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savvylit's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
3.0
This collection was a mixed bag for me. The subject matter varied greatly. Not only that but many of the stories in Life Ceremony were too disturbing. I do appreciate the way that many of the disturbing qualities pushed me to reflect on cultural norms. That's one of the main reasons why I tend to love unsettling stories; heighten the creepiness and you can say so much about culture and routine. However - and perhaps I am too squeamish - some of the grotesque details in this collection were gross to the point of excess. I'm thinking particularly about the titular story Life Ceremony - I have never read so many cringe-worthy descriptions of coitus in my life.
As a whole, there were several stories in Life Ceremony that reminded me of Murata's novel, Convenience Store Woman. I truly loved her writing in both CSW and this collection - Murata has a distinctly keen insight into the oddities of daily life. Despite my ambivalence towards this collection overall, I still look forward to reading more of Murata's work in the future.
As a whole, there were several stories in Life Ceremony that reminded me of Murata's novel, Convenience Store Woman. I truly loved her writing in both CSW and this collection - Murata has a distinctly keen insight into the oddities of daily life. Despite my ambivalence towards this collection overall, I still look forward to reading more of Murata's work in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Body horror, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Incest
pumpkinbread02's review against another edition
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Incest, and Cannibalism
theinkwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cannibalism and Incest
arieslofi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Gore
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Incest and Pregnancy
jcapati's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Sexual content, and Incest
lidia7's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
very gross and disturbing
i enjoyed these stories the most: Body Magic, Hatchling
i enjoyed these stories the most: Body Magic, Hatchling
Content Warnings
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
m4rtt4's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
I have now read all Murata's works that are available in English, and dare I say I have never encountered anything similar; she has such a distinctive style of mixing (feminist) social commentary with gore and body horror, and despite all the nauseating imagery I'm left questioning if our societal norms are wrong after all. Her writing makes me uncomfortable in the same way that Junji Ito's drawings do — so if you like either Murata or Ito, I recommend you'd try the other one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Cannibalism, Death, Sexual content, Excrement, and Body horror
Moderate: Incest, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, and Vomit
fox_at_the_circus's review
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
One of the main themes of this book and all the stories is societal norms and what is considered normal. With some of the stories I really saw the connection to her other two novels. She also likes reusing characters, eg there's a girl that visits her family's house in the countryside in summer in 2 short stories and her book "Earthlings" and there are also two friends that get kinda alternative universe stories.
A lot of her characters go on a journey of self acceptance in one way or another. Some of them have a weird sense of superiority about their way of living, that kinda went against the message of "there is no normal/everyone is weird in their own way", but maybe that's just the other side of the same coin, trying to say, that everyone judges others on their own standards.
Overall, i have mixed feelings about the collection. I really liked some stories, especially the two about Kikue and Yoshiko. Some stories I totally forgot. And some I didn't enjoy reading that much, mostly the ones that focused a bit too much on bodily fluids for my taste. Definitely check the content warnings beforehand.
A lot of her characters go on a journey of self acceptance in one way or another. Some of them have a weird sense of superiority about their way of living, that kinda went against the message of "there is no normal/everyone is weird in their own way", but maybe that's just the other side of the same coin, trying to say, that everyone judges others on their own standards.
Overall, i have mixed feelings about the collection. I really liked some stories, especially the two about Kikue and Yoshiko. Some stories I totally forgot. And some I didn't enjoy reading that much, mostly the ones that focused a bit too much on bodily fluids for my taste. Definitely check the content warnings beforehand.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism and Vomit
Minor: Incest and Stalking
TW for Body Dismorphia and Bodily Fluidscuteling's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
This was the 1st, of the only 3 (the other two being Earthlings and Convenience Store Woman) Sayaka Muratas books translated to english, that i've read.
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 ★.
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 ★.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Incest, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Excrement, Cannibalism, Stalking, Vomit, and Medical trauma
akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A series of short stories that have the same themes of Convenience Store Woman but with added fuckery.
As someone who is an asexual lesbian I didn’t find a lot of the stories particularly disturbing, maybe that’s the point, but a lot of people found this to be crazy weird and while it was definitely that, it wasn’t as weird as I’d thought.
As in Convenience Store Woman, Murata talks about asexuality, aromanticism, life, sex, and the idea of not fitting into society. I enjoyed this collection!
The highlights were:
Life Ceremony
Hatchling
A clean marriage
Two’s family
Poochie
As someone who is an asexual lesbian I didn’t find a lot of the stories particularly disturbing, maybe that’s the point, but a lot of people found this to be crazy weird and while it was definitely that, it wasn’t as weird as I’d thought.
As in Convenience Store Woman, Murata talks about asexuality, aromanticism, life, sex, and the idea of not fitting into society. I enjoyed this collection!
The highlights were:
Life Ceremony
Hatchling
A clean marriage
Two’s family
Poochie
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Cannibalism, and Confinement
Moderate: Death, Gore, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Stalking, Medical content, and Incest
Minor: Alcohol
A lot of talk about semen.