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Real World
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About the Author

Natsuo Kirino, born in 1951, quickly established a reputation in her country as one of a rare breed of mystery writers whose work goes well beyond the conventional crime novel. This fact has been demonstrated by her winning not only the Grand Prix for Crime Fiction in Japan for Out in 1998, but one of its major literary awards--the Naoki Prize--for Soft Cheeks (which has not yet been published in English), in 1999. Several of her books have also been turned into feature movies. Out was the first of her novels to appear in English and was nominated for an Edgar Award. Kirino is also the author of Grotesque.

Reviews

“Disquieting and suspenseful.”
—Kathryn Harrison, The New York Times Book Review
 
“Brilliant feminist noir. . . . Sleek, assured and disturbing. . . . Reads like Little Women in an acid bath. . . .You won't want to miss it.”
—The Plain Dealer
 
“Transfixing. . . . Kirino touches on much deeper issues than unlocking teenage diaries. . . . A psychologically complex story told in a breezy, adolescent way, reminiscent of Bonjour Tristesse.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
 
“Kirino demands total submission to her characters' inner lives. . . . [Real World] challenges readers to confront the truth of human nature, to release judgments about violence and see beyond the act to its roots.”
—The Miami Herald
 
“Instead of one lone maniac, Kirino makes adolescent ennui and detachment the villain, tracing out a spooky cultural phenomenon that makes this new translation a purely psychological thriller.”
—Time Out Chicago
 
“Jealousy, solipsism, fear, arrogance–the mind of an adolescent can be a frustrating and scary place. . . . [Real World] takes us deep inside the heads of these kids.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review
 
“If Real World is indeed a work of social realism, Kirino is either a masterful cynic or the cartographer of a very scary side of reality.”
—The New York Sun
 
“It’s rare to come across a book that is unlike anything you’ve ever read. Real World is such a book. . . . Kirino’s mix of the savage and the mundane is masterful. . . . Hers is a fresh, contemporary voice that captures the attitude of youth culture around the world. . . . An addictive, compelling read.”
—Daily Camera (Boulder)
 
“Disturbingly intimate. . . . [Kirino’s characters] speak as one voice of youth in an utterly hypnotic, illuminating narrative.”
—Paste
 
“A novel that looks at the emotional vacuum of teenage culture, one less affected by a brutal murder and its emotional aftershocks than by the glow of its association with a manufactured outlaw. . . . Kirino delves deeply into the feelings of isolation and hopelessness that each girl shares. . . . She works to understand how the girls can become so disassociated from their own moral center, ultimately insinuating that after being raised in a culture of texting, reality shows, etc., they’re looking for any connection to the feeling world.”
—Providence Journal
 
“Impressive. . . . [Real World’s] sinister plot provides Kirino with plenty of welcome occasions to render the acute psychosexual portraiture at which she so excels. . . . Kirino’s high-toned crime-fiction is, above all, morbidly fascinating.”
—The Tennessean
 
“[A] taut thriller. . . . [Kirino] has a knack for portraying the lives of teenage girls.”
—More
 
“Kirino creates a fictional universe in which the normal rules of engagement no longer apply. Through Worm, she chronicles the toxic fall-out of an educational system that fosters conformity above individualism. . . . And Philip Gabriel’s excellent translation helps to bring this lurid tale into even sharper focus.”
—The Independent (UK)
 
“Kirino has written a kind of anti-coming-of-age-novel. . . . Noir and coming-of-age are traditionally polar opposites, but Kirino brings them together brilliantly, showing that learning about yourself is not always a meaningful experience. Readers of Haruki Murakami’s After Dark will feel right at home here.”
—Booklist (starred)
 
“Bleak, exquisitely imagined. . . . Real World is not a whodunit but a disturbing whydunit. . . . A novel of murder most creepy.”
—The Georgia Straight (Vancouver)
 
“Real World is unusual: a thriller with a strong moral overtone, it begins with violence and ends with regret. . . . It’s [Kirino’s] portrayal of typically teenaged double-triple lives that makes this story so successful and so disturbing. It's not the murder, but the reaction to it that will strike fear into the hearts of readers. . . . As strange as this is to say about a novel dealing with matricide, Real World might be a good book for parents and adolescents to read together. It covers a lot of big issues in a way that is truly captivating. This is Christopher Pike with a conscience. . . . Real World has wide appeal. It will engage people everywhere–men and women, young and old–because Kirino is an extremely talented writer with a style that is unmistakably her own, even in translation.”
—The Gazette (Montreal)
 
“Kirino unflinchingly describes the contemporary social conditions of teenagers from their point of view . . . [and] honestly depicts the blatant as well as subtle acts of violence done by and to teenagers in modern Japan. . . . Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal

Adult/High School-A dark tale of teen angst and despair in suburban Tokyo. Through alternating first-person narratives, four girls and one boy tell a story of murder and deception. Descriptions of the hot, humid summer enhance the oppressive feeling of the novel. Characters are well drawn and real, though not always sympathetic-they make life-altering mistakes, don't trust or confide in adults, and are absorbed in their individual worlds. Kirino offers insight into the teens through chapters that read like diary entries as they divulge the deepest secrets, fears, and longings of Toshi, Terauchi, Yuzan, Kirarin, and the boy they call "Worm." Readers glimpse at the cliques, social pressures, and academic expectations endured by adolescents in contemporary Japan. Alternating narration sets a fast pace but can be jarring. With five different voices, readers sometimes have to backtrack to figure out who is telling the story. Nevertheless, the technique is effective for evoking an unsettled atmosphere and reinforcing the chaos of life in the Real World. Prominent themes in this psychological thriller include alienation from parents, secret identities, matricide, and complicated relationships even among friends-which is your real self? Two dark surprises at the end of the novel are shocking but not unrealistic. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy teenage problem novels, as well as manga fans interested in Japanese culture.-Sondra VanderPloeg, Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Between the groans of a smog alert siren at the outset of this gripping noir from Kirino (Out), Tokyo high school student Toshi Yamanaka hears what sounds like glass shattering next door. Might a burglar be at work? Later, after learning that a female neighbor has been bludgeoned to death, Toshi suspects that she was an earwitness to the woman's murder and that the killer was the victim's son, a mysterious boy Toshi's age, nicknamed Worm by Toshi and her friends. When Worm vanishes, Toshi, who also suspects he stole her cellphone, finds herself hoping that he'll reach out to her, for reasons she doesn't fully understand. Winner of the Mystery Writers of Japan Award, Kirino uses her considerable narrative gifts to evoke the tedium, pressure and angst her teenage characters suffer. Some readers, though, may find the proceedings just too grim for their taste. (July) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

"Disquieting and suspenseful."
-Kathryn Harrison, The New York Times Book Review

"Brilliant feminist noir. . . . Sleek, assured and disturbing. . . . Reads like Little Women in an acid bath. . . .You won't want to miss it."
-The Plain Dealer

"Transfixing. . . . Kirino touches on much deeper issues than unlocking teenage diaries. . . . A psychologically complex story told in a breezy, adolescent way, reminiscent of Bonjour Tristesse."
-The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Kirino demands total submission to her characters' inner lives. . . . [Real World] challenges readers to confront the truth of human nature, to release judgments about violence and see beyond the act to its roots."
-The Miami Herald

"Instead of one lone maniac, Kirino makes adolescent ennui and detachment the villain, tracing out a spooky cultural phenomenon that makes this new translation a purely psychological thriller."
-Time Out Chicago

"Jealousy, solipsism, fear, arrogance-the mind of an adolescent can be a frustrating and scary place. . . . [Real World] takes us deep inside the heads of these kids." -Los Angeles Times Book Review

"If Real World is indeed a work of social realism, Kirino is either a masterful cynic or the cartographer of a very scary side of reality."
-The New York Sun

"It's rare to come across a book that is unlike anything you've ever read. Real World is such a book. . . . Kirino's mix of the savage and the mundane is masterful. . . . Hers is a fresh, contemporary voice that captures the attitude of youth culture around the world. . . . An addictive, compelling read."
-Daily Camera (Boulder)

"Disturbingly intimate. . . . [Kirino's characters] speak as one voice of youth in an utterly hypnotic, illuminating narrative."
-Paste

"A novel that looks at the emotional vacuum of teenage culture, one less affected by a brutal murder and its emotional aftershocks than by the glow of its association with a manufactured outlaw. . . . Kirino delves deeply into the feelings of isolation and hopelessness that each girl shares. . . . She works to understand how the girls can become so disassociated from their own moral center, ultimately insinuating that after being raised in a culture of texting, reality shows, etc., they're looking for any connection to the feeling world."
-Providence Journal

"Impressive. . . . [Real World's] sinister plot provides Kirino with plenty of welcome occasions to render the acute psychosexual portraiture at which she so excels. . . . Kirino's high-toned crime-fiction is, above all, morbidly fascinating."
-The Tennessean

"[A] taut thriller. . . . [Kirino] has a knack for portraying the lives of teenage girls."
-More

"Kirino creates a fictional universe in which the normal rules of engagement no longer apply. Through Worm, she chronicles the toxic fall-out of an educational system that fosters conformity above individualism. . . . And Philip Gabriel's excellent translation helps to bring this lurid tale into even sharper focus."
-The Independent (UK)

"Kirino has written a kind of anti-coming-of-age-novel. . . . Noir and coming-of-age are traditionally polar opposites, but Kirino brings them together brilliantly, showing that learning about yourself is not always a meaningful experience. Readers of Haruki Murakami's After Dark will feel right at home here."
-Booklist (starred)

"Bleak, exquisitely imagined. . . . Real World is not a whodunit but a disturbing whydunit. . . . A novel of murder most creepy."
-The Georgia Straight (Vancouver)

"Real World is unusual: a thriller with a strong moral overtone, it begins with violence and ends with regret. . . . It's [Kirino's] portrayal of typically teenaged double-triple lives that makes this story so successful and so disturbing. It's not the murder, but the reaction to it that will strike fear into the hearts of readers. . . . As strange as this is to say about a novel dealing with matricide, Real World might be a good book for parents and adolescents to read together. It covers a lot of big issues in a way that is truly captivating. This is Christopher Pike with a conscience. . . . Real World has wide appeal. It will engage people everywhere-men and women, young and old-because Kirino is an extremely talented writer with a style that is unmistakably her own, even in translation."
-The Gazette (Montreal)

"Kirino unflinchingly describes the contemporary social conditions of teenagers from their point of view . . . [and] honestly depicts the blatant as well as subtle acts of violence done by and to teenagers in modern Japan. . . . Highly recommended."
-Library Journal

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