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grunbean's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A real mix of stories, all weird, all confrontational, all wonderful. If you are uncomfortable with ideas that are a bit gross it could be a challenge to read. I really enjoy ‘weird’ books, and I was hooked on these stories. My favourites were Life Ceremony and Eating The City.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Death of parent, Ableism, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Vomit, Sexual content, Mental illness, Medical content, and Body horror
katarina_sarmo's review against another edition
medium-paced
5.0
As usual, Sayaka Murata delivers an oh-so weird and oh-so wonderful novel with each of these stories making me rethink my perspective on societal norms.
Murata has a way of using these very creative (if that’s what you want to call it) and perverse scenarios to put into words and comment on the strange unwritten rules that seem to uphold our society. She somehow makes something so disgusting into an utterly normal and unproblematic concept; if you try to explain these stories to somehow who hasn’t read them, you’ll probably be labelled psychotic and sent away. She has turned cannibalism into a warm fuzzy blanket and it is both horrific and deeply thought-provoking.
A fair warning that this collection can be extremely disturbing and uncomfortable at times (or most of the time, to be honest) so if you find that the idea of cannibalism or wearing human hair makes you cringe, maybe stay away. I couldn’t even find content warnings on StoryGraph that cover the content of this book.
Murata has a way of using these very creative (if that’s what you want to call it) and perverse scenarios to put into words and comment on the strange unwritten rules that seem to uphold our society. She somehow makes something so disgusting into an utterly normal and unproblematic concept; if you try to explain these stories to somehow who hasn’t read them, you’ll probably be labelled psychotic and sent away. She has turned cannibalism into a warm fuzzy blanket and it is both horrific and deeply thought-provoking.
A fair warning that this collection can be extremely disturbing and uncomfortable at times (or most of the time, to be honest) so if you find that the idea of cannibalism or wearing human hair makes you cringe, maybe stay away. I couldn’t even find content warnings on StoryGraph that cover the content of this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Mental illness, and Gore
lunxchloe's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This was a wild ride. I found the different stories to be greatly differing in quality. While I enjoyed Two's Family, Eating the city and Hatchling, I didn't enjoy A summer night's kiss or A magnificent spread.
As disturbing and weird as some of the stories were, I found myself invested in some characters despite the short time one spends with them. New concepts of love and family are established and mostly women-centered at that.
Some stories I would rate 1*, others I would rate 5*. So I'm settling for the middle, 2,75*.
As disturbing and weird as some of the stories were, I found myself invested in some characters despite the short time one spends with them. New concepts of love and family are established and mostly women-centered at that.
Some stories I would rate 1*, others I would rate 5*. So I'm settling for the middle, 2,75*.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Death, and Sexual content
Minor: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail
amymariereads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
It's safe to say I will read anything by Sayaka Murata - I adore her take on society and what it means to conform to normality.
Once again, Life Ceremony does not disappoint. Each story with its own take on society and sometimes questioning the norms and morals of the people in the tale. Some of the stories are harder to read than others, but each with their own reason and purpose. I was left pondering after each one, and if the purpose was not obvious to me - I would take some time to think about the reasoning of that short.
I know many people discovered Sayaka Murata off of the success of Convience Store Woman and maybe had a shock when they picked up Earthlings. And this book of short stories I had to jump at the chance to pick up.
The short stories included were titled:
A First-Rate Material
A Magnificent Spread
A Summer's Nights Kiss
Twos Family
The Time of the Large Star
Poochie
Life Ceremony
Body Magic
Lovers on the Breeze
Eating the City
Puzzle
Hatchling
Some longer than others, some making you question your own morals, and making you think "would i?".
As well as some heart warming tales where you pine for certain people. I could easily see some of these Short Story themes making it into future Black Mirror episodes - or at least something which commentates on the human race and the future of society.
I dont want to go into spoiler territory but I would recommend you maybe taking this at a slower pace, even limiting yourself to one short per day. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and if anything it's just left me wanting more Murata immediately!
PS: I think my favourite short story was Life Ceremony and the grimicing look into society, the future, and how things that feel morally wrong can be rewritten for the public perception and become the norm over time.
Once again, Life Ceremony does not disappoint. Each story with its own take on society and sometimes questioning the norms and morals of the people in the tale. Some of the stories are harder to read than others, but each with their own reason and purpose. I was left pondering after each one, and if the purpose was not obvious to me - I would take some time to think about the reasoning of that short.
I know many people discovered Sayaka Murata off of the success of Convience Store Woman and maybe had a shock when they picked up Earthlings. And this book of short stories I had to jump at the chance to pick up.
The short stories included were titled:
A First-Rate Material
A Magnificent Spread
A Summer's Nights Kiss
Twos Family
The Time of the Large Star
Poochie
Life Ceremony
Body Magic
Lovers on the Breeze
Eating the City
Puzzle
Hatchling
Some longer than others, some making you question your own morals, and making you think "would i?".
As well as some heart warming tales where you pine for certain people. I could easily see some of these Short Story themes making it into future Black Mirror episodes - or at least something which commentates on the human race and the future of society.
I dont want to go into spoiler territory but I would recommend you maybe taking this at a slower pace, even limiting yourself to one short per day. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and if anything it's just left me wanting more Murata immediately!
PS: I think my favourite short story was Life Ceremony and the grimicing look into society, the future, and how things that feel morally wrong can be rewritten for the public perception and become the norm over time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Excrement, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content
qi_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
3.75
i have always heard sayaka murata being described as a very nonconformist in her writing and that definitely shows in this short story collection. my individual ratings of each story averaged at 3.7!
this really is a stand-out collection due to all the weird and fascinating concepts sayaka murata is able to dream up. her creativity definitely reflects well in short story collections since it allows her to differentiate ideas and really flex her ability to craft multiple imaginative stories. i was really impressed with the consistency of good concepts so even if the execution wasn't always great the ideas were always strong.
in general, the execution of her story ideas was great: she was able to convince the reader that 'this is totally normal' while secretly working in strangeness until you are met with the realisation that this story was not how you pictured it. i think this is best seen in the story, Poochie. however, i found some stories to feel a little pointless because they were just too short to really explore anything. i felt this in, The Time of a Large Star and Two Families.
my favourite stories were: Hatchlings, Body Magic, Life Ceremony and First-Rate Material.
this really is a stand-out collection due to all the weird and fascinating concepts sayaka murata is able to dream up. her creativity definitely reflects well in short story collections since it allows her to differentiate ideas and really flex her ability to craft multiple imaginative stories. i was really impressed with the consistency of good concepts so even if the execution wasn't always great the ideas were always strong.
in general, the execution of her story ideas was great: she was able to convince the reader that 'this is totally normal' while secretly working in strangeness until you are met with the realisation that this story was not how you pictured it. i think this is best seen in the story, Poochie. however, i found some stories to feel a little pointless because they were just too short to really explore anything. i felt this in, The Time of a Large Star and Two Families.
my favourite stories were: Hatchlings, Body Magic, Life Ceremony and First-Rate Material.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
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