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| Real World | 
 enlarge | Author: Natsuo Kirino
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £2.93
You Save: £5.06 (63%)
New (20) from £2.93
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 8710
Media: Paperback
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.7
ISBN: 0099523191
EAN: 9780099523192
ASIN: 0099523191
Publication Date: September 4, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW - ***Delivery usually * 2 - 3 * working days - From Aphrohead of SOUTHPORT, Lancs, UK *** . Priority Airmail used Worldwide on International orders. Thanks from all at Aphrohead.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Death by worm November 8, 2008
Like many others, I admired Grotesque and Out. In particular I loved the way in which Kirino was able to combine both the day to day realities of her characters' lives with the violent world with which they became entangled. In Real World a group of female protagonists are again caught up in a violent murder. The difference is that these women are 16 year old high school students and the murderer is a neighbour who has killed his own mother. Kirino again explains the action from the perspective of her five main characters, but the effect is not as satisfying as it is in Grotesque.
I feel that the characters are not sufficiently differentiated; in spite of superficial differences, they all seem to share a common view of the world and the change of narrators seems to slow down the action.
Having said that the ending is intriguing, the shift in focus really works to show how different people view the same event and some of the atmospheric writing is detailed and absorbing.
A measurement of progress... October 10, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was a huge fan of Kirino's previous release Grotesque - the best book of 2007 by some distance. So I eagerly awaited the next novel. While Real World is the new release, it was actually written before Grotesque. This, and a change in translator since Grotesque, might lie at the heart of this book's problems.
Kirino has melded two of her favourite subjects from other novels - a brutal murder, and the strange world of Japanese teenager-dom. However, in this novel the plot is fairly linear, and lacks the weaving of other sub-plots with the skill shown in Grotesque. In addition, as other reviewers have noted, the language and dialogue is stilted, and simply comes across as false. Given the skill Kirino showed in her other novels, it is hard to think the fault lies with the author.
While the book has some good moments, it lacks the depth or subtlety of other works. I think that maybe this was an early novel; and therefore you only see glimpses of what was to come from Kirino. If so, it is interesting to see the huge progress she made in just four years of writing - from this middling effort, to utter brilliance. That alone makes it worth a look if you are a Kirino fan, but on its' own merits, it is hard to recommend unconditionally.
lost in translation September 25, 2008
Really like the original japanese book but be warned it loses alot of impact thanks to a medicore translation.
As the offical amazon review says - "Exasperating"
 excellent September 20, 2008
I am a fan of Natsuo Kirino. I think writing a short story with so much going on (with the characters' complex state of mind (teenagers),a murder, etc..) without giving the impression of rush in it, is truly a proof that Kirino is a unique writer. She is not afraid of exposing the real thoughts and feelings of each character. Shocking it is and that is the "real world". Shocking but also opens us to question how modernity and selffishness can mess up or confuse ones mind and how we try to blind ourselves with reality that is not ours really! We think we are in control of things but in fact we are not!
Very Real and very dark September 7, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Have loved all N.Kirino's novels so far, and this one is no exception.
It could be described as dark and desturbing, however I think it really gets into the mind of the main characters. The main characters being 1 guy who is believed to have killed his mother and 4 young woman who each have a different view on the guy and what he has done.
It makes for very good reading and as I read through it I could not guess how it would end. So be warned there are some surprises.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes dark stories, it will get you thinking.
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