Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

351 reviews

shirumoon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

In the first one or two chapters, I was so enthralled with what I'm reading, both stylistically and the setup of the story but unfortunately it didn't unfold in a way that I would have wanted to. Some things that I disliked: 
The main character is kind of running in circles, no matter how much time passes. Sure, might have been a deliberate choice and trauma does stifle your development but the main character's struggling just felt redundant at some point. Also what I generally fail to relate to is that endless enduring of

family absue and coercion

but I guess that's an integral part to the book's social commentary on Asian culture and family dynamics. It was frustrating to read though and made it predictable that at some point... they would lose it. And then the gore increased to unneccessary levels.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure whether I struggled more with the idea of the book itself or with the execution? It just didn't feel new and revelatory to me, just not really a deeper message there beneath that one layer of critizising society. Nicely written nevertheless and it had good pacing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Murder, Body horror, Cannibalism, Incest, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Mental illness, Blood, Physical abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Alcohol, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Infertility

ji_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

While this was a difficult listen... It certainly made me think.

I read "Convenience Store Woman" a couple years ago, which I enjoyed. While this book was more grotesque, I do see a lot of similar themes of alienation and relationships in Japanese society. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body horror and Cannibalism

Minor: Incest

fishreads's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I really enjoyed reading 'Convenience Store Woman' by this author and I was foolish enough to assume I would probably enjoy Earthlings too. I went into this without reading the summary, when the plot took much more darker turn than expected I continued on with trepidation but still not giving up on my conviction that it will be worth it in the end. I told myself that I just have to be strong enough and get through the horrible

child abuse and detailed descriptions of sexual abuse of a child in chapter two

. I comforted myself by actually taking the time and reading all the rave reviews printed on the cover that I skipped before I started reading.

I was through the worst of it and I could even see some parallels with 'Convenience Store Woman' with the characters struggling with the pressures of society to conform to its rules. I was still telling myself that reaching the end will be worth it for sure.

Except, with so little of the story left, the plot took a turn towards grotesque. The ending was completely batshit crazy. I was wrong, this was not worth it at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Murder, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Incest, Pedophilia, Gore, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Suicide

minamouse's review

dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Wtf was this book?

And why could I not put it down?!

I was shocked at how enthralled I was with this novel. Everything about it is weird, and unsettling. But I also felt like there was this aura of reliability embedded in its pages. Do I believe I am an alien from another planet, no. Do I occasionally have moments in my life where I feel like I don't understand society as a whole, yes. It's strange, it's creepy, it's worth the read. 4.25 out of 5 ⭐.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Body horror, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Incest, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

strange_abalone's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Initial reaction:
I have no idea what to rate this…. I have no idea what I just read… a brilliant depiction of society and trauma…. But also, what did I just read?????

Reaction after sitting with it for a day:
I think the initial reaction is to be stunned, and that makes a lot of sense, it’s a very diabolical read. But a lot of the reviews here seem to be shocked by the nature of the book without exploring more into what ideas are being presented. It’s deranged to make a point, and in that way it is exceptional. The “factory” and popinpobopians are concepts that will sit with me forever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Child abuse, Death, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Body horror, Gaslighting, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, and Suicidal thoughts

grrrlbrarian's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Violence, Murder, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Incest, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Body horror, Vomit, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Alcohol

glassflowrr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

What the fuck

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Sexual content, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Death, Gore, Body horror, Bullying, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Cursing, Infertility, Alcohol, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Body shaming

maggierish's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Read the content warnings! The cover and quote on the front make this out to be lighthearted, but it gets dark fast. By the end you’ll be sitting in silence thinking about what you’ve just read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Body horror, Cannibalism, Murder, Gore, Sexual assault, and Incest

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

Minor: Vomit and Suicide

whatsamanthadoes's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is a horror book on trauma and you can’t convince me otherwise. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Murder, and Body horror

Minor: Vomit

hctown's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Incest, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Body horror