Strange Pictures

Naomi Konno is a point-of-view character and the killer whose actions connect the various mysteries presented in Strange Pictures. At first, she is just a shadowy presence, but as the narrative goes on, she becomes a more defined and threatening figure. She is first introduced in the Prologue as “Little A,” the 11-year-old child who murdered her abusive mother and who drew the text’s first picture: of a house, a child, and a tree containing a white bird. Although she is not initially named as the mysterious third person in “Raku’s” household (hinted at in his blog), she is in fact his mother and Yuki’s mother-in-law and is living with the couple at the time of Yuki’s death.

Naomi is first named and featured prominently in Chapter 2. In this chapter, she is the protagonist, struggling to raise her grandson, Yuta, and worrying about a stranger who seems to be following her. The chapter frames her in a way designed to elicit sympathy: Her exhaustion, financial worries, and concerns about how she is parenting show her vulnerabilities and her genuine love for Yuta. However, Naomi’s status as a mother—as Haruto’s biological mother and Yuta’s adoptive mother—is central to the story’s consideration of