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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Four stars because of the publisher's censorship,
By Grammatical Rappers (Seattle, wa United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Grotesque (Hardcover)
I attended a Natsuo Kirino reading and was disappointed to learn that in the American translation of this book, the ending had been altered. There is no indication of this in the book; there is no way to know this without comparing it to the Japanese edition (unfortunately, I can't read Japanese). Having the piece of information they omitted makes you better understand the actions of the protagonist at the end of the book. (There's also a puzzling double standard -- in the book, a female character engages in underage prostitution, but they cut the part where a male character does the same thing.) Knopf really dropped the ball on this and I hope that future works by this author are released uncut by a more courageous publisher.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Invisible Monsters,
By Jack M. Walter "Jack M. Walter" (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Grotesque (Hardcover)
What a shame that this is only the second of Kirino's novels to be translated into English. I anxiously await more, as Grotesque proved to be the most psychologically intense piece of fiction I have ever read. This story of a hate-consumed woman, her younger sister, and a classmate is riddled with the concept of human beings as monsters, and with the role of females in a society that devalues them at every turn. No short review could do this brilliant book justice. Kirino's talent is so huge it is scary. One of the best of 2007, without a doubt.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning psychological exposition,
By
This review is from: Grotesque (Hardcover)
Readers seeking a murder mystery will be disappointed by this novel. The whodunit is almost irrelevant to the story. What Grotesque is, is a powerful and stunning exploration of the effects of a society that condemns and restricts women based upon looks and expectations. Told from four first-person perspectives, Kirino effectively portrays people crushed by the cultural and societal limits, destroyed by the resulting emptiness of their lives. While the narratives vary in quality, likely a function of translation, this is a compelling and ultimately stunning psychological novel.
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