I'm not sure how, but I've never read any of Murata's work until now--which is surprising, because I love East Asian literature in translation and know of her books. I'm glad I got the chance to read this novel; the voice/writing in it is so assured and confident, which I liked a lot. Murata specializes in the eccentric and unknown, and in a world where people no longer have sex, our protagonist confronts this reality and her upbringing in her life, especially as she marries (not for love) and finds herself in an entirely new situation. I enjoyed the book overall, and will check out of Murata's other books!

DNF @ 38%. Nope nope nope. Not for me. I can tell what Murata is trying to convey but I don’t like being beat over the head with it. Every conversation revolved around sex. I didn’t want to hear the same conversation over and over anymore. I skimmed and read the final bit. I was obviously confused and also disturbed.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This review contains spoilers.

Rating: B-

This was such a strange book and overall it's really difficult to put my thoughts into a cohesive review. Like all of Murata's works, Vanishing World addresses another concern big for Japanese society: a declining population, and, perhaps, the view of sex and sexualisation of fictional and underage? characters as a means of coping with loneliness and as an outlet for feelings.

Amane was conceived by a married couple who copulated in the traditional way, but society has moved to artificial insemination with an end goal of allowing both men and women to have children. As the society becomes more sexless, and Amane questions the origin of herself as a human, the story starts to explore different views towards sex in this puritanical society. Is it utopian? Not...exactly?

I found some of the descriptions in the book of body horror thoroughly disgusting and there were such a clinical view on sex. As someone who is asexual parts of this book kind of did speak to me. My body may respond to things that I mentally do not engage with; sex is kind of just a mashing of parts together in a biological function that elicits a response - but with the characters in this book they don't really even feel that emotional response - they are so far removed from sex that they hardly even register that these parts of their bodies exist.

The book is divided into three parts exploring different stages in Amane's life; the first one is her as a child where, with innocence, sexuality is explored with a classmate. This was kind of interesting and I liked the discussion around fictional characters, to whom people imprint their feelings on; as well as the discussion from her classmate that they exist only to be a sexual outlet and in media that serves no purpose except for sexual perversion - less thinking of it as a hentai medium, I more think of it like the kind of characters that we may see in otome and amare games. Think of Love and Deepspace, that game now has the ability to track your period and have the characters respond to your cycle and support you, as well as a dialogue that you customise to introduce your 'boyfriend' (one of the characters in the game) to your friends or family. He's a 3d model, fully voiced who your avatar can interact with. Is that sad? Maybe. Can you form a connection with the character? Surely you can. And I think the depth would be more than, say, a character in a game who responds to two dialogue options on a tree resulting in romance.

There were some strong points in this review but after the second and third time of having Amane discuss with other characters her POV on sex and then two to three pages of monologuing, I realised that the characters kind of only existed in a way to share the author's different arguments as as mouthpiece. The interactions felt less natural and more orchestrated and the book kept on like this; it's discussions continually with side characters until the final 30% where we finally have some semblance of story.

In this part, I felt particularly frustrated; Amane is fully integrated into their society and what I found most frustrating was the importance to her of having a relationship with her child and raising it as her own when she, herself, had barely taken any time to connect with her mother and share that relationship. Her mother never particularly did anything wrong to Amane, her only sin was having a child the archaic way and the way they raised her influenced Amane's societal behaviours. There was so much around artificial wombs that felt under-explained and also viscerally disgusting, yet quite interesting to read. I reacted out loud often to this book. I was confused at the ending where Amane made a decision around her mother, it felt so nonsensical to me and then it all ends with her [having sex with a child (hide spoiler)] (nani the fuck?) as a way to reconnect with the Amane of the past.

Overall it was a book that did prompt discussion and made me feel a lot. I am considering the viability of artificial wombs and really if they even need to be attached to a body. This is not Murata's strongest work IMO, but it is interesting. If you want to read something that makes you talk about it, read this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

Sayaka Murata never ceases to amaze, shock, devastate. Her upcoming novel, "Vanishing World" is set in Japan of the near future. Humans have evolved beyond procreating through sex and now rely solely on artificial insemination. Couples still marry but only for the purpose of parenting babies and it is now considered "incest" for husband and wife to sleep together. Our FMC, Amane, is the only person she knows that was conceived in the "traditional" sense. Her mother's commitment to making sure that Aname retains her humanity and sexuality leaves Amane as a desperately horny teenager obsessed with an anime character named Lapis- her first love. As time passes and Amane falls into her expected role of wife/mother, humanity continues evolving around her and in some ways, leaves her behind.

Reading this felt like a weird, horny, distopian, fever dream. No matter where you think this one is going to go, I can promise you that you're dead wrong. Sayaka Murata is only consistent in that everything she writes is a delicious and grotesque surprise . If you're a "weird girl lit" kinda person, "Vanishing World" belongs on your shelf.

Thank you, Netgalley, Sayaka Murata and Grove Atlantic for the ARC.

Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata is another amazing title by the author of Earthlings! Will be recommending to all who care to listen.

This book was definitely bizarre and strange. It was a rather unique of criticizing society's expectations on marriage and babies. It started out weird and turned bizarre towards the end. I believe this book will definitely raise some eyebrows and will trigger some of the more traditional folks. I believe it's a must read but only if you're brave enough to withstand all the strange circumstances, events, and characters. It was such a unique read that I would definitely want to read again but only to better understand the message it holds. I absolutely loved the commentary but the ending really was weird and uncomfortable. This is one of those reads that will continue to haunt me for life.

3.5 stars. An absolutely insane read and another unsettling book from Sayaka Murata (I would expect nothing less!)

The concept of sex without the eroticism was incredibly well done, the idea of sex as less of a primal instinct but almost like a chore Amane still chooses to partake in was a very interesting aspect. I felt it created a clear understanding of how Amane was not “normal” within the sexless culture but still fit in to many of the other aspects.

This idea of what becomes normal (sexless state, no family, etc.) within the experiment state in Chiba really highlights the ideas of conformity versus individuality and of brainwashing. There’s a line that questions who is really brainwashed which really stuck with me - when something becomes so normalized (within like 80%+ of a population) do old school or new school ideas become the subject of being brainwashed. Can anyone really decide who/what is brainwashed within the mass change in cultural/societal views. When society is constructed in such a way is everyone or no one brainwashed?

On the downside it is very repetitive, every page drowns in talk of family, artificial insemination, and sex.

But within that I can see the benefit of the repeated discussion surrounding the taboo of sex and the normalization of artificial insemination. The idea is being so reinforced that it becomes normal, scary normal where family and loneliness have no meaning. So while it’s tedious (and boring) to read the repeated tropes of Amane’s parasocial sex relationship with different fictional characters and everyone’s disgust and marital incest it normalizes it for the audience.

Overall, not my favorite of Murata’s works but still a very strong piece. I’m glad it’s finally getting an official translation into English after almost a decade. You will leave this book saying “what the fuck” which is a tribute to Murata’s hold on absurdism.

Vanishing World is an upcoming novel by Japanese author Sayaka Murata, known for her unique and unsettling storytelling. This time, she takes us into a world where couples have stopped having sex, and children are conceived through artificial insemination. The story follows Amane as she navigates this sterile and unconventional society, first as a young girl experiencing crushes and desire for real and fictional characters, and later as a woman in a sexless marriage, dealing with the complexities of partnership and parenthood.

I found the concept of this book both unique and unsettling. Having previously read Earthlings, I expected Vanishing World to be strange, and it certainly delivered. The last ten pages took a disturbing turn, which I found difficult to stomach. In hindsight, I wasn’t entirely surprised by the twist, but I strongly recommend checking the trigger warnings before diving in.

As a fan of Japanese fiction, I will definitely continue reading Murata’s work, though I think that her style isn’t for everyone. Also, I also want to highlight the excellent translation, which was really good.

I will always read a Murata as she never fails to have an original, weird premise that I fall for every time. This story was interesting but I wish there was more to the ending and a more fleshed out plot. 3.75 stars.

This is a very strange little novel, although I would expect no less from Sayaka Murata.
Basically we are dropped into a new future world where marriage is friendship, sex is taboo and almost all children are conceived by artificial insemination. This book brings up a lot about body autonomy, what parenthood is and the changing structures of what family means. A very interesting and odd read!

“Vanishing World” – Sayaka Murata (translated from Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori)

"Is there any such thing as a brain that hasn't been brainwashed?"

Thanks to @netgalley and @groveatlantic for a copy in exchange for a review. This book will be

Very odd book to review, this one. I was surprised to see that it was originally written before “Convenience Store Woman”, as it felt like a bridge between that and “Earthlings”, moving from a book where things feel normal if slightly off to absolutely bat crazy.

“Vanishing World” is set in a near future where all pregnancies are carried out by artificial insemination, and babies conceived naturally are considered an anachronism of the past. Sex between married couples is considered taboo, whereas love between people and fictional anime characters often become extremely emotional.

Amane is one of the last few who was conceived naturally, though she resents her mother for this, and grows up a part of the system, crushing on anime characters and entering a sexless marriage. However, her feelings on love and sex are clearly different from those around her. After feeling like she doesn’t fit in, Amane and her husband decide to move to an experimental new city based on communal living and child-raising, where everyone is considered a mother, and men are able to become pregnant using artificial wombs. It is here that Amane hopes to fit in and find a sense of self-fulfilment.

As I said, if you’ve read Murata before then you kind of know what to expect here: a satire on societal norms framed in a way that only she seems capable of writing, centred on a woman who is rebelling in an unusual way. If you’ve read Murata before, I don’t think this book is going to change your mind, as it still focuses on similar themes that she touched upon previously. That said, I enjoyed it a lot, and I’m still thinking about the ending (which is WILD). If you like weird dystopias, this is worth your time.

Vanishing World is classic Murata. The story takes place in a parallel, post-World War II society where sex is considered archaic, and all children are born via artificial insemination. People still get married, but the relationship between husband and wife is more like a relationship between siblings—marriages exist solely for the artificial creation of children and raising as a family unit. In Experiment City, researchers are working on ways for men to give birth through artificial wombs while simultaneously building a communal society where children are raised collectively. Adults, referred to as “Mothers,” live solitary, sexless lives.

The main character is Amane, who was conceived in the “old” way. Her journey is an awkward coming-of-age as she navigates her attraction to and love for anime characters (a socially acceptable form of love) as well as real people (seen as a little weird). Amane keeps the pictures and keychains of all her anime lovers in her Prada pouch and her real-life lovers are collected, used, and then left behind.

Eventually, Amane marries and moves with her husband to Experiment City, where he becomes the first man to give birth. At one point in her marriage, Amane realizes that she really is nothing more than a womb to her husband and to society. I couldn’t help but think of Experiment City—with everyone smiling the same smile and having the same haircut and living in the same small, standard apartments—as a kind of sad, future society. I can easily imagine part II of this book, where the experiment completely falls apart (how could it not?).

There are many unsettling moments in this book. It wouldn’t be Murata if it wasn’t. Yet, Vanishing World is also captivating in a way that Earthlings wasn’t. I feel like it had so much more to say. I read it in one sitting and found myself reflecting on its critiques of modernity, love, sex, and societal pressures. Am I just a womb?? I don’t know the answers to the questions that this book raised, but I do hope that Murata keeps writing her weird books and helps us all untangle it all.

VANISHING WORLD
RATING: 3.5
GENRE: Sci-Fi, Translated Fiction

The author of Convenience Store Woman, Sayaka Murata,is back with another eerie book taken place in a world where love and sex are deemed unseemly and procreation is done through artificial means. While the world our narrator, Amane, lives in may seem strange, I believe Murata addresses the subject of the decline in conventional ideals like marriage and procreation in a satirical manner.

It is known that in Japan that birth rates are down and it’s an interesting take that in Amane’s world that having a partner and family is a dated idea and love is limited to ‘fictional characters’. It’s looked down upon to have a relationship with another human.

This book is typically strange as most of Murata’s works are, but for the first time, I felt like it was her take and commentary on the decline of social standards. I enjoyed the book and would recommend to anyone who likes to take outside of societal norms.

"Is there any such thing as a brain that hasn't been brainwashed?"

This is another hard-hitting super weird (and hilarious!) novel from this author. Her books so far all seek to upend what we assume to be the norm by presenting people or alternate/future/dystopian societies who are not what we would consider normal. Here, Amane is a girl who was conceived the abnormal way—that is, her parents copulated and did not undergo artificial insemination. Sex is being phased out and most people treat their libido as something to cleanse themselves of. Marriage is merely a means of forming a stable family to raise children, but dating or even sex is strictly for external lovers. I laughed so hard when Amane’s husband tried to kiss her and she threw up in his mouth and filed a police report for incestuous sexual assault.

The main source of conflict is from Amane’s upbringing—her single mother has tried to indoctrinate her with the olden version of ‘normal’ relations between man and woman, planting a fear in her that she has been cursed and cannot fit in with present society. But she tries, and wherever she goes, even if she felt differently at the start, she always ends up ceding control to her environment, giving up the values that used to be important to her like familial support, motherhood, and childrearing. She sees it happening to her but feels powerless to fight it: "Normal is the most terrifying madness in the world . . . The power of normal takes over everything, takes me over even when I want to be abnormal."

Experiment City is probably the most interesting idea raised. It’s meant to be built on collectivism but ends up becoming extremely individualistic, all in the name of sanitation. The obsession with cleanliness means that people live convenient and sanitised lives with no sex, messy romances/heartbreaks, or shared spaces/activities, but the flip side is having no meaningful social support networks and becoming dehumanised like creepy factory-made cogs in a machine. It could make a person snap.

My first Sayaka Murata!! I knew to expect strange but I don't think there's any real way to prepare yourself for a book like this. My jaw DROPPED at the ending. I really enjoy this weird, uncomfortable type of fiction so I'm definitely going to check out her other books (Convenience Store Woman has been on my TBR for So Long I promise I'll stop putting it off).

Sayaka Murata definitely appeals to a certain type of person. Her books are always what I would simply describe as WEIRD. With that being said I absolutely love Vanishing World. Call me a Sayaka Murata STAN, cuz every translated novel I read of hers, is just WOW! This book really makes you stop and think about so many things. My mind was going 100 MPH the entire time! For this to be published originally back in 2015, it's nine years later now and I honestly feel like the topics and issues are more relevant now than they were then. Murata has to have a genius level IQ. You can not convince me otherwise. This book wasn't quite as dark as her other translated works, but it was no less enjoyable. The author has a way with creating beautiful art such as this from truly unsettling and unhinged topics. This setting of a dystopian society where married adults don't have sex to procreate, men have contraptions outside their bodies to be able to carry and birth a baby, and children are basically all called by the same name is such a strange concept and if I were given the opportunity to be in the same room as the author I guarantee I'd have a million and one questions about her thought and writing process, as well as her inspiration and ideas for Vanishing World. Like I said before Murata's books are not for everyone, but if you are a fan of "weird shit" then you will eat this up just as I did and finish with your jaw on the floor! I can not wait to see what she comes up with next!

I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is honest, unbiased, and completely my own.

you know what, i'm in awe that the author explore some of the concepts in her books (even though i haven't read convenience store woman or earthlings). and yep, i'm glad that i've read finally one of her books.

amane is just like me! as while i'm reading this (68% in), i'm sad that married couples want to have a child despite the struggles of how to make one (well, except amane's mom)

but my issue is some phrases are getting repetitive. also, wtf is that ending??? 😃

nonetheless, i've enjoy it (even though some parts got me icky)

A very curious story. This is the first book by Murata that I’ve read and I absolutely get the hype. Her mind goes places that others just don’t. This is a very fascinating concept that really crawls under your skin and makes you feel uncomfortable in the most intended way. That is what I really liked about this book because only few would and could do that. At the same time, that is why I can’t rate it higher than an okay read because it felt almost too strange and uncomfortable at times, especially the ending. Which is brilliant and unfortunate at the same time. I enjoyed it by not really enjoying it. It’s a difficult relationship like everyone in this story is having. I look back on it in a fond way but will probably never pick it up again.

If you've read Sayaka Murata, you might have an idea what you're getting yourself in for. However, even having read Sayaka Murata before, it's hard to prepare yourself! Murata is the queen of weird fiction and even weirder characters, and this did not disappoint. It's a wild, unusual ride, and you just have to be willing to go along with it. I was definitely hooked and couldn't put it down.

I don't know how to rate this. A disturbed 3.5? Once again, Murata explores the strangeness of sexuality and motherhood in an evolving society through the viewpoint of one who doesn't fit easily into its norms. The reader uneasily watches a dystopia forming: people no longer form romantic marriage or have sex with their spouses (or generally at all), but instead use their fixations with fictional anime characters as a substitute. It's horribly somewhat plausible, for a while, and then, being a Murata novel, it gets Weird. Tamer than Earthlings, but not by a lot. I guess it makes you think, but I'm glad to be done with it.