A review by persephone0000
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

challenging medium-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

3.0

It's hard for me to review this work, maybe I haven't had enough time to reflect upon it as I've barely just finished it not 5 minutes ago. Was it interesting because of the conversational deadpan way the narrator (I listened to the audiobook) read it as it was written/translated? Yes, it was. Did it get progressively more and more disturbing, the themes it was covering right up to the very end? Increasingly so! Was I surprised and shocked not knowing what I was getting myself into but I just couldn't stop myself just like how a deer gets frozen in front of bright headlights coming in for a head-on collision? Undoubtedly.

What I can say about how this was written, it was done very well. It lulled the reader into a sense of relaxation because the narrator of the story is the MC whose life she was telling, even though there were some disturbing experiences she had, she made it through as calmly and as if without trauma but we all know she's riddled with trauma that she's hiding. And then the way she dealt with it in the end was utterly disturbing but told so matter-of-factly as if over tea and cakes I couldn't stop listening even though I was pretty sick to my stomach. Now I know I can never handle reading books with themes as difficult as this ever again. And I hope never to be tricked into it again.
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