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Grotesque - Community Reviews back

by Natsuo Kirino
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My Journey to Become Pretentiously Literate
Did not finish. Characters are all repulsive, not a single likable person in this book. Narrator is especially annoying.
Inkspot Fancy
Inkspot Fancy rated it 9 years ago
I love an unreliable narrator. There’s something to be said for a straightforward narrative where the only unreliability is people being woefully unaware that the person they’re always arguing with is the person they’re secretly in love with, but sometimes I prefer something a little meatier. And th...
SakuraMorimoto
SakuraMorimoto rated it 11 years ago
The Accidental Reader Book Reviews and MoreThis book confused me so much when it comes to the rating. It;s one of those books that belong in the in between and I really didn't know how to rate it. So I closed my eyes and gave it a 3. Like all Natsuo Kirino's books you get to see the story from multi...
otakumom
otakumom rated it 12 years ago
I'm torn between a 2 or a 3 star rating. The story was engrossing and character development very intriguing, I really didn't like any of the characters and I don't think you are supposed to. The ending also flew over my head; I really didn't get the point of it. The story is told as each chara...
Lynn Spencer - All About Romance
Lynn Spencer - All About Romance rated it 12 years ago
I had to stop. I picked this book up because I enjoyed Out so much. However, I only got about 1/3 of the way through this novel before I just couldn't take it anymore. There's some good commentary on the hyper-competitive schools and the treatment of women in Japan. And it's all bound into a story t...
nouveau
nouveau rated it 12 years ago
some author--was it Yann Martel--says writers are divided into "beautiful liars" and "harsh truth-tellers." this isn't a division between fiction and non-fiction so much as it is a division of outlook.beautiful liars, like Haruki Murakami, present a Japan of little strange spirit creatures that come...
Bettie's Books
Bettie's Books rated it 13 years ago
Translated from the Japanese by Rebecca Copeland.No one is likable here, however the story is as compelling as if stuck like a bunny in the headlights. Slavic nihilism is heavy and ponderous, Eastern nihilism slashes everything in its path. Need to find something short and jolly PDQ to tickle my sou...
Sassapphras
Sassapphras rated it 14 years ago
Deliciously disturbing.
Marvin's Bookish Blog
Marvin's Bookish Blog rated it 14 years ago
a complex tale of class discrimination and sexual inequality. Natsuo Kirino may be the most socially astute of the current Japanese writers. She criticizes many things about Japanese culture; the role of women, the unfairness of the competitive school system, among others. She writes how this dehuma...
Reading a Thousand Lives
Reading a Thousand Lives rated it 14 years ago
I am fascinated by this book because of the complete coldness given off by the narrator, Yuriko's older sister. It was her point of view that made this book so fantastic.Definitely not for prudes or faint of heart.
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