Grotesque

I don't write enough about books. After university and being forced to read 3 novels a week I did not pick up a book of my own accord for quite some time. However, recently I have rekindled my love of reading and I can once again get excited about books.

I found Grotesque through the least respectable means possible. I was browsing Amazon and saw that people who had bought The Crimson Petal and the White (a book I was enamored with) had also bought this. The synopsis looked interesting; modern day Japan, two prostitutes educated in the same privileged young ladies school end up murdered. Interesting, sounds like the sort of thing I would rather like.

I was doing a late night Boarders book run and stocking up on some tube reads. I had to ask for Grotesque and to my surprise it was in the Crime section. In my opinion it is totally misplaced. Yes, it is a crime novel and the plot revolves around the crime, but the murder is really the background theme.

On reading the book it becomes apparent that the real question is that of modern concepts and ideals, in particular that of beauty. The multiple narration allow you to delve into the the psyche of all the main characters, and also makes you wonder how far we can ever trust a first person narration. With no authoritative voice you wonder whether our perception of the story is anywhere near the actual 'truth' (albeit a fictional one). We are the jury in this novel, but the verdict is really besides the point; it is society being condemned rather than the murder.

It is published in translation and as I have found before, the Japanese sentence structures and adjectives seem so much more beautiful than our English construct of language. A really poetic read.

Furthermore, it is an easy read, a page turner that is not a chore to pick up. The fact that I choose to read rather than sleep on on morning commute speaks for itself!