Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

8 reviews

catandherbooks's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Murata's only gone and did it again!!! She just gets it.

If you're weird and queer and have great taste in books read this! 

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nialiversuch's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad medium-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? Yes

3.0


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jamieann123's review against another edition

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Heavy focus on cannibalism and use of human body matter. The writing is incredibly jarring for the subject matter.
Understand this is the aim of the writer but too much for me-and I am usually a fan of horror. 

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risemini's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0


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edgaranjapoe's review

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challenging dark 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


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achedester's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-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? Yes

3.0


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readerette's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective fast-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

4.25

Some of the stories had endings that felt a little unfinished to me, but this was a thought-provoking and intriguing read, if a little disturbing at times, diving into topics like cannibalism and appreciating smells of things normally considered revolting. Prepare to be challenged on what you've accepted as "normal."

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lovelybookshelf's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I enjoyed Sayaka Murata's previous two books, so I was excited about this short story collection. I love short stories! But LIFE CEREMONY was hit or miss for me. Mostly miss.

The only story I enjoyed from start to finish was "Eating the City," on finding nature (in this case, edible nature) between the gaps of concrete of a large city—but with a twist of horror. And as horrifying as it was, the title story, "Life Ceremony," stayed in my mind long after I finished it, as I mulled over how customs can change so drastically from generation to generation, and where we draw lines between right and wrong.

Overall, though, I'm disappointed. I'm not all that squeamish, but large portions of this book were so gross that I ended up skimming or even skipping pages. (Think bodily fluids and human flesh-type gross.) All of the stories are super weird—which I usually find delightful!—but it fell flat here. I was bored so much of the time. I kept reading only because of how much I'd enjoyed her other books. I'm not sure it was worth it. 

If you end up giving this book a try, all I can recommend is, don't read it while eating. 😱

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