The are 2 groups:
1.The food-factory assembly workers composed by 4 women who work at the night shift: Masako,Kuniko,Yoshie and Yayoi.
2.Ex-yakuza member, gambling club owner Satake.

The tie between these 2 is Yayoi's husband. He is a customer of Satake's gambling club who ruins all the family savings. Does not treat her wife gently and gets obsessed with a young women at the club whom the owner treats as a barbie pet.One day, Satake asks him to leave the club and and beats him.Then, he goes home and quarrels with his wife. The result is a gruesome death.

All 4 have a vague and uneasy past. The night shift work is a kind of a veil and an escape in the their routine and boring lives. Even though the sallary is relatively high with respect to a day time job, the job doesn't demand any skill and brings no satisfaction. Ýt leads to a futile path.
Yayoi:A Young beatuful lady who has an husband and 2 small children. Saves money for a better place to live. Shows no mercy while strangling her husband. Deceives the police and people around with her wierdly serene and innocent manner. Asks help from her colleague Masako to dispose the body.
Masako: Literally the group leader.Deals with the corpse issue subtely; chops him into pieces and allocates the pieces to different parts of the city. Since she can't handle the issue herself, she offers money to Kuniko and Yoshie in return for their assistance.
Kuniko: The unhappy,ugly, fat,jealous ,consumer mania women who buys anything she sees but can't afford to pay, can be bothersome but could easly be manipulated.

Yoshie: A conservative, poor women who looks after her ill mother in law and doughter.
Satake: The sadistic male protagonist who is ambitious, have "meaningless eyes that make you think you look at a swamp" who has a kind of detective mind.
The relation between satake and masako is kind of a unison of controversies. Ýn the end, there is a collapse and the final, breaking setting narrated by satake'a and masako's point of view shows the difference between how man and women differ interms of comprehending the same group of events. The book is enjoying, rather sad, kind of feministic but definetely good.

4 women work the night shift in a food packing factory in tokyo. For different reasons they are all struggling with their lifes - Yayoi is beaten by her gambling husband, Masako is drifting from her husband and son, Yoshie seems to get dumped with looking after her ungrateful mother in law and daughters, Kuniko is a shopaholic with mounting debts. One night Yayoi is pushed to the edge and kills her husband. She turns to Masako for help on getting rid of the body, unknowingly drawing all of them into a downward spiral of violence, redemption, money, longing for love and freedom from their demons from which none of them will escape unscathed.

This is a very well written story that just flows and is impossible to put down. Very highly recommended!

This story of murder, friends, and corruption is highly original, and I highly recommend it. The plots twists every which way right up to the end. The nuanced view of the Japanese working class and criminal class is fascinating.

A surfeit of violence to and torture of women detracted from my enjoyment, but the underlying plot was strong, consistent, and engaging throughout. This book takes a strong stomach.

The portrayal of women's lot in Japan is dark, with no characters enjoying a balanced or fulfilling family life, as was also the case for the two other books I've also read by Natsuo Kirino. No characters escape corruption when possibilities arise.

This tale is noir at its blackest.

This story of murder, friends, and corruption is highly original, and I highly recommend it. The plots twists every which way right up to the end. The nuanced view of the Japanese working class and criminal class is fascinating.

A surfeit of violence to and torture of women detracted from my enjoyment, but the underlying plot was strong, consistent, and engaging throughout. This book takes a strong stomach.

The portrayal of women's lot in Japan is dark, with few (no?) characters enjoying a balanced or fulfilling family life, as was also the case for the two other books I've also read by the same author. Few (no?) characters escape corruption when possibilities arise.

This tale is noir at its blackest.

I enjoyed the rhythm of the book. It gently pulled me into its world and held me secure with its fascinating characters and interesting details. With each page that I turned I wanted to know more. I look forward to enjoying more books by this author in the future.

Natsuo Kirino's Out was simply captivating. The way she sets up scenes and the pacing of the novel is calculated with brilliance, and her characters are down to earth and believable. Yet, a heinous crime is committed by one of them who murders her own husband, and that is when everything spins out of control. Will her friends be able to save her and cover it up, will they all be arrested, or worse, killed?

The beginning was a little slow, but once the murder happened I could not put the book down. It is so graphic and gruesome, yet somehow real and insightful.

This is one you cannot forget.

Powerful in its characters and twisting story. It will stay with you long after you have read the last page and closed the book.

Just when you think it can't get any worse ... it does. This novel is a great example of noir literature. It has the usual noir elements of darkness, despair, hopelessness and betrayal. Layered on top of this noir novel is a very black comedy of gender warfare.

A young mother, living in the Tokyo suburbs and working the night shift at a boxed lunch factory, wants out of her miserable marriage to a philandering and abusive husband. Her solution? Strangle him. Unfortunately, this solution creates a new problem ... a dead body that needs to disappear. Fortunately, this young mother has empathetic lady friends who are equally desperate to get "out" of their own miserable circumstances and are therefore willing to help dispose of the body.

Unfortunately for these ladies, they find that the nightmare has just begun and this one act has pulled them into the "violent underbelly of Japanese society." In usual noir-ish fashion, all does not end well and no solutions are offered to resolve the hostilities between the sexes.

This is not my favorite type of reading, but I thought the story was well done and was an excellent example of noir and black comedy. The translation, by Stephen Snyder, seemed extraordinarily good to me; I never once thought about the fact that I was reading the book in translation.

"Out" is Japanese noir at its darkest best. The first of Natsuo Kirino's to be translated into English, it is gruesome, edgy, bizarre, and terrifying. It has also been mistakenly categorized as mystery simply because there is no mystery here at all. We know from the onset the who, what, why, where, when, and how of the crime. What we do not know is what will happen to the criminals.

Four women work the night shift assembly line at the Miyoshi Foods factory in suburban Tokyo prepping box lunches. Masako Katori is the smartest of the four, hardened by the injustices she suffered in a previous professional job, and by the callous indifference of her husband and troubled son. Yoshie Azuma is the most efficient at the line, earning her the nickname Skipper, but she's a widow burdened at home by an antagonistic, bed-ridden mother-in-law and a selfish daughter. Yayoi Yamamoto is the timid one, abused by her husband, Kenji, whose gambling and womanizing have drained their savings. Kuniko Jonouchi is young and foolish, drowning in a sea of debts to finance her shopping habits.

Unable to endure Kenji's abuse, Yayoi snaps one night and strangles him dead with her belt. Helpless and panicked, she enlists Masako's help, and with the understandably hesitant Yoshie and Kuniko, they dismember the late Kenji and dispose of the body in various places. (About halfway into the story, a detective theorizes that the reason dismembering is more often done by women is simply because they do not have the physical strength to carry the body in one piece. It makes perfect sense...well...in a morbid sort of way.) Yayoi collects on her husband's life insurance and pays the three for their trouble. Soon, Kenji's remains are discovered, and a club owner who fought with Kenji on his last night is fingered (sorry) as the killer. But the women's relief is premature--their lives are forever changed and threatened by someone who's figured it all out and now wants payback.

Ms. Kirino presents a gritty Tokyo here, not the cherry-blossomed, tranquil, Zen-like atmosphere postcards perpetuate. This is ugly Tokyo with its yakuza (mob), seedy Kabukicho (red-light district) `hostess' clubs, and killer loan sharks. (Those into photography may recall seeing works by Watanabe Katsumi who's known for his photographs of the gangsters, prostitutes, drag queens, and sundry of Kabukicho in the `60s and `70s. That's the atmosphere and mood here, only grittier, darker, and more menacing.) There are no likeable characters either, and money is a recurring theme. Wanting it, getting it, killing for it are always at the forefront. It's a gripping read and her characters may not be sympathetic but they're believable.

The "feminist" label that's been attached to this is a curious thing. True that Masako was treated very badly at a prior company for no other reason than wanting equal pay and opportunities. However, the fact that it portrays women who are treated as second-class citizens by a patriarchal society does not in and of itself make it a feminist novel, and insofar as they are capable of despicable acts as their male counterparts only proves that crime can be an attractive proposition for both genders. There is no underlying moral philosophy here that champions equal rights for its female characters, and I don't see it as the theme; championing their survival from a killer hell-bent on revenge, yes, but that's a totally different thing. It just isn't that kind of story. The four women are in no way bound by anything approximating sisterhood. They did what they did because each had a reason to--two of them for need of money, one for something that would give her life some meaning (as absurd as that sounds, considering the act), and another for no other reason than she reached the end of her tether with an abusive husband.

The author is frank, both with the violence and the ugliness of its world. Those of a more sensitive nature will find some portions unpalatable. Those who like their novels dark, such as myself, will find this very satisfactory. Why four stars? The ending became a mishmash of events, told twice by two characters with varying perspectives, and a bewildering final chapter. Nothing new is learned by the reader when the second perspective is given, therefore, why even do it? And what precipitated the main character's abrupt and bizarre metamorphosis in the last chapter? I can guess, I suppose, but I rather the author had told me. With a tighter ending, it would have been near perfect. So, terrific story, lots of tension and very dark themes, scary but believable characters, realistic portrayal of the working-class part of Tokyo, writing may have been somewhat pedestrian, solid plotting until an ending that left me scratching my head.

"Out" is Japanese noir at its darkest best. The first of Natsuo Kirino's to be translated into English, it is gruesome, edgy, bizarre, and terrifying. It is also mistakenly categorized as mystery simply because there is no mystery here at all. We know from the onset the who, what, why, where, when, and how of the crime. What we do not know is what will happen to the criminals.

Four women work the night shift assembly line at the Miyoshi Foods factory in suburban Tokyo prepping box lunches. Masako Katori is the smartest of the four, hardened by the injustices she suffered in a previous professional job, and by the callous indifference of her husband and troubled son. Yoshie Azuma is the most efficient at the line, earning her the nickname Skipper, but she's a widow burdened at home by an antagonistic, bed-ridden mother-in-law and a selfish daughter. Yayoi Yamamoto is the timid one, abused by her husband, Kenji, whose gambling and womanizing have drained their savings. Kuniko Jonouchi is young and foolish, drowning in a sea of debts to finance her shopping habits.

Unable to endure Kenji's abuse, Yayoi snaps one night and strangles him dead with her belt. Helpless and panicked, she enlists the help of her friend, Masako, who, with the understandably hesitant Yoshie and Kuniko, dismembers the late Kenji and disposes of the parts in various places. (About halfway into the story, a detective theorizes that the reason dismembering is more often done by women is simply because they do not have the physical strength to carry the body in one piece. It makes perfect sense...well...in a morbid sort of way.) Yayoi collects on her husband's life insurance and pays the three for their trouble. Soon, Kenji's remains are discovered, and a club owner who fought with Kenji on his last night is fingered (sorry) as the killer. But the women's relief is premature--their lives are forever changed and threatened by someone who's figured it all out and now wants payback.

Ms. Kirino presents a gritty Tokyo here, not the cherry-blossomed, tranquil, Zen-like atmosphere postcards perpetuate. This is ugly Tokyo with its yakuza (mob), seedy Kabukicho (red-light district) `hostess' clubs, and killer loan sharks. (Those into photography may recall seeing works by Watanabe Katsumi who's known for his photographs of the gangsters, prostitutes, drag queens and sundry of Kabukicho in the `60s and `'70s. That's the atmosphere and mood here, only grittier, darker, and more menacing.) There are no likeable characters here, either, and money is a recurring theme. Wanting it, getting it, killing for it are always at the forefront. It's a gripping read and her characters may not be sympathetic but they're believable.

The "feminist" label that's been attached to this is a curious thing. True that Masako was treated very badly at a prior company for no other reason than wanting equal pay and opportunities. However, the fact that it portrays women who are treated as second-class citizens by a patriarchal society does not in and of itself make it a feminist novel, and insofar as they are capable of despicable acts as their male counterparts only proves that crime can be an attractive proposition for both genders. There is no underlying moral philosophy here that champions equal rights for its female characters, and I don't see it as the theme; championing their survival from a killer hell-bent on revenge, yes, but that's a totally different thing. It just isn't that kind of story. The four women are in no way bound by anything approximating sisterhood. They did what they did because each had a reason to--two of them for need of money, one for something that would give her life some meaning (as absurd as that sounds, considering the act), and another for no other reason than she reached the end of her tether with an abusive husband.

The author is frank, both with the violence and the ugliness of its world. Those of a more sensitive nature will find some portions unpalatable. Those who like their novels dark, such as myself, will find this very satisfactory. Why four stars? The ending became a mishmash of events, told twice by two characters with varying perspectives, and a bewildering final chapter. Nothing new is learned by the reader when the second perspective is given, therefore, why even do it? And what precipitated the main character's abrupt and bizarre metamorphosis in the last chapter? I can guess, I suppose, but I rather the author had told me. With a tighter ending, it would have been near perfect. So, terrific story, lots of tension and very dark themes, scary but believable characters, realistic portrayal of the working-class part of Tokyo, writing may have been somewhat pedestrian, solid plotting until an ending that left me scratching my head.

This is one of better novels I've ever read, and not particularly a fan of the genre. There's the mystery and the mayhem, but I was driven to read because Kirino creates real female characters and you care a great deal about what happens to them. While you read because of the main characters, in the meantime the book provides rare, deep insight into the character of Japanese society through its 'outcast' elements. A much deeper and much more interesting Japan than the wornout 'kimono and sarariman' one of proper Japanophile textbooks.

This is one of better novels I've ever read, and not particularly a fan of the genre. There's the mystery and the mayhem, but I was driven to read because Kirino creates real female characters and you care a great deal about what happens to them. While you read because of the main characters, in the meantime the book provides rare, deep insight into the character of Japanese society through its 'outcast' elements. Much more interesting than the wornout 'kimono and sarariman' Japan of Japanophile textbooks.

I really enjoyed this novel, but it is very dark. It is not a book you should read if you're not in a good emotional place, because Kirino digs deeper into the more sinister aspects of human nature than most crime/thriller writers, and one of the central ideas in her novel is that any of us is capable of committing or abetting horrible crimes if we are pushed to the brink by the right combination of circumstances.

This is not a novel of cartoonish violence like that in so many other contemporary thrillers. Kirino's understanding of how ordinary people get caught up in desperate situations, and how one decisive act can create a litany of unforeseen and undesirable consequences, is reminiscent of Flannery O'Connor, Jim Thompson, James Ellroy and Andrew Vachss.

Despite the grim subject matter (a woman murders her husband and three of her female co-workers agree to cut up and dispose of his body), I couldn't put this novel down because of Kirino's incisive psychological profiles and spot-on internal monologue. Each character is distinct and three-dimensional, and Kirino does a great job of bringing together seemingly unrelated and dissimilar characters in a narrative that picks up momentum until the dramatic climax.

The first two-thirds of the novel is a combination of crime thriller, unconventional feminist treatise and deconstruction of how seemingly innocuous people metamorphose into efficient criminals when placed under financial, social and emotional duress. The novel gets sensational in the final third, and I was initially disappointed at how the story became too "over-the-top," but Kirino rescues the novel in the final twenty pages and I was left breathless.

The murder and the inevitable complications it creates are so real, it's jarring. If you like your crime novels profoundly dark, then you must read this one. It's on par with anything O'Connor, Thompson, Ellroy and Vachss have done.

Out, to which I was originally drawn because I wanted to learn more about everyday life in Japan through the eyes of one of that country's best novelists, is my first real experience with modern Japanese fiction. Since I am also a fan of hardboiled detective fiction, I actually had two reasons for getting hold of a copy of Natsuo Kirino's prize winning novel. But in reality, this is no detective novel; it can, in fact, be more accurately described as a crime thriller and, because of its gritty setting, dark plot and tough characters, a perfect representation of Japanese noir.

Natsuo Kirino has written a story about a segment of Japan's underclass that is rarely discussed by outsiders, an underclass that has everything in common with its equivalent in this country: people who work full-time jobs for such low wages that they can barely get by from one paycheck to the next. As their desperation grows over time, some in that predicament discover that the everyday struggle for survival has turned them into people they hardly recognize, people willing to do just about anything that gives them a chance to get a little bit ahead in the struggle to carve out a decent life for themselves.

The four women who work as an unofficial team during the overnight shift at a box lunch factory because it pays a few pennies more per hour than the earlier shifts can feel their lives slipping away from them. For a variety of reasons, each has come to prefer the solitary lifestyle demanded of those who return home just in time every morning to see everyone around them leave for their own day's work. Yoshie, the sole support of an invalid mother-in-law and unappreciative teenage daughter, feels trapped in a situation she can barely afford to sustain. Masako has a husband whose life is so separate from hers that she only sees him at mealtimes and a teenage son who despises her, and she has come to appreciate the way that her night shift allows her to avoid both. Kumiko, youngest of the four, lives only to shop and has gotten so far into debt that she feels physically threatened by bill collectors. And Yayoi has two small boys and a husband who squanders the family earnings on his gambling addiction and the women who work the clubs he frequents.

Of the four, it is Yayoi who cracks first. The almost casual way that her husband discloses to her one evening that he has gambled away all of their savings throws her into such a rage that she finds the strength to strangle him to death. Desperate to cover up what she has done, Yayoi seeks help from Masako, the one person she trusts to keep her secret. The two hatch a scheme to dispose of the body by cutting it into pieces and placing the pieces in garbage cans around the city, a solution that requires the help of Yoshie and Kumiko if it is to have any chance of success.

Tension mounts when enough of the body is discovered to allow its identification and the police begin to suspect that Yayoi may be involved in the murder of her husband. But it is when the group's weakest link decides to cash in on what she knows about the murder that things really begin to come apart for the women; soon all four are forced to scramble not only to keep their freedom, but to stay alive.
Out is one bloody and gruesome novel. It is filled with brutality, despair, greed and sadism and I can actually only recall one genuinely likeable character in the entire novel, someone I never expected I would grow to admire, a Brazilian/Japanese citizen in Japan to work in the country of his father. It is perhaps somewhat of a feminist novel but only in the sense that the author portrays these women, still very much second class citizens in their culture, as being capable of the same extremes and callous behavior displayed by the worst men in their lives. This is true equality, I suppose.

All four of these women were looking for a way out of their hopeless circumstances. They got more than they bargained for.

Out is an interesting novel, to say the least, but some readers may find its tone and content hard to take for 359 pages. It has certainly given me a view of Japan that I had not considered before, an impression that will haunt me for a good while. I can't say that I enjoyed this book but I have to admit that I found it morbidly fascinating.

An amazing read. I'm not usually keen on award winners, approaching them with trepidation as I usually find them stilted and well basically, boring. I will defintely be looking out for more by this author!

Set in the suberbs of Tokyo there are four women who work the night shifts at a boxed-lunch factory. All four have different reasons for needing to be there - money, only job available, to be alone; although the one thing they have in common is a need to escape (primarily from their own lives). This is the first meaning of the title 'Out'.

One of the women kills her husband, for a variety of reasons and amazingly Masako offers to help her. There is no reason for her to help, but she does. They actually dismember and dispose of him. Meanwhile we are introduced to a nightclub owner (Satake) who the police believe has committed the murder.

The story centres eventually around these two characters, who for me are the two appearing on the dust jacket. We follow their lives - every part of it, from their dreams, fears to their daily routines and more especially their enemies.

If you felt disturbed by reading 'American Psycho' then this may carry the same or worse feelings. It's cold from the outset. Initially this took me by surprise but then I realised it could be to reflect the genre or be traditional of this writing style. The characters are so convincingly described and the narrative is so powerful. It really is a chilling read. It is violent, disturbing and will seep into you when you least expect it.

I had the great pleasure of seeing Kirino-sensei (yes, I give her that title) speak at the Kinokuniya here when Grotesque came out. She was a fascinating and kind woman with an edge that really kept you in a state of deference. Approachable, but still respectable. Her manner was just like her writing, direct but not confrontational. Softened by her speaking. It is a shame that the one star reviews are right on... the weaknesses come from translation, but not the translator. There are certain aspects that simply cannot be translated and the work, as a whole, suffers for it a little bit. Still a fantastic read!

Words cannot describe how well this book captures the reader's attention with the stark reality it presents. It's certainly not a flowery "happy ending" story; it's a story of a real woman living a real life, and it certainly shows the reader that real life is never black and white. Kirino-san masterfully paints each image as she shows how one life connects with another, how it all starts with something as simple and complicated as a burst of passing anger.

This being my first heavy adult novel, it's a completely different outlook into the Japanese world, a world I've only been acquainted with through a child's eyes. Certainly, the extent to which a human soul's darkness can go is limitless. Kirino-san exposes this fact marvelously with the excellent characterization. The reader would never even think that the characters are mere fiction, despite the seemingly outlandish things they think of and do.

Definitely not for the faint of heart, this novel paints the darker, more elusive face of the world and of humanity. It most certainly is a page-turner that, once it catches your attention, will never let go.

The best book I have read in many months, interesting, different, the unexpected, really enjoyed the insight into the characters - great book

As someone who likes my reading to be realistic, this novel has it all and puts the story in a most real life situation. I could not put the book down. The worst feature is the long wait for another novel to come out by this author. For reading entertainment this author is the best I have found.. Jim

'Out' is the first book from Kirino I've read and I am *very* impressed. The author clearly has a talent for composing a complex story with keen on characterizations which are realistic and sensitive. As for the story, .. yikes! It is extremely gruesome. Not wanting to give out spoilers, let me say it involves murder and a very meticulous way of disposing of the corpses. In the middle of this are four women, coworkers at a night shift boxed lunch ("bento") plant. At first it is impossible to understand how these hausfrauen could get involved with such dastardly deeds. However as the author unveils each character in detail, warts and all, we see that it is all surprisingly plausible. Oh, there are also so male characters central to the story. Most of the men are portrayed as socially inept, slimy, or just plain psychotic. No, not very balanced. Yet this is only a very slight demerit in an otherwise flawlessly executed piece of literature.


Bottom line: wow, what a surprise! Strongly recommended, but not for the squeamish.

Very few books actually keep me up past my bed time, but I had to know what was going to happen next in this book filled with twists and turns at every corner. I had read this book a couple of years ago and although, I don't remember every detail, I do remember it was one of my favorite reads in a long time. I don't remember there being any dull moments, every page had you on your toes and you just never knew what to expect next. I recommend this for anyone who likes books that keep you guessing until the very end!

Although I would not think a grisly Japanese mystery would be one of my favorite books of 2007, it was very near the top. You need an appreciation for the dark side/black humor to enjoy it, but if you have that Out will be an enjoyable, refreshing read.

Actually, this would really be a 2-3 star review...except that no one reads 2-3 star reviews.

The strengths: Catchy writing, even for a translation, and a good talent for letting the reader into the subject's head. Characters are pretty well fleshed out, none of them seem shallow. Interesting twists and turns and several laugh out loud funny moments.

Weaknesses: As my title says, just too many implausibilities. **SPOILERS** Misako is worried about getting to the factory late when the Brazilian guy jumps her. Well, there's a perfect reason for being late, don't you think? Even just for safety's sake for all the other women, don't you think it might be worth mentioning, "hey girls, I just got attacked, I think I know who it was, he's still outside the building, better be careful?" But no, she just ignores the whole thing because it would be better to show up on time (???!!!!)

There is a lunatic after all of them, who most of the cops consider to be guilty of the murder anyway, and no one even considers telling the police. Yaiyoi doesn't say, "hey, that guy who killed my husband, who disappeared... well, he is around, stalked me, and took all my money." You could argue she was too intimidated by him...but then he murders Kuniko. Mightn't she think "yikes! I'm next!" But no, she thinks, "well he's killing us off one by one, he knows where I live and how to get to me...but I'll just trust it to luck that I'll be fine." [!!!!!!!]

Misako is supposed to be the smart one, the planner and plotter, and even says that "we need to make sure Kuniko's murder is pinned on Satake." Too bad that after mentioning it, no plan of any kind is devised, nor does it ever come up again. Worse, it turns out that her master plan for defeating him is just to blithely show up at work, where she knows he will be waiting, with no one to watch her back, no call to the cops, no pepper spray, and just kind of hopes he doesn't attack her and drag her off to some secluded area for abuse and murder... which he does. I kept expecting the Brazilian guy to show up at the last minute because "a-ha, see, I had him watching from a distance to catch you red-handed"...which she could have, considering 5 minutes before the attack she was in his apartment...but no. After a couple hundred pages of building her up to be this sharp, cold, analytical planner, that was the best she could do? What is this, a Friday the 13th movie??? C'mon!!!

Natsuo Kirino's mystery thriller will leave you on the edge of your seat. An arm chair ride through the daily lives of her characters, their personalities, thoughts, experiences and motivations. Set in Tokyo, we get a glimpse of everyday people, their lives and how events unfold that challenge their values, friendships and future. A fast paced thriller until the end.

A housewife murders her husband in a fit of pique, and then is faced with that old problem of how do you dispose of the body? Solution: get some of your women friends and co-workers to help out by slicing and dicing hubby into small, manageable parts. Put the parts in plastic bags and dump the bags in various garbage cans throughout the community. Well the idea seems great, but for a first effort it didn't totally succeed. The police find and identify one of the parts, and accuse an innocent man of the murder. The women body dissemblers however find that this could be a profitable business.

The reader becomes engrossed learning about one of society's lesser known occupations. But watch out, the innocently accused man is getting closer and closer to exposing the gals.

This is a great black humor thriller. It's fast and funny, but I was a bit disappointed with the bizarre ending. Then again the whole book is bizarre, so why should I criticize its equally peculiar climax (and, hey, the word climax has more than one meaning).

Most mysteries fade from memory within days. Once an author establishes a recognizable anchor, all his novels become one of a piece. OUT breaks the molds of typical whodunit fiction. We know who the bad guys/gals are from the outset. The suspense is created by the question of which one will be the next to have their body disbursed into 15 garbage bags.

Set in present day Japan, the characters are mostly ordinary middle class people beset by difficulties that can tap our sympathies. The heroine of OUT is especially clever with great instintive presence. When she's on the page, things crackle as well as clarify. The mixture of eroticism with physical torture and death is a taboo pleasure more explored in Japanese sub-culture than in the West. It is the paramount theme in this novel and we keep reading because it is repellent yet bewitching. Most of these people are like somebody we know... yet they are caught in this gruesome business.

This novel is very insistent about keeping the reader informed. We are always clear about what has transpired as well as what the characters feel about each other. It satisfies extraverts and introverts. The climax is actually related twice, so we can hear it from both pro and antagonists. I would guess Kirino was spent at that juncture, for the novel concludes leaving a number of minor loose ends. I would have preferred that she had tucked them away before the climax, but that is a small criticism. You will not forget this engrossing work.

I had high expectations for this book, which is probably part of the problem. I heard a positive review on NPR of Kirino's more recent book, but I decided to read this one instead based on even stronger reviews here. Unfortunately, I found the book to be dull and predictable. The characters are all some mix of unlikeable and unbelievable, with the female characters tending towards the former, while the male characters are ludicrously worthless or demented. Several of the review snippets printed in the book's cover pages refer to its feminist viewpoint, which should have been my clue that the novelist has an ax to grind. I'm giving it two stars instead of one, because although I came very close to abandoning the book midway, I was sufficiently curious to stick with it to the end. It's not clear that was the right choice.

A breathtaking novel that, for once, lives up to its hype. In fact it surpasses it. It is darkly, grotesquely humane.

I found this book so fascinating. The plot is very good and every character is so full of life. Strongly recommended.

This is a real page turner. It will keep you up past your bedtime. You won't be able to put it down. Okay, you may get the point. You will find yourself walking and struggling with Masako. The only thing I did not like is the ending. How could Masako feel anything for Satake? Masako was so logical, strong, and methodical.
Another strength of the book is its depiction of the struggle of the poor working class to survive. Most people have boring and painful jobs that they suffer only for the buck (or the yen). Their poverty wears on their families; there seems to be no room for familial warmth in this cold world. And Kirino captures that spirit with great skill.

I wasn't prepared for this novel. I couldn't put it down and I am still thinking about it. Everyone I've recommended this book to thought it was a great read. Sometimes I had trouble getting my copy from friends because their friends wanted to read it.

Out is not for the faint of heart though; chapters and chapters of plot tend to explode in frightening scenes of carnage that caused my heart to skip a beat (or two).

During the reading of this novel I really wanted to be able to read Japanese. The translation at times confused me with euphimisms that I felt pandered to American expectations regarding this genre of fiction. I admired the protagonist but she unfortunatley fell in love with another. That love is what I found revolving around the central theme... and what makes the author a worthy competitor in the guessing game of looking into the well of human darkness.

This is a great book!!! I have not read anything so fascinating in a long time. Now all I do is try to find books as compelling as OUT. Natsuo Kirino's imagery pulls the reader into becoming a part of every character and setting. Each page kept me reading well into the wee hours of the night. After a few chapters into reading the book I was telling everybody in ear shot that it is a good book. Now that I've finished it I say that this is an excellent book. If it were a movie with great actors it would definitely be a box office smash. OUT certainly walked me through areas that I never thought I could or would go, and for that I love it!

I feel like I've been walking the mean streets of Tokyo. At times heart-pounding, this book was perfect for a vacation. Each of these isolated characters lives become entwined as they break from their dreary circumstances into something dark, different, and dangerous.

OUT begins innocently enough, introducing readers to four very different women who have only two things in common: their jobs on the night-shift at a boxed lunch factory in Tokyo, and their desire to escape from the drudgery and meaninglessness of their lives. They are Yoshie, an aging widow whose income supports an ailing mother-in-law and two ungrateful daughters; Kuniko, who's overweight and dangeroulsy materialistic and not as young as she says she is; Yayoi, a young mother with an abusive husband who's gambled away their savings; and Masako, the heart of the novel, a former high-powered career woman who now lives in solitude with an unresponsive husband and son. The women coexist in a drab factory, at a job that offers them no hope of increased salary or promotion. They go through the motions in quiet turmoil over their circumstances.

And then, everything changes: One of the women kills her husband on a whim and seeks the help of her coworkers to dispose of the body. From the moment they agree to help their co-worker, the lives of the four women spiral out of control, into a man's world of danger, intrigue, power and money -- a world that can liberate them from their mundane lives...if it doesn't destroy them first.

OUT is one of the most atmospheric, disturbing novels I've ever read. The imagery is startling and violent, and the characters are exquisitely drawn. Kirino succeeds better than any author I've read -- Japanese or otherwise -- at creating tension in her narrative. OUT is a harrowing tale, completely unexpected and unflinchingly intense. With expert pacing, Kirino reveals the underbelly of Japan -- a darker, more violent Japan that we Americans rarely see in the country's exported products. She reveals a society where money rules, where women are very much second-class, where the yakuza and loan sharks control all the major industries, where desperation permeates everyday life. And yet, while OUT has a lot to say about Japanese culture, it has even more to say about friendship, about loyalty, and about human nature itself. Kirino reveals the motivations behind her characters' actions in ingenious ways, as all four of her creations search for a way OUT of their individual circumstances. And kudos to Stephen Snyder for a brilliant, breathtaking translation!

OUT will make you shiver, make you squirm, and make you think. It's an unforgettable reading experience. Here's hoping we see many more of Natsuo Kirino's books on our shores!

I will not go into the plot of this book, as it has been discussed on multiple occasions by various readers.

Out was the first Japanese translated into English crime book I had read. From page 1, it hooked me, it was enthralling and intense. The book definitely has it's gruesome moments, and I was surprised just how detailed it was - this is not something to read while snacking on food. I think it was easy to like the characters, even though their actions were unspeakable, and the main characters were very well developed. Kirino is a talented writer, and after reading this book, I went on to purchase other translated crime books, because I was so intrigued by the Japanese culture, and the unique styles of writing.

The drawback to this book, without giving away any sort of spoiler, is that the ending is not good. I just flat out did not enjoy this ending. I thought it was fairly warped, unlikely, and not what most readers wanted to read. I noticed many reviewers also felt this way, and I wonder had it ended differently, if it would have made it a full 5-star book.

In the end, I still think this is a great read, and I would recommend it if you enjoy crime books, and also want to take a look into Japanese culture.

Kirino has written a novel that satisfies as both a mystery and an insight into the human condition, reminiscent of what Ian Rankin achieves in his best novel, 'Black & Blue.' Her powers of description are vivid - you can smell the congealing fat in the bento factory the woman work in, and you won't want to be eating when she describes their other work... Contemporary Japan is revealed warts and all, with problems women have looking after the ultra-elderly, disaffected kids, estranged marriage partners and shallow consumerism all faithfully depicted. Like other reviewers, I was disturbed and let down by the ending, hence four stars instead of five. However, I have encouraged my friends to read it as it is the kind of ending I want to talk over and hear other opinions on. Finally, congratulations to Snyder on the translation - all too often, Japanese writing fails internationally because of a lack in this area.

A curiously fascinating Japanese mystery that is a mesmerizing blend of the banal and the brutal. Lunch box production will assume more interest than you thought imaginable. Other activities will, er, bowl you over as well.

Four women, co-workers on the night shift at a box lunch factory on the outskirts of Tokyo, form an unlikely friendship based on their mutual desperation -a dissatisfaction with their inattentive, unresponsive husbands and disaffected children, strained economic situations and emotional isolation. When Yayoi Yamamoto, a young wife and mother kills her abusive, philandering spouse, the four come together voluntarily to perform a most grisly act. They dismember the body to facilitate disposal. Although of disparate ages and characters, the women become quite bound to one another through an increasing web of conspiracy, self-interest and suspicion. A series of indiscretions and careless mistakes expose them all to unforeseeable dangers.

"Out" is so much more than a psychological thriller or a formulaic crime novel. This is fiction that surpasses genre. Although plot driven, much of the story is dependent on character development and change. The characters are portrayed so vividly, even the minor ones, that the reader cannot help but form a strong attachment to them. It really does not matter, ultimately, if the connection is positive or not - one still looks forward to following the various personages forward to their individual destinies. Masako Katori, shrewd and extremely intelligent, is the definite leader among the women and an absolutely fascinating figure. Although she has perfected a cold, detached veneer with which she presents herself to the world, inside she is despondent and in turmoil. Increasingly alone and alienated from her husband and teenage son, she longs for "freedom." "It had started with something in her. Her hopelessness and a longing for freedom had brought her to this point." Masako is looking for a way "out" of her claustrophobic life.

This is definitely a novel noir, with a substantial dose of S&M thrown into the mix. obviously not for the faint of heart. I became absorbed in the story almost instantly, only to have my interest wane after the murder is committed. My attention span was at fault here, not the author's writing. Fortunately I stayed with it because the second half of the novel is even better than the first, I think - really riveting! This is some of the best and most unusual writing I have encountered in some time. It is also very disturbing. Since I do not speak Japanese I can only judge by the translation, and for me the stark, gritty prose really accentuates the building tension in the narrative and the oppressiveness of the environment. I found myself thinking about "Out" long after I had turned the last page.

Ms. Natsuo provides a rare glimpse into the bleak subculture of many lower middle class Japanese workers who live on the margins of society, worlds away from the lights and glitter of Tokyo's Ginza district. Readers also gain access to the grim Japanese underworld. I should note that there is wonderful dark humor throughout to alleviate the oppressive quality of the storyline.

Although Natsuo Kirino is considered one of the best mystery writers in Japan, multiple award-winning novel "Out" is Ms. Kirino's first book to be published in English. It has also been made into a Japanese motion picture.
JANA

As one who relishes complex, engaging works of fiction which are character-driven and often quirky (such as those of Haruki Murakami), I can only surmise that Kirino's Japanese prose was poorly served by a translator with little gift for writing. The narrative style was far too literal, much more like a cheap detective novel than a work of literary merit. After about 50 pages, I no longer cared for the characters or their impending plight as described in the cover blurbs, and left my copy on the subway for someone else to enjoy.

This novel is like a cyanide martini garnished with a blood-soaked olive. Ms. Kirino writes such an intense, involving, scary tale (not for the squeamish!) that I don't know if I would have the nerve to meet her in person. The female characters are at once mundane, complex and fearless as they are caught up in a nightmarish world of crime, deception and murder. This one is hard to forget, and I want to read more by Natsuo Kirino; she's the real deal.

Natsuo Kirino is a prolific Japanese writer, who has published over 30 novels in Japanese. "Out" is the only novel I am aware of that has been translated into English, although I hope that many more will be.

Kirino gives the reader a view of the "real" Japan, although that may sound cliche, it is a novel about Japan today. She touches upon many issues that are facing Japanese society - social pressures, immigration issues, prostitution, credit card abuse, marital relationships, work ethic - just to mention a few. These topics are all wound around a killing of a man and a whodunnit scenario. It's a good murder mystery, but it's even better if you are interested in learning about the Japan away from cliches like manga, anime, hi-tech, rich economy etc.

Her recent novel, "Grotesque", has not yet been translated into English.

If you like Japanese writers, I would also highly recommend Miyabe Miyuki, who has written over 40 books in Japanese, with just a few having been translated into Japanese. "All She Was Worth" is a great moden Japanese suspense novel.

Like all the best crime novels, this lengthy Japanese import offers more social commentary than straightforward intrigue. In many ways it's a feminist book, taking as its subject four Tokyo women working a tough night shift factory job packing bento boxes. Each is living a miserable existence in one way or another, and there's little prospect of hope for any of them. Kuniko is a shallow woman in her mid-20s who has gotten deeply into consumer debt due to her belief that the right car or the right designer accessory will bring her lasting happiness. Yoshie is a widow in her late 50s struggling to stretch each paycheck while being responsible for both her demanding bedridden mother-in-law and her increasingly nasty teenage daughter. Yayoi is a very pretty woman in her late 30s with two young children whose husband has just squandered their life savings on gambling and a bar girl. Masako is in her early 40s, and has a teenage son who completely ignores her and a husband who comes home and locks himself away all night. The first fifty pages establishes their dreary daily routine -- from miserable home life to arduous assembly-line factory work. In it, we are also introduced to an ex-yakuza bar and casino owner named Satake, a psychotic who once killed a woman so brutally that he was exiled from his former gang.

The inciting event in the story occurs when Yayoi snaps and strangles her husband after they fight. With no other friends, she confides in Masako, who coerces Yoshie and Kuniko into a scheme to dispose of the body and cover up for Yayoi. Fortunately for them, when the body does turn up, the police are inclined to think that the husband was killed due to gambling debts -- which leads them to Satake. The middle of the book builds a lot of tension around whether or not the police are going to prosecute Satake and whether the women have gotten away with the deception. Things get even more dangerous for them when the police clear Satake and start poking around again. Satake's businesses have been ruined by the investigation and the psychopath is focused on finding the true murderer and exacting revenge. What's kind of interesting is that the story is told primarily by the four women, who are transformed from normal people to egregious law-breakers to hunted prey over the course of the book. The daily lives of the women, as they struggle to keep their cool is probably the best part of the book.

This is all fairly well done, but the author crams in a few too many subplots. There's the story of Chinese immigrant bar girl Anna, who is doted upon by Satake and is the object of Yayoi's husband's obsession. There is also a Brazilian-Japanese immigrant who works at the factory and has been assaulting female workers. Then there's also a loan-shark who enters the picture, complicating matters. While some of the details of these subplots are interesting in and of themselves, they really bloat the book to a an unnecessary length. The writing style is very straightforward, with a kind of understated deadpan to it which accentuates some of the dark humor. In terms of illuminating the Japanese character, the book does provide good insights into understanding the premium placed on duty and appearances, all of which can lead to incredible pressure, alienation, and outright bizarre behavior. The theme of the normal person snapping is a pretty common one in Japanese crime fiction and film, and this fits into that mold quite well. The book is far too long, but otherwise is well worth it for those interested in Japan.

I just have finished reading this book and i can easily say that this is a brilliant piece of fiction. This is not a horror type of novel but a drama wrapped so much with mystery. For a novel like this, is quite gory and suspenseful; The pacing is great and the narrative structure is quite inventive.

You have four women that work together on a crappy job in a factory the makes fast food, they all work the night shift, their lives are messed up, they are poor and one of the woman is constantly abused by her deadbeat husband...she decides to kill him one day and from that day on things get REALLY MESSY and very complicated.


The dialogue is the fundamental part of the novel that makes it work, the characters are too real and they speak like normal people. The thing about the dialogue is that it doesnt sound very novelesque, it sounds like people are actually speaking.

What can i say without giving away spoilers? not much really; but the last 50 pages are much more than brilliant, the ending will leave you satisfied, the dramatic structure is reaching for a very long climax and the payoff is quite beautiful.

Im waiting very anxiously for another novel from Natsuo Kirino. I heard her next one translated is called "Disaparitions"

I had heard some buzz about a novel written in Japan and translated into English... Out by Natsuo Kirino. I picked up a copy at the library and finished it last night... A very dark story that redefines "desperate housewives"...

The story revolves around four Japanese women who work the night shift at a packaged food plant. It's a nasty job, but it pays better than day shift work and affords them a part-time schedule. But all of these women are living lives of quiet desperation. One is in a marriage where the son doesn't talk to them and the husband has moved into a separate room. Another fancies herself a fashion plate but is overweight and deeply in debt to the loan sharks. The third is widowed with two daughters and an invalid mother-in-law that makes her life miserable (and has to have her diaper changed multiple times a day). And finally there's the wife with kids, a husband who beats her, and has spent all their savings at the gaming tables (besides chasing around other women). He gets roughed up at the club and sent home. She snaps and strangles him with a belt. She enlists the help of her friends to dispose of the body by cutting it up into small parts and trashing it around the city. But the police find some of the bags in the park trash and are able to identify the body. They are trying to figure out if the wife did it or if the owner of the casino was responsible for the death. After all, the casino owner does have a nasty murder on his record. The tale is tightly woven between the women, the casino owner, and other various players who have figured out the truth and are playing it for their advantage. The question is whether any of them will survive the changes that have occurred now that they are highly involved in the murder...

"Dark" doesn't quite begin to cover this story. Not only do you have the dismemberment of the murdered husband, but they are coerced into other "jobs" because they need the cash. Greed between the friends leads to blackmail, and pretty soon it's hard for each to figure out who can be trusted to keep their mouth shut and not spill the beans to the police (or others). The overwhelming helplessness of each life also is vividly portrayed in the writings. While not condoning the events that happen, you understand how they play out. I'd have given this a top rating if not for the ending. While I don't have a problem with what happens in the end, the emotion and mental "conclusion" were entirely lost on me. I really didn't get what the writer was having the woman feel...

A good read with cultural elements that will probably be unfamiliar and fascinating to you... Just a little confusing at the end...

When I learned that this author, Kirno had won Japan's mystery reward, I felt compelled to read it. First, it was very well-written, well-structured and most of all, the translation was excellent! To translate well is critical, but the correct message and exact feelings told must be conveyed to the reader exactly as the foreign author intended.

I became engrossed in this suspenseful plot that begins with a strangulation, grisly butchering, packing and disposal of a one's husband. The plot involves changing personalities within the characters and there are those we have sympathy for and those we truly learn to despise. We follow them throughout and we have hope and fear for them.

The backdrop is the underbelly of Japan and the story evolves out of a depressed working and home environment, where gloom prevails, and despair sets in. We enter the story as four women who endure rigid labor at a box-lunch factory. A sharp contrasts exists between the dirty gritty environment and the strict rules and regulations for proper hygiene at the box-factory. Aside from the mechanics of the box-lunch factory, you will enter into the world of illegal gambling and loan sharks.

Lucy-san and Ethel-san Gone Real Bad!
When one woman, Yoyoi, strangles her husband with a belt, and her co-worker-friends Masako and Yoshie dismember the body, I couldn't help speculate that when the grisly task is assigned to the small home bathroom in daylight, something is bound to get screwed up. If anything will go wrong, it will! Then, with the uninvited advance of a third co-worker, the slip-ups unfold and suspense builds.

A Gruesome Twist
With many suspense stories, you can anticipate twists, but the surprise was a chilling revelation.

And not to spoil the ending, it wasn't as much a surprise that what was to happen. It was merely the IDEA that something else.....more gruesome than one can imagine....had to happen.

Movie in the works
Yes, I understand in 2005, a movie will be OUT. Let's just hope it's an authentic Japanese movie complete with subtitles. Nothing more, because this story deserves a great production, and the Japanese can do it. ....Overall, this was an excellent read!....MzRizz

This is a well-written book that is difficult to put down once you start. It is chick lit without the stereotypical feminine sap that pervades so many books targeted at female readers. Perfect vacation/weekend/beach read that isn't too laden with froufrou! I can't wait to see the movie adaptation.

I very much enjoyed this novel, and not just because of its intriguing plot and strong characters, although those are elements I always look for in a good read.

Beyond that, Out presents a distinct twist on the usual crime novel. First of all, its descriptions of urban blight in the neighborhoods of Tokyo and the bleak lives led by the women who live there are haunting and portrayed in a way that allowed me to identify with the characters even though I have never visited Japan and don't know much about its culture. I came to genuinely care about the characters, even though they are not particularly lovable and, in fact, do some clearly evil things.

And there are some dark moments of humor that caught me off guard but provided some relief at points in the plot where the suspense had become a bit too intense. I don't want to give away the plot, so if you plan to read this book and don't want to know too much about the story, stop reading here.

In a nutshell, a small group of women who work the night shift in a depressing factory end up, through a series of incremental circumstances, butchering dead human bodies for money. Odd as it sounds, their actions are at times quite comical, even though this is most certainly not a humorous novel. The author writes with such nuanced descriptions that I could easily picture the most unlikely activities being done by characters who turn out to be quite surprising, and that adds a sort of perverse twist to the story line that kept me captivated as I sat up late at night turning the pages.

I believe that the translator may deserve as much credit as the author for the success of this novel in English. It seems to me that the subtlties of the setting, tone and characters must have been very precisly rendered by the translator, since I had no trouble at all identifying with certain characters and intensely disliking others. One of the women who is quite unlovable, Kuniko, ended up elicting a certain degree of sympathy from me in the end, which I thought was quite an accomplishment given that this character's personality is truly distasteful. I would say that this is an accomplishment of both the author and the translator, since Kuniko is obviously intended to put readers off and serve as a foil of sorts for the heroine (or perhaps more aptly, anti-heroine), Masuko.

So, if you want to read a crime novel that is a cut above most and that truly engages the reader by raising some serious questions about poverty, gender and power, Out is for you.

You may want to avoid eating before or while reading this thriller. Aside from that caveat, the only other recommendation is to set aside two days because you will not be able to put "Out" down. It draws in the reader with its letter-perfect character descriptions and tightly-constructed plot. Kirino's novel was originally published in Japanese under the same title in 1997. It was a cause celebre selling 300,000 copies and won Japan's top mystery award in 1998. Prior to that, Kirino won the Naoki Prize with "Yawarakana Hoho" (Tender Cheeks).

This hard-boiled novel examines the interrelationships between four women factory workers, who are drawn into covering up the murder one of them commits. This leads to more intrigue and, ultimately, the central premise of the novel: what would you do in similar circumstances? Would you reject a friend's entreaty? If yes, why and how? If no, could you take part in the horror--and then go back to your previous life? The main character is the brilliant but ordinary-seeming Masako Katori, who works the night shift in a factory. When a co-worker murders her husband, Katori steps forward and enlists the help of two other women in covering up the crime. Katori lives with and takes care of her sexless and depressed husband and her sullen teenage son who no longer speaks to her.

To pigeonhole "Out" as a detective novel does no justice to it. For those who have lived in Japan for many years--or for those who only have the vaguest idea of Japan--this is stunning portrayal of the anomie of modern Tokyo. The portrayals of a Brazilian immigrant, a Yakuza nightclub owner, a Chinese hostess, the working class police detectives, and of course the women themselves are spot-on. Brilliant.

I have enjoyed some recent translations of Japanese novels for English-reading audiences and was eager to compare the conventions of American and Japanses crime stories. I think this translation is very good - it captures the tone of the Japanese language and style of speech in English quite well. I found the final 40% of the novel to be a classic page-turner, but I was very surprised that it took nearly half the book to arrive at the point where anything resembling action took place. The first half of the book is more than simply character exposition, but - compared to American books of the same genre - be prepared to wade through a lot of details and background to get the excellent payoff at the end of the novel.