RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Media What Are You Reading?

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harleykwin said:

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Joe Mama said:

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harleykwin said:
Yes, and I am still working on being a golden brown...

Just picked up "Grotesque" by Natsuo Kirino. She wrote a really fucked up murder story called "Out" that they translated from Japanese and published over here about 2 years ago. She's considered one of Japan's premiere crime novelists and it's about frickin' time that they translated another one of her works. She delves into the darkness of individuals' hearts in a way that gives me goosebumps. Looking forward to reading this.

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Didn't I recommend Out to you?

Great novel. I've got a stack of books that are keeping me from buying Grotesque, so I'll be interested in your opinion.

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There are not enough worda to describe how much I hated Grotesque. Seriously, what an incredible let down, not only because the first 50 pages started off so interesting, but really because Kirino's first English translated novel was excellent. Out was such a great book, and this was awful on so many levels I don't even know where to start. All three of the main characters were such hateful, cold hearted creatures that you couldn't muster up any emotion for any of them beyond complete disdain - or worse, indifference. There was not one character in this book that I could care enough to be interested in what happened to her. And the main narrator does such a complete 180 in the last 5 pages of the book - I mean, something so bizarre and out of character from how she had been portrayed in the first 462 pages - that all I could think was: "WHAT. THE. FUCK." when I read it.

Unlike Out which made one pause and consider the role of women in Japan, this book is a scathing indictment of that same society. It was hateful and boring and I cannot believe that the same author who wrote the intriguing Out wrote this plodding, mind numbing, depressing book.

Seriously, Joe, don't waste your time.

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dayum!