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artemisf 's review for:
Earthlings
by Sayaka Murata
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Earthlings was certainly... a book! I don't mind being made uncomfortable for the sake of a message, but the messages of this book were constructed clumsily, in my opinion. As an autistic person myself, I genuinely related to many Natsuki's quirks and her feeling alienated, but the author doesn't show us how and why society pushes Natsuki to the edge. Why do her parents seem to hate her? Why does she stick out so much, especially in childhood? This is never made clear, we just get dialogue after dialogue of her parents and friends being cruel and calling her strange.
None of the characters were particularly believable, and I wonder if that was the point? I begin trying to read the novel as more of an outrageous satire, but the tone just felt very disjointed. Tomoya in particular came across as unlikeable and confusing.It was so hard to believe that not just one, but three people had the same delusion, so much so that they devolve into cannibalism???
I do appreciate that Murata is taking on themes ofrepression, unresolved sexual trauma, and being confused by human morality. Natuski and her compatriots often express confusion about where Earthlings draw the line - what they see as moral and amoral. When viewing with an alien eye, it's easy to zoom out and see that many Japanese cultural conventions aren't inherently rational. Additionally, Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, which is at an all time low. We can see this being addressed by Natsuki constantly stressed about the Factory's pressure to procreate. Additionally, the scene where Natsuki is dissociating and murdering Igasaki at Piyyut's screaming requests was hands down the most interesting scene. I would have loved to see more of that rather than the stilted dialogue we got for 100 or so pages.
When viewed as absurdist literature, it's a bit easier to roll with the extreme nature of some of the plot devices. However, other than a handful of infamous scenes, virtually nothing happens in this book. The dialogue about Popinbopobia and the Factory became extremely repetitive near the middle of the novel. Some of my issues with this book may come from it being a translation from Japanese, and I may just not personally have jived with it's style.
None of the characters were particularly believable, and I wonder if that was the point? I begin trying to read the novel as more of an outrageous satire, but the tone just felt very disjointed. Tomoya in particular came across as unlikeable and confusing.
I do appreciate that Murata is taking on themes of
When viewed as absurdist literature, it's a bit easier to roll with the extreme nature of some of the plot devices. However, other than a handful of infamous scenes, virtually nothing happens in this book. The dialogue about Popinbopobia and the Factory became extremely repetitive near the middle of the novel. Some of my issues with this book may come from it being a translation from Japanese, and I may just not personally have jived with it's style.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder