A review by olaolaheia
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Didn't really find this book super interesting. Describing the plot of Earthlings is impossible without spoiling it. Bizarre and surreal. If your main reason for reading books is following a story, and you like off the wall, super weird stories then this is for you. If not I'm not sure I would recommend it. I like to think I like surreal media, but this was surreal on a surface level, on a "what happens"-level, not on a "how it happens" -level. Though writing about "otherness" and trauma in a interesting way, the writing style is almost eye-catching in how banal and uninteresting it is. Some of the side-characters mentioned on a few pages is more interesting and alive than the main character the book is about. Maybe this is the translation, I'm not sure.  The metaphor for society used by the main character is also so overused and tiresome and does not bring any interesting discussion on society. This is a miss, but I think I would still be interested in maybe reading "Convinience Store Woman" cause I think Murata still has a knack for interesting stories.
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