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chlomonte's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
sayaka murata at her best! her quirky ideas & characters are best suited to short stories imo, really really strong collection as there were only 1 or 2 stories that i didn't connect with as much. the first story had me totally hooked & i wish it was just a little bit longer tbh. will continue to read everything she publishes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Cannibalism
dreamingofeternalreading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
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
3.75
I've read Sayaka Murata's Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings and Life Ceremony is more similar to Earthlings in theme and shock value than it is to Convenience Store Woman. Life Ceremony is a collection of 13 short stories about human nature and being different to the rest of society. I had mixed feelings about the collection as some stories I liked more than others.
Below are my thoughts on each.
A First-Rate Material - alright, sets the tone of the collection well 3.5⭐
A Magnificent Spread - really enjoyed this one, all about how different people eat and how we view foods as edible or inedible 4.5⭐
A Summer Night's Kiss - Cute and wholesome about two women who are best friends and one of them is aroace and the other is promiscuous 4.5⭐
Two's Family - continuation of the previous story exploring these women's family, very wholesome and sweet 5⭐
The Time of the Large Star - not giving what I wanted, at only four pages long 3⭐
Poochie - Again, very short, weird, not much context 2.5⭐
Life Ceremony - Probably my favourite in the whole collection, about how society is ever changing and the morals and values we hold could completely shift in the future, very freaky and disturbing 5⭐
Body Magic - repeat characters from Earthlings, this one made me uncomfortable which is no surprise as Earthlings made me uncomfortable too 2.5⭐
Lover on the Breeze - sad but interesting perspective 3⭐
Puzzle - this one was actually disgusting 2.5⭐
Eating the City - not for me, I was a bit bored 2⭐
Hatchling - I related to the main character in a way that freaked me out, about identity and I couldn't help but think of DID when reading this and I don't know if that was the author's intent or if DID was just poorly depicted here, but ignoring that not knowing who you are is scary so this story did resonate with me 4.5⭐
A Clean Marriage - asexual marriage, trying to conceive does so in orthodox way 4 ⭐
Overall I rate Life Ceremony 3.75 I took my individual ratings are got the average but pumped it from 3.5 to 3.75 taking into account that overall I enjoyed the reading experience.
Below are my thoughts on each.
A First-Rate Material - alright, sets the tone of the collection well 3.5⭐
A Magnificent Spread - really enjoyed this one, all about how different people eat and how we view foods as edible or inedible 4.5⭐
A Summer Night's Kiss - Cute and wholesome about two women who are best friends and one of them is aroace and the other is promiscuous 4.5⭐
Two's Family - continuation of the previous story exploring these women's family, very wholesome and sweet 5⭐
The Time of the Large Star - not giving what I wanted, at only four pages long 3⭐
Poochie - Again, very short, weird, not much context 2.5⭐
Life Ceremony - Probably my favourite in the whole collection, about how society is ever changing and the morals and values we hold could completely shift in the future, very freaky and disturbing 5⭐
Body Magic - repeat characters from Earthlings, this one made me uncomfortable which is no surprise as Earthlings made me uncomfortable too 2.5⭐
Lover on the Breeze - sad but interesting perspective 3⭐
Puzzle - this one was actually disgusting 2.5⭐
Eating the City - not for me, I was a bit bored 2⭐
Hatchling - I related to the main character in a way that freaked me out, about identity and I couldn't help but think of DID when reading this and I don't know if that was the author's intent or if DID was just poorly depicted here, but ignoring that not knowing who you are is scary so this story did resonate with me 4.5⭐
A Clean Marriage - asexual marriage, trying to conceive does so in orthodox way 4 ⭐
Overall I rate Life Ceremony 3.75 I took my individual ratings are got the average but pumped it from 3.5 to 3.75 taking into account that overall I enjoyed the reading experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, and Cannibalism
brnczv's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism
thesaltiestlibrarian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Medical content, and Stalking
Minor: Animal death and Pregnancy
rowyn_reads's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I found some of the short stories in this book very interesting while I found others quite disappointing and rather dull. It feels like a real mixed bag
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism
ireneac's review against another edition
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, and Cannibalism
allyjshand's review against another edition
dark
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
3.0
Social norms and taboos explored through a collection of short stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Death and Vomit
Minor: Animal death and Incest
my_bibliotheca's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.75
welcome to the sayaka murata universe. when a normal person is an abnormal one :)
di bawah ini merupakan rangkuman isi tiap cerpennya. it contains spoiler.
1 a first rate-material : cerita ttg Naoki yg menentang budaya menormalisasikan tubuh manusia yg sudah meninggal di-(manfaatkan) jd material furniture smp fashion. but, at the end...
2 a magnificent spread : menyentil soal kebiasaan makan da jenis makanan yg dikonsumsi tiap indovidu yg berbeda-beda. cerita ini dipadukan dg karakater Kumi yg memiliki adolescent delusion syndrom dan kebiasaan memasak dan makannya yg di luar nalar.
3 a summer night's kiss : aku pikir ini cerita yg plg ringan. ttg 2 nini-nini yg memiliki perbedaan pengalaman hidup, tp bisa saling mengerti dan bersahabat satu sm lain.
4 two's family : yg jadi sorotan di cerpen ini adl bentuk/jenis keluarga Kikue dan Yoshiko yg dianggap tdk lumrah oleh masyarakat Jepang. 5 the time of the large star : sedikit mengandung bawang. strange world. 2 kids. miss the hometown.
6 poochie : makin kesini makin aneh aja cerpennya. poochie katanya pet yg dirawat bocah, namanya Yuki dan Mizuho. tp ini bukan piaraan sembarangan 😭
7 life ceremony : cerita dg tahta teraneh dlm kumcer ini. ttg tata cara menghormati org meninggal. normalnya kita akan mengadakan pemakaman, kan? nah di sini disebut life ceremony, dimana jenazah akan dimasak dan dimakan bersama para tamu yg melayat kemudian dilanjutkan dg acara mencari jodoh dan "memproduksi" anak yg disebut inseminasi.
8 body magic : ttg reaksi tubuh (masturb)
9 lover to the breeze : percintaan bocil dg gorden wkwk aneh bgt njir
10 puzzzle : sanae merasa dia hanya sebuah wadah untuk organ"nya
11 eating the city : org kota yg masa kecilnya di desa dan makan sayur yg dipetik sembarang di gunung, tp kini menerapkanny ketika ia hidup di kota
12 hatchling : ttg seorang yg ingin diterima di lingkungannya dan tiap lingkungan ia memiliki karakter yg berbeda"
di bawah ini merupakan rangkuman isi tiap cerpennya. it contains spoiler.
2 a magnificent spread : menyentil soal kebiasaan makan da jenis makanan yg dikonsumsi tiap indovidu yg berbeda-beda. cerita ini dipadukan dg karakater Kumi yg memiliki adolescent delusion syndrom dan kebiasaan memasak dan makannya yg di luar nalar.
3 a summer night's kiss : aku pikir ini cerita yg plg ringan. ttg 2 nini-nini yg memiliki perbedaan pengalaman hidup, tp bisa saling mengerti dan bersahabat satu sm lain.
4 two's family : yg jadi sorotan di cerpen ini adl bentuk/jenis keluarga Kikue dan Yoshiko yg dianggap tdk lumrah oleh masyarakat Jepang. 5 the time of the large star : sedikit mengandung bawang. strange world. 2 kids. miss the hometown.
6 poochie : makin kesini makin aneh aja cerpennya. poochie katanya pet yg dirawat bocah, namanya Yuki dan Mizuho. tp ini bukan piaraan sembarangan 😭
7 life ceremony : cerita dg tahta teraneh dlm kumcer ini. ttg tata cara menghormati org meninggal. normalnya kita akan mengadakan pemakaman, kan? nah di sini disebut life ceremony, dimana jenazah akan dimasak dan dimakan bersama para tamu yg melayat kemudian dilanjutkan dg acara mencari jodoh dan "memproduksi" anak yg disebut inseminasi.
8 body magic : ttg reaksi tubuh (masturb)
9 lover to the breeze : percintaan bocil dg gorden wkwk aneh bgt njir
10 puzzzle : sanae merasa dia hanya sebuah wadah untuk organ"nya
11 eating the city : org kota yg masa kecilnya di desa dan makan sayur yg dipetik sembarang di gunung, tp kini menerapkanny ketika ia hidup di kota
12 hatchling : ttg seorang yg ingin diterima di lingkungannya dan tiap lingkungan ia memiliki karakter yg berbeda"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism
lilacwhisker's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Pretty decent. Probably my least favorite book by Murata so far, but not terrible. The stories mostly revolved around food and the way it interacts with people. Some of my favorite stories were “Eating the City”, “Two’s Family”, and “Hatchling”. I especially like how the author can mix messages into freaky stories that make your skin crawl! There were also some heart-warming tales in here, and some ones about interesting family dynamics. This was a pretty short read, and good if you especially enjoy Sayaka Murata’s other books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Cannibalism
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Animal death, Incest, Excrement, and Medical content
laurenvoice's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Life Ceremony contains a mixed bag of short stories; some weird, some a tad boring and some surprisingly emotional.
A First-Rate Material ⭐⭐⭐ - okay, this was a bit odd; it sets the tone for the rest of this short story collection. It reminded me a little of Tender is the Flesh, but with a more sentimental meaning behind using products made out of "humans". However, the ending was a letdown but kind of sweet too.
A Magnificent Spread ⭐⭐.5 - an interesting message; however, the story was a tad boring.
A Summer Night's Kiss ⭐⭐.5 - this was okay, although quite short.
Two's Family ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - this was an extension of the previous story. It was a beautiful story about platonic love and relationships.
The Time of the Large Star ⭐.5 - this story's point may have gone over my head; not 100% sure what it was about.
Poochie ⭐⭐⭐ - a weird story; however, I wished it was a tad longer.
Life Ceremony ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 - wow, that was a bittersweet end! Who would have thought a story about societal cannibalism would be so thought-provoking and emotional.
Body Magic ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - this one reminded me of Earthlings; Shiho and Yota's story reminded me of Natsuki and Yuu's story from Earthlings minus the cannibalism. I enjoyed this one and liked the message and the empowerment the main character felt at the end.
Lover on the Breeze ⭐⭐.5 - an interesting story concept; it just needed more.
Puzzle ⭐ - I couldn't get into this story. The ending was weird.
Eating the City ⭐⭐ - just like the previous story, I found it hard to click with the story. But an interesting idea, though.
Hatchling ⭐⭐⭐ - this was okay. The whole different personalities based on the group of people you are with made sense.
A Clean Marriage ⭐⭐⭐ - this was okay; an interesting story, but the ending was weird.
s weird.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism