![]() ![]() The fourth eventually snaps and murders her husband, while the other three then agree to dispose of the body. Another hasn’t spoken to her husband or son in years, and the fourth has a no-good husband that spends all his time at illegal casinos and chasing pretty (and expensive) hostesses around. Another is struggling to send her daughter to college. One can’t help but wrack up massive debts with loan sharks to buy things she can’t afford. All four of the women are feeling the weight of Japanese society pressing down on them. Out tracks the stories of four women who work together on the overnight shift at a convenience store packed lunch factory. Many people see “detective fiction” and immediately assume some variation of “whodunnit,” but Out is instead crime fiction because it looks at the human condition, how it might lead to crime, and questions who the real victims are in the whole unfortunate situation. We know exactly who the perpetrators are, those who are arrayed against them, and we have a strong understanding right from the outset how things are going. Just as with Grotesque, Out is a work of crime fiction, but it’s not a mystery per se. Out was actually the first Kirino novel to be translated into English, and if you’ve not had the opportunity to read it yet, you should jump at it – it’s a masterpiece of modern detective fiction. ![]() ![]() I have previously reviewed Kirino Natsuo’s Grotesque, but with Out, she has solidified herself as my favourite modern Japanese author. ![]()
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