Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

241 reviews

bekiethebanished's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Incest, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Minor: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Medical content, Vomit, Suicide, Grief, Excrement, Body shaming, and Bullying

caitlin630's review

challenging dark fast-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

5.0

Possibly the weirdest book I’ve ever read. Once I picked it up I couldn’t put it back down. Still not really sure what I just experienced, but not mad that I did. I need other people to experience this book purely so that we can share that experience. Truly a bizarre and unsettling book that also feels oddly comforting for someone who feels as though they don’t conform to society’s expectations. Will I ever be able to read it again? Probably not. Is my life permanently changed? Absolutely

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death

kingtonner's review

3.0

“How long did I have to survive for? Would I ever be able to live without constantly trying to survive?”

Earthlings is a profound read, deeply unsettling as is it riveting and heart-wrenching. Sayaka Murata’s novel skillfully navigated through intense triggers, leaving no stone unturned in its exploration of sexual trauma, familial abuse, incest, isolation, murder, and cannibalism. Despite the uncomfortableness, I couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer absurdity and undeniable artistry with which Earthlings was crafted.

Protagonist Natsuki dares to challenge societal norms and question her place in the universe through a lens of alienation, to the extent that she believes herself to be a magical witch. Natsuki deems all her troubles as natural, something that just happens (a passive hit close to home). Her relationship with her immediate family is strained, and she has overly close affections for her twin-soul cousin Yuu. Her narration is inherently self-focused, powerfully and so personally autistic-coded in a way that makes me wonder if Murata herself is on the spectrum (as apparently this is the case for many protagonists in her other novels). 

Earthlings is a truly unforgettable experience that has left a harsh, bruised mark on my soul, one I may just open again one day with a second read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Mental illness, Bullying, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Suicide

Minor: Abandonment

booksiog's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

By “moderate” I mean in the way it’s written about.

nashreads's review

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• 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: Cannibalism

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Suicide attempt and Suicide

A very strange story which follows a woman from elementary school to adulthood. She believes she is an alien and the world around her is not fit for her. This is not a light story, it takes some dark turns so I would be cautious going into it and check the content warnings.

jadekeely_'s review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Blood, Incest, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Gore, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, and Sexual violence

cooldudenick's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism and Sexual assault

Moderate: Murder, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Incest

Minor: Suicide and Rape

tacochelle's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

CW: child molestation, incest, murder, sexual assault, cannibalism, probably more that I'm not remembering

This had a lot of the same themes on sexuality, societal norms and taboos as Convenience Store Woman, with the additional theme of how childhood trauma affects your worldview. It's just told in a fucked up way. As detached as our main character is to the events described here, it is still a lot of graphic imagery packed in a fairly short novel. Good, but not for the faint of heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Murder, Gore, Pedophilia, Suicide, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

loveyoutothemoonandtosaturn's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

very sad book abt csa and derealization- i wish the summary of the book had better prepared me for what happened but i also simultaneously am glad it didn’t. ending could’ve used just a couple more pages though as the conclusion felt kinda quick? def not the “weird girl” book everyone says it is, more so an exploration of trauma. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Incest, Mental illness, Death, Body horror, Blood, Emotional abuse, Murder, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Suicide

_n_'s review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Incest, Murder, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Gore, and Sexual violence