that's all she really wanted. Her parents hated her, I think her sister was too stupid to hate her, and everyone around her was repelled by her hateful attitude. All because of Yuriko, who spent every possible minute of her life sleeping with men for money. They wanted her, and she wanted them. She was born to emanate sensuality from every perfect pore of hers. I think somewhere in her diary, she herself says that. And Kazue is also a completely other deal. Not having beauty by her side, but studying continuously to raise herself in her father's eyes, she lived her early life in complete obliviousness, and from Hirata-san's opinion, not being aware of how the world worked. That's why Hirata-san hated her, for her inability of swallowing the fact that she wasn't worth a dime for others, and therefore, being happy.
Things are incredibly well put together in the book. It blew my mind, and if you read it and you're open minded about opening your eyes to another culture's lower, hidden side, I'm sure it will blow yours too.
November 28, 2020
Üç fahişenin vahşice öldürülmesinin ardından cinayetlerinin araştırılması ve bu cinayetlerin arkasındaki karanlık dünyayı büyük bir soğukkanlılıkla - mesafeli- bir şekilde anlatıyor.. Japonya'nın genelde göz ardı edilen toplumsal yapısını ve o toplumdaki kadının rolünü bütün gerçekliği ile önünüze seriyor. Japonya'nın katı sınırlarında yaşayıp devamlı güzellik, çirkinlik, kendin olma ama norm dışına da taşamama sıkışmışlığındaki kadın ruhunun psikolojik aktarımını yaparken kurgu da hiçbir takılma yaşamadan akmaya devam ediyor. Çok severek okumuştum. Zamanında bana japon edebiyatını da sevdiren kitaplardan birisi ayrıca.
August 28, 2009
I'm hovering between a 2 and 3 star rating for Grotesque. I think the main reason that I'm leaning towards a 2, is that the book felt tedious. But the lives of these people were tedious so really I was just feeling the emotion of the novel. I also struggled with reading a book where every character was so horrible; and not really horrible in an interesting way - like an outrageous gangster, or a powerful, crooked politician; horrible in a way that is similar to the vein of nastiness that probably runs through all of us. Jealousy, malcontent, perversion - Kirino has taken all these things and her characters are built of them, and them alone; her book was a big mixing pot of all things foul. Ordinary people with twisted lives and bleak, grey days and nights. There were no redeeming qualities, nothing that really made me pity any of them, or want to save them or befriend them. A lot of the time I just felt irritated that they were all so detestful and didn't want to spend my time reading about them. But I kept on reading.
The book felt like it went around in circles, nothing ever changed and I found Zhang's section a welcome reprieve from the bitterness of the main narrator. If anything, things just kept getting more depressing; just when you thought it couldn't get any more dire, it would, somehow; particularly when it reached Kazue's accounts. Desperation and insanity ... and it was almost like I was inside her head, her body, under her skin but at the same time, it was a life so different to my own which kept me at arm's length from falling completely in. Every time I put the book down, I'd take a deep breath; the colour felt like it'd drained from my world. I still feel a little troubled now that I've finished the novel.
Although I did get restless, and dare I say, bored during this book; I'm really interested to read Kirino's other work. She definitely has a unique, powerful way of constructing characters and their lives. To be honest, I'm glad I'm the one reading these books, not the one writing them; I don't think I'd sleep too well at night.
The book felt like it went around in circles, nothing ever changed and I found Zhang's section a welcome reprieve from the bitterness of the main narrator. If anything, things just kept getting more depressing; just when you thought it couldn't get any more dire, it would, somehow; particularly when it reached Kazue's accounts. Desperation and insanity ... and it was almost like I was inside her head, her body, under her skin but at the same time, it was a life so different to my own which kept me at arm's length from falling completely in. Every time I put the book down, I'd take a deep breath; the colour felt like it'd drained from my world. I still feel a little troubled now that I've finished the novel.
Although I did get restless, and dare I say, bored during this book; I'm really interested to read Kirino's other work. She definitely has a unique, powerful way of constructing characters and their lives. To be honest, I'm glad I'm the one reading these books, not the one writing them; I don't think I'd sleep too well at night.
June 19, 2015
After thinking on this book for a few days, my appreciation has continued to increase. This is a really wonderful novel that explores so many different issues in society. The main focus seems to on power dynamics. There is the dynamic between the rich, accustomed girls and the poorer newcomers at Q High School. There is the dynamic between men who pay for sex and the women they buy. There are tons of discussions on the privileges of family status, wealth, language, beauty, and the constant struggle between the "haves and have nots". Kirino brings all of these variables to the forefront in developing her characters and making them understandable. None of her characters are particularly likable, but it would be very hard to accuse Kirino of creating empty, flat characters.
One of my favorite aspects of the novel is that there is no omniscient narrator. The same basic story is told through four extremely subjective, and often conflicting, points of view. I've seen some reviews that don't care for this method, but I think it really keeps the story moving and forces the reader to make connections and view the story in multiple different ways. Suspension of belief is not really possible in this work.
One of my favorite sections of the book was Zhang's story of his upbringing and how he came to murder Yuriko (and possibly Kazue--we don't really get a clear answer on that). Others have said it's too long and not really relevant, and I agree...kind of. It is very long and it doesn't have much to do with the story as a whole, but 90% of the book doesn't really have anything to do with the story (tl;dr = two prostitutes are murdered). Really, the whole book is a side story to the plot. Zhang's story was just extremely effective at characterizing him (from his own point of view, that is) and really served to drive home a lot of the commentary on various forms of privilege and struggle that underlay the novel.
Another favorite section is Kazue's journals. Kirino does a masterful job of showing Kazue's gradual decline. Really the writing is so seamless and so natural, and the progression (degression?) is just perfectly believable and moving.
My main problem with the novel is that every single woman in the novel is portrayed negatively. I honestly think that is the point of the novel. Kirino is trying to comment on how women must become "monsters" to exist in a what is very much a man's world. The only control and power a woman can gain is by relating herself in some way to a man--either she sells herself, she needs the comfort, or she has to throw them off completely. Even though the women are constantly fighting with each other, constantly hurting themselves and others to get ahead, Kirino is creates her women without recourse to stereotypes or hurtful representation. She makes sure her readers understand that this is the plight of woman, not the essence. So while a positive character would have been nice, it's not totally necessary.
Overall, definitely one of the best books I have read and it continues to offer more to think about even after being read.
One of my favorite aspects of the novel is that there is no omniscient narrator. The same basic story is told through four extremely subjective, and often conflicting, points of view. I've seen some reviews that don't care for this method, but I think it really keeps the story moving and forces the reader to make connections and view the story in multiple different ways. Suspension of belief is not really possible in this work.
One of my favorite sections of the book was Zhang's story of his upbringing and how he came to murder Yuriko (and possibly Kazue--we don't really get a clear answer on that). Others have said it's too long and not really relevant, and I agree...kind of. It is very long and it doesn't have much to do with the story as a whole, but 90% of the book doesn't really have anything to do with the story (tl;dr = two prostitutes are murdered). Really, the whole book is a side story to the plot. Zhang's story was just extremely effective at characterizing him (from his own point of view, that is) and really served to drive home a lot of the commentary on various forms of privilege and struggle that underlay the novel.
Another favorite section is Kazue's journals. Kirino does a masterful job of showing Kazue's gradual decline. Really the writing is so seamless and so natural, and the progression (degression?) is just perfectly believable and moving.
My main problem with the novel is that every single woman in the novel is portrayed negatively. I honestly think that is the point of the novel. Kirino is trying to comment on how women must become "monsters" to exist in a what is very much a man's world. The only control and power a woman can gain is by relating herself in some way to a man--either she sells herself, she needs the comfort, or she has to throw them off completely. Even though the women are constantly fighting with each other, constantly hurting themselves and others to get ahead, Kirino is creates her women without recourse to stereotypes or hurtful representation. She makes sure her readers understand that this is the plight of woman, not the essence. So while a positive character would have been nice, it's not totally necessary.
Overall, definitely one of the best books I have read and it continues to offer more to think about even after being read.
October 6, 2023
Cá nhân mình rấttttttt thíchhhhhhhh cuốn sách này. Đã từ lâu mình chưa có cảm giác đọc một cuốn sách mà không muốn đặt xuống như vậy. Khi đọc được chừng nửa cuốn mình đã có ý định nâng nó lên ngang hàng với Bạch Dạ Hành trong lòng mình, nhưng cuối cùng thì mình quyết định là nó sẽ không thể ngang hàng được :> vì một vài lí do. Thứ nhất là mình đã từng mong đợi một chiếc twist to đến từ cái tên của bà chị Yuriko nhưng cuối cùng lại không có. Có lẽ tác giả đã để trống cái tên ấy, để người đọc tự điền tên mình vào và so sánh với bản thân chăng? Thứ hai là cách các nhân vật kể chuyện. Thà là cứ kể thẳng tưng như Chuộc Tội đi cho nó tự nhiên. Đằng này còn bày đặt viết nhật ký, viết thư với cả tường trình mệt ghê, kiểu nó khá gượng gạo ấy. Thứ ba đó là quyết định của bà chị Yuriko trong những trang cuối.
Rate: 4,75/5 (mình đã rate ở chỗ khác là 4,5 nhưng mình quyết định nâng lên 4,75). Một cuốn sách tuyệt vời để xả não sau 1984 =))) mình recommend cuốn này cho những bạn 18+ trên 18 tuổi nhé. Vì để đọc nó mà vẫn cân bằng thì suy nghĩ cũng phải ổn định, người lớn một chút rồi. Nếu chưa trải đời thì đọc nó sẽ thấy rỗng tuếch, biến thái và kinh tởm lắm, chưa kể là toàn những câu chuyện tiêu cực.
Nhớ là phải 18+ mới nên đọc nhé ~
Rate: 4,75/5 (mình đã rate ở chỗ khác là 4,5 nhưng mình quyết định nâng lên 4,75). Một cuốn sách tuyệt vời để xả não sau 1984 =))) mình recommend cuốn này cho những bạn 18+ trên 18 tuổi nhé. Vì để đọc nó mà vẫn cân bằng thì suy nghĩ cũng phải ổn định, người lớn một chút rồi. Nếu chưa trải đời thì đọc nó sẽ thấy rỗng tuếch, biến thái và kinh tởm lắm, chưa kể là toàn những câu chuyện tiêu cực.
Nhớ là phải 18+ mới nên đọc nhé ~
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January 6, 2022I’m disappointed because after reading some reviews, I realized that the English translation butchered the original pretty badly and it even changed the ending?
Other than that, this novel is HEAVY – incest, pedophilia, underage prostitution, murder, suicide, eating disorders, etc… so fair warning to anyone interested in picking it up. I usually don’t gravitate to this kind of content, but the first half was captivating enough that I wanted to keep reading. The second half dragged on for so long and became so convoluted with a new cast of (irrelevant) characters and unnecessary plot points that the impact of the book’s message lost its punch by the end.
Grotesque does do a good job in pointing out misogyny in Japanese society and how the beauty ideal plagues women – regardless of whether the woman is “ugly” or “beautiful.” But overall, I couldn’t get passed the gratuitous trauma-porn, the unlikeable characters, or the translation flaws.
Not a bad book, but definitely not the kind of novel I like to spend hours processing.
Other than that, this novel is HEAVY – incest, pedophilia, underage prostitution, murder, suicide, eating disorders, etc… so fair warning to anyone interested in picking it up. I usually don’t gravitate to this kind of content, but the first half was captivating enough that I wanted to keep reading. The second half dragged on for so long and became so convoluted with a new cast of (irrelevant) characters and unnecessary plot points that the impact of the book’s message lost its punch by the end.
Grotesque does do a good job in pointing out misogyny in Japanese society and how the beauty ideal plagues women – regardless of whether the woman is “ugly” or “beautiful.” But overall, I couldn’t get passed the gratuitous trauma-porn, the unlikeable characters, or the translation flaws.
Not a bad book, but definitely not the kind of novel I like to spend hours processing.
September 30, 2022
Lí trí bảo 4 nhưng trái tim cho 3.5 =)))) Đọc cuốn này làm mình vừa ớn vừa buồn nôn vừa sởn gai ốc, very Nhật Bônr, ver dark và very không phải gu của mình =-)))
Nhưng những gía trí nhân bản và tính nghệ thuật của cuốn này thì k thể chối cãi nha
Nhưng những gía trí nhân bản và tính nghệ thuật của cuốn này thì k thể chối cãi nha
July 26, 2007
Natsuo Kirino is an impressive author. She has the power to really portray characters so vividly that I felt them get under my skin. I found myself detesting a character as if she was real. I found myself wrinkling my nose in distaste, hating some stupid things a person would keep doing, their blindness... I had to stop and remind myself that this was fiction and yet, time and again, Natsuo would draw me in. This is a rare gift and one that Natsuo employs to astounding results in this book. It is not a book where she wants the reader to come away feeling sympathy for her characters. They are all extremely flawed. But the ugliest persons do not redeem themselves by their actions or intentions. Their ugliness is more than skin-deep. The beautiful person is destroyed but as much by herself as by others. Beauty also transforms into its own type of ugliness. Physical beauty and ugliness come to mean so little by the end of the book in how they determine the same sorry demise for all the women. I loved how this book took a hold of me and shook me and left me feeling the after-effects. Natsuo really knows her setting which is modern Japanese work setting for women from many different backgrounds. She seems to have the pulse of the educated but fenced Japanese woman, liberated but restricted.
I read Grotesque before Out. I find them quite different but I am amazed by the virtuosity of this book.
I read Grotesque before Out. I find them quite different but I am amazed by the virtuosity of this book.
February 9, 2023
Vài ba mảnh đời rệu rã được kể lại dưới một khóm cây hạt trần. Từng vệt đen đúa bủa vây từng người, bằng sự cợt nhả của số phận, bằng cái tham vọng chói lói trong một xã hội ngập ngụa bất công và cạn kiệt tình người.
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Là một Yuriko đượm vẻ liêu trai thèm khát sống đời dâm đãng; là một Zhang nung nấu ý định đổi đời rồi rớt vào vực sâu tội ác; là một "tôi" quyết tồn tại bằng sự nhẫn tâm; và một Kazue cao ngạo luôn cố gắng hết mình, uốn éo để vừa với cuộc đời và để lại một nguyện cầu đắng đót, "xin hãy đối xử tốt với tôi".
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Tất thảy mọi người, gồm cả Mitsuru, đều xấu tới cùng. Nhưng họ xấu vì chính bản thân mình, xấu để tồn tại một cách đường hoàng nhất. Có chăng cái kết cuộc họ chưa mường tượng ra khi mải bôn ba giữa đời, lại chính là điều bi thảm và buồn đau vô hạn.
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Lời văn sắc, mảnh và lạnh. Chữ chi chít, cần nhiều nhẫn nại.
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Là một Yuriko đượm vẻ liêu trai thèm khát sống đời dâm đãng; là một Zhang nung nấu ý định đổi đời rồi rớt vào vực sâu tội ác; là một "tôi" quyết tồn tại bằng sự nhẫn tâm; và một Kazue cao ngạo luôn cố gắng hết mình, uốn éo để vừa với cuộc đời và để lại một nguyện cầu đắng đót, "xin hãy đối xử tốt với tôi".
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Tất thảy mọi người, gồm cả Mitsuru, đều xấu tới cùng. Nhưng họ xấu vì chính bản thân mình, xấu để tồn tại một cách đường hoàng nhất. Có chăng cái kết cuộc họ chưa mường tượng ra khi mải bôn ba giữa đời, lại chính là điều bi thảm và buồn đau vô hạn.
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Lời văn sắc, mảnh và lạnh. Chữ chi chít, cần nhiều nhẫn nại.
December 26, 2016
Chưa cần phải lật một trang sách nào, chỉ cần nhìn thấy bìa sách thôi, t chắc chắn sẽ có nhiều người như t, sẽ đọc nó ngay lập tức.
Bạn cho rằng, một câu chuyện đã được tác giả "lật bài" ngay từ đầu thì sẽ không còn gì thú vị? Nó ám ảnh và bất ngờ hơn nhiều những gì bạn có thể tưởng tượng ra đấy! Sự đen tối đặc quánh trong từng trang viết nhưng thật khó để có thể đặt nó xuống.
Bạn cho rằng, một câu chuyện đã được tác giả "lật bài" ngay từ đầu thì sẽ không còn gì thú vị? Nó ám ảnh và bất ngờ hơn nhiều những gì bạn có thể tưởng tượng ra đấy! Sự đen tối đặc quánh trong từng trang viết nhưng thật khó để có thể đặt nó xuống.
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