Many critics challenged and criticized Kirino for her storylines, especially for Out, by saying women should only be writing love stories. [4] In fact, one male radio host refused to talk with her because of the fact she wrote about a husband being murdered by his own wife. [5] However, her fiction has been mirrored by reality with an increasing number of bizarre murders in Japan such as the woman who in 2007 murdered her husband, dismembered his body, and dumped the parts across Tokyo. [2] Writing style and themes [ edit ] Most of Kirino's novels center upon women and crime. Typically, in her novels, such as Out, Kirino mainly focuses on women who do unimaginable things, which is why her books can be considered as “feminist noir.” [5] She writes in a convincing, realistic type of way, which leads to the greatness of her work stemming from "her ability to put us inside the skins of these women.” [5] This focus on more realistic portrayals of Japanese women seems to be a trademark of her work, found in many of her novels such as Grotesque. [7] She is also committed to giving women recognition in Japanese literature, where they are often resigned to sexual and domestic roles. The author recounts how a young man once told her that until he read Out, he “never realized that regular middle aged women actually had a life.” [1] Society, she says, takes advantage of powerless women and it is her goal to create empowered female characters to show readers the power of the “weaker sex.” [1] For these reasons, she has been called the "queen of Japanese crime." [9] In fact, the plot of Out has been described as a framework for her critique of "the problems of ordinary women in contemporary Japanese society." [9] Works in English translation [ edit ] Crime/thriller novels OUT is a psychologically taut and unflinching foray into the darkest recesses of the human soul, an unsettling reminder that the desperate desire for freedom can make the most ordinary person do the unimaginable.

Fleming, Michael (2004-06-29). "New Line thrills to 'Out' with Nakata". Variety . Retrieved 2007-05-22. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Joshinki (Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten, 2008); English translation by Rebecca L. Copeland as The Goddess Chronicle (Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 2013) Her work is reminiscent of American hardboiled detective stories, but her use of multiple narratives and perspectives provide "no authoritative master narrative . . . that finally reassures the reader which of the many voices one is to trust". [2] Her prose style has been described as "flat," "functional," and "occasionally illuminated by a strange lyricism." [9] Unlike most hardboiled fiction, Kirino's novels often feature a female protagonist such as her detective Miro Murano, who complicates the typical hardboiled role of females by becoming both detective and victim. [10] By doing this, Kirino "implicates [the reader] in the voyeuristic pleasure of the detective genre by making [the reader] conscious of [the] act of watching." [10] Kirino said she is fascinated by human nature and what makes someone with a completely clean record suddenly turn into a criminal. Out (original title: Auto), trans. Stephen Snyder (New York: Kodansha, 2003; New York: Vintage, 2005)a b c d e f g h Nagai, Mariko (2008). "An Interview with Natsuo Kirino". Chattahoochee Review. 28 (1): 98–119.

Japan's Government Medals of Honor (Japan) for distinguished performances and contributions to society.a b c d Poole, Stephen (26 November 2004). "Murder Sushi Wrote". The Guardian . Retrieved 12 December 2013. In the Tokyo suburbs four women work the draining graveyard shift at a boxed-lunch factory. Burdened with chores and heavy debts and isolated from husbands and children, they all secretly dream of a way out of their dead-end lives. Kirino (Real World) wows with her latest novel. On an unnamed small island, two sisters grow up, just a year apart in age. Kamikuu, the eldest, is destined to be the island’s next Oracle, following Continue reading » Amanda C. Seaman, Bodies of Evidence: Women, Society, and Detective Fiction in 1990s Japan (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2004), 86-118

Auto (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1997); English translation by Stephen Snyder as Out (New York: Kodansha, 2003; New York: Vintage, 2005)a b c d e Kirino, Natsuo (2009). "About Her". Bubblonia. Natsuo Kirino . Retrieved 4 November 2013. In the Tokyo suburbs four women work the graveyard shift at a factory. Burdened with heavy debts, alienated from husbands and children, they all secretly dream of a way out of their dead-end lives. a b Copeland, Rebecca (2004). "Woman Uncovered: Pornography and Power in the Detective Fiction of Kirino Natsuo". Japan Forum. 16 (2): 249–69. doi: 10.1080/0955580042000222673. The novel tells the tales of four women, working the graveyard shift at a Japanese bento factory. All four women live hard lives. Masako, the leader of the four women, feels completely alienated from her estranged husband and teenage son. Kuniko, a plump and rather vain girl, has recently been ditched by her boyfriend after the couple were driven into debt, leaving Kuniko to fend off a loan shark. Yoshie is a single mother and reluctant caretaker of her mother-in-law, who was left partly paralyzed after a stroke. Yayoi is a thirty-four-year-old mother of two small boys who she is forced to leave home alone, where they are abused by their drunken, gambling father, Kenji. The third of this prolific Japanese author's 30 novels to appear in English, this is a cyber-Bildungsroman of playful breadth and uncertain depth. Two mothers abandon their infant boys in the Continue reading »

a b c d Harrison, Sophie (15 April 2007). "Memoirs of a Geisha's Sister". The New York Times . Retrieved 1 November 2013. Loneliness often seems to be a theme in her work, as is the idea that materialism and money have corrupted modern Japanese life, especially where family and romantic relationships are concerned. [2] In fact, Out has been interpreted as "a cautionary tale of personal finance" [9] and "a grim portrayal of Japan's underclasses, of its female characters' lives, and of the social, sexual, and economic injustice that they face." [8]Four Japanese women - Masako, Yayoi, Yoshie and Kuniko - work the night shift together at a factory making boxed lunches. Yayoi's husband, Yamamoto, is drunk and violent, and obsessed with an escort girl named Anna, who works at a club run by psychopathic gangster Satake. Yamamoto has also lost all the couple's savings playing baccarat at Satake's club. One night Satake beats Yamamoto up and throws him out. When Yamamoto gets home, his wife strangles him with his own belt. She confides in her friends, and they, led by Masako, agree to take Yamamoto's body, cut it up and dispose of it in garbage bags dispersed around Tokyo. Tokyo Island (original title: Tōkyō-jima), trans. Philip Gabriel ( Granta, No.110, 2010 Spring, p.31-50) The Floating Forest (original title: Ukishima no Mori), trans. Jonathan W. Lawless ( Digital Geishas and Talking Frogs: The Best 21st Century Short Stories from Japan, Cheng & Tsui Company, 2011) Kirino explains that the title Out has many meanings attached to it—out as in “off the path” or “exit,” out as in “no good,” and out as in “outside.” [1] She believes there is “a certain kind of freedom in being completely ‘out.’ If you go out one exit, there's another door, and if you open that, you don't know what awaits you" [1] When asked about the broken bonds in the story, the author says she believes there is no such thing as society and that we are essentially solitary creatures. This becomes clear when people unconsciously release their true nature by committing deviant acts. The book's title clearly conveys the experience of being on the out-side of social groups. She is most famous for her 1997 novel, Out, which received the Mystery Writers of Japan Award, Japan's top mystery award, and was a finalist (in English translation) for the 2004 Edgar Award. [2] In addition, Kirino received the 1993 Edogawa Rampo Prize for mystery fiction for her debut novel, Kao ni Furikakaru Ame (Rain Falling on My Face), and the 1999 Naoki Prize for her novel Yawarakana hoho (Soft Cheeks).