p. 422: 
 "I'm not jealous because you made some money. It's because if those men are willing to pay that kind of money to you, Kazue, they must be the type who like monsters. I mean, you're ugly too. If some kid came across you in the dark, you can be sure he'd burst into tears. And you don't have much of a future. You're just going to keep falling lower and lower. You're going to have to quit your job at the firm before long because no one's going to be able to bear looking at you." 
 Yuriko's eyes glittered. I may have been a rock-bottom whore but the thought of slipping even lower frightened me. According to Yuriko's prophecy, at some point a monster-loving man would appear and kill me. I wonder if I'd be killed by Zhang. I remembered the humiliation I'd felt when he tossed me aside after sex. He hated me. He hated sex. But he liked monsters. 
 p. 467: 
 Women have only one reason for turning to prostitution. It's hatred for others, for the rest of the world. Not doubt this is incredibly sad, but then men have the capacity for countering such feelings in a woman. Still, if sex is the only way to dissolve these feelings, then men and women really are pathetic. 
 Utter brilliance. An angry social commentary on the elitism and misogyny embedded in Japanese society. Grotesque is categorized as a crime novel but I think it's written in too unconventional of a way to be considered that. I have to say that this is one of the bleakest and most pessimistic novels I've ever read. It's a great story to read over Christmas. :) 
 The ending was weak in comparison to the rest of the novel due to the decision by the American publisher to censor a part of the novel that involves underage male prostitution - a rather gross display of double standards, I have to say. (view spoiler)[Because this part has been omitted, the actions of the narrator (Yuriko's older sister) at the end do not make much sense. (hide spoiler)]