Out

It is extremely difficult to convey the range of emotions evoked in words, once you've finished this masterpiece - Kirino is simply astounding, beyond words.
It looks like a simple enough plot at first glance - in a fit of rage, a staid Japanese housewife working the night-shift at a lunchbox factory murders her husband in a fit of rage at his emotional and physical abuse. She approaches her dependable co-worker for help, who ropes in two of their mutual acquaintances for disposing the body. They are determined, but inexperienced - and the detectives and yakuza (the Japanese mob) is baying for blood.
But what blew my mind away is the sheer twists this story takes, with the narrative taking you along for a roller-coaster ride that you never want to end. As far as characters go, they are so developed, that they almost seem to protrude through the pages. Masako, the aforementioned dependable co-worker who is approached for help, is so brilliantly written that you sometimes feel that she is based on a real woman, somewhere out there in the Japanese suburbs.
The pacing, characters, narrative - all of it is perfectly blended. And the plot elements, uncommon in Japanese fiction (assault, murder, prostitution) enhance the narrative rather than detracting from it. It is exhilarating from start to finish, and should not be missed - every word written in praise for it will be a disservice. Natsuo Kirino's tour de force will haunt me for a long, long time to come.

2.5/5 stars

Trigger warning: Rape, violence, gore

I have conflicting feelings on this one.

On one hand, the first 75% was super twisted, and dark, and interesting in a way that was kind of morbidly fascinating. There were definitely sections that the pacing lagged a little, especially in moments of backstory, and in the beginning which I found particularly sluggish, but I was curious enough about what would happen next to keep reading.

Near the end, the pacing sped up...but then it took a really disturbing turn at the very end that I don't really understand. Without spoiling anything, all I'll say is there was some drastic change in two character relationships that made no sense to me, and kind of glorified a rather brutal rape scene at the end. The spoilery explanation is that Masako (one of the MCs) basically fell in love with her rapist while he was raping her? I don't know. I bought her biding her time to try to escape, but to see her want to save him after he beat, raped and nearly killed her went way beyond my suspension of disbelief and gave the whole scene an undertone of a creepy rape fantasy.

It's a shame, because I was mostly enjoying this book up until the end, but unfortunately the last fifteen pages or so totally killed it for me. I just can't get behind a book that glorifies rape in any way.

This book rocked my world. It's a 5 star read for me but it is not for everyone. Winner of Japan's Grand Prix Award for Crime Fiction, there is nothing conventional about this story. Reader beware- there are details on hacking up a corpse, misogyny in the Japanese workplace, women in dead end factory jobs, awful marriages, prostitution, the yakuza, loan sharking, rape, murder and the spiraling unintended consequences of some very ordinary women. This was my first foray into Japanese crime writing and I cannot remember who recommended this one to me, but I am so glad I read this.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat and is the very definition of a riveting read. I really like the author's writing style, with just how clearly she paints a picture in my head and make me squirm in my seat during the most intense scenes. I never felt so squeamish while reading a book as when reading the more graphic scenes in this one. However, this is not your straight-up crime novel, as it is also a biting social commentary on the darker side of Japanese society, particularly gender inequality and the life of the urban poor. Though the last chapter left me cold, I could not help but feel spent and emotionally exhausted after finishing the book. It was really a fascinating read and I'll definitely be checking out more of Natsuo Kirino's works.

Four women work the night shift at a boxed lunch factory. Slogging through the numbing, repetitive work they return home to contend with ungrateful children, absent husbands, demanding mother-in-laws, mounting debt and daily indignities that chip away at their happiness. When Yayoi finds her husband has completely blown their life savings gambling, drinking and chasing a club girl, she snaps and kills him.

With no where else to turn she enlists her no-nonsense co-worker Masako to help her dispose of the body. It's too much for the two of them and armed with the promise of money Masako also enlists her fellow co-workers Kuniko and Yoshie.

It doesn't take long things to unravel when pieces of the murdered husband are discovered, carelessly disposed of at a nearby park. There's the investigating officers, the loan shark hustling for the next buck and the club owner framed for Yayoi's husband's death that all converge as the story relentlessly ratchets up the tension till it builds to an over the top, graphic, bloody climax.

If you're looking for a book that masquerades as a thriller but, in reality, is more of a psychologically macabre art house horror story, then this might be for you.

There are no ghosts, vampires, or creepy puppets in this. Oh, no. It's a tale with a simple concept. One you might have even seen or read about in a typical police procedural, but with a few unique twists.

The book stars four women who work the night shift at a boxed dinner processing plant. Each has troubles at home, but after Yayoi's husband, Kenji, comes home and says he's gambled their life savings away, she's fed up and