Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

11 reviews

groovybree's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death, Sexual violence, Bullying, Cannibalism, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Incest, Physical abuse, and Violence

haruday's review against another edition

I.... can't even rate this. I don't even know how to give this a rating.

I saw the spoiler warnings of graphic content, so I prepared myself before diving into it, but this book was so hyped I thought I could look past it. And I did for the most part.

On the surface, this story is a horror tragedy of a young girl abused and controlled by the adults around her, unable to be taken seriously, losing her voice, autonomy, right to her own body and free will. She struggles to make sense of the world and her womanhood the best she knows how, with no healthy adult figures around to guide her or to rely on. So she disassociates. Believes she is anything but an Earthling. Things become an out-of-body experience, and she is only an observer, biding her time for reasons unknown. The only solace she finds in life is her childhood "sweetheart," Yuu.

The scene after Natsuki is taken advantage of by that fooking pedophilic sicko of a teacher is contrasted heavily by her intimacy with Yuu. Aside from the fact that he's her cousin (sweet home Alabama), at that moment, she's just a child desperate to be with someone she cares about. She wants her first to be with someone who is so starkly different to her grotesque abuser. Yuu is portrayed as shy, soft-spoken, kind, almost feminine. Everything that that "man" is not. And most of all, she trusts him to be intimate with her, even if neither of them understand the repercussions of their actions. Obviously, I do not condone any type of incest or sexual acts between minors, but it does happen. I enjoyed that the author didn't shy away from these taboo topics, and found myself empathizing with why Natsuki had behaved how she did. In a way, it was a very childlike, pure moment - a human instinct - to want to be comforted in that way. This scene stood out the most to me.

Again, unfortunately these types of horrid situations happen, with teachers taking advantage of children, family members that turn a blind eye, parents that are abusive and controlling, "friends" who have something to say about your sex life and family life, people that think they make up for their past actions by having children and contributing to the population... The book is shocking in its subject matter as it slowly unravels these gruesome experiences in an innocent, child-like perspective. Some of the thoughts are almost comedic and very fantastical, with mentions of aliens and magic. But the horror slowly dawns on you as you continue to flip the pages - a feeling that creeps up, slowly but surely, a sure warning for what's to come.

All fine. And then, it gets to the latter half of the book.

One after another, everything hits you on the head like a brick. Things happen. And I drew the last line at the

cannibalism

. Definitely a provocative read that made me feel super queasy at the end. I was literally squinting and skimming through the last few pages trying really hard not to visualize the scenes. Thought I could stomach it, but definitely going to be taking the content warnings more seriously in the future. I'm definitely not a horror girlie.

Overall, I feel very mixed about this book, so I'll refrain from giving it a rating. I can see how it's so divisive, but I did feel like it was very raw and real in the beginning half. I'm glad I was able to power through though and finish for my October reading challenge... you just probably wouldn't catch me reading it through a second time.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Incest, and Suicide attempt

elanilanella's review against another edition

Do not read this book without first looking at the content warnings!!! Unless you're at peak mental health with no trauma of course, then go forth with my envy.

Picking up this book, with a reviewer using the word 'hilarious' on the front, with its bright green, cute hedgehog plushie and vibrant energy, I thought I was settling in for a lighthearted while at times sad read about a girl who was navigating being different and had a vivid imagination. While those things are true of the book, nothing could have prepared me for the horrors within the pages (though some content warnings would have been much appreciated). 
Before I knew it I had been frozen for half the book, unable to stop reading, my own trauma being triggered time and time again by this innocent looking book rooting me to the spot. At one point I  almost threw up. I know they say not to judge a book by its cover but you'd think there'd be some correlation in tone between the graphic design and the content within. Nothing about the book was 'hilarious' in the slightest, nor was it cute.

It was very well written and I have no doubt it's a good book, but I am currently not robust enough mentally to continue with it, though I might one day pick Earthlings up again when I'm more prepared for what may ensue. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Murder, Acephobia/Arophobia, Sexual assault, Incest, Child abuse, Violence, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, and Mental illness

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

jasperkelley2015's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

I despise this book. There is no need for the amount of triggering details included in this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Murder, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Cannibalism, Body shaming, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Sexual assault, Violence, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Incest, Gore, and Body horror

fedelikeslego's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

Unlike Convenience store woman, which I hated and couldn’t keep myself to finish it, I liked this. I read it in one sitting and I’m giving it 4 stars just because I enjoyed reading it.

I’m so confused I feel like I’m high. That’s what it feels like at the end of the “experience ”. I felt so high that their discussions had perfectly made sense.

I think that the book could be divided in two parts: 

• The first ⅓ of the book. Here incest and rape/pedophilia were extremely explicit and I’m not sure I liked that. Even if the love story between the kids was so cute (they were so innocent it didn’t “bothered me that much”), I don’t think that it was necessary to explicitly write for pages about all the sexual intercourses that the protagonist had. It was too much.

• The last ⅔ of the book. This part was a bit more enjoyable, and it’s more centred about what it means to live in this world and in particular in Japan. Murata definitely makes a perfect description of the Japanese society (it would probably make sense only if you lived in Japan or a similar asian country), it’s just so sad and frustrating. In the last chapter, as i said, I felt like I was high. I’m still trying to process what I red. I’m just confused, nothing else. 

Movie reccomendation: The Holy mountain (1973), I felt the same way reading the book and watching the movie. Different plot, different settings, same vibes.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Gore, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Infertility, Vomit, Body shaming, Bullying, and Death of parent

irenelpynn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Cannibalism, Sexism, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Incest, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Gore, Blood, Violence, and Misogyny

faerie_child's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Acephobia/Arophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Acephobia/Arophobia, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Misogyny, and Suicide

sonichkavibe's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Murder, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Vomit, Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Incest, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Blood

nicolinebl's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

This book was definitely an experience. I honestly didn't expect this book to be so dark so it was a bit of a shock. Definitely well written but my god is it gruesome. Heavy topics, a story that keeps you on your toes till the end and a very special main character. I'm still not certain if it's real or fake. To them at least it was real. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Emotional abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Pedophilia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, and Death

Minor: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Eating disorder

the_escapist's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism and Mental illness

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Blood