Real World by Natsuo Kirino

Author also of Grotesque and Out, Natsuo Kirino likes to explore the psychology of murder. She examines the thinking and feeling of individuals in a marginal state of being. Real World is a story about an adolescent boy who brutally and remorselessly murders his mother, basically because she bugged him. He involves the girl next door by stealing her bike and cell phone. Then he begins to call all of the contacts on her phone and converses at length with her friends. The story is told from the POV of the murderer (Worm) and the four girls with whom he comes into contact. Chilling and disquieting, the novel is a window into the mindset of Japanese high school students. Is this mentality common to high school students the world over? Inquiring minds want to know.