Annother great read from a great author - Rated 
After reading OUT... the first book I read from this author I had to read annother! Grotesque is written from every point of view which makes for a realy rich entwined story, it is a definate read for lovers of sex, murder and general wierdness!
Worth A Look - Rated 
Two women, Yuriko Hirata and Kazue Sato have been murdered in Tokyo. In transpires that both were working as prostitutes, and both went to the same prestigious school, twenty years earlier.
In Grotesque we learn what made the women, what they were. The story is told mainly through the jaundiced eyes of Yuriko's bitter older sister. There are also extracts from the diaries of both murdered girls, and we even briefly get their killer's life story.
I found this book a bit different from others that I have read, as I have not read to many novels, that have originated, or have been set in Japan. We get to see the story from the points of view of all the main characters, with quite often different versions of the same event, depending on which character is doing the reminiscing.
The book also gives a very vivid insight as to what it is like to attend a prestigious school in Japan, and all the unfair, and at times downright insane peer pressure that goes along with it.
Overall, I thought that the book was a fairly good read. The characters have a bit of depth, and the storyline,kept me interested throughout.
dissapointing after reading "out" - Rated 
I agree with the reviewers that thought this book was tough after reading "Out" and overall a disappointment. I don't know how I managed to finish the book, as I was only half way through when I realised that I wasn't enjoying the novel and didn't like any of the characters. I waded through to the end in search of some kind of hope or meaning only to find emptiness. On the plus side I do like the authors style of writing and this made things a bit easier. (Meaning I finished it in a few days rather than a few weeks) and I will definitley have a go at her next novel, because I haven't forgotten the brilliance of Out. That novel stands alone as a shining beacon of hope for future Kirino works. I just think this one may have been a blip and I'm willing to let it go as one.
I give this review 2 stars, because I don't think it completely bad. Some of the characters, even though not likeable, are well described and sometimes intriguing. The style of writing also keeps the story going. Just a shame I didn't understand the point of the story. I wouldn't bother reading this if it is a detective novel you are after. This reads less as a story about crime, but more as a colection of memoirs about bitterness, prostitution and murder, and thus is dripping with cruelty and self loathing.
grotesque - Rated
well after reading natsuo kirinos other book 'out' couldnt wait to order and read this one, and i wasnt disapointed, it takes a little while to get into but once you do you cant put it down, really enjoyed it cant wait for new book to come out.
like wading through treacle - Rated 
The extravagant hyperbole of the blurb for this novel reaches new heights even in the fantastic world of the publishing PRO. It implies that the author has a penetrating insight into the female psyche which "grips the reader" (not this reader!), and that modern Japanese life is explored with "acute and chilling insight". Yeah right! I was excited to get my teeth into this book having been whipped into a frenzy of anticipation by the bold promises of the culled reviews and the blurb on the cover. My, but wasn't I disappointed! For a start, for a crime novel the book has about the pace of wading through treacle in concrete boots i.e. SLOW! And repetitive. I was driven demented as the author seemingly repeated the same point ad nauseum for the majority of the book. Yuriko is the personification of a form of Nietzschean post-feminist nihilism. Kazue is... well Kazue is just a pain-in-the-you-know-where sad case! I GET IT! Although I'm not convinced! And as for the suspense I think you're entitled to expect from a crime novel...that was well and truely deader than the two odious prostitutes by the time we finally achieved some form of denouement. And as for this supposed "insight" into the female psyche, this reader was not convinced by any of the main characters of the book. And before you shout cultural misunderstanding, I actually lived in Japan for a period, so I am somewhat familiar with it as a society. No, this book was a big disappointment as a crime novel and as a portrait of people in modern Japan. Too repetitive. Too slow. Too two-dimensional. Don't go there is my advice!
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