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jelian_casapao's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Cannibalism, Incest, Sexual assault, Stalking, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse
cyntismiles's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think I picked out this book for the magical realism tag on StoryGraph but should have looked into it more. For some reason, I thought it was a book of short stories? It really should have been obvious it wasn't by "a novel" in the title. This is all just to say I really went into this one blind. Anyway on with the review!
I thought this book explored some dark responses to trauma and how our early experiences trying to figure out how the world works either help or hinder us. It is an interesting thought piece on the expectations of society and how they are often duplicitous. It is very gut-wrenching seeing how the main character(s) react to their various traumas. This is told from a perspective that is questionable in a way where we can both witness their perspective and as a reader see beyond their perspective. It is a horrifying and sad tale often crossing lines that leave the reader asking "wait, really?". There were many moments where I thought to myself "this has really gone off the rails!" and then it got even wilder.
I found the twists and turns of the story very disturbing. The author did a wonderful job of leading the reader in certain directions where it felt like things might get better and then twisting the narrative this way and that. I wish I could read the original text to compare because I felt like there were some areas in which the translation may have been lacking. Alas, I do not know Japanese so I don't know if this was the original writing or translation. It wasn't that big of a deal, just some word choices that I felt were odd.
I don't know that I can "recommend" the book per se as it is so graphic and disturbing. I believe the author executed the premise well and it's a quick read which I think is to its benefit considering the content. It is to the point and gets its point across well. If you are interested in this book, I highly recommend reading the content warnings as I did not. I use StoryGraph which has a good program for content warnings.
I thought this book explored some dark responses to trauma and how our early experiences trying to figure out how the world works either help or hinder us. It is an interesting thought piece on the expectations of society and how they are often duplicitous. It is very gut-wrenching seeing how the main character(s) react to their various traumas. This is told from a perspective that is questionable in a way where we can both witness their perspective and as a reader see beyond their perspective. It is a horrifying and sad tale often crossing lines that leave the reader asking "wait, really?". There were many moments where I thought to myself "this has really gone off the rails!" and then it got even wilder.
I found the twists and turns of the story very disturbing. The author did a wonderful job of leading the reader in certain directions where it felt like things might get better and then twisting the narrative this way and that. I wish I could read the original text to compare because I felt like there were some areas in which the translation may have been lacking. Alas, I do not know Japanese so I don't know if this was the original writing or translation. It wasn't that big of a deal, just some word choices that I felt were odd.
I don't know that I can "recommend" the book per se as it is so graphic and disturbing. I believe the author executed the premise well and it's a quick read which I think is to its benefit considering the content. It is to the point and gets its point across well. If you are interested in this book, I highly recommend reading the content warnings as I did not. I use StoryGraph which has a good program for content warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Body horror, Homophobia, Cannibalism, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Vomit, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Eating disorder
Minor: Suicide
phoebe13's review against another edition
dark
sad
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Child abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Incest, Homophobia, Gore, Gaslighting, and Cannibalism
wellfedpages's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
What happens if a rat refuses to run?
We are all
Always running
Losing the race
We are meant to lose
But do we need to run?
What is the price of non-conformity in a world which rewards conformity and punishes individuality?
Where being honest to yourself is considered alien
Living your truth is unacceptable
Not fitting in invites backlash
And being different needs to be ‘cured’
This story probes into this question
Unmasks the ugly truth we are brainwashed to forget -
We are just tiny cogs in a big machine
Components of ‘The Factory’
We are baby makers on a loop
Slaves raising future slaves
Using love as a drug to keep procreating
Keep feeding the Giant
Help a few feast of most others
Anyone has seen that terrible movie with Eddie Redmayne (though he is still amazing in it), Channing Tatum and that small woman (Jackie from That 70s Show) whose name I always forget? The one where planets belong to different scions of some intergalactic royal family. A lot of the movie was shit, but the premise was interesting - people on all these planets incl earth only existed to become fodder for the youth & obnoxious lifestyles of these few
Essentially Capitalism 101
#Earthlings hits the nail on the head in a
weird
horrifying
bizarre
uncomfortable
&
extreme manner
But the message remains the same -
we have no freedom
Or what we think is freedom is just an illusion
#SayakaMurata also claws out the depths of depravity that humans can sink to.
And the hypocrisy of society in sweeping away from sight (and therefore making acceptable) what is truly depraved vs what social constructs consider unacceptable
Who is brainwashing whom?
Who is delusional in this world?
Who holds the cards?
How do you evade the powers that be?
Can you break the loop?
Can you run away?
Can you refuse to participate?
And what happens to those who do?
What lies on the other side?
There are some answers here
But like all experiments the parameters define the results
So what you find may just be a tweaked or half the truth
Maybe there are no perfect answers
What we find is not what we seek
Her name is Mila Kunis, just remembered it. And the movie is Jupiter Ascending, Googled that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Murder, Misogyny, Homophobia, Sexism, and Blood
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