Natsuo Kirino (Trans. Philip Gabriel)

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A fascinating, disturbing glance inside the heads of Japan’s suburban teens
Entering Kirino’s dark fictional worlds demands total submission to her characters’ inner lives. Her latest novel’s characteristically unflinching study of four suburban Japanese teens is no exception. A smoggy, mundane summer dedicated to college “cram school” sessions is the perfect backdrop for this hardboiled story’s brutal catalyst.