1. I didn't understand the title of the book when I first started reading it. By the end though, I thought the title to be very fitting. What does the title mean to you?2. Do you think each character's way out was befitting for them?
3. Which woman did you empathize/sympathize with the most? The least?
4. How would you compare the treatment of women in Japanese to society to women in America?
5. What did you think of the secondary characters, Anna, the loan shark, the Brazilian? Were you satisfied with their storylines, and what did their characterizations add to the books' perception of male/female roles in Japan?
6. What one word would you use to best describe this book?
3 comments:
We had a great discussion tonight about this book and I enjoyed the book as well. Here are my thoughts on your questions (most of them we actually discussed tonight, so it's nice to see that we're on the same page still. hehe)
1) I didn't understand the title at first either and I thought that maybe there was a problem with the translation (which happens often enough), but at the meeting tonight I was set straight and learned that there were actually a couple of different meanings for the title (I'll let those who actually got it comment on that. hehe)
2) I hadn't thought about their "outs" and whether or not they were befitting (and we didn't bring it up tonight), but that's a really interesting question. I would have to say yes, though. All of their lives were so terrible and none of them were happy, but once they all decided to go along with the cover up of the murder (and of course the woman who killed her husband), I think maybe I stopped having any sympathy for them and felt like they got what they deserved. Maybe that's too harsh, but I could understand why those "outs" could happen in this situation.
3) I think I sympathized with Yoshie the most because I felt like she was the only one who was really acting out of love for her family and not just for herself or out of anger/revenge. She definitely had a "follower" personality and it showed. But that didn't absolve her from what she did to cover up a crime. At the same time, I understand that she needed money and felt helpless. I guess there's no right answer here.
4) We tried to discuss this tonight, but to be honest we didn't really know enough about Japanese culture to know what it was really like. If we compare based on the book alone, it's such a shame that these women are treated like second-class citizens who lose all their value once they are old or if they aren't beautiful. You have nothing to live for or fight for and it really breaks you down. In that respect, maybe that's what makes the women the most sympathetic.
5) It was great to have these secondary characters because you got to see the main characters react in different situations other than just the main plot. You got to know the characters better that way.
6) Shocking
These are great questions and I also thought we had a good discussion on the book.
Here are my thoughts:
1) I chose Out as one of my book choices because I was interested in the idea of how four women in the lower rungs of their society could help each other 'out' of their class situation - that's how I saw meaning of the title originally. After reading the book, I also saw the title as expressing the need of each woman to get out of the repressive factory, which in a way was like a prison, and make a new life for herself.
2) I think the way 'out' most befitted Masako. She is the character who will make it out of Japan and may have a shot of creating a new life elsewhere on her own. Also, she was the one charcter I thought who truly made a conscious decision to get out of her station in life where the other women were more reactionary.
3)Wierdly enough, I sympathized with Kuniko the most. She was the most superfical and dumbwitted of the women,but also the most sad, desperate, needy, pathetic one. I kind of wish at least one good thing could have heppened to her.
4)I think we may not find much of a difference between women in the bottom of sociey in Japan compared with women in th bottom of society in America. Many poverty-striken women in American society have used violent means to get out of their life situation. It does seem, though, that women in America have more opportunity in the workforce than Japanese women, more choice in how they live their lives.
5) I felt the secondary characters were rather weak and didn't add much to the story. They seemed to reinforce the stereotypes of Japense men (evil, powerful, love youg girls, etc) and women (focused on material things, catering to men's needs, etc.)
6) Intense
Thanks for your comments! I enjoyed reading them and hope you all had fun at the meeting.
1. I took the title of the book to also mean several things: their way out of their current situation and frustration with their life circumstances is what I feel it most means to me.
2. I actually think Kuniko's way out was most befitting for her, I felt like she was really shallow, and unlike the others, her motive and involvement in the murder I felt was more purely selfish than Masako's or Yoshie's, who both seemed motivated by friendship. Kuniko was also the only one who worked to jeopardize the cover up, and since I kind of ended up sympathizing with the other three, I felt she got what she deserved.
3) I sympathized with Masako the most, because she was the most pro-active in changing her future and going to any lengths to do it. She was also a loyal friend and trustworthy, and I liked that about her.
4) I also don't know much about Japanese society, but would agree that there are definitely more opportunities for women here in the US. I do however empathize with the feeling that as a woman gets older, she is treated differently in society.
5) I agree that the secondary characters were rather two dimensional and very stereotypical. The one thing that bothered me a bit was how each, except Satake, was written off, I felt that when the author assumed their points of view, that they would have more of a role throughout the novel, or at least have some sort of climatic end? So Anna is a broken hearted waitress, and Masako's ex-gang member business partner (forgot his name) what happens to him??
6) Thrilling
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