A review by el219
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

5.0

am so confused because did we all read the same book? do y’all just hate autistic people…. 😟
soo many people saying this is so imaginative & weird/disturbing & funny when all of this (minus the last 30ish pages) happens so often & is so sad :( 
this book was so incredibly sad - natsuki’s dissociative tendencies & coping strategies were described in such a subtle and casual(?) way that made me sob, & unlike some reviews I’ve read, the characters don’t become hard to empathize with in their adult lives,, the way their childhoods affected the rest of their lives felt realistic rather than “disturbing” or “unnecessarily weird.” the relief and comfort they felt in identifying as aliens was v  realistic too idc!! (don’t get me wrong their actions at the end of the novel were insane LOL but I hope u get my point) i felt increasingly more sad as the story went on and felt relieved for them when they all started to unmask and heal,, natsuki & tomoya’s marriage proved how being with “your own kind” or simply with someone accommodating can be completely freeing,, reading about them being happy living non-conforming lives was sooo validating too ~
my only question is is ms murata okay bcause some of these descriptions felt a little too real and concerningly relatable,, i luv her little asd coded characters even when they are a lil crazy ฅ(•ㅅ•)ฅ  
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