Grotesque

“People are grotesque. They pretend to be good, but inside they’re rotten.”

Part One: The Sisters

The novel begins with the unnamed narrator reflecting on her sister Yuriko’s beauty and her own feelings of inferiority. The two sisters, born to the same parents but raised separately, have a strained relationship. The narrator, plain and studious, resents Yuriko’s stunning looks and the privileges they bring. Their mother, a former bar hostess, favors Yuriko, deepening the narrator’s bitterness.

Part Two: The Murder

The story shifts to the murder of Yuriko and another woman, Kazue Sato, both former students of the elite Q High School for girls. The killer, a Chinese immigrant named Zhang Zhe-zhong, is arrested and confesses. The narrator, now working in a dull office job, becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind the murders.

Part Three: The Investigation

Through diary entries, letters, and testimonies, the novel reconstructs the lives of Yuriko and Kazue. Yuriko, despite her beauty, spirals into prostitution, using men for money. Kazue, once a diligent student, becomes consumed by envy and self-loathing, eventually turning to sex work as well. The narrator pieces together their tragic downfalls.

Part Four: The Truth

The narrator reveals her own role in manipulating events, feeding Kazue’s insecurities and indirectly contributing to her sister’s demise. Zhang’s confession is examined—his brutal upbringing and the dehumanizing treatment he faced in Japan. The novel ends with the narrator acknowledging her own grotesque nature, mirroring the darkness she condemns in others.

Key Ideas

• Exploration of beauty, envy, and societal expectations.
• Critique of Japan’s rigid class and gender hierarchies.
• The destructive power of self-loathing and obsession.
• Moral ambiguity and the grotesque nature of humanity.
• The intersection of crime, psychology, and social alienation.