sufiah yusof and grotesque
Monday, April 07, 2008 (12:59 PM)
when i started out reading kirino natsuo's grotesque, it simply appeared to me as what it is - fiction.
oddly, the first news of the prodigy-turned-social-escort didn't make me see how similar her fate is with the protagonists of grotesque. today, however, when i read of the interview, the similarities were so stark, i wonder why i hadn't noticed.
math prodigy turning to prostitution. elites of the Q school system falling from grace. but that's yet another societal judgment of social escorts in general. is it really a fall? i'm not here to judge. interestingly, everyone thinks so and in kirino's work, sato kazue really stood out as the one most similar to sufiah yusof. an extremely clever woman who was a regular administrative worker by day and a prostitute by night. the reason? it makes her feel wanted. makes her feel loved. makes her feel powerful. and it pays. the only difference is that yusof probably looks much better than sato.
this reveals yet another warped mentality of homo sapiens. we often judge the successes of a child based on their results or performance in teenage years. but grotesque has shown otherwise. the top student of the Q school system, mitsuru, joined an underground religious organisation, killed innocent people and ended up in prison. yuriko and kazue, both turned prostitutes and ended up being murdered. takashi, son of a professor ended up as a pimp. as much as i claim that i'm not here to judge, i seem to be judging subconsciously. but that's a socialisation which i am not to be blamed. ask me again, i'll throw the same judgment.
if we step away from the 'social rules', we do realise that the universal indicator of success is often measured in terms of money and we really do study for the sake of money. if that solely is the case, then sufiah yusof is indeed successful.
this reminded me of another story of bloggers who died suddenly. probably due to the stress to maintain a 24/7 work schedule. so i better hit the sack now at 1:20pm in the afternoon before the same happens...
try reading grotesque. it's scarily good beyond words.