Grotesque (novel)

infobox Book |
name = Grotesque
title_orig =
translator = Rebecca Copeland


image_caption =
author = Natsuo Kirino
cover_artist =
country = Japan
language = English, originally Japanese
series =
genre = Crime novel
publisher = Harvill Secker
release_date = February 1 2007
media_type = Print (Hardcover, Paperback) & Audio CD
pages = 467pp (hardback)
isbn = ISBN 1843432706
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Grotesque" is a crime novel by Japanese writer Natsuo Kirino, most famous for her novel "Out". It was published in English in 2007, translated by Rebecca Copeland. Publisher Knopf censored the American translation, removing a section involving underage male prostitution, as it was considered too taboo for U. S. audiences.

Plot summary

The book is written in the first person for all parts and follows a woman whose sister and old school friend have been murdered. The narrator of Grotesque is unnamed and forever lives under the shadow of her younger-by-a-year sister Yuriko, who is unimaginably beautiful and the center of all attention. The narrator hates her sister for reasons which remain more-or-less unclear throughout the novel and the writer leaves it to the reader to decide if the narrator's hatred is a product of jealousy or is it because Yuriko has turned to prostitution and disgraced the family name.

While the narrator is smart, responsible and plain looking, Yuriko is strikingly beautiful but flighty and irresponsible. Despite this, everyone is automatically drawn to Yuriko, who, as soon as she is old enough to realize her power on men, starts toying with one man after another, subsequently turning into a full time prostitute. As the novel progresses, the reader is introduced to many other characters who the narrator comes in contact with at her highly prestigious Q High School.

With time, the narrator grows to hate everyone including all her classmates, her parents and all her co-workers. She is particularly spiteful when it comes to Yuriko and one of her classmates Kazue Sato.

When both Yuriko and Kazue turn into prostitutes, are murdered less than a year apart and in the same gruesome fashion, and the narrator comes in possession of their personal journals, her life is entwined with theirs and she uncovers truths which she never thought existed. The journals take her on a journey of self discovery where she finally realizes what she wants. She also adopts Yuriko's handsome but blind son, Yurio.

In the end, the narrator is seen treading the streets of Japan, looking for a customer as she dwells into the mysterious and dark world of prostitution.

External links