Out: Natsuo Kirino

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She is most famous for her 1997 novel, Out, which received the Mystery Writers of Japan Award, Japan's top mystery award, and was a finalist (in English translation) for the 2004 Edgar Award. [2] In addition, Kirino received the 1993 Edogawa Rampo Prize for mystery fiction for her debut novel, Kao ni Furikakaru Ame (Rain Falling on My Face), and the 1999 Naoki Prize for her novel Yawarakana hoho (Soft Cheeks). a b c d e f g h i Lutz, R.C. (2008). "Natsuo Kirino". In Carl Rollyson (ed.). Critical Survey of Mystery & Detective Fiction (Reviseded.). Pasadena, CA: Salem Press. In the Tokyo suburbs four women work the graveyard shift at a factory. Burdened with heavy debts, alienated from husbands and children, they all secretly dream of a way out of their dead-end lives. a b Copeland, Rebecca (2004). "Woman Uncovered: Pornography and Power in the Detective Fiction of Kirino Natsuo". Japan Forum. 16 (2): 249–69. doi: 10.1080/0955580042000222673. The novel tells the tales of four women, working the graveyard shift at a Japanese bento factory. All four women live hard lives. Masako, the leader of the four women, feels completely alienated from her estranged husband and teenage son. Kuniko, a plump and rather vain girl, has recently been ditched by her boyfriend after the couple were driven into debt, leaving Kuniko to fend off a loan shark. Yoshie is a single mother and reluctant caretaker of her mother-in-law, who was left partly paralyzed after a stroke. Yayoi is a thirty-four-year-old mother of two small boys who she is forced to leave home alone, where they are abused by their drunken, gambling father, Kenji.

Daring and disturbing, OUT is prepared to push the limits of this world - not only in violence and sex but also in human outlook… Remarkable Los Angeles Times Kirino began her writing career in 1984, when she started composing novels in the romantic genre. [6] However, these types of novels were not popular in Japan, so she found it difficult to make a living while writing them. [6] She also did not have a passion for writing romance novels and wanted to concentrate on works focusing on the psychological aspect of crimes. [6] She then turned her focus towards writing mystery novels in the early 1990s. [6] To date, she has written several short story collections and many novels, [7] and is now one of Japan's most popular writers. [8] a b c d Harrison, Sophie (15 April 2007). "Memoirs of a Geisha's Sister". The New York Times . Retrieved 1 November 2013.

Kirino explains that the title Out has many meanings attached to it—out as in “off the path” or “exit,” out as in “no good,” and out as in “outside.” [1] She believes there is “a certain kind of freedom in being completely ‘out.’ If you go out one exit, there's another door, and if you open that, you don't know what awaits you" [1] When asked about the broken bonds in the story, the author says she believes there is no such thing as society and that we are essentially solitary creatures. This becomes clear when people unconsciously release their true nature by committing deviant acts. The book's title clearly conveys the experience of being on the out-side of social groups. Her work is reminiscent of American hardboiled detective stories, but her use of multiple narratives and perspectives provide "no authoritative master narrative . . . that finally reassures the reader which of the many voices one is to trust". [2] Her prose style has been described as "flat," "functional," and "occasionally illuminated by a strange lyricism." [9] Unlike most hardboiled fiction, Kirino's novels often feature a female protagonist such as her detective Miro Murano, who complicates the typical hardboiled role of females by becoming both detective and victim. [10] By doing this, Kirino "implicates [the reader] in the voyeuristic pleasure of the detective genre by making [the reader] conscious of [the] act of watching." [10] Kirino said she is fascinated by human nature and what makes someone with a completely clean record suddenly turn into a criminal. Tokyo Island (original title: Tōkyō-jima), trans. Philip Gabriel ( Granta, No.110, 2010 Spring, p.31-50)

a b c d e f g h Scalise, Paul (Summer 2003). "Interview". JapanReview.Net. JapanReview.Net. Archived from the original on 20 February 2013 . Retrieved 4 November 2013. Out (original title: Auto), trans. Stephen Snyder (New York: Kodansha, 2003; New York: Vintage, 2005) Kirino is the middle child of three. [3] She has two brothers, one who is six years older and one who is five years younger. [3] Her father was an architect. [2] Kirino has lived in many different cities, including her current residence, Tokyo. [3] Kirino married in 1975 [2] and had a daughter in 1981. [3] a b c d e Kirino, Natsuo (2009). "About Her". Bubblonia. Natsuo Kirino . Retrieved 4 November 2013. Four Japanese women - Masako, Yayoi, Yoshie and Kuniko - work the night shift together at a factory making boxed lunches. Yayoi's husband, Yamamoto, is drunk and violent, and obsessed with an escort girl named Anna, who works at a club run by psychopathic gangster Satake. Yamamoto has also lost all the couple's savings playing baccarat at Satake's club. One night Satake beats Yamamoto up and throws him out. When Yamamoto gets home, his wife strangles him with his own belt. She confides in her friends, and they, led by Masako, agree to take Yamamoto's body, cut it up and dispose of it in garbage bags dispersed around Tokyo.Natsuo Kirino ( 桐野 夏生, Kirino Natsuo) (born October 7, 1951, in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture) is the pen name of Mariko Hashioka, [1] a Japanese novelist and a leading figure in the recent boom of female writers of Japanese detective fiction. [2] Biography [ edit ] Rochlin, Margy (3 July 2007). "Grotesque: Natsuo Kirino's Dark World". LA Weekly . Retrieved 20 November 2013. This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. ( April 2010) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) The Floating Forest (original title: Ukishima no Mori), trans. Jonathan W. Lawless ( Digital Geishas and Talking Frogs: The Best 21st Century Short Stories from Japan, Cheng & Tsui Company, 2011)