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chrlt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Death, Pregnancy, Body horror, Toxic relationship, and Cannibalism
sarahjroos14's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Cannibalism, Eating disorder, Infertility, Body horror, Sexual content, and Vomit
weirdly_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Eating disorder, Sexual content, and Cannibalism
Minor: Vomit
lidia7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
i enjoyed these stories the most: Body Magic, Hatchling
Graphic: Gore, Cannibalism, Excrement, Vomit, and Body horror
Moderate: Stalking, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Animal death, Cancer, and Sexual content
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, and Incest
cuteling's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Life Ceremony is a collection of 13 stories, some shorter - some longer, varying in topics going from furniture out of human remains, cannibalism, keeping a grown man as a pet, inanimate objects having feelings for a human being, obsession with bodily fluids, and overall just crazy and bizarre stories about the society and expectations people have for each other and how brainwashed everyone is.
In most stories there's a weird theme that's considered normal and the standard in that particular chapter and it highlights how society looks down on people that don't fit in or obey and become a "beneficial" part of the society.
I like how the book portrays basically the same message in most of these, because despite being about almost identical issues Sayaka manages to shine light on them in so many different ways and angles that they all feel very distinct.
Overall I recommend this book just would suggest reading it first with the order being
Life Ceremony (it gives you the best idea of what kind of a writer Sayaka Murata is, in my opinion)
-> Convenience Store Woman (shorter, milder compared to the other two, cleanses your pallet)
-> Earthlings (the most disturbing and strange of the three, HUGE TW for: pedophilia, incest, cannibalism, rape, domestic abuse, murder).
There were some stories that i wasn't particularly fond of, either because i didn't like the topic or found it a bit boring. On the other hand there were stories i absolutely adored with my favorite two being Body Magic and Puzzle!
I give it 4.25/5 ★.
Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Incest, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Excrement, Cannibalism, Stalking, Vomit, and Medical trauma
edgaranjapoe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Sexual content, and Gore
Moderate: Death, Incest, Alcohol, and Vomit
Minor: Cancer, Acephobia/Arophobia, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Excrement, Homophobia, Stalking, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Grief, Infertility, Medical content, Animal death, and Blood
yuyuv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Cannibalism
Moderate: Incest, Infertility, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcohol, Body horror, Homophobia, Eating disorder, Lesbophobia, Gore, Death, Dysphoria, and Acephobia/Arophobia
kymzii's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
This is a collection of short stories that deal (somewhat metaphorically) with issues surrounding culture, food and lifestyle. However, it is the way Murata approaches these subjects that lift these stories out of banality i.e.
Graphic: Body horror and Cannibalism
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Stalking, Grief, Gore, Excrement, Toxic friendship, Infertility, Eating disorder, and Cancer
sgonzo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, Vomit, and Body horror
Moderate: Death, Gore, Incest, and Sexual content
vetathebooksurfer's review against another edition
5.0
[ARC provided by NetGally in exchange for honest review]
TW: eating disorder, can*niba*lism (using human cor*pses in various ways), se*xual content
From my blogging style you’ve probably gathered that Sayka Murata is one of my favourite contemporary Japanese authors, and that’s so for a reason: she doesn’t shy away from hard truths, while her characters - mostly women and young girls - are able to find happiness in extreme circumstances.
While Convenience Store Woman (pub. 2016) is mostly nice and cheerful, although at times weird - the protagonist, a small child, suggests cooking a dead bird for dinner, her second book, Earthlings (pub. 2018), is rough to an extreme - which I personally don’t find weird at all, - and tells a story about a Japanese girl to whom the world of Earth adults is no easy to survive in, than any uninhabited planet.
There are certain motives flowing through both of these books: unusual morals, characters unbound by societies expectations, treating food as an cultural embodiment /mere means to survive, unusual representation of love and feelings. Via Murata’s gaze we don’t find the protagonist weird, it’s the society. which is weird, wild and threatening. And after going through the Earthlings reviews, I noticed that Sayka Murata originally became popular in Japan for her weird short stories. I presume, this is them.
Life Ceremony is a collection of twelve short stories. I immensely enjoyed every single of them: it portrays women, that aren’t supposed to be happy - they are single, odd, having weird eating preferences, doesn’t fit in, have little to no voice of their own. Nonetheless, they are genuinely happy living in harmony with their surrounds. This is the human ability to adapt to anything in order to survive.
Though some of Murata’s characters consciously adapt to blend in perfectly, others find their voice through remarkable situations: refusing to eat and use dead bodies, while it’s considered honourable to the dead, looking for wild herbs in the city, feeling jealous for one’s own mantle piece or refusing one’s sexuality to be claimed by society.
Which leads me to my favourite part about Murata’s books: she gently shows how easy your relatives fall for any lie you create for them, as long as it sounds a little bit believable. People who supposed to genuinely care about you, are satisfied by their own explanations, despite you suffering and calling for help right in front of them.
Sayka Murata’s books make me - a young queer-woman - feel seen and understood. Totally recommend it, if you’re comfortable with these TW!
Graphic: Cannibalism and Eating disorder
Minor: Sexual content