Out in Around the Year in 52 Books

Dec 04, 2016 Wendy rated it really liked it

Shelves: in-translation, audiobooks, mystery-suspense, girls-rock-the-boys, nightmare-fuel, japan

I flew through this morbid little page-turner about a group of female coworkers, each struggling to make ends meet in the seedy Tokyo suburbs, and the lengths they will go for cash or to help cover for a friend who murders her gambling, abusive husband. Masako, the story's main focus, is a character I wish I saw more of: middle-aged, clever, blunt, and kind of a badass. She manages to simultaneously be a cold fish, horrid mother, shrewd businesswoman, and the *best friend ever*. While she does s ...more

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Jun 29, 2016 Zoë rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery-thriller, feminist, favourite-covers, made-me-squirmy, donated, read-in-2016, wtf-did-i-just-read, son-i-am-disappoint, diverse-reads

I definitely had some conflicted feelings throughout reading Natsuo Kirino's Out. First, it took me a bit to get into the book and the flow of the writing, (which was different than most books I usually read, and this is, I believe, the first Japanese novel I've read that wasn't a manga). Once I got the flow of the story, I was really into it and it held a lot of promise for me. However, the last two chapters or even the last six pages or so really killed it for me.

Before I go into that, a brief I definitely had some conflicted feelings throughout reading Natsuo Kirino's Out. First, it took me a bit to get into the book and the flow of the writing, (which was different than most books I usually read, and this is, I believe, the first Japanese novel I've read that wasn't a manga). Once I got the flow of the story, I was really into it and it held a lot of promise for me. However, the last two chapters or even the last six pages or so really killed it for me.

Before I go into that, a brief outline of the plot. The story follows four women in Tokyo who all work the same night shift together at a factory that makes boxed lunches. All of them lead pretty despairing lives in one way or another. One of the women is abused by her husband, and after a particularly bad brawl, she snaps and kills him. With no one else to turn to, she begs one of her friends from the factory – Masako – to help her dispose of the body. Gradually, each of the women gets involved in some way or another. Circumstances become more complicated as dangerous outside forces also become intertwined in the incident.

The majority of the novel has some strong feminist undertones and messages. How these women ended up in their situations, and why they do the things they do in the book, all point a finger at the male-dominant society they live in. Spousal abuse, neglect, unfair/sexist workplace practices... all these things seemed to have built up to push them all over the edge. In that way, the author puts the reader (I'm guessing especially a female one), on their sides. The downtrodden women suddenly all seem more confident after the incident, with a sense of independence and control returning in their lives. Masako especially becomes a powerful figure of independence, the incident leaving her feel like she can free herself from her stagnant life, (hence the title, perhaps?). I really admired Masako's behavior throughout the novel... up until those last few pages, as I mentioned.

Eventually, her involvement in the disposal of her friend's murdered husband catches up to her, and completely throws off what could have been a really good ending. (view spoiler)

In short, the strong personality we read about in the rest of the novel is suddenly weak and broken. Her cool logic seen through most of the book is all tossed out the window, and it really caught me off-guard. While what happened to her is truly awful, and would throw anyone's personality out of sorts, I was really disappointed in her reaction to the event. (view spoiler)

Aside from the plot taking a nose-dive at the end, this book was really well-written and suspenseful. Each character had such a different background, and such distinct personalities. Kirino is also really great at setting the scene – many of the locations described felt almost tangible. The book is, however, very stomach-churning in some parts, and very bleak and depressing in others. It makes one feel guilty because we all know there are people out there that are really scraping by like this, and it's really sad. So in short, this book has some really powerful messages and a lot of potential, but the ending may kill it for you. ...more

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