I am overall unfamiliar with Japanese thrillers and when I found this book in a second-hand bookstore, I decided to take a chance on it after hearing positive reviews. Although I generally read science fiction and fantasy I've been trying to expand my reading palette, especially into non-American authors.

I was not prepared for this books. I have read some of the twisted, creepy thrillers that have been popular in the past decade, but the stark brutality of [b:Out|25365|Out|Natsuo Kirino|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386749063s/25365.jpg|849266] was something I definitely was not expecting. And I think it distracted from the power the novel could've had.

The character of Satake is "too much." The story of the four women had me hooked. I loved watching their relationships come together and then fall apart and the ways that sexism and the demands of Japanese culture forced them into these situations, but throwing in Satake and his intense sexual sadism sucked all the power from the narrative of the four women. The fixation becomes on Satake, his vendetta, and his sexual urges. I believe that there is a much more intense story in the relationship between these women than the drama between Satake and Masako. Perhaps it is a more titillating drama because of the sexual element and the way Satake is set up as a foil for Masako, but I think that ultimately revealing the conflict to be the base man v. woman set-up reduces the novel to be too simplistic.