Beverly's Reviews > Out

Out is so gritty and grotesque, so violent, that I was revolted many times, but there is such truth amidst grim reality here, especially in how women are treated in society. I noticed that one of the other reviewers wrote about how this reminded him of the 1950s in the US, but wage suppression and inequality is still going in good old 2018 in the US.
Women in Japan, where the book is set, are supposed to do all the housework, their outside job, and take care of all the members of the household, oh wait, that's just like the US. Sorry about the rant. This story's 4 main female characters are firmly fleshed out, I felt like I knew them. Kirino does a fine job of characterization, dialogue, and scene setting. This is the underbelly of Japan in the 1990s, but like I said it could be any country. We've all got the maniacal, misogynistic bosses, distant husbands and children, obnoxious in-laws, psychopathic rapists and various other creeps who make up this motley crew. I felt sorry for the women, especially Yoshie who had a disabled mother-in-law, 2 ungrateful daughters, a dead husband, no money, a crappy job and a teeny tiny house to take care of them in.
This book is only for the stout-hearted as there are descriptions of 2 beyond brutal rapes and dismemberment of corpses. It keeps you hopping and I never ever guessed how it would end and like other readers I didn't care for the ending and disagree with it wholeheartedly