Out

Brutality and Poverty in Japan, No Cherry Blossom in Sight

Out by Natsuo Kirino, won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Best Novel. It is her first novel to be published in English.

A bleak portrayal of oppression and poverty in Japan. Kirino’s books have been christened “feminist noir”. 

Synopsis

A young mother murders her abusive husband and then seeks the help of three of her colleagues on a factory night shift to help her cover up her crime. All goes well until the body parts turn up in the rubbish bins of a city park, and the police start to close in.

It isn’t the police that the women need to worry about, there are far more deadly adversaries in Tokyo’s underworld, and some have axes to grind.

Review

Kirino writes a disturbing tale about life in Tokyo’s underclass. The murder is unpleasant, but the women’s perfectly rational actions are far worse as they try to escape the poverty trap that has caught them.

Kirino’s writing can be a little flat and factual. She overlooks how difficult it must be to move a dead body in one of the world’s largest cities without anybody noticing. But the plot spins away horribly convincingly, and the last chapter is heart-stopping stuff.

Be sure to scribble down the names of the Japanese cast at the start, lest you get lost.

Excerpt

‘Yayoi said she wanted to pay us back. Would you do it if money were involved?’ Yoshi looked up, as if jerked by a string. Her sunken eyes had a perplexed look. ‘I told her she didn’t need to pay me, but now that I think about it I’ll probably take something. It is more businesslike that way.’

‘How much?’ Yoshie whispered, glancing queasily at Kenji’s lifeless eyes.

‘How much do you want? I’ll negotiate for you.’

‘A hundred thousand yen?’ Yoshie suggested.

‘Too little, how about five?’

‘With that kind of money, I could find a new place to live,’ she murmured. ‘So you’re planning to buy me in, knowing I can’t resist?’ Precisely thought Masako, though she pretended not to hear.

‘Please,’ she said. ‘I need your help Skipper.’

‘Okay, okay. You’ve got it,’ said Yoshie, the prospect of money having finally broken down her resistance. Tying on the apron she slipped out of her white socks and began rolling up the legs of her sweat pants. ‘You’d better get out of those,’ she said pointing at Masako’s jeans. ‘They’ll get covered with blood.’

Out by Natsuo Kirino