Amane is embarrassed by her mother who delights in ingraining to her that she was conceived naturally in a society who is dispensing with natural conception and views physical love between husband and wife the ultimate taboo. As Amane grows older she begins to wish for a child of her own but the world around her is further changing the concept of families and motherhood.

This is my second book by this author. I read Convience store woman about 6 years ago and remember very little except being intrigued by it. Vanishing world I liked and I suspect the way the ending landed is probably quite a considerable part of that. I enjoyed the writing, it’s very matter of fact, very frank, economical and they way it talks about the nature of physical love and its act is curiously functional. It’s a dystopian world which believes it a utopia, and the act of love is becoming more and more insulate even between lovers. Amane’s desire for it becoming more and more of an outlier. It’s curious and fascinating, although for a short book I felt it got a little Groundhog Day in the centre although that sort of works with the vibes. I did like the way it leant into the conventionality and traditional bias of Japanese society (still one of the most misogynistic) but played it forward to a quite extreme degree.

If you’re enjoying it you do not want to miss the ending which is one that will either elevate or break it for you. It elevated it for me

DNF @ 49%. Although the premise of this story is really intriguing and the parts of the book that go into the development of this premise are very well written, the dialogue between the characters is extremely painful. To the point that I simply can’t take it anymore. It’s so dull. And the book is not even that long so why fill it up with unnecessary, boring dialogue? This is the third book from this author that I’ve tried and I have to say that her writing is simply not for me. If you enjoyed other work from her, you will definitely love this!

I liked this book! It brought up a lot about women and how they are viewed in terms and in regards to childbearing. I think it was a bit eye opening and could be a possible future one day. I liked it!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

In Sayaka Murata's Vanishing World, sexual intimacy has disappeared. Marriage and family have evolved into concepts focused on mutual support and building networks, but copulation has become obsolete, and children are born through artificial insemination. People still fall in love, though it is frowned upon to have romantic feelings for one's spouse. In this way, Murata presents us with a future shaped by disconnection and the restructuring of the traditional family.

In this context, we follow Amane, one of the last people born through the traditional method, who has grown up with her mother’s now outdated ideas. When she realizes that her experiences at home are not the norm, she will want to integrate into this world of normalcy. Yet, Amane will always remain an outlier. At every turn, she must grapple with the contradiction between her desire to belong and her need to explore the forbidden.

The book has little plot and seems more like a vehicle to explore contemporary issues that clearly trouble the author, such as Japan's declining birthrate and the dissolution of the traditional family. In this sense, we see innovative and rather radical ideas through which Murata makes us uncomfortable. With an almost clinical coldness, she presents us with an experimental city where all adults are mothers to the kodomo-chans, children born through insemination. In this city, even the sanitized family model has been abandoned, and the desire to become a mother disappears, as pregnancies are decided through a lottery.

Personally, I found the novel too disturbing to feel comfortable while reading it, and I cannot fault the author for that. Without a doubt, it is a fascinating experiment that deserves attention for its literary value beyond my personal enjoyment. I would recommend this novel to those seeking stories that challenge their perspectives and leave them reflecting long after closing the book. That said, be prepared to face a reading experience that, in its depth, may shake your sense of comfort and morality.

Thanks to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic, and Sayaka Murata.

This book is set in an alternate Japan where artificial insemination has become the default way of procreating and sex between married couples is considered incest. It’s about family, motherhood, humanity, sexuality, society, but overall love.

My only complaint about Sayaka Murata books is that they have such a rich world I would read happily read 700 pages of it. But the shorter length makes them all the more impactful.

If you liked Earthlings you’ll like this (though it may be important to note that Vanishing World was actually published first in Japan, despite it really speaking to today's times). It does explore similar sensitive topics as well.

The translations of Murata’s work by Ginny Tapley Takemori are always beautifully done as well.

(I wish I could add quotes to this review but I will have to wait for the final draft on publishing day)

If you read both of her novels, I can tell you to expect more Earthlings than Convenience Store Woman. If you read only the latter, oh boy do I have news for you.

Murata’s mind is one of a kind. She is able to pack here commentary on social isolation, the dangerous rise of technology, parasocial relationships with fictional characters, distorted views on love and family structure and one topic that is present in all of her novels: conforming to society’s view of what is “normal”.

We follow Amane and her attempt to not conform to such a soulless society where babies are basically conceived like products in a factory and people are forgetting how to fall in love with real human beings.

Murata’s writing and the translation are both approachable and fluid. I found the book easy to pick up and got quickly gripped by the dystopian Japan she imagined.

I strongly recommend this book to lovers of sci-fi, weird books and people who might be on the fence about Sayaka Murata’s books.

I would like to thank Grove Press and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This surprise in my inbox inspired me to open this book on the very first day of 2025. I still don’t know very wll how this whole blogging thing works but I’m going to try my best. 🙂

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Vanishing World.

First, great cover! It's eye-catching and creepy in a way the premise is.

I've read the Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings so I knew the author had something really unique and imaginative up her sleeve for readers.

I'm not sure how to describe the narrative or the theme.

It's hard to explain. You have to read it for yourself.

Not everyone will like it; I think some readers will find it too bizarre for their tastes, too icky or creepy, or too close to comfort.

I have to say it's a dystopian or utopian world (depending on your perspective) the author has created where sex no longer occurs and children are born via IVF, which is now incredibly easy and successful for most women.

Amane, the main character, was born via the old school way (S-E-X) and the knowledge both terrifies and fascinates her in equal measure.

As she navigates teenhood and adulthood, getting married and envisoning a family of her own, she must come to terms with this new world order and where she fits in.

Amane makes pointed comments that hit really close to home; such as how idolizing pop idols and actors are a safe way for young people to channel their romantic feelings.

It made me think of the fandom surrounding K-pop idols like BTS.

The new community Amane and her husband relocate to made me think of cults but at the same time reminded me of how hard it is to raise a child in a community. It really does take a village.

You may have the help of a spouse or partner but you also need your family, friends and a support network and many people do not have the luxury of such resources.

The narrative made me reflect on marriage and what it means to have a family and relationships especially as our modern world rapidly evolves.

The author has unwittingly (or wittingly) hit upon rising trends in society; how infertility and the choice to remain childless for younger generations will impact the future of humanity; how more people are choosing to remain single or adopt, and raise a family with friends, not partners or spouses.

Some of Amane's observations and reflections made me laugh out loud but I'm still not sure if it was because her thoughts were so outlandish or because they hit so close to how I feel about the subjects she was ruminating on.

Vanishing World isn't for everyone; some people might even find it offensive.

But this is a must read for fans of the author or a reader who wants to read something...different.

Honestly, props to Sayaka Murata for finally getting to go full fucking sicko on this one, it seems like. This one was a weird one for me to sit with personally, because it seems to go with a lot of the views that antis on the internets espouse (and if you don't know what any of those words mean, god bless you, you are living a better life than I am) and takes them to logical, absolutely absurd conclusions, but starts with attraction to fictional characters as the starting point. This ends up challenging the incest taboo in the end (because is it REALLY incest if all the kids are made in test tubes and all the adults are referred to as parents?), and that last scene is going to sit with me for a while. My logic is if something makes you this deeply uncomfortable, you should pay attention to why. Either way, highly recommended read, even if it's going to weird out a good chunk of the readership.

Wow, what did I just read?
"Vanishing World" by Sayaka Murata feels like a Black Mirror episode come to life. Set in a dystopian society where love and sex between spouses are taboo and babies are conceived exclusively through artificial insemination, the premise is both fascinating and chilling.

The story takes an even darker turn when the protagonist enters “Experiment City.” By the final pages, the narrative pushes boundaries to "Lolita-like" levels of discomfort and disgust, leaving me reeling.

This book serves as an important cautionary tale, especially in light of rising loneliness and declining birth rates in countries like Japan and Korea. However, while the themes are provocative, I found myself wanting more. The world-building could have been deeper, and the characters lacked the depth needed to make their actions and transformations in the second half feel fully believable.

Additionally, the repetitive dialogue early on—centered almost entirely on the taboo of love and sex—felt heavy-handed at times. These aspects made it harder for me to fully immerse myself in the story.

Overall, this is a thought-provoking and unsettling read, but it falls short in execution. 3.5/5 stars.

I'm still trying to process what I just read 😂, but that's exactly why I always reach for this author. I know I’m about to dive into something completely different, weird, and messed up, and this was no exception.
Murata takes us into a world where procreation between a man and a woman is seen as taboo, like incest. Instead, everyone is fitted with contraception devices, and IVF is the norm. Technology is so advanced that even men can get pregnant.
While Vanishing World isn’t as gory or unhinged as Earthlings, it still delivers a thought provoking, unsettling experience that only Murata can deliver. .

"Vanishing World" by Sayaka Murata is a fascinating and unsettling look at a future where traditional relationships and reproduction are seen as outdated. The story follows Amane as she navigates a society that replaces intimacy with artificial means and fictional fantasies, making her feel increasingly isolated. The writing is straightforward and engaging, pulling you into a bizarre world that feels strangely believable. While some ideas are repeated a bit too often, the book’s unique concept and gripping story make it hard to put down. It’s a strange, thought-provoking read that sticks with you long after you’ve finished.

I really enjoy Sayaka Murata and have read all her books that have been translated. This one fit her style and has that reflective weirdness I enjoy. It’s not my favorite. The first 70% was a little repetitive and felt like it could have been shorter. The last bit picked up and it was a little more interesting. Will not consider this my favorite by her but glad to have received it early.

I have previously really enjoyed Sayaka Murata's strange, speculative fiction, but this one unfortunately was not for me. I'm not one to normally mind a slow plot if there is a deep exploration of characters, but this one dragged for the first 70% in my opinion. I felt it was very repetitive, and nothing really happened until that 70% mark. And in classic Murata style, the ending had that shock factor, but for me it was just uncomfortable without any other value which I've found in her other books.

DNF - your mileage my vary.

I've read the author in the past and enjoyed her. As expected, the book is utterly different than just about anything else out there.

But it was more concept than plot and I need a plot.

Tried twice, but gave up.

As no surprise to those familiar with Murata, VANISHING WORLD is a strange strange world and the premise is very kooky.

This is a future world in Japan where humans no longer have sex but instead reproduce by artificial insemination. Sexes look down upon And if a couple were to copulate this is seen as incest.

In the early days of our main characters sexual exploration she's mostly attracted and pursues her own sexual awakening with parasocial/fictional characters from shows or movies. And bizarre twist of fate she does find out that she was actually produced the old-fashioned way quote on quote by her mom and dad having sex and a lot of people are greatly disturbed by this fact.

There's definitely some social commentary on the decline of not just human reproduction but on the state of relationships. Relationships between a man and a woman are more for friendly terms, there's no real incentive to match up with a significant other if not for love. And as we find out a lot of her friends and those around her have lovers but none of them are having or very few of them are having sex. It's a strange concept to presume in this book, that no one is enjoying sex enough or as much as our main character to break this social idea. People are masturbating but the idea of sex is seen as old world, old fashioned, antiquated.

We see our main character trying to pursue love in multiple ways, through fictional romances she's fantasized about, by pursuing physical relationships with those who similarly idolize her current infatuations, people who are kind to her. But the world at large seems disgusted by sex and it seems she has cursed to want it.

Commentary on human reproduction is also extremely interesting but it gets progressively weirder and weirder.
And as you can imagine Murata wont end the book without a bang....

Sayaka Murata rocks unconventionality. She’s a hoot! Bonkers!
She’s a legitimate brilliant sparkly-badass-Japanese writer who pokes holes into society-norms!
She makes me laugh. I loved the heck out of her!

In Dec 2019, Sayaka Murata wrote an opinion-article in The New York Times titled:
“The Future of Sex Lives in All of Us”.
She often imagined a future where sex didn’t exist.
She wrote:
“Many people seem to think this is weird, but for me it’s a world that feels wonderfully nostalgic”.

“In a hundred years, or a thousand years, people may not even be coupling. Or maybe the word “sex” will disappear and we will once again explore ourselves in a realm unburdened by language. People are strange creatures, and we have no idea how we will change in the future; to me that is beautiful. But I also believe we will keep rediscovering that strange miracle inside us, beyond the other world inside our bodies, which spreads without limits within our skin”
—Suyaka Murata

In Sayaka Murata's "Vanishing World," sex is depicted as largely obsolete, with the focus on procreation through artificial insemination, essentially rendering sexual intimacy between couples as taboo and unnecessary in this dystopian future society; couples are more like siblings living together solely to produce children, highlighting the author's exploration of societal norms around sex and family structures through a very unconventional lens. 

In “Vanishing World”, sex between married couples has vanished and all children are born by artificial insemination.
We first meet Amane as a young girl….then follow her through adulthood.
She was born through copulation. Her parents had intercourse (“incest”), in a society that no longer endorses sex between married couples. IVF is the acceptable social norm.
Amane questions ‘the rules’ ….about sex, desires, love, relationships, masturbation, gender roles, and the purpose of family.

It’s a very fun, thought-provoking story….highly vividly imagined….intimate dialogue….haunting, gripping, and beautifully written. I was left to reflect on issues in ways I had never thought about. The book also created enjoyable conversations between my husband and I.
I wont dare giveaway spoilers ….
…..But here are a few excerpts …..(little tidbit teasers):
“The more books I read, and the more I learned about the proper way to procreate, the more doubts I had. Why had my mother gone to all the trouble of deliberately removing the contraceptive device and copulating in order to get pregnant instead of just being artificially inseminated with my father‘s sperm? Just thinking about it made me feel nauseous”.

“Sexual love in a story was solely a conversation with my flesh. The pain I felt in my body and my hunger to meet them, troubled me, but this pain and hunger were also very dear to me”.

“Time and time again, I had to confirm that the sexual desire I felt was different from the ‘fall-in-love-and-have-babies’ that my mother had inculcated in me as a child”.

“Sex and love will soon disappear altogether. Now that babies are all made by artificial insemination, there’s no need to go to all that trouble”.

“Do you think sex will disappear from the world one day?”
“I don’t really know, but I’m sure it won’t. Not as long as you’re around, Amane”.

“Our sexuality was evolving, and the world was continuing to adapt accordingly”.

Here are a few interesting tidbits to ‘think about’:
“Humans are the only animal that breeds through scientific means”.
“Research into artificial insemination, progressed rapidly during World War II, as a result of a crisis caused by men leaving for the front and the consequent drastic reduction in the number of children”.
“In vitro fertilization (IVF) is expected to increase in the future. Infertility rates in the United States are on the rise.
….Reproduction problems in both men and women are rising at alarming rates.
….Lifestyle factors and societal changes (obesity, substance use, heavy drinking, and high blood pressure are culprits).
….Couples are waiting longer to start families and there is more divorce and remarriage.
….Other factors that can contribute to infertility include environmental toxins, sexually transmitted diseases, and hormonal and balance.

Back to “Vanishing World” …..
Other than the book cover giving me heebie-jeebies’ ….Sayaka Murata’s Japanese Literary/Dystopian/Sci-Fi/Contemporary Speculative fiction is a very enjoyable page turning mind-bending read.

"Normality is the creepiest madness there is."

Amane is mostly 'normal' throughout the book. It's even mentioned how strange it is that Amane is always able to adapt so well to society, no matter how weird society gets (and it gets really weird.) She doesn't always feel normal, but she adapts. Ideas and values change so fast in this society that generations (Amane's mom) get completely left behind in confusion.

Vanishing World is weird, and it made me uncomfortable but kind of in a good way.

3.5 stars

This is definitely going into my file of “wtf did I just read” books. This was like a strange, dystopian nightmare but where nothing all that bad is happening, it just feels weird. This book takes place in a society where all children are made via artificial insemination and the purpose of marriage is to ??? Raise the children?? I’m not super clear on that since it wasn’t for love or reproduction, other than to allow for both men and women to be involved in raising a family.
It felt like this book was trying to make a point that I just didn’t quite get. All of the characters felt very brainwashed which made me feel very unsettled. For the majority of the book Amane questions the world she lives in and why things are that way but as the book goes on you see her start to adapt to the rules of society and start to buy into the system.
I was down to accept this book as just weird vibes but then something happened right at the end that was just… too far and made me very uncomfortable. It didn’t really feel like it served a purpose and left me wondering what had just read

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC!

I’ll come back for some more coherent thoughts but wow! Her voice is so specific and weird and off putting but also super easy to read. Wasn’t as gag inducing as Earthlings but I feel like I’ll think about it for a long time just like I did with that one. It’s too soon to tell but I think this is probably my favorite of her books. There’s so much to unpack here.

For my complete thoughts, see my review below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZHD5j6tENU

The biggest thank you to Grove Atlantic for this advance copy from one of my favorite authors.

Once you read Sayaka Murata's other books, you know what to expect. Society is getting weirder, the main character is struggling through it and you might throw up by the end. Her writing style is as unique as ever, and you find yourself nodding as she delivers jabs of commentary that is as poignant as the worlds she weaves are bizarre. As always, there's sex and bodily fluids and discomforting imagery that only she can handle this well as you're losing your mind along with the main character. The translation is on par with the other 3 books and absolutely delivers.

The premise of this novel hit me as something you would find in Life Ceremony and I thought that was its biggest weakness. I wish it was expected of me to just accept this concept of society rejecting sex and family relations, instead of the book explaining how it got to it, and it being unbelievable.

All in all, Sayaka Murata stays at the tippy top of my list and while I'd maybe not recommend picking this up as your first Murata book, she's as strong as ever and I'm in love with her mind.