Grotesque by Natsuo KirinoMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Two prostitutes found dead, a year apart, killed by the same man. Their stories were being told by the sister of one of them, and a classmate of the other. She was not named in the book, she was simply the Onee-chan. Some of the feelings felt by the women hit deep to the bone marrow; sometimes you can empathize with one of them, sometimes you will hate them.
Yuriko was called by her older sister as diabolically beautiful. She hated her to the core. Because of her, she has to live in the shadow of her beautiful sister. People kept on comparing them, seeing that she is just a drab. In turn, she developed malice as a psychological defense. I've never met someone so diabolically beautiful which makes her only think of herself. But I do know a person that 's almost similar to Onee-chan and Kazou. A person full of malice and oblivious of themselves. They also act so highly, thinking that they were in the right and their belief is iron-clad morality.
I admit that at some point in time, especially when I was in HS, I was like Kazou. I believed in the "Gambare" system. But HS has its disguised caste system. It's always like that, no matter which part of the world you are, or whatever you culture you belong with. I always wanted to try my best to belong in the elite circle. But of course, I didn't belong there. And will never be. But unlike, Kazou, I outgrew this desire and directed my attention and energy to whatever I can do best.
But I knew a person who is really like Onee-chan. She protected herself with malice and cynicism. And in return, some misfortunes befell on her. I heard that she changed work. I'm glad she did. I hope that made her feel better. ..
Grotesque, a novel inspired by a real murder case of a prostitute in Japan, is more about the exploration of society's pressure on women. On dictating how they should look and behave, and what they should do about their lives.
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