A review by jentang
Out by Natsuo Kirino

3.75

this book did everything that could be expected out of it as a thriller, and perhaps even more. it was delightfully unpredictable (and if you get mildly confused occasionally throughout just as i did, you won't even catch on to the more obvious things for a little, making things all the more suspenseful), and the plot was continuously developing. i don't think this book could've made a slower, more reflective pace work, considering the length to which the story extends already. that being said, i did take note of the small, integral elements of the plot pertaining to the harsh conditions for a working class woman in Japan. the boxed lunch factory in which a good portion of the characters worked almost seemed science fiction-y to read about, although it is unfortunately a surely accurate reflection of workplaces out there. however, i must admit, had i swapped out all the names of the characters with names from the list of most popular baby names in America, i would've been more critical to an unfair degree. while i felt that most holes in the plot were successfully filled by the time the ending rolled around, i did find that the lengthy story itself was a bit unevenly distributed across matters - i had too many unanswered questions about unresolved issues that were not just forgotten about but seemingly discarded in favor of shifting all the focus to the dynamic found in the ending. this ending seems to inspire much discourse. i agree that it was disturbing, especially so for my taste (obligatory check TWs). while i am impressed that the author actually took it that far, as it definitely was provoking enough to make the book memorable, being unnecessarily sickening isn't the only way a book can be made notable, of course. to sum it up, the book was good, but there's not much to commend about the only reason it could border on being subjectively great, if that makes sense.