Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - Earthlings

This book is Convenience Store Woman on steroids. The same theme, basically the same protagonist and the same husband. Only this one is totally unhinged.

First quarter: almost DNF’ed because of explicitly described sexual abuse of a child. I firmly believe this should not be in a book. I hate when something like this is described in detail; I don’t need to spend 5 minutes reading about it to know how horrible it is. It is also such a serious theme that it felt inappropriate to read about it in such a weird, almost playful manner. The same goes for the victim shaming later on in the book.

The rest felt like a Grocery Store Woman do-over, but then with an alien instead of a grocery store woman.

And then came the last quarter of the book. THAT was the kind of insane absurdity I was looking for. Redeemed the book a little bit, even got it up to 3 stars, and made it feel very different from The Grocery Woman.

ALL THE TRIGGER WARNINGS THOUGH. Seriously. This book is easily the weirdest I have ever read.

Content Warnings

doogsley's review

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dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

shocking, harrowing, and sickening. i loved the simplicity of the writing - i think it added a layer of casual absurdity that edged up the book’s fear factor.

please consult this book’s content warnings before diving in; i had no idea what was lurking in the depths of earthlings.

Content Warnings

cozeebee's review against another edition

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dark sad fast-paced

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

4.5

4.5 ✰ ... I think??

I don't know what to think. After reading the essay at the end of the novel, I'm a little... concerned?

It was gripping and incredibly well written although I had to cringe away at most parts in the main character Natsumi's childhood. It was messed up.

I much rather the middle part of the book, when she becomes an adult and learning about her partnership with Tomoya, if that's the proper word to call it.

I just felt generally uncomfortable during this read, but also could not put the book down. Only times I took true breaks were in the beginning. I needed to find out what happened in the end. I accidentally got a spoiler for what was to come, so I kind of guessed what would happen. Though, it didn't shock me any less.

It's funny, because I assumed it would be like The Convenience Store Woman, and had no idea it would be a horror novel until I started to get to the disturbing parts. Truly a shocking novel.

Although there were a lot of shocking parts to Earthlings, everything had a meaning. It didn't seem senseless. There was a clear message behind this story. The after effects of trauma, how the body and mind react to the PTSD and the actions taken afterwards, or sometimes lack of action, were explored in such an unconventional way, but somehow didn't seem as foreign as one might think.

It's hard to give it a rating due to some of the subject matter. For writing alone I would give it a 4.5 stars.

Would I recommend this to anyone? No, I would not.

Someone would have to happen upon it themselves as I did and let curiosity get the better of them.

I would recommend looking up any content warnings before reading. It is quite graphic in more ways than one.

Content Warnings

vinicoelho's review

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dark reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

Earthlings is incredibly fascinating. Sayaka Murata takes a highly relatable concept and extracts it to an absurd conclusion. The book centers around the main character Natsuki believing she is an alien with magic powers from the planet Popinpobopia. it is through this lens that we see the main character tackle difficult issues in her life and attempt to make sense of society.

Murata navigates feelings of alienation and the irrationality of some aspects of society (referred to as 'the factory' by the main characters) by framing them from the perspective of an outsider looking in. In doing so, Murata shines a light on different facets of sexism (division of household labor, cheating, gender roles), sexual assault, and the compulsion to have children. Her ability to shift scope in criticizing society through this point of view is incredible. We see the minutiae - people balking at the even distribution of household chores between Natsuki and her husband Tomoya, as well as zoomed out looks at the predetermined path set out before everyone to becoming a cog in the machine of society.

The ending takes these feelings and observations to their extreme ends and shows what a lifetime of alienation could result in.

The three main characters Natsuki, Yuu, and Tomoya end up squatting in Natsuki's grandmother's house in Akishina. They fled there to escape 'the factory' and lived naked and alien in the house, rebuilding their view of the world from scratch. Their actions mirror their shared traumas by creating the only place they ever feel they can be truly themselves. They even shirk societal taboos by walking around naked, sleeping in the same pile of clothes, and eventually even murder and cannibalism. The irony is that only in doing this can they begin to heal, Natsuki finally regains her sense of taste and hearing in her right ear which she has not had since she was sexually abused as a child

Overall, this is a masterclass in examining society and feelings of alienation and was easy to tear through. I just wish the sexual scenes were not so graphic, especially the one detailing sexual abuse. Maybe this comes from the author's own experiences, but still definitely read content warnings.

Content Warnings