Loved it! - Rated 
Absolutely loved it. Now have read all her books. Great to read a different kind of novel, especially about my favourite country, Japan. All is not what it seems !!!
Heartachingly austere - Rated
I have just finished reading this book. It has left me feeling so battered and empty I can't even cry. I loved it. It is bleak, emotionally harrowing and utterly bound by the solipsism of the voices telling the story. The characters all challenge the disparity that exists in Japanese society in their own perverted ways. This eventually leaves them looking as torrid yet shabby as the locations they wind up in. Finally, I feel as though I am being haunted by a ghost that truly exists.
Annother great read from a great author - Rated 
After reading OUT... the first book I read from this author I had to read annother! Grotesque is written from every point of view which makes for a realy rich entwined story, it is a definate read for lovers of sex, murder and general wierdness!
Worth A Look - Rated 
Two women, Yuriko Hirata and Kazue Sato have been murdered in Tokyo. In transpires that both were working as prostitutes, and both went to the same prestigious school, twenty years earlier.
In Grotesque we learn what made the women, what they were. The story is told mainly through the jaundiced eyes of Yuriko's bitter older sister. There are also extracts from the diaries of both murdered girls, and we even briefly get their killer's life story.
I found this book a bit different from others that I have read, as I have not read to many novels, that have originated, or have been set in Japan. We get to see the story from the points of view of all the main characters, with quite often different versions of the same event, depending on which character is doing the reminiscing.
The book also gives a very vivid insight as to what it is like to attend a prestigious school in Japan, and all the unfair, and at times downright insane peer pressure that goes along with it.
Overall, I thought that the book was a fairly good read. The characters have a bit of depth, and the storyline,kept me interested throughout.
dissapointing after reading "out" - Rated 
I agree with the reviewers that thought this book was tough after reading "Out" and overall a disappointment. I don't know how I managed to finish the book, as I was only half way through when I realised that I wasn't enjoying the novel and didn't like any of the characters. I waded through to the end in search of some kind of hope or meaning only to find emptiness. On the plus side I do like the authors style of writing and this made things a bit easier. (Meaning I finished it in a few days rather than a few weeks) and I will definitley have a go at her next novel, because I haven't forgotten the brilliance of Out. That novel stands alone as a shining beacon of hope for future Kirino works. I just think this one may have been a blip and I'm willing to let it go as one.
I give this review 2 stars, because I don't think it completely bad. Some of the characters, even though not likeable, are well described and sometimes intriguing. The style of writing also keeps the story going. Just a shame I didn't understand the point of the story. I wouldn't bother reading this if it is a detective novel you are after. This reads less as a story about crime, but more as a colection of memoirs about bitterness, prostitution and murder, and thus is dripping with cruelty and self loathing.
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