Friend, Would You Help Me Cut Up and Hide the Body?
Out by Japanese author Natsuo Kirino is so perverse, so disturbing, so sexually violent that it’s hard to believe it was written by a woman. But gender assumptions in Japan is precisely the topic (among an array of far more unpleasant issues) that Kirino addresses in her novel.
Masako Katori, a resourceful woman of wit and poise, is only a shell of a woman she once was. After being under appreciated and exploited as an accountant in an office run by men, Katori takes a job at a lunch box factory working unimaginable grueling night shifts. When a coworker at the factory murders her husband, Katori takes charge of disposing the body by cutting it up into pieces and depositing them throughout the city.
But what seems truly heinous in Out are the conditions that influence the women in this novel to live in robotic obligation towards their homes, families and workplaces. They are ignored by their husbands, mistreated by their own children and even dismissed by the police after a brief, cursory investigation into the crime.
Out is a difficult novel to understand. Book reviews printed on the paperback reprint edition claim Out is “pitch-black comedy” though I imagine much of the comedic tone gets lost in translation. While I’m sure many readers (myself included) may find the sexual themes of rape and violence far from funny, there is something tragically comedic about a man and a woman who can only feel love when they loathe each other. Out is a difficult novel to understand and a difficult one to read without a strong stomach but it is definitely worth the try.
Anna (July 3, 2007, 2:01 pm).
I read this book about two years or so ago, and I remember being surprised at how calmly and efficiently the main character disposed of the bottom in such a gruesome fashion. I forgot how it ended, but I could definetly tell you how to slice and dice and garbage bag now.
Sasha (July 3, 2007, 10:10 pm).
Weird, I actually checked that book out of the library a few weeks ago, but I never got around to reading it. I didn’t realize it dealt so much with gender. I am always surprised how conservative Japan is in that way.
cindy (July 4, 2007, 12:08 pm).
Hey, thanks for dropping by!
I thought I saw this book once, but I didn’t bother buying it. Maybe I will someday.. just not into novels at the moment. Been busying myself with online games lately. Hehe.
Croaker (July 6, 2007, 8:37 am).
Written by a true future book critic. So why aren’t you getting paid to write such reviews? I mean really wouldn’t you have to be paid to read such fair?
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MC (July 7, 2007, 1:25 pm).
Croaker, if you’re offering me money, I’ll gladly take it.
Books Carnival « The Book’s Den (July 8, 2007, 10:41 pm).
[...] presents Friend, Would You Help Me Cut Up and Hide the Body? posted at Shibooya, saying, “Book review Out by Japanese author Natsuo [...]
Kent (July 12, 2007, 8:49 am).
Wow, you have interesting taste in books!
Is this something that you just found in the book store or did someone suggest it to you? Just wondering what kind of book club it is
-K
MC (July 12, 2007, 10:14 am).
I just saw the book cover, read the description briefly and decided to read it. It was part of a buy 2 get the 3rd free deal
Bookworms Carnival Edition 1: Novels : the hidden side of a leaf (July 16, 2007, 10:51 am).
[...] reviews Out, a novel by Natsuo Kirino in her blog Shibooya. MC found this book about “gender assumptions in Japan” disturbing [...]