A review by roskoff
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

challenging dark sad tense medium-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

Extremely well written but also extremely difficult to read, painful, deeply disturbing, horrifying, near traumatic. I couldn’t put it down, but I felt sick the entire time and afterwards. I’m glad I read it now that I have some distance from it but if you’d have asked me immediately after I finished the book, I’d say I regretted it. But it accomplishes what it sets out to do as a book, which I think is to convey alongside its meanings a feeling of utter distress and discomfort, to force readers into a position like the protagonist’s. It’s a horrible and sickening life and you feel it yourself. So, not an enjoyable reading experience, but a powerful one.
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