Reviews with content warning for Cannibalism - Life Ceremony

Despite being composed of short stories, this book took me awhile because the stories hit hard. Most are a macabre pound of flesh that leaves your mind heavy with thoughts. Even the few "lighter" stories leave you with a bit of an ache.

While a very different collection of short stories, the only other time I have felt similarly was after reading The Birthday of the World by Ursula Le Guin.

The cast of characters living rent free in my mind is certainly becoming more eccentric.

Content Warnings

mellowbread's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Life must be tough for you – why not just enjoy yourself in this momentary world of lies?

I am so repulsed, uncomfortable, queasy, creeped out, unsettled, but this was so thought-provoking that it seriously deserves a 4 star. I’m convinced I’m not normal, and I’m also convinced no one is normal. But every short story made me think about it what is acceptable and how do we draw the line between borderline gross/disgusting and acceptance?

My favourites, and my thoughts:
A First-Rate Material - I often recycle, but never in this way
A Magnificent Spread - I’m vegetarian, which many people don’t understand. It also made me think about cultural appropriation
Life Ceremony - What is normal if not decided by society?

I still don’t feel comfortable about cannibalism though

Hatchling - Everyone sees a different side of you, but this takes it to an extreme

Content Warnings

akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

aura101's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

Content Warnings

impactbee's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Content Warnings

katndrsn's review against another edition

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challenging funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

americattt's review

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"We humans were here only for a moment, the time it takes to blink in the flow of time experienced by the big lump we call Earth. In that enormously long moment, we continued to evolve and transform. I was here in a momentary scene of the never-ending kaleidoscope."

favorite: hatchling

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