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Out

by Natsuo Kirino

A murder draws a circle of coworkers into concealment

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Awards & Recognition

  • Award recognition

    Winner of Japan's Grand Prix for Crime Fiction

    The metadata states that Out won Japan's Grand Prix for Crime Fiction.

  • Editorial selection

    Named one of TIME Magazine's 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time

    Included in TIME Magazine's 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time.

AlbakiReads Editorial

A murder draws a circle of coworkers into concealment

Set in Tokyo’s suburbs, the novel begins with a young mother who works nights preparing boxed lunches and kills her abusive husband. She turns to her coworkers for help disposing of his body and hiding the crime, with Masako emerging as the group’s organizer. The description frames the killing as the start of a wider descent into violence, while also pointing to the pressures and prejudices shaping the women’s choices and the friendships that form among them. The crime plot is closely tied to the women’s working lives and their efforts to manage its consequences.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in crime fiction centered on women and a group of coworkers.
  • Readers drawn to stories about murder, concealment, and the consequences of crime.
  • Readers interested in fiction exploring gendered pressures, prejudice, and friendship.

Themes

Crime and concealmentGender and social pressureWork and economic strainFriendship

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME - Winner of Japan's Grand Prix for Crime Fiction - Edgar Award Finalist - Nothing in Japanese literature prepares us for the stark, tension-filled, plot-driven realism of Natsuo Kirino's award-winning literary mystery Out.

This mesmerizing novel tells the story of a brutal murder in the staid Tokyo suburbs, as a young mother who works the night shift making boxed lunches strangles her abusive husband and then seeks the help of her coworkers to dispose of the body and cover up her crime. The coolly intelligent Masako emerges as the plot's ringleader, but quickly discovers that this killing is merely the beginning, as it leads to a terrifying foray into the violent underbelly of Japanese society.

At once a masterpiece of literary suspense and pitch-black comedy of gender warfare, Out is also a moving evocation of the pressures and prejudices that drive women to extreme deeds, and the friendships that bolster them in the aftermath.
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