I wouldn't recommend this book to just anyone. I was offput by the sexuality aspect but otherwise, Murata does manage to write a unique and strange tale with a similar vibe to Convenience Store Woman. Is this book is too out-there? Possibly. Will I still read Murata's next book? Absolutely.

TW: murder, incest, molestation, sexual abuse, physical abuse, cannibalism

Rep: Japanese rep, asexuality

This is my first time reading anything by this author – and I think it might actually be my last. I had a lot of problems with this novel. There was a complete lack of a trigger warning in this book; this really concerned me because there is a lot of graphic and triggering content. It is shocking – but also unnecessary. I pushed through and read this book to try and understand the author’s intentions with this story. While I appreciate the author showing how restrictive Japanese society can be, the story showed another extreme that made me extremely uncomfortable. I also didn’t feel like the overall social message on “society being like a factory” was very interesting; it’s been done before – and done better. I didn’t like the characters, I didn’t like the plot, and I didn’t like the social message – so I’m giving it 1 star.

"Earthlings" is the second novel from Sayaka Murata to be translated into English after the cult favorite "Convenience Store Woman". This is great news for all of us who were in love with her brief but memorable breakthrough novel.

In many ways, "Earthlings" continues exploring the same themes touched upon Murata in her other English novel such as alienation and social pressures put on women. Yet, it goes one step further than "Convenience Store Woman", shedding light on some frankly troubling topics such as rape and child abuse. All the while managing to be engaging and incredibly difficult to put down. Here, I think, lays one of Murata's biggest strengths - she can speak about things many other authors would shy away from in a way that makes the reader not look down on the characters and feel empathy born from superiority, but rather see the world from their point of view.

Disturbing and possibly triggering for some, yet compulsory for everyone interested in contemporary Japanese literature. Looking forward to Murata's next novel!

All the trigger warnings! Sakaya Murata’s worldview is fascinating. Alienation and social pressures are examined again, and this time it was a lot darker than Convenience Store Woman. This was compelling and had that “hard to look away” feeling, but beware of triggers when picking this one up.

I couldn't finish it. Children abuse, rape, and verbal abuse were just too much.
I wish these TW were listed inside the book's description.

Reading Earthlings by Sayaka Murata was a most unique experience. I honestly can't decide whether I love it or don't, but the symbolism that is seeped within this book hits the nail. Society and the pressure to conform hasn't gone away, and while Earthlings take a very raw approach to describing it, the themes within this book did make it a bit hard to keep on reading.

And that ending... did a number on me!

Compelling, discomforting, and unique, under the cover of shocking taboos, this novel hides the truth about the modern world where everyone must live up to their social responsibilities. It is thought-provoking.

DNF 25%

It would be really good if it had a few trigger warnings. I felt really bad while reading the abuse scenes.

But it's well written lol.

The book is so weird and at the same time, I was not able to put the book down. It was indeed intriguing!

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata is a unique literary experience, one that is impossible to pigeonhole into any specific genre. It opens as a coming-of-age story, evolves into psychological suspense, and settles into dark fantasy and horror.

As she did in Convenience Store Woman, Murata questions the meaning of normal and undermines our understanding of happiness, but Earthlings takes the subject matter to a much bleaker place. Do not let the cover, or your experience reading Convenience Store Woman, fool you. This book is not for everyone. It is not warm and fuzzy like the plush toy on the cover. It starts out as thought provoking, but ramps up at full throttle as a hard-to-read horror story that exposes dysfunction in the form of toxic families, sexual abuse, pedophilia, and violence.

Natsuki is a nine-year-old misfit whose plush toy bestows upon her the magical powers she uses to cope with her cruel mother as well as the sexual abuse of her teacher. She lapses into dissociative behavior to handle the most traumatic events she encounters.

She is closest to her cousin Yuu, who suffers under his mother’s mental illness and believes himself to be an alien. He is awaiting the return of his spaceship to take him back to his true home. Natsuki hopes to join him. Yuu and Natsuki develop a special bond as a result of their common plight, and decide they will “survive, no matter what.” It’s the “no matter what” that drives the rest of the book.

Twenty years later, Natsuki has arranged for a mock marriage to fool friends and family. Tomoya is merely a roommate with a marriage certificate. Natsuki, Tomoya and Yuu will do anything to avoid being caught up in the expectations of society, or the Factory, as they call it. The trio refuses to assimilate. Normal tools of the Factory are expected to enter the traditional workforce in order to earn enough money to afford marriage and babies. All three are repulsed by society’s insistence on breeding. None of them is willing to conform, but more than that, none of them is able to conform. They have been so traumatized by their experiences that they are unable to have what society perceives as normal relationships and desires. They have found ways to be happy outside what is considered the norm, but with no acceptance from family, friends or society at large, they must hide their real lives and pretend to comply.

This is not the first, nor the last story where individuals need to hide their otherness, but in this case their non-conformity spirals out of control. Murata makes sure we understand the consequences of forcing individuals to conform to social constructs. All the characters in this story do whatever they believe they need to do to overcome the obstacles thrown at them, at times with shocking effect.

There is no point in sharing any more of the plot. This story can only be experienced properly once. My advice would be to avoid spoilers elsewhere and read Earthlings if you think you are up to a thought provoking story that is unique, unpredictable and sometimes disturbing. (Also consider that critical praise for Earthlings is consistently high, while general reader feedback is much more mixed.)

Earthlings is difficult to recommend, but impossible not to. There are several remarkable things to note about this book. First, Earthlings is continuously unpredictable. As each layer unravels, and the reader presumes to anticipate its direction, it takes a wild turn. Many books are described as twisty, but this is one of the rare times that the twists were indeed unexpected.

Second, the lack of morality will keep you off balance. The concepts of good and bad are completely thrown out. There is no one to root for here. The conformists are clearly not good, but the non-conformists aren’t either.

Most of all, it will leave a lasting impression. You will not quickly forget this book and that is a rare feat indeed. I can’t say for certain that I enjoyed Earthlings, but it is compulsively readable and unique.

I really enjoyed Murata's previous book Convenience Store Woman and was happy to take this read one. Initially this started as a strange read for me. It felt like it had a bit of a magical realism tilt. I wasn't sure if that was correct or if the main character was just playing pretend. I like a magical realism slant, but pretty early on some weird things started happening. Weird occurrence #1 I could push past, but weird occurrence #2 was too much for me. I had to put this book aside, and I do not see myself picking it up again. The writing was good, but I could not push past the incidents.

Proceed with caution - this book explores some really heavy topics! Much like Convenience Store Woman this is a book that looks quite light-hearted from the outside and sounds quite whimsical in the blurb, but is actually quite harrowing. It was an absolute trip though, without reading it I don't think you'd believe me if I told you all the weird stuff that happens.

I struggle to discern how I really feel about that book, which my 3-star rating reflects. On the one side I found this extremely compelling, I read it in an evening. Murata's commentary on societal expectation and convention is a fascinating window into Japanese tradition and culture and the ways in which these standards are extremely damaging for individuals that don't fit the mould. Her exploration of trauma and survival was quite unique but also believable to me - it felt genuine to the naïveté of the character. On the flip side though, as I read on I found myself scratching my head as the story devolved into serious WTF territory as it progressed. However in saying that, I don't know how else I would have preferred the story to go, as having some traditionally happy ending would have been disingenuous to the story and its themes.

I do recommend this book but just be aware that it is quite confronting and graphic. Trigger warnings for [child abuse - both physical and emotional, incest, paedophilia, murder (with additional warnings for quite bloody scenes) and cannibalism.

Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.

I realise now that I wasn’t even sure what this book was about. In fact, it’s hard to explain.

It starts with a young girl, in love with her cousin, who fantasises that they are from another planet and awaiting rescue from their people. These childhood fantasies only become stronger as they become a way to help her deal with trauma.

It’s an unusual story, very sad and incredibly disturbing – right up until the end. If you’re looking for something similar to Convenience Store Woman, this is not exactly it… although there are some of the same themes of being an outsider and not buying into society’s expectations of getting married and having children.

Only three stars from me because while I enjoyed it, I didn’t love it and I’m not sure it’s a book I would readily recommend – it’s a little more niche than mainstream. I also didn’t feel like I knew the characters very well; this seems to happen a lot for me with Japanese books, perhaps it’s just the style but I always feel there’s a missing piece. Having said that, I have preferred both of Sayaka Murata’s books to other Japanese books I’ve read.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Press for this ARC.

But NetGalley, why isn't the name of the translator featured on the book's information page? Thanks to the translator, the publisher has a book to promote in English, yet on this page at least, receives no acknowledgment.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Granta for providing me with an ARC of this book. The below opinions are my own.

This is the weirdest book I have ever read this year. Maybe ever. Don't let the cute cover fool you. I don't know what to make of this book even though it's been a while since I finished reading it. Usually I write reviews almost as soon as I finish the book but I had to let myself stew for a while for this one.

This book is off the hook. Let me tell you that. The blurb doesn't give way much and you start reading. This is about a couple of 11 year old kids but don't let your guard down. This book gets so dark and twisty after a while. It's equal parts shocking and the response to the events leaves us even more baffled.

I'm not going to explain the plot or even give a small summary. I think the readers need to read for themselves. The story is told in a very simple and straight forward manner and almost childlike that makes it even more strange.

This is an out of the box story which touches upon various societal themes and conforming to them. Outrageous, brave and heart breaking! I got myself a hard copy of the book too. Now I own Convenience Store Woman as well as this one.

Grove Press (October 8, 2020)

Review by Tina deBellegarde

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata (transl. Ginny Tapley Takemori) is a unique literary experience, one that is impossible to pigeonhole into any specific genre. It opens as a coming-of-age story, evolves into psychological suspense, and settles into dark fantasy and horror.

As she did in Convenience Store Woman, Murata questions the meaning of normal and undermines our understanding of happiness, but Earthlings takes the subject matter to a much bleaker place. Do not let the cover, or your experience reading Convenience Store Woman, fool you. This book is not for everyone. It is not warm and fuzzy like the plush toy on the cover. It starts out as thought provoking, but ramps up at full throttle as a hard-to-read horror story that exposes dysfunction in the form of toxic families, sexual abuse, pedophilia, and violence.

Natsuki is a nine-year-old misfit whose plush toy bestows upon her the magical powers she uses to cope with her cruel mother as well as the sexual abuse of her teacher. She lapses into dissociative behavior to handle the most traumatic events she encounters.

She is closest to her cousin Yuu, who suffers under his mother’s mental illness and believes himself to be an alien. He is awaiting the return of his spaceship to take him back to his true home. Natsuki hopes to join him. Yuu and Natsuki develop a special bond as a result of their common plight and decide they will “survive, no matter what.” It’s the “no matter what” that drives the rest of the book.

Twenty years later, Natsuki has arranged for a mock marriage to fool friends and family. Tomoya is merely a roommate with a marriage certificate. Natsuki, Tomoya and Yuu will do anything to avoid being caught up in the expectations of society, or the Factory, as they call it. The trio refuses to assimilate. Normal tools of the Factory are expected to enter the traditional workforce in order to earn enough money to afford marriage and babies. All three are repulsed by society’s insistence on breeding. None of them is willing to conform, but more than that, none of them is able to conform. They have been so traumatized by their experiences that they are unable to have what society perceives as normal relationships and desires. They have found ways to be happy outside what is considered the norm, but with no acceptance from family, friends or society at large, they must hide their real lives and pretend to comply.

This is not the first, nor the last story where individuals need to hide their otherness, but in this case their non-conformity spirals out of control. Murata makes sure we understand the consequences of forcing individuals to conform to social constructs. All the characters in this story do whatever they believe they need to do to overcome the obstacles thrown at them, at times with shocking effect.

There is no point in sharing any more of the plot. This story can only be experienced properly once. My advice would be to avoid spoilers elsewhere and read Earthlings if you think you are up to a thought provoking story that is unique, unpredictable and sometimes disturbing. (Also consider that critical praise for Earthlings is consistently high, while general reader feedback is much more mixed.)

Earthlings is difficult to recommend, but impossible not to. There are several remarkable things to note about this book. First, Earthlings is continuously unpredictable. As each layer unravels, and the reader presumes to anticipate its direction, it takes a wild turn. Many books are described as twisty, but this is one of the rare times that the twists were indeed unexpected.

Second, the lack of morality will keep you off balance. The concepts of good and bad are completely thrown out. There is no one to root for here. The conformists are clearly not good, but the non-conformists aren’t either.

Most of all, it will leave a lasting impression. You will not quickly forget this book and that is a rare feat indeed. I can’t say for certain that I enjoyed Earthlings, but it is compulsively readable and unique.

About the Reviewer:

Tina deBellegarde’s debut novel, Winter Witness, is nominated for the 2020 Agatha Award for Best First Novel. Her story “Tokyo Stranger” appears alongside celebrated authors in the Mystery Writers of America anthology When a Stranger Comes to Town.

Earthlings
By: Sayaka Murata

I think I was on another planet while reading this book.
Possibly I mixed my Tylenol with a super hallucinogenic Benadryl and had a hazy fever dream while reading this book.

I made a playlist titled:
LUCID DREAMS on Spotify.
This book sent me there.

I'd like to make note that I'm not sure where this book took place! It seems like it took place in our world so I guess it’s an urban fantasy, but it was not fantastical. I had no idea what was going on??!!

Wtf, these people could be from a different planet and may very well be my next door neighbors.

There were a lot of things going on here, a lot trying to be said, a lot of allegorical context that I’m not smart enough to pick up on.

It was above my head and beyond my reading depth. It was below me like a stream running underground.

I set a goal to “read harder” this year but I’m not sure this is what I had in mind
and it just fell flat for me.

I did not get it and did not see the artistic quality of it. It felt like a brush stroke, rushed, in a hurry, like the author felt they had one shot to say everything they needed to say.
And it felt scattered like it really needed to be edited again, restructured, because I think there was a story there but it was garbled and confused.

⭐️⭐️
✌🏽
catch you on the outside.
Or catch me outside
Or catch on the other side
Or
On the flipside

Thanks to #netgalley for a copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review!

This was a mistake on my part. This could be categorized as horror, and that's not what I was seeking. There thousands of reviews and ratings that will be helpful to those that want more info.

Thanks very much for the review copy!

This book was difficult to read as someone who has had similar experiences to Natsuki. But that's probably what made it so compelling. Earthlings is funny and weird, yes, but it's also beautiful, and in her 'outsiderness' we are so with Natsuki and her story.

Although I appreciated learning about traditional Japanese ritual at the beginning of the novel, it wasn’t enough to salvage this horror/extraterrestrial love story.

Unfortunately the dialog between the children is stilted and unrealistic in vocabulary and style; they sound and act like miniature adults rather than young children. They grow up to become robotic, cold and detached adults, making it difficult to empathize with them. The plot became more and more convoluted as the book progressed, to eventually include child abuse, incest and cannibalism. These issues detract from the novel’s goal, which (I think) aims to highlight the stifling, degrading nature of cultural mores and the lengths to which people will go break free of them.


Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to review the ARC via Netgalley.

Rating: DNF

I couldn't finish this book. Sayaka Murata's previous book "Convenience Store Woman" was one of the best books that I read last year which drove me to request a copy of her new book in exchange for an honest review. Well... it did not go as I was expecting... I don't think I read the description prior to start reading it and ohhhh what a shock! I'm not sure how to describe the little I read of this book that it was def not for me., I wasn't prepared for the abuse and crazy things that happen in this book.. Sorry.

I'm not giving it a rating as I didn't finish it.. which is a reflection of my taste/mood and not the quality of the book.