The Goddess Chronicles by Natsuo Kirino

I loved 'Out'. I found 'Grotesque' beautifully horrible and of that too, I loved every minute.

Now, I have to say this. Before I read this book, I believed, like many men, that I had a 'feminine side'. Now hat I have read this book, I know this to be untrue. What I have is a deep, black feminine heart.

The story of Namima is tragedy in the traditional sense. Everything that happens to her is an inevitable result of who she is, and of the society in which she grew up... except for one thing. That she chose to be a miko. I understand why she made that choice, but that is exactly it, a genuine choice.

The story of Izanaki could be deemed tragic, but it is not. He got better than he deserved.

The story of Izanami though is not tragedy. I would not call this book tragedy, I would rather call it Scripture. Izanami-sama is what she is and that is right and good (not in a moral sense but in an aesthetic sense) and as she should be. Namima is right to praise her, it is what she deserves.

I now wish I had time to learn Japanese so that I no longer had to wait for Natsuo Kirino's books to be translated.