Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

38 reviews

nainz's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Bullying and Murder

Minor: Abandonment

paulinskiii's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Bullying, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Violence, Body horror, Rape, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Abandonment, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Just wtf. I don’t know what I just read but it’s fucked up. Excellently written but extremely fucked up

slaywithsteph's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Incest, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Sexual assault, and Rape

Minor: Death and Toxic friendship

digifae's review against another edition

dark funny inspiring reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Incest, Murder, Suicide, Sexual assault, Violence, and Emotional abuse

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

kingtonner's review against another edition

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

jadekeely_'s review against another edition

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

chachachuy's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

Leído para el Guadalupe-Reinas 2023 bajo la consigna de séptima obra de una autora.

Cómo sufrí esta novela de principio a fin. No me dio nada de gracia, ni siquiera el final.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Murder, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, and Incest

svimm2056's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

One of the darkest books I read in 2023. The author doesn't shy away from horrific things that the MC and crew go through, while also having an almost-dreamlike presence, like an out-of-body experience. At the same time, the book has a big emphasis on gender roles and how society pressures people into following said roles, which does more harm than good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Body horror, Acephobia/Arophobia, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Incest, Gore, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Confinement, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Violence

olaolaheia's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Didn't really find this book super interesting. Describing the plot of Earthlings is impossible without spoiling it. Bizarre and surreal. If your main reason for reading books is following a story, and you like off the wall, super weird stories then this is for you. If not I'm not sure I would recommend it. I like to think I like surreal media, but this was surreal on a surface level, on a "what happens"-level, not on a "how it happens" -level. Though writing about "otherness" and trauma in a interesting way, the writing style is almost eye-catching in how banal and uninteresting it is. Some of the side-characters mentioned on a few pages is more interesting and alive than the main character the book is about. Maybe this is the translation, I'm not sure.  The metaphor for society used by the main character is also so overused and tiresome and does not bring any interesting discussion on society. This is a miss, but I think I would still be interested in maybe reading "Convinience Store Woman" cause I think Murata still has a knack for interesting stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Abandonment, Incest, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Murder