A very intriguing and interesting concept, however I could just not bond or connect to any of the characters. I felt the dialogue between the main character Amane and her husband and peers was very stilted and did not feel realistic or flow very well!

Again praise for such an interesting premise and for opening up dialogue on a number of issues but sadly this just wasn’t for me!

Sayaka Murata’s The Vanishing World is the third book I’ve read by her, and I loved it every bit as much as the others. Known for her quirky and unsettling narratives, Murata’s previous works often focus on singular characters who don’t fit into the norms of society. This book flips that concept, exploring a society where traditional romantic relationships no longer exist, and babies are born exclusively through artificial insemination.

The protagonist struggles with her place in this structured, dystopian world. The story is delightfully weird which I absolutely love in a book. If you’re a fan of Murata’s unique storytelling or enjoy thought experiments about society’s future, this is a must-read.

This book follows a similar style of writing that Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings followed: with a main character who questions the nature of society.

In a Black Mirror style not too different to our world, and a world that resembles a possible future for the current Japan, babies are produced only by IVF. Sex is considered a relic of the old world.

I think the plot of this book was very clever, it covered ideas I have often found myself thinking of. "What if everyone was prevented from having babies as soon as they went through puberty, choosing to turn on their ability to have children when they were ready", "what if there was a society where there was no real gender"

Enjoyable if you enjoyed other works by Sayaka Murata

Sayaka Murata’s Vanishing World is a chilling exploration of an alternate reality where the regulation of love and sexuality has been radically transformed. In this world, the notion of romantic love is relegated to relationships outside the nuclear family, and artificial insemination has replaced traditional conception, with “copulation” considered both outdated and impure. Through this societal shift, Murata invites readers to critically examine the ways in which social norms and expectations shape individual desires, and the conflict that arises when those desires do not align with prescribed structures.

Set in a future where familial bonds are devoid of romantic love, characters are instead programmed to view their partners as mere family members. Love, in this world, is reserved for external, often parasocial connections—desires that are no longer grounded in the physical or emotional intimacy associated with traditional romance. This world is further complicated by the outlawing of same-sex marriage, despite the vocal longings of characters for such relationships, highlighting the tension between personal agency and societal regulation.

Through its sharp commentary, Vanishing World delves into the complex ways in which culture and societal control dictate the emotional and sexual lives of individuals. Murata examines the paradox of characters who long for connections that are not allowed, and the feeling of being trapped in a world that regulates even the most intimate aspects of existence. The book also explores how parasocial relationships with fictional characters can offer a semblance of emotional fulfillment in a world that has stripped away personal choice in matters of the heart.

The novel’s thought-provoking narrative forces readers to confront the implications of a society that enforces norms at the expense of personal freedom and genuine emotional expression. Murata’s writing is stark and captivating, shedding light on the potential dangers of imposing rigid frameworks for love and identity.

Vanishing World is an unsettling and profound reflection on how far societal control can go, and how individuals continue to yearn for connections that go beyond the confines of imposed structure. It is an important and timely commentary on the regulation of sexuality and the struggle for autonomy in a world that increasingly seeks to define who we can love and how.

A special thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing the ARC of this thought-provoking novel.

Vanishing World (2015) by Sayaka Murata is finally getting an English release, and it’s just as bizarrely brilliant as you’d hope. Imagine a dystopia where kids are conceived via insemination, raised like pets in an experimental city, and romantic relationships are completely redefined. Amane, likely the last child born out of love, grows up in a world where marrying is normal, but sleeping with your spouse? Total taboo—it’s basically incest. Instead, people are crushing on anime characters or obsessing over idols.

Murata masterfully tackles Japan’s declining birth rates, shifting family structures, same-sex marriage, and cultural quirks like cat cafés and anime crushes. It’s weird, thought-provoking, and oddly relatable—she makes you think, "You know, I kinda get it." It’s less creepy than her Life Ceremony stories but still packs a shocker of an ending. I devoured this book and can’t wait for her next translated gem—just don’t make us wait another decade!

sayaka murata delivered AGAIN !!
so interesting, themes I haven't read anywhere else

It questions gender roles when it comes to raising a child, nuclear family and what it means. A dystopia where sex progressively vanish from the world.
However the very last pages was so disappointing that instead of a 5 stars it's a 4.

TW : sexual child abuse, and for the context of this book it can be qualified as a rape.

Really interesting story from one of my favorite Japanese authors. After earthlings, was excited to read something new from her. Veers off into new territory and definitely going to reread when it comes out.

"I sometimes think that the seeds for sexual desire and romantic love are planted in us by TV and manga, and only then do they grow within our body, without us realizing."
She did it again. You would think that at one point Murata would write a book that I wouldn't engage with as much as I always end up doing. Vanishing World got published in 2015 in Japan will soon finally be available for english readers. From the start this alternate dystopian vision had me hooked. What if we changed our family structures, what if children were produced per insemination, and held like pets in an experimental city? We follow Amane, probably the last child of love, and her upcoming in a world where you do marry, but having sex with your husband is considered Incest. Instead everyone is pining after anime figures or crushing on other people.
Murata manages to bring ideas to the page that are alienating but at the same time knows how to convey them so that you think "Hmm yeah... I can see that ". Topic such as slowing birth rates, family constructs, same sex marriage, and japanese culture phenomenes such as cat cafés and Idols/ anime crushes sound like a lot, but it is well balanced. Less creepy than her short stories from life ceremonies but the ending still was as shocking. Couldn't stop reading this and I am hoping the next translation from her is not taking too long.

This was the Sayaka Murata level of weird I have come to love and expect, but unfortunately without the heart.
However, it was still compelling, thought provoking, gross and funny so for that u get 3/5.

This was the fourth book I read by this author and it is now, easily, the most weird, disturbing, thought-provoking and unique book I've read by Sayaka Murata. Even though it isn't my favourite (Convenience Store Woman still is, and I'm afraid it will always be), it certainly is a book that even if I want to erase from my mind, I know it will be virtually impossible to do so. haha
I love the title, too. It makes perfect sense to what the story unfolds.
I like how the story is divided into 3 parts and how provocative it is. Sometimes it was too weird for my taste haha but it definitely has impressed me. A LOT.
I don't often read many dystopian or sci-fi novels, but now and then I like to venture myself in the genre.
Here's a book I won't forget about in a long, long time.

To readers who have read and enjoyed Murata's Convenience Store Woman: be aware that Vanishing World is very, VERY different from that book - despite having a thing or 2 in common;
To readers who have read and enjoyed Earthlings: this one is even more weird and disturbing. LOL
I'd easily recommend this book to anyone who has read a book by this author before and enjoyed, and to some specific sci-fi readers out there who like to read thought-provoking and unique stories on how humans can use modern science to completely change basic and primitive relations among humans and their bodies.

Thank you, NetGalley and Grove Atlantic, for providing me with a free eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

Murata is the queen of creating a protagonist living outside of societal norms. In Vanishing World, she flips the construct by creating a society that has changed its norms while the protagonist retains past practices regarding marriage, reproduction, sex, romantic love, monogamy, and parenting. Needless to say, it’s yet again a bizarre, bold approach that mostly works as it’s lacking a bit in plot and I felt distanced from Amane.

Sayaka Murata once again crafts a thought-provoking and unsettling world, where traditional concepts of marriage, intimacy, and family are entirely redefined. In this society, sex has become almost obsolete and is strictly forbidden within marriage. Marriage, in Murata’s world, signifies familial bonds akin to direct blood relations—making intimacy between spouses tantamount to incest. Procreation is possible only through artificial insemination, rendering the “traditional” act of creating life a relic of the past.

The basis for choosing a partner revolves solely around practicality: the balance of income and housework, trust, and communication. As a result, many of the novel’s characters question societal norms—wouldn’t it be simpler to marry a friend? Does the concept of same-sex marriage even matter in a society reliant on artificial methods of procreation?

The main character, Amane, stands out as yet another Murata archetype akin to Convenience Store Woman. While intimacy is no longer a societal necessity, she ironically yearns for it, carving out a lonely path in a world where such desires are seen as abnormal.

The book also introduces the concept of Experiment City, a place reminiscent of Under the Eye of the Big Bird. In this city, children—produced via artificial wombs—are collectively raised and called “kodomo-chans.” They address everyone as “Mother,” and the society emphasizes collective caregiving and shared affection.

Murata’s narrative subtly critiques modern societal shifts, particularly Japan’s declining birth rate and changing family dynamics. It raises profound questions about intimacy, connection, and whether humanity is prepared for such a radically different social structure. While reading, I found myself pausing to process the implications of this world and reflect on how much of it mirrors current societal trends.

And just when you think you’ve come to terms with the novel’s dystopian world, Murata delivers an unexpected and deeply disturbing plot twist that left me reeling. It adds a shocking layer to an already provocative narrative.

This novel is unsettling yet profoundly reflective—a sharp commentary on humanity’s evolution and the fragile boundaries of connection. It’s a haunting exploration of what we may gain—and lose—in the pursuit of societal progress.

I have read a Sayaka Murata book before and I already have the idea that her concepts are pretty unusual and extreme. Vanishing World is of course no exception.

Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata takes place in an alternate world where married couples no longer have sex because it is considered incestuous and old-fashioned. Both husband and wife can also have extramarital relationships outside their marriage, whether with a real human being or an animated/cartoon character. Additionally, if a married couple does want to have a child of their own, they will go through artificial insemination instead.

I like the conversation about parasocial relationships because it mirrors the messed-up reality of the celebrity culture that we're living in now. I also like the conversation about marriage, where it raises questions such as, is it still a need for people to have in order for them to start their own family? Like, isn't it just a tool for practicality? If it's just for practicality, then maybe marrying your best friend of the same sex is much more practical and convenient than marrying someone who's a different sex and is basically a stranger. 

It is thought-provoking, unsettling, and weird, but I really like it nonetheless. Sayaka Murata is a genius in her craft and I'm going to be thinking about this for a long time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#VanishingWorld #Netgalley

This is genuinely the hardest book to review, but that doesn't mean I didn't love it! It was such a fast read to eat up (pun intended) and the last 20% very much bordered if not entered entirely the territory of body horror subgenre and was definitely my thing. I'd compare the pacing and ending to Tender is the Flesh in terms of the way the world changes and the protagonist refuses to move with it then all of a sudden finds themselves caught up beyond their own expectation. But it was just... so much and so speculative!

Sayaka Murata does a fantastic job in writing this book, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed getting to know this world. I was engaged with what was happening with the characters and how they were written. I was invested in what was going on and enjoyed the way everything worked to tell the story.

In an alternate Japan, sex between married couples is taboo, people procreate through artificial insemination, children are raised communally, every adult is a Mother, and men are capable of pregnancies with artificial wombs. Amane learns that she was conceived through sex and spends the rest of the book trying to get away from the “curse” placed upon her by her mother.

Murata paints a strange world that may not actually be that strange after all. It’s normal to be married and yet have a lover. Romantic life and family life are seen as separate. Not exactly strange since in the old days, marriage is more a social contract than a love-based commitment, and some wives are tolerant of infidelity as long as the husband fulfills their familial duties.

The concept of marriage is also deconstructed here and challenged. If men could have their own children with artificial wombs and women could bear children on their own, would marriage between opposite sexes still happen?

This was an unsettling page-turner, one that leaves me questioning my reality. It’s crazy to think how quickly the world is moving. We’re already developing technologies that defy nature. Who is to say the next one that comes along won’t be even more absurd? And if so, will you conform or differ?

Devoured this one over my New Year’s break! Thank you to Grove Atlantic for the ARC!

This is an ideas book. It takes a concept and runs it to its eventual 'end-point'. This does not make it bad or good but simply an idea book. You will not fall in love with the characters as they do not have deep backstories or endlessly turbulent lives. In fact we know very little about any of the characters emotionally.

Story-wise, this is an examination of what a world might be like were 'family' to mean people who live together but are not romantically involved in any way. And 'sex-life' is something that happens outside the home. Continuously extrapolating on this idea, Murata proposes a stale, emotionless world where ones feelings and actions need to be separated from the stuff of life.

It is an interesting concept delivered in a brisk pace. A good idea novel in the vein of Camus or Coetzee.

Thanks to Grove Press and NetGalley for the advance copy of Vanishing World. This was unsettling and disturbing, you won’t read a book like it. I expected nothing less from Sayaka Murata, this is a page turner to say the least!

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!