This book is now on a ray. Look at it go! It’ll travel to India and Iran among many! Greece, France, Netherland, and Canada too. What a lucky book! =P
Got it from: Popular Singapore, with voucher from NLB, which I got from a selected book review I submitted to their site
Rating: 4 out of 5
It’s a thriller/mystery book. Not the type I normally would read. But I was just intrigued by the good reviews from Amazon, and the mere fact that it’s authored by, again, Japanese, my recent obsession :). From the front cover, it’s Winner of Japan’s Grand Prix for Crime Fiction and Edgar Award Finalist.
From the back cover:
This mesmerizing novel tells the story of a brutal murder in the staid Tokyo suburbs, as a young mother who works the night shift making boxed lunches strangles her abusive husband and then seeks the help of her coworkers to dispose of the body and cover up her crime. The coolly intelligent Masako emerges as the plot’s ringleader but quickly discovers that this killing is merely the beginning, as it leads to a terrifying foray into the violent underbelly of Japanese society. At once a masterpiece of literary suspense and pitch-black comedy of gender warfare. Out is also a moving evocation of the pressures and prejudices that drive women to extreme deeds, and the friendships that bolster the in the aftermath.
Meh, I’m not sure about that ‘friendship’ in that last sentence. Every action in this book is done out of desperation more than anything, IMO. If I had to summarize it in one word, that’s the central theme of the book. Desperation. All characters are desperate in some ways, to get OUT of their sticky situation. Is that probably where the title comes from?
The gender prejudice and inequality are especially thick in this book. Work especially well with Japan setting and four women as the central characters. (Well, this reminds me of Desperate Housewives out of the blue. But rest assure, it’s nothing like it. Doesn’t mean I don’t like Desperate Housewives :)
Some parts can be too gross to read. I did read every single word with some effort. I thought I couldn’t go on but I could.
It’s totally a page-turner however. I finished the book fairly quickly, finishing the last 2 chapters in 1 night (ie a few hours), because I just had to know what happened next!
Recommended if you’re looking for that engaging book you cannot put down.
Discussion on the book at TheReadingLounge.com
Memorable Quotes
“The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience…” ~ Flannery O’Connor (front page)
“.. fate is what happens to you in spite of all your plans.” ~ Satake, pg 192
I’ll gladly enter you in my drawing! I would have emailed but I couldn’t find your addy.
Now I’m off to read your book reviews. I have a three year old so I don’t get to read as much as I’d like, but I’m trying to do a little more since he’s getting a bit more independent.
Thanks for stopping by!
Comment by Blue Momma — 13 Oct 2007 @ 8:52 pm
Oh, and if you have a drawing for this book, please, count me in!
Comment by Blue Momma — 13 Oct 2007 @ 8:53 pm
I see you’ve caught the japanese author’s bug like me:) I recommend Kawabata and Banana Yoshimoto, especially the former. Say, when did nlb start giving book vouchers? Previously was coffeebean vouchers etc.
Comment by mrdes — 14 Oct 2007 @ 11:27 pm
Yea, I’ll definitely try Kawabata later. I have Kazuo Ishiguro book and Junichiro Tanizaki on my shelf right now. So I’ll deal with those first LOL. My friend has Banana Yoshimoto’s books which I can borrow later.
I got Popular voucher, which I spent on book. I think they had a few vouchers (Popular, Coffee Bean, etc), and you can’t really choose. I’m not sure if they still give away vouchers. I wasn’t very happy the second time, when they took one of my book reviews from my website and put it on theirs without my permission. I thought, shouldn’t they at least give voucher to the reviewers? After all, it helps them running the blog. Oh well…
Comment by mee — 14 Oct 2007 @ 11:47 pm
On a side note, I’ve responded to Blue Momma comments on her site. In case some readers thought I’m being a snob =b. Go to her site, she’s got book giveaway! :D
Comment by mee — 14 Oct 2007 @ 11:51 pm
Gosh! You’ve Junichiro Tanizaki’s with you; not the kind I’d recommend to a girl with all the sex and deception (esp The Key):P
Sorry to hear about your bad experience with NLB. On one hand, reviewers are rewarded if they send in their reviews, on another, the web is free for all; I agree at least they should inform you.
Comment by mrdes — 15 Oct 2007 @ 2:05 am
I HAVE the Key! LOL. *very curious now* >:)
I don’t think the reviewers are rewarded when they send in their reviews. They used to make a draw out of every reviewers they got during that month and gave away 1 voucher (I won the draw for that month). But I’m not sure if they’re still doing that. I can’t find it on their website. They informed me about putting up my review the 2nd time (the one I didn’t send in), but yea they just *informed* me rather than *asking* if it’s okay to post my review. I guess it’s not that big a deal, because they linked to my site =b.
NLB site is free of all, but I see NLB as commercial entity. As a foreigner I need to pay a whooping amount to be a member (which at the end I opted not to renew my membership, because it just got too much). So that gives me a bit of unsatisfactory feeling when they use my material for their site for free.
Comment by mee — 15 Oct 2007 @ 9:17 am
“the japanese author’s bug”
That’s a funny way of saying we’re getting mad about japanese culture. I’ve read a couple of authors. Kawabata was the first. I really recomend it. It’s a classic!
mee… i’m becoming addicted to your site! =^_^=
Comment by Mixit — 17 Oct 2007 @ 1:13 am
hey Mixit, I dropped by to your website, but it’s all in Spanish. I can’t read! =P
Comment by mee — 17 Oct 2007 @ 10:08 am