A review by okinreads
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Reading this book was such a wild ride! I went into this book knowing next to nothing. I had seen one tik tok about it being disturbing but no info was given and I read the description before checking out the ebook at the library, which also gave no real information about the tone or plot of this book. I was completely blindsided by the intensity of this story. I sat and read the whole thing in one sitting and I couldn’t look away until it was over. 

I felt completely engrossed and upset reading about the Natsuki’s family life and experiences as a child and seeing how she described everything she went through and the coping strategies she had developed in order to continue on living. It was just so extremely sad. When she’s an adult and sees her cousin again and fully describes her relationship with her husband, it was so shocking and upsetting to fully realize that she is still fully immersed in the coping strategies and world that she created for herself as a kid. I found myself hoping that the book would end with proof that she really was an alien all along for her sake! 

This book is intense. Like others have said, I would advise looking at the trigger warnings before reading, unless you have experience with and an interest in disturbing books. It was an engaging and thought provoking book! One of the best but most disturbing stories I’ve read. 
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