殺人出産 🤰🔪 Book Club ・ Week 8

殺人出産 ・ Week 8

|Week 8|12 June 2021|
|–|–|–|
|End page |106|
|End loc (Kindle) |967|
|End phrase |いくような気がした。|
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How is the reading going?
  • I am reading along
  • I am catching up
  • I am dropping this book

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Vocabulary

Please read the guidelines on the first page before adding any words.

Discussion questions

  1. What sentence/passage gave you the most difficulty? Feel free to request some help, or if you figured it out on your own break it down for the rest of us!
  2. What was your favorite new vocab word from this week’s reading?
  3. Was there any passage that you found particularly intriguing? Did it resonate with you (either positively or negatively)? Was it surprising? Offer any insight or new perspective? Was it just beautifully written?
1 Like
About the identity of the victim

Called it :sunglasses:

Something I did not see coming

でも医者様は、一人つけてほしいっての」

?」

」の殺人親族など、いたことがない。った様子った

大丈夫ってったのだけれど、あったらからって……ちゃん、本当ないのだけれど、できないかしら」

That is so messed up and I’m totally here for it.

Some foreshadowing?

Up to this point I had noticed that the sister’s bad health was emphasised a fair bit, so I was already suspicious that it was going to play a role (Chekhov’s gun and all that), but now that I have read this I am absolutely sure the ending is going to be reeeaaally messed up:

」は10人目えて」に電報していればそのたとえ本人くなったとしてもあとは代理人殺人代行してくれる。すでに決定された」のことはないのだ。

10 Likes

Indeed, a good prediction! I had imagined she wanted to kill her because she was so annoying, but the truth is that she basically randomly picked her, which totally makes sense from her perspective (as it’s all about the killing and nothing about the victim). That’s even more revolting to me. Meaning it could have basically been anybody…

Yep. That was a really “interesting” twist.

Oh. my. god. I clearly did not think this through to the end :scream: This will be horrible for sure.

I had quite some “fun” with the attack scene at the end, and the surveillance dudes briefly showing up only after she was gone :rofl: I wonder what would have happened if she had really seriously injured her? Would they have stepped in at some point? :thinking:

5 Likes

I am not sure it’s quite random. I got the impression she almost thought she was doing Sakiko a favour, since she seemed to unhappy with and ill-adapted to the world.

Would that have been the scenario described here?

」は無理心中のように殺人危険性ので、厳重見張られるのだ。

Like a murder-by-cop scenario, in which they kill someone in the hopes they’ll be shot…? Or did I misinterpret that bit?

1 Like

Oh yes, you are right. I only had in mind the sentence 子供のころ言ったでしょう?私は誰でもいいの。But after that she explains that she wants to pick a pitiable person whom she can put at ease.

Yes, that’s what I was referring to. But this passage only says they will survey the victim (or at least that’s my take on its meaning), but not what they will do in case the victim really becomes aggressive. Apparently they did not step in although the two were having quite the fight :woman_shrugging:

I don’t think it’s about their hopes to get shot, but just about being able to “get away” with a murder because they are doomed anyways…
Initially I thought it was about the victim trying to kill their 産み人, but now I think it refers to them trying to kill any other person, not necessarily only the person who wants to kill them.

7 Likes

O right, that makes sense in a world where the system assumes everyone is just foaming at the mouth to kill someone given half a chance.

5 Likes

I thought it is about the 産み人 as well, since they also mentioned how healthy 死に人 often stay in the center to be protected. But in rereading those parts, I agree that these two statements seem not that closely related. Probably since the 産み人 are unreachable the 死に人 so inclined would instead forcibly double suicide with someone else they had strife with or someone random even.

We got a lot of new details about how the system works this week. It is truly quite, ah. Thorough.

I am mostly surprised about how I’m still reading along. It’s all thanks to everyone discussing so actively. :slight_smile:

6 Likes

Just did two weeks of reading in two days because I can’t put the book down. That’s got to be a new record for me.

Also, this makes perfect sense because 育子 has always been 環ちゃん’s partner in crime. She’s always been the one to deliver her sister’s “victims”. And 育子 is passive enough that I’m sure she will carry it out if pushed into it. The only thing that could make it worse is if ミサキ is somehow drawn into it as well, which I haven’t entirely discounted yet.

Yup, if they’re going to die anyway why not take somebody out with them? For anybody who thinks a death penalty isn’t as bad as a birth penalty, becoming a 死に人 seems like a way to reap the rewards of the system at a discounted price (depending, of course, on how easily their tailer can stop them. Who knows when they would have stepped in?)

6 Likes

Woah, yeah true. Maybe she kinda waited for Ikuko to bring someone (suitable) along.

That’s how I understood it as well. Chances are high there’s somebody you really hate the guts of. So why not take the chance if you’re going to die anyway.

Gj :+1:

I’m excited for next week’s content which is right around the corner now because I didn’t do very much all week except read everything right before the end of the week. Way too hot to do anything other than eating melons. :laughing:

6 Likes

Look at me posting before the next week’s thread is up for a change!

Plot commentary

Such a great observation, hadn’t caught up on that. It makes very literal the idea that in this society everyone has blood on their hands… and how easy it can be to slide from passive resistance to an idea to active participation.

While I wasn’t that surprised by the sister’s pick - thanks in part to @Phryne excellent prediction - I do feel in some that this is the easy way out, i.e. the sister will never really have to deal with the emotional consequences for her killing. She has no personal connection to the victim, and she will not have to have to deal with any close family or friends vs. picking someone she knew. While I have had some sympathy for her as a character, it also strikes me as somewhat cowardly.

I was intrigued how after being jumped by Sakiko, Ikuko downplays the scuffle - one small mercy towards Sakiko. While the book seems to imply that escape is damn near impossible, I do wonder if Sakiko’s connection to the resistance society (can’t remember the name off the top of my head) might make an escape at least somewhat possible… then again, there are only 20 pages left, so probably not!

Finally: Miseki’s religious turn was a bit chilling. I can just imagine her starting the spread of the practice of praying to the 産み人 and helping to found a new state religion…

Japanese question
あの人はかわいそうな人だわ。どうせなら、楽にしてあげられる人を選ぼうって前からきめていたの。

Struggling a bit with the part in bold - Jisho says that 楽にする means to give comfort to, so does it mean that she had already decided to choose someone who she could “gift” some peace to?

7 Likes

Yes, that’s how I read it as well.

1 Like

I like that there’s finally some of the possible actions of the 死に人 shown. Maybe I’m biased because I read イキガミ before (which heavily focuses on that aspect), but I found this aspect of possible crimes committed by 死に人 a bit lacking in 殺人出産 so far. One month is such a long time frame, you can do so much harm in that time if you know you’re gonna die anyway.

Also, what kind of argument is this?:
殺されるのが嫌なら、自殺も選べるでしょう?
Wow. What an alternative.

Tbh I‘m annoyed by the sister‘s choice of victim. Yeah, Sakiko was a bit patronizing in the hospital, but why would you kill someone only because they were 印象的? When you could literally kill any criminal? Or 育子‘s molester, even? Or people that have done actual harm to you? Well. It looks like the sister might not actually survive until the murder, but why do they then force 育子 to commit a murder? (I‘m still puzzled by the fact that people enjoy hurting and killing other people. To me this just seems like a punishment for 育子.)

Also:

「死に人」は無理心中のように殺人を犯す危険性も高いので、厳重に見張られるのだ。

Then why do her surveillors only come to 育子‘s help after she could’ve been beaten to death or heavily injured? Wtf? Isn’t it your job to stop the 死に人 from committing any crimes / killing anyone? Why are you watching the assault and not doing anything?

And 育子‘s reasoning in the end is „don’t worry it wasn’t about anything serious“? That doesn’t make it any less of an assault? I am confused by the point of these guards.

5 Likes

This. I have been trying to think the why it would be 育子 or 早紀子 and 早紀子 just makes sense. She’s been actively against the new world and she was just … Entirely unconvincing during the hospital visit. Almost as if she wanted to indicate to her sister to pick her… (Just BSing… Or am I?)