Four Desperate Japanese Housewives
Book Review
Out
by Natsuo Kirino
4 women work night shift in a boxed-lunch factory located in a fringe area in Tokyo. Masako Katori is a house wife with 'damaged' relationships between her and her husband and son. Yoshie Azuma, or 'Skipper' (her factory nickname) has to take care of her dying, aggravating mother-in-law and manage her rebellious daughters. Yayoi Yamamoto is having difficulties with her husband who starts to gamble and fool with other women. Kuniko Jonouchi is a superficial woman who identifies herself with the things she wears and thus ends up in a lot of debt. Four of them meet and work as a team on the production floor of the factory.
It is obvious that their conditions are desperate. All resent the realities of life they're living, and wanted to escape. Things get worse when Yayoi kills her husband and asked the others to help her get rid of the body. Masako, the toughest of the 4, agreed to help. She asked Yoshie and Kuniko to help her cut off the body into smaller, managable bits. This litte 'venture' of theirs will get them tangled in more intrigues. Yoshie and Kuniko with their desperate need of money (albeit for different reasons) and Masako finding that to her, the whole body disposal is a form of an escape from her dreary day-to-day existence.
Natsuo Kirino, a renowned crime novellist, delivers an exotic crime thriller centered around characters who have lost their faiths in their own lives. From the storyline point of view, readers will not find anything new. The story progresses in a linear fashion, with few flashbacks. Characters are not described in very fine details, but they are quite believable. What will keep the readers going will be Masako (and another character I will not mention here due to the spoiler potential), what's her story, and how she will end up by the end of the novel.
This is one interesting novel. It will keep readers at the edge of their seats with its story. Nothing groundbreaking, but it provides a certain entertainment for a few days (depending on how fast you read). Quite recommended.
Out
by Natsuo Kirino
4 women work night shift in a boxed-lunch factory located in a fringe area in Tokyo. Masako Katori is a house wife with 'damaged' relationships between her and her husband and son. Yoshie Azuma, or 'Skipper' (her factory nickname) has to take care of her dying, aggravating mother-in-law and manage her rebellious daughters. Yayoi Yamamoto is having difficulties with her husband who starts to gamble and fool with other women. Kuniko Jonouchi is a superficial woman who identifies herself with the things she wears and thus ends up in a lot of debt. Four of them meet and work as a team on the production floor of the factory.
It is obvious that their conditions are desperate. All resent the realities of life they're living, and wanted to escape. Things get worse when Yayoi kills her husband and asked the others to help her get rid of the body. Masako, the toughest of the 4, agreed to help. She asked Yoshie and Kuniko to help her cut off the body into smaller, managable bits. This litte 'venture' of theirs will get them tangled in more intrigues. Yoshie and Kuniko with their desperate need of money (albeit for different reasons) and Masako finding that to her, the whole body disposal is a form of an escape from her dreary day-to-day existence.
Natsuo Kirino, a renowned crime novellist, delivers an exotic crime thriller centered around characters who have lost their faiths in their own lives. From the storyline point of view, readers will not find anything new. The story progresses in a linear fashion, with few flashbacks. Characters are not described in very fine details, but they are quite believable. What will keep the readers going will be Masako (and another character I will not mention here due to the spoiler potential), what's her story, and how she will end up by the end of the novel.
This is one interesting novel. It will keep readers at the edge of their seats with its story. Nothing groundbreaking, but it provides a certain entertainment for a few days (depending on how fast you read). Quite recommended.
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