Author Sayaka Murata is masterful in her taking on taboo topics in her writing. I loved Convenience Store Woman and found it darkly hilarious; I felt her handling of characters on the spectrum to be impeccable. In Earthlings the provocative subject was incest, and now in sci-fi genre Vanishing World, the institution of marriage has "progressed" to the extent that couples are considered family, and as such, sexual relations between husband and wife are taboo, nauseating, and grounds for divorce. There are other ways that discomfiting themes in Earthlings have been taken to a further level here so I would caution if you took issue with certain scenes in Earthlings, maybe don't bother reading Vanishing World.

In a world of artificial insemination Amane Sakaguchi has always felt different, and for that she blames her mother, who always took pride in having flouted social norms, having her child the outdated way, through copulation with her husband. Masturbation and objectophilia are other out there themes explored in this futuristic outsider fiction about a Utopian Experiment City where all children are born via artificial insemination of men and women alike, and raised en masse by a collective "mother" made up by all resident adults.

Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata is exactly what you’d expect if you’re familiar with her work, brilliantly bizarre, unsettling, and impossible to stop thinking about. Murata once again crafts a world where societal norms have been turned completely upside down, and the results are as fascinating as they are disturbing.

In this new reality, traditional procreation between married couples is seen as taboo read: incestuous) while casual relationships outside of marriage are completely acceptable. It's a provocative idea, and while the story never fully explains the logic behind this cultural shift, it fits perfectly into Murata’s signature style of challenging the reader’s assumptions without offering easy answers.

As expected, the narrative really flies off the rails in the final quarter, spiraling into a surreal fever dream that leaves you questioning everything you just read. It’s uncomfortable, thought-provoking, and absolutely unforgettable. The kind of story that leaves you sitting in stunned silence, wondering, what the hell did I just experience?

Fans of Murata’s previous work will find Vanishing World a wild, rewarding ride. If you’re new to her, be prepared: this isn’t just weird for weird’s sake, it’s a pointed, brilliant exploration of human nature at its strangest.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Sayaka Murata, and Grove Atlantic for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

I loved the first 50 pages and was happy given my unfortunate first encounter with the Convenience Store Woman three years ago. I thought I finally became one of the people who can enjoy Sayaka Murata's art. I had no idea how wrong I was.

The rest of the book was fine, I didn't have to force myself to read it, but didn't particularly enjoy it. Some of her thoughts and concerns were close to mine, and it was fun to see the world from the new perspective. The problem started at the very end of the book. And although the phrase 'Normal is the most terrifying madness in the world' should have prepared me for what happens in the end, I wasn't ready. The last few pages completely messed up the overall nice experience I was having with the book.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, the author and the translator for providing me with the arc

3.5⭐

I couldn't wait to read Murata's newest novel and revisit her unique and distinct narrative voice. I was blown away by Convenience Store Woman and then confused and not quite entertained by Earthings, so I was eager to see what Vanishing World had in store. While it's no Convenience Store Woman, Murata's speculative fiction novel immerses you fully in her world but ends leaving a weird taste in my mouth.

Murata's story follows Amane, a woman living in a world where reproducing via sex is increasingly taboo. Yet, this is exactly how Amane was created, and her mother continually defends her choice to do so. Amane fights against her mother's "old-fashioned" ideas and instead fufills her desires with fictional characters and an assortment of her classmates. When Amane grows up and marries, her and her husband decide to move to "Experiment City" where men can bear children and every adult is considered "mother."

For most of the book, I was into its weirdness and the detached tone of Murata's writing. The story was compelling, and all I wanted to do was sit and read the book. However, the ending of the book really discolored my overall reading of it. I hated some of the events leading to it and couldn't quite get over or understand some of the narrative choices that were made.

Prior to the last part of the book, I was well on my way to giving this book four stars. But, after reading the ending, I'm going to have to bump it down to 3.5⭐

Thanks to Net Galley and Grove Press for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance reader's copy of this book. Unfortunately at this time I will be unable to give it my full attention, so I will provide a starred rating and return when I can give it a proper review.

3.5 stars.

sayaka murata's vanishing world presents a raw exploration of identity, sexuality, and societal control in a futuristic japan where traditional norms have been upended. our protagonist, amane, grapples with her sense of self in a world that views sex as a shameful act, relegating procreation to the act of artificial insemination.

from the very onset of the story we are introduced to amane's struggle with her identity and societal expectations. unlike her peers, she harbors a secret: she was conceived through coitus, an act of her parents that fills her with shame due to the norms of her society. as she navigates her adolescence, amane's experiences with sexual urges manifest in unconventional ways—through masturbation to fictional characters and ultimately, through open relationships with men outside of marriage (which btw is socially accepted). the societal taboo surrounding sex creates a fascinating tension in her life, as she grapples with her desires while trying to conform to the expectations of her world.

the world murata built is certainly interesting as she explores the concept of marragige as an economic prospect and reproductive commodification to the concept of 'kodomo-chan' children conceived through a lottery-style insemination system. the book prompts you to question the nature of family and the role of individual adults, and by extension parents, in a society.

sadly, for me personally, the concept didn't quite live up to the execution. from the pacing to the world-building, everything felt a little off, as if something were lacking. however, i can still see many people enjoying this book.

overall, the book is a thought-provoking read that challenges conventional notions of sexuality, family, and identity. murata's unique vision of a certain dystopian future delves into the interesting implications of societal control and the struggle for personal authenticity—a future we are not very far from, by the look of it. while the execution didn't quite land at times, the premise of the novel makes up for it.

This was sufficiently weird but very unique. While the concept was cool and it had the Murata flair of the absurd. It wasn't as hard-hitting as her other novels to me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Press for a copy. This is out now!

This book is set in a dystopian world where there is no sexual intercourse between couples.Sex is something to be disgusted or avoided , no one talks about it and no one practices it to have baby, rather do artificial insemination to bear a child.The latter method is encouraged while former is extinct.

Amane is born from the former method and she always sees it as a shame to be born in such a way.The world is changing everyday that they try to create a world where each individual do not need a partner to be with or depend for something like having a child.Amane is consumed by all the new changes happening in the world that she does not want to look back to how the world worked once.

This book was totally weird from the very beginning considering the concept.There are so many gross and bizarre things that are hard to digest yet fascinating.Anyways I really enjoy how she writes no plot books that are intriguing enough to continue.

My main issue with this was that it was a bit boring in the first part, and the book really picked up in the second half but the ending was a letdown for me.I was constantly waiting for something reasonable to happen even though I never get it from her books.Also was not a fan of the world and felt like a nightmare living it from the main PoV.

Overall recommending this to those who love a weird fiction set in a dystopian world.

I found the concept of this book to be really interesting but the execution felt a bit lacklustre to me. It was very slow to build up and while I liked seeing Amane slowly giving in to the brainwashing it still didn't leave much of an impression on me.

Surreal, yet poignant. Sayaka Murata’s novels have a way of getting across such rich and emotional concepts in the most atypical of stories. Perfect book for those who love weird woman fiction.

Sayaka Murata, a Japanese author best known for her novel Convenience Store Woman delves into a strange alternate reality in her 2015 novel Vanishing World. The Japan of Vanishing World is one in which artificial insemination, introduced following World War II has led to a decline, and almost demonization of sexual intimacy. Murata takes this premise and follows it through to some scarily believable end points in a place called Experiment City.
The main character of Vanishing World, Amane is a bit of an outsider due to the fact that she was conceived and born naturally. But she needs connection is desperate to fit in and so does what all of her contemporaries do and falls in love with an anime character, which later becomes a slew of anime characters. Her first marriage fails because her husband wants to have sex with her – in this world husband and wife are seen as “family” so any relations between them are considered to be incest. Her second husband Saku understands the rules and both have relationships outside their marriage to fulfill their need for "love". Amane and Saku eventually move to Experiment City where all children are raised communally and men can carry babies to term.
There are plenty of scifi ideas in Vanishing World, but what Murata is really interested in is exploring the decline of intimacy, of people who project their emptions onto fictional characters and, underlying all of this, the significantly declining birthrate in Japan. The book comes across as a though experiment in which a single, relatively uncontroversial idea (in this artificial insemination) is taken to an extreme and projected over a long enough period to create some absurdist outcomes.
As with many books in translation though, while there is a universality to the ideas that Murata is dealing with in Vanishing World, there are almost certainly nuanced points she is making about Japanese society in particular that are likely to pass many readers by. But even so, Murata has delivered a scenario that provides plenty for readers to think about.

Sayaka Murata consistently delivers entertaining and shocking social commentary through sci-fi /horror/unhinged women's lit, and Vanishing World is no exception. 

Vanishing World is set in an alternate reality where society has deemed procreation through natural means inefficient and chaotic. A nuclear family still consists of a father, mother, and children, however, it is considered incest for husband and wife to have a physical romantic relationship... because it's sex with a family member. 

I really love the themes this title explores. I love how creative and unsettling this narrative plays out. My only criticism is that I felt Vanishing World's puzzle pieces ultimately didn't fall into place as cleanly as some of her other titles. I was left with a lot of questions. Overall, the logic of the world didn't seem to fully align with itself. 

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Grove Press (An imprint of Grove Atlantic) for an advance e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Murata writes strange books, I knew that going into this. But this missed the mark for me a bit. Overall this had a lot of commentary that focused on social issues and society… it was a slower read and very heavy.

I did not realize this was her debut book now translated to English. This could be why I wasn’t a huge fan- just wasn’t quite as developed as other novels. I truly don’t understand what she was going for with this book. It will find its audience, though.

I found the idea of this book really interesting and was looking forward to it after reading Convenience Store Woman. However I was very disappointed. The writing felt flat and boring. Not for me, I gave up after about a third of the book.

I've been a fan of Murata's work for years now, and Vanishing World has only served to solidify her standing as one of the greats. She paints a world where sex is no longer needed, where men and women alike give birth by means of artificial insemination. The nuclear family structure is shattered —babies are born to be treated as pets, An entire city is full of "mothers" who take care of the children as a community. This dystopian society is a perfect metaphor for the loneliness epidemic that accompanies the digital age, and it's a striking commentary on the current social situation in Japan. Murata discusses sex, masturbation, love, family and the human body in a way that enthralls and amazes. Her work is original and intelligent, even if a bit heavy handed at times (especially in this novel).

Much to think about.

I am a big fan of Sayaka Murata's work and have read everything she's published in English - while I enjoyed elements of Vanishing World, I think it is my least favourite of her works so far, not least for this novel's stomach-churning ending. That said, I have nothing but praise for her ability to make her readers think differently about the world, and the elements of society that we consider the most innate: in this novel, those apparently innate traitsa put under the microscope are sex and love.

Like all her work, it's primarily a work of social commentary; Amane lives in a world where sex between couples has fallen out of favour. People turn to fictional characters for love, and having sex with a husband is viewed as tantamount to incest. This was fascinationg commentary, albeit a little confusing as it felt so far-fetched. It took me quite a while to wrap my head around it. Amane is one of the last human beings who was concieved naturally, which makes her feel like an outcast. We follow her throughout her childhood and adult life - she's little more than a lens through which we explore the world Murata has created. There is... a lot of exploration, which I didn't mind even if it was a bit slow. I appreciated the commitment to the building & exploration of a world so different to our own.

In the novel's final part, the plot kicks into gear, with Amane and her husband moving to the incredibly named "Experiment City" to become, well, experiments as part of the next frontier of human reproduction. What unfolds over the final section of the novel is challenging to read, to say the least - I consider myself reasonably hardcore when it comes to Weird Novels but I struggled a bit with this one. But I don't know what I expected from Sayaka Murata - she never pretended to be anything other than a taboo-busting, truly bizarre writer. Vanishing World pushes the boundaries over and over again, culminating in an intense and difficult ending, just as her last novel, Earthlings, did.

Uncanny, unsettling and thought-provoking, I can't say I enjoyed Vanishing World but it is one that will stick in my mind for a long time after reading.

Sayaka Murata definitely likes getting weird and this one was definitely that. Unsurprisingly the tone reminded me of some of some of Murata’s short stories in Life Ceremony and I also thought of The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter with the way so many accepted norms were subverted. Despite the very strange setup, the worldbuilding isn’t super specific, and this one is more of a vibes story that outlines different parts of this setup through the narrator. I’m not fully certain I got everything Murata was going for in this, beyond a weird what-if speculation and it was almost strange enough to be an uncomfortable reading experience. It was, however, a good reminder that so much of what we consider normal can change.

Whooo boy, buckle up friends! I have a lot to say here- some of it good, some of it not.

The Majority of the Book:

Okay, so I was.... fine with most of this book. It wasn't blowing my mind, but I was intrigued. I will tell you my feelings on the positives and negatives for like, 90% of the book first.

THE GOOD:

Well, the concept was certainly fascinating, right? I liked the commentary, and it was certainly thought provoking with its discussions of what makes a family, society's viewpoints on sex, reproduction, families, etc., and the bizarre obsessions with fictional characters. Really, even though Amane wasn't the most provocative character ever, the world and the story itself were enough to keep me turning the pages. I mean, it is weird, but for most of the story, it is weird in a way that is readable and coherent. And I felt like the story picked up in the second half, and I was quite eager to see what would happen.

THE LESS GOOD:

Our main character, Amane, is just... look, she seems only focused on sex and romance. Some of it fictional, some of it real. I assume there is supposed to be a point of commentary there, that even though everyone claims to think sexuality is useless, they're still obsessing over it. Which is fine, I get that, but girl needed a hobby or something, because she is incredibly one-dimensional. Everything about her is so stunted, and maybe that is purposeful, maybe it isn't, but it makes it hard to really understand who she is, I guess.

I also had a hard time understanding her motivations. Without being spoilery, imagine a character spends an entire book saying "wow I hate Disney" and then just randomly decides to spend their life savings on a 2 month guided Mickey Mouse extravaganza. The motivation isn't there, and it is confusing at best.

The Ending:

Whew, this was bad. I don't even want to type what happened under spoiler tags, so let's just say that unless you are a monster, this is upsetting. I have read some reviews saying that it was "making a point", but I personally don't see it. For me, it felt like shock value to be shocking, and there were many other less traumatic ways to convey these things. I honestly just don't even understand how more than one person was like "yep THIS is how you end a book!". (And friends, please recall, I am in no way a pearl-clutcher, and love me some messed up stuff. This was way over the line, even for me.) I get the intent, but there were ways to do this that wouldn't legitimately traumatize folks.

Bottom Line: It was a 3 or 3.5 until the end sent it off the rails and into "hard nope" territory. I can't rate it higher because it feels irresponsible to do so, frankly.

3.5

it’s not a sayaka murata novel until you’re staring at the wall going “wtf just happened???”

this quick little novel is exactly what you want and need from murata: bizarre, absurd, disgusting at times, with underlying criticism of modern society.

set in a world where sex is weird (especially between—*gasp*—a married couple) and babies are exclusively created through artificial insemination. weird fucking premise. but i was strangely invested. i don’t want to give too much away as i think you should go into murata’s work relatively blind, but if you’re into a weird old time then you will for sure love this.

(thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!)

Sayaka Murata can do no wrong — this is an amazing study on the societal norms around love, relationships and family

First published in 2015 in Japanese, Vanishing World appears for the first time in English ten years later, and it still feels cutting-edge. The book centres around Amane, who lives in a future in which people don't really have sex anymore, either to procreate or for their enjoyment —it's viewed as an old-fashioned and unhygienic practice. A married couple sees each other as family, like a sibling, for example, so it's unthinkable to have sexual relations with them, if someone were to have any still, as insemination is the standard way to procreate. Amane, however, has always known she's different, starting with the way she was conceived — through sexual relations between her mother and father — but also with her persistent curiosity about copulation. She has always held a more old-fashioned mindset when it comes to these matters, even if it feels uncomfortable in relation to the societal norms of her time.

Vanishing World pushes the boundaries over and over again of how we think about family, love and whether there could be other ways of thinking about these ideas.

This one definitely sits closer to Earthlings in the Sayaka Murata spectrum, so be prepared to be challenged in a big way. That said, it's an incredibly eye-opening exploration of topics which are sold to us as natural and innate — but which are, in fact, socially constructed and, as Sayaka Murata aims to show us with this book, could be undone and reinvented. I will say I was quite surprised by the ending; I suspect it will divide a lot of readers. I am still not quite sure how I feel about it myself.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again: I'll read anything Sayaka Murata writes. I am a huge fan of her work and how she continues to challenge what our society deems as "normal", implicit norms that perhaps we don't even realise are there until she points it out.

Huge thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the e-ARC!