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November 13, 2004
A quick look at books
OUT,
by Natsuo Kirino. Published by Vintage Books, 2003.
OUT
is both ghoulish and mundane. Four ordinary Japanese women working the
night shift in a box lunch factory find themselves pulled to the edges
of morality almost as soon as the pages begin to turn. Each woman leads
a sad colorless existence — until one of them steps over the edge,
provoked by an indifferent abusive husband.
Weaving through back lots, empty fields and empty lives, the author marches
us straight into darkness. The novel should come with a warning: No one
with depressive tendencies should pick it up. On the other hand, if —
and it’s a pretty big if — you can see its bloody scenes as
pure fiction, then jump right in.
A first-class Japanese bodice ripper, OUT would also make great
reading for book clubs. You’d have each other to hold onto as Kirino
drags everyone into the sticky Japanese underworld.
Kirino has many Japanese fans, having published 40 novels in her home
country. Born in 1951, she earned a law degree before she started writing
pulp fiction, manga and romance novels in her 30s. Later she became known
for her spare and unsentimental style. The author has won many literary
prizes, including the 1993 Edogawa Ranpo Prize. Three of her novels, including
OUT, have been made into films.
Will wage slavery drive someone to murder? Just exactly how do you dismember
a body in your bathroom? Kirino doesn’t provide any new answers,
but she does tie up a plot twist neatly and loads her characters with
deadpan intensity of detail. If you forgot to go to a fun house for Halloween
this year, pick up OUT for a literary ride. —Ann-Marie Stillion/Northwest
Asian Weekly
Ichiro on Ichiro: Conversations With Narumi Komatsu, translated
by Philip Gabriel. Published by Sasquatch Books, 2004.
He
hits the baseball and runs to first base faster than you can say, “Look
at Ichiro go!”
Ichiro Suzuki’s sensational play has energized the Seattle Mariners
since he came from Japan in 2001 and won the American League Most Valuable
Player award in his rookie season. He continues to set records —
this year, he collected 262 hits, breaking George Sisler’s 84-year-old
single-season record of 257 — and is a fan favorite despite the language
barrier.
He reaches over that wall, offering more personal information and observations,
in Ichiro on Ichiro, a book of interview questions and answers
with Japanese writer Komatsu.
Ichiro’s father gave him a red baseball glove when he was 3 and trained
him every day. His wife, Yumiko, a former Tokyo TV announcer who lives
in Seattle, helps him withstand the pressure of fans, media and high expectations.
For baseball fans, Ichiro contains extra innings of information about
his batting mechanics and observations about differences between Japanese
and American major league baseball.
Ichiro can be read as an inspirational coming-to-America story about how
the country gave him the opportunity to continue to improve. It also reads
like an authorized biography with nothing outrageous or unflattering about
Ichiro.
And one wonders what may have been lost in the translation by Gabriel.
Ichiro says he wants to “push the envelope” and not “rest
on his laurels,” but those expressions don’t sound Japanese.
—Doug Esser/The Associated Press
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