Quotes from Grotesque

Natsuo Kirino ·  480 pages

Rating: (7.7K votes)


“For a girl, appearance can be a powerful form of oppression. No matter how intelligent a girl may be, no matter her many talents, these attributes are not easily discerned. Brains and talent will never stand up against a girl who is clearly physically attractive.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“In order to induce the process of decay, water is necessary. I think that, in the case of women, men are the water.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“A woman who does not know herself has no choice other than to live with other people’s evaluations. But no one can adapt perfectly to public opinion. And herein lies the source of their destruction.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“If people can't stand being alone, they have no choice but to die”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“My talent was the uncompromising ability to feel spite.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque



“I suppose I’m the one responsible for destroying myself.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“A women who does not know herself has no choice other than to live with other people's evaluations.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“Men live by rules they've made for themselves. And among those rules is one specifying that women are merely commodities for men to possess. A daughter belongs to her father, a wife to her husband. A woman's own desires present obstacles for men and are best ignored.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“But it did seem that the thing we are most proud of and the thing we are most ashamed of are but the front and back of the same coin.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“For a nymphomaniac like myself, I suppose there could be no job more suitable than prostitution; it is my God-given destiny. No matter how violent a man might be, or how ugly, at the moment we're in the act I cannot help but love him. And what's more I'll grant his every wish, no matter how shameful. In fact, the more twisted my partner is, the more attracted I will be to him, because my ability to meet my lover's demands is the one way I can feel alive.
That is my virtue. It is also my biggest flaw. I can't deny a man. I'm like a vagina incarnate—female essence embodied. If I ever were to deny a man, I would stop being me.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque



“As a child I first became aware that my existence had a purpose when I realized men lusted after me. And that's why I will lust forever after men. Before I even began to worry about homework or any of those school things, I began having secret liaisons with men. And it is men who give me the proof I need now to feel I'm alive.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“Was it my lot in life to stand forever on heaven's shores watching the glittering swirl of celestial bodies on the other side?”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“And then there was her face: her white skin, her brown eyes, and her expression, so soft and beautiful; she looked as though she were constantly getting ready to ask a question. Even an immaculately crafted doll could not have been as lovely.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“Here was a man who wanted what no one had wanted before: he wanted to get to know the inner workings of the doll-like woman who was me. Karl wasn't interested in me; neither was Johnson. But Kijima's father liked me for who I was. The realization left me feeling numb. I was touched. But being touched is not the same as feeling desire. And I didn't exist without desire. If I didn't exist, then what?”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“I suspect there are lots of women who want to become prostitutes. Some see themselves as valued commodities and figure they ought to sell while the price is high. Others feel that sex has no intrinsic meaning in and of itself but allows individuals to feel the reality of their own bodies. A few women despise their existence and the insignificance of their meager lives and want to affirm themselves by controlling sex much as a man would. Then there are those who are actuated by violent, self-destructive behavior. And finally we have those want to offer comfort. I suppose there are any number of women who find the meaning of their existence in similar ways.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque



“Kazue's journals depict an absolutely sublime struggle, the struggle between an individual and the rest of the world. Kazue lost the battle, ended up completely alone, and died hungry for some measure of kindness from another person. Don't you think it's a sad story?”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“My lascivious blood leaves me no choice but to lust for men. No matter how common I become, how ugly, how old, as long as there is life in my body I will go on wanting men. That's just my fate. Even if men are no longer amazed when they see me, even if they no longer desire me, even if they belittle me, I have to sleep with them. No, I want to sleep with them. It's the retribution for a divinity that no one can sustain forever. I suppose you could say my 'power' was little more than sin.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“I got up on time this morning, boarded the train, changed to the subway, and worked like an aggressive career woman in one of the biggest corporations around. At night I transformed into a prostitute sought out by men. Suddenly I remembered the argument I had had earlier with Arai and stopped short. I'm a company employee day and night. Or is it that I'm a prostitute night and day? Which is it? Which one is me?”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“You see, natural beauty creates such excitement that the existence of the weight is negated. And once it is negated, the heavier it is to bear.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“Mitsuru and Yuriko and Kazue didn’t mutate; they simply decayed. A biology professor certainly ought to be able to recognize the signs of fermentation and decay. Isn’t he the one who taught us all about these processes in organisms? In order to induce the process of decay, water is necessary. I think that, in the case of women, men are the water.”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque



“Karl wasn’t interested in me; neither was Johnson. But Kijima’s father liked me for who I was. The realization left me feeling numb. I was touched. But being touched is not the same as feeling desire. And I didn’t exist without desire. If I didn’t exist, then what?”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“..Bu yolu seçti, çünkü insan alemini yöneten kurallar hakkında daha fazla bilgi edinmek istiyordu. İnsanların nasıl böylesine karanlık ve bencil tutkular besleyebileceğini anlamak istiyordu.Bütün insanlar ölür. Ama ölümden sonra onlara ne olur? Ruhun bir bedenden diğerine geçmesi mümkün mü?”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


“Nihai analizde, dine bulaşan insanlar yalnızca kendi kişisel mutluluklarının peşinde gibidir. Yanılıyor muyum?”
― Natsuo Kirino, quote from Grotesque


About the author

Natsuo Kirino
Born place: in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan
Born date October 7, 1951
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“The opportunity to love a dog and to treat it with kindness is an opportunity for a lost and selfish heart to be redeemed. They are powerless and innocent, and it is how we treat the humblest among us that surely determines the fate of our souls”
― Dean Koontz, quote from The Darkest Evening of the Year


“thought you had liberal views on what women should be allowed to do. It’s not as if I were suggesting joining one of your hideous hunts. I imagine that there aren’t wild animals behind every rock in Turkey waiting to charge at helpless humans.” “I wouldn’t object in principle to your going to Troy, but I will admit that I don’t view you as an adventurous type.” His eyes searched my own. “Beast! You don’t know me at all.” “Would you have the wardrobe?” He was laughing, and I realized he was teasing me. “Isn’t Ephesus in Turkey? Perhaps I could visit there on the same trip. I’ll send you a note from the Temple of Artemis, where I assure you I will not appear in evening clothes.” “I didn’t realize you had an interest in antiquity.” “Philip inspired me.” We had reached the rue de Rivoli and were nearly at the Meurice. “Let’s keep walking; I would like to see the river at night.” We turned away from the hotel and walked until we reached the Pont-Neuf. The air had grown chilly, and I had not worn even a light wrap; Colin stood near me to shield me from the wind blowing over the bridge. “Can you imagine how many people have crossed this bridge?” I asked. “It must be three hundred years old. Do you think that Marie Antoinette ever stood here and looked across the Seine at the city?” “Hardly. I think she would have had a greater appreciation for the views at Versailles.” “We consider this bridge old, but if it were in Athens, would anyone even comment on it? I shouldn’t be impressed with anything less than two thousand years old if I were in Greece.” “Then you would miss some particularly fine Roman ruins, my dear. Why don’t you plan a nice, civilized trip to Athens on your way to Santorini when you go?” “I shall have to see how it fits with my plan to visit Troy.” Colin shook his head and took my arm. I let him guide me back to the hotel, but not before contemplating at some length the pleasure I derived from his standing so close to me.   COLIN CALLED ON ME the next afternoon, and I confess I was delighted to see him. I planned to dine in my rooms that evening and invited him to join me. He readily accepted. “What time shall I return?” he asked. “I’ll only need to dress.” “Don’t be silly,” I replied. “We shan’t dress. I ordered a light supper and asked to have it early. It’s only the two of us, and”
― Tasha Alexander, quote from And Only to Deceive


“I like my women in a few wisps of drapery: then I can hope for a chance to remove the wisps. If they start out with nothing I tend to get depressed because either they have just stripped off for someone else or, in my line of work, they are usually dead.”
― Lindsey Davis, quote from The Silver Pigs


“Why should the generations overlap one another at all?  Why cannot we be buried as eggs in neat little cells with ten or twenty thousand pounds each wrapped round us in Bank of England notes, and wake up, as the sphex wasp does, to find that its papa and mamma have not only left ample provision at its elbow, but have been eaten by sparrows some weeks before it began to live consciously on its own account? About”
― Samuel Butler, quote from The Way of All Flesh


“Forgiveness is the key which unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness. The forgiveness of Jesus not only takes away our sins, it makes them as if they had never been.”
― Corrie ten Boom, quote from Tramp for the Lord


Interesting books

The Last Enchantment
(12.9K)
The Last Enchantment
by Mary Stewart
The Collected Poems
(4.5K)
The Collected Poems
by Theodore Roethke
The Living Dead
(8.5K)
The Living Dead
by John Joseph Adams
Everyone Loves a Hero
(3.8K)
Everyone Loves a Her...
by Marie Force
Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters
(3.9K)
Teaching a Stone to...
by Annie Dillard
Love Is a Many Trousered Thing
(12.3K)
Love Is a Many Trous...
by Louise Rennison

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.