Out: A Novel
by Natsuo Kirino
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Book Summary Information
Author: Natsuo KirinoEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-01-04
ISBN: 1400078377
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Vintage
Book Reviews of Out: A Novel
Book Review: Just like sashimi with wasabi - raw, pungent, and sharp
Summary: 4 Stars
"Out" is Japanese noir at its darkest best. The first of Natsuo Kirino's to be translated into English, it is gruesome, edgy, bizarre, and terrifying. It has also been mistakenly categorized as mystery simply because there is no mystery here at all. We know from the onset the who, what, why, where, when, and how of the crime. What we do not know is what will happen to the criminals.
Four women work the night shift assembly line at the Miyoshi Foods factory in suburban Tokyo prepping box lunches. Masako Katori is the smartest of the four, hardened by the injustices she suffered in a previous professional job, and by the callous indifference of her husband and troubled son. Yoshie Azuma is the most efficient at the line, earning her the nickname Skipper, but she's a widow burdened at home by an antagonistic, bed-ridden mother-in-law and a selfish daughter. Yayoi Yamamoto is the timid one, abused by her husband, Kenji, whose gambling and womanizing have drained their savings. Kuniko Jonouchi is young and foolish, drowning in a sea of debts to finance her shopping habits.
Unable to endure Kenji's abuse, Yayoi snaps one night and strangles him dead with her belt. Helpless and panicked, she enlists Masako's help, and with the understandably hesitant Yoshie and Kuniko, they dismember the late Kenji and dispose of the body in various places. (About halfway into the story, a detective theorizes that the reason dismembering is more often done by women is simply because they do not have the physical strength to carry the body in one piece. It makes perfect sense...well...in a morbid sort of way.) Yayoi collects on her husband's life insurance and pays the three for their trouble. Soon, Kenji's remains are discovered, and a club owner who fought with Kenji on his last night is fingered (sorry) as the killer. But the women's relief is premature--their lives are forever changed and threatened by someone who's figured it all out and now wants payback.
Ms. Kirino presents a gritty Tokyo here, not the cherry-blossomed, tranquil, Zen-like atmosphere postcards perpetuate. This is ugly Tokyo with its yakuza (mob), seedy Kabukicho (red-light district) `hostess' clubs, and killer loan sharks. (Those into photography may recall seeing works by Watanabe Katsumi who's known for his photographs of the gangsters, prostitutes, drag queens, and sundry of Kabukicho in the `60s and `70s. That's the atmosphere and mood here, only grittier, darker, and more menacing.) There are no likeable characters either, and money is a recurring theme. Wanting it, getting it, killing for it are always at the forefront. It's a gripping read and her characters may not be sympathetic but they're believable.
The "feminist" label that's been attached to this is a curious thing. True that Masako was treated very badly at a prior company for no other reason than wanting equal pay and opportunities. However, the fact that it portrays women who are treated as second-class citizens by a patriarchal society does not in and of itself make it a feminist novel, and insofar as they are capable of despicable acts as their male counterparts only proves that crime can be an attractive proposition for both genders. There is no underlying moral philosophy here that champions equal rights for its female characters, and I don't see it as the theme; championing their survival from a killer hell-bent on revenge, yes, but that's a totally different thing. It just isn't that kind of story. The four women are in no way bound by anything approximating sisterhood. They did what they did because each had a reason to--two of them for need of money, one for something that would give her life some meaning (as absurd as that sounds, considering the act), and another for no other reason than she reached the end of her tether with an abusive husband.
The author is frank, both with the violence and the ugliness of its world. Those of a more sensitive nature will find some portions unpalatable. Those who like their novels dark, such as myself, will find this very satisfactory. Why four stars? The ending became a mishmash of events, told twice by two characters with varying perspectives, and a bewildering final chapter. Nothing new is learned by the reader when the second perspective is given, therefore, why even do it? And what precipitated the main character's abrupt and bizarre metamorphosis in the last chapter? I can guess, I suppose, but I rather the author had told me. With a tighter ending, it would have been near perfect. So, terrific story, lots of tension and very dark themes, scary but believable characters, realistic portrayal of the working-class part of Tokyo, writing may have been somewhat pedestrian, solid plotting until an ending that left me scratching my head.
Summary of Out: A Novel
Nothing in Japanese literature prepares us for the stark, tension-filled, plot-driven realism of Natsuo Kirino's award-winning literary mystery Out.This mesmerizing novel tells the story of a brutal murder in the staid Tokyo suburbs, as a young mother who works the night shift making boxed lunches strangles her abusive husband and then seeks the help of her coworkers to dispose of the body and cover up her crime. The coolly intelligent Masako emerges as the plot's ringleader, but quickly discovers that this killing is merely the beginning, as it leads to a terrifying foray into the violent underbelly of Japanese society.
At once a masterpiece of literary suspense and pitch-black comedy of gender warfare, Out is also a moving evocation of the pressures and prejudices that drive women to extreme deeds, and the friendships that bolster them in the aftermath.
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