Vanishing world by Sayaka Murata

This book was giving to me from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, so thank you so much to them for letting me read one of my most anticipated releases of the year early!!!

In this book, we explore the dystopian world of Japan where sex between married couples is gone: everyone who wants to have kids now goes through a process of Artificial Insemination. The main character of this story is Amane, who was born from copulation before it was extinguished, and her mother never lets her forget that true love between a married couple involved sex. Amane sees sex between a couple as dirty and distasteful, and even sees it as “incest” and finds that she loves anime and book characters more and they give her the love that she needs to feel from a partner by looking at their pictures. However, she feels a strangeness inside of her that is not satiated by the anime and book characters.

Amane later in life marries a man named Saku, and they love each other as family, but not as lovers (because that would be incest!). They try and find love from outside partners, but it goes haywire enough that they decide to move to a brand new city, called “Experiment City”, where they can be artificially inseminated for kids, but not be totally responsible for said children. This paradise-Eden has every adult taking care of the children born, and they even have men being inseminated through a fake womb to help bear the cost of child creating. Will this new move to a new city help Amane get rid of the strangeness inside her???

I could keep going on more about what this story is about, but that would be going into spoiler territory. With that said, my review:

I was not sure how I felt about this book for the first 60%: it really is sex heavy, and this book talks a lot about what would happen if sex no longer existed and if men could also have babies. It talks a lot of the social commentary of family relations as well, and honestly with a book titled “Vanishing World” I was really NOT expecting any of this!!! But, during the last 40% that I binged in a single evening, I loved how it ended but it made me want to throw my kindle at a wall because of how it ended. I was not expecting that ending, and I feel as if there will be more in the finished copy of this book that I can’t wait to read which lead me to buying a copy of the Waterstones edition, and I need it in my grubby little hands right now!!!

As for my star rating, I did not give this an initial rating upon completion of the book; I needed time let this story sit and stew in my brain. As for now, I am giving it a total of 4 stars ⭐️ and if there IS more of the story I am missing in the finished copy, I will probably end up updating that 4 star to a 5 star. I absolutely was enamored with this story!

Thank you again to NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

If you can say one thing about Sayaka Murata is that she creates very original material that is sure to provoke you. And I don’t think she does it just to be provocative. Her stories always have some deeper idea about humanity, especially how odd it is to be a human, at their core. In this one she especially explores the ideas of gender in relation to sexuality and reproduction.

In a world nearly devoid of sex as humans almost exclusively reproduce through artificial insemination, Amane is an outsider. Her parents created her the ‘old-fashioned’ way and for that she feels beholden and nearly cursed by an outdated way of thinking. As she grows up and explores her sexuality while trying to fit into the evolving society she lives in, she struggles to balance her compulsions with expectations put on her by her family, friends, and lovers.

This story was so interesting and I loved so much of what it was digging into around how at the end of the day, humans are another animal species on earth and so much of our culture that we think is “normal” is really just made up.

But I felt the style of this book which relied heavily on dialogue to explain things and repeated itself quite frequently, just didn’t live up to the concept. The last 1/3 was probably the most interesting part…and that ending?! I’m a bit disturbed by it, not gonna lie, but I kind of expect that with her. And it does raise some questions even if I felt that the novel didn’t always have a clear focus.

I wanted to love this but it was probably my least favorite of her novels I’ve read. Still worth a read if you like her stuff, but probably not one to win her fans like Convenience Store Woman.

Murata’s works are utterly unique, often unhinged, frequently unsettling, and this is no different. I loved “convenience store woman,” loathed “earthlings;” this falls somewhere in the middle of those two. I get the social critiques she’s aiming at and found all of that interesting, even compelling at times, but the ending? No.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Press for the ARC!

I always enjoy an unusual, possibly bizarre book, that makes me think, and this one certainly meets the criteria! There were hints of other dystopian novels, "brave new world" and "the growing season" spring to mind but this was very much its own story. I enjoyed "convenience store woman" and Ms Murata's writing once again carries this story of a Japan where babies are conceived through artificial insemination, sex with a spouse is incest and characters from anime and manga are just as credible lovers as human partners.
Inhabiting this world for a short while is certainly a remarkable experience - I'm still working out the ending!
Thank you to netgalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance copy of this book.

If you're looking for your next "out there" read, I invite you to meet Amane and take a trip into ParadiseEden - if you can sort out your visa.

There's three ways to live - the old fashioned way, fall in love in love, get married have children. However, in a speculative Japan this way doesn't exist anymore, despite what Amane's mother hopes for her daughter.

In Amane's world you choose marriage solely to raise a child conceived by artifical insemination with a suitable co-parent. You have no physical intimacy with your partner. No need for all that unpleasantness.

Meanwhile, there's an almost utopia - a place that's like living in the sky. This is ParadiseEden, an experimental city. The population is controlled by an aligrathom, everyone is a Mother and children (Komodo-chans) belong to society. The family system isn't suitable - life belongs to all humanity. Out of body wombs, breeding programs, cleansing pods, a world where you can have a wonderful life.

The story really ratchets up when Amane and her husband decide to elope to ParadiseEden. They leave the other world they are living in behind and I couldn't put the book down.

I didn't see the ending coming until it was too late, but I couldn't tear my eyes away as Vanishing World concluded - with hindsight - the inevitable WTF!

Yes it's very weird, yes it's very uncomfortable, yes it's very bizzare and yes it's shocking.

Did I feel a bit "not normal" for loving it - I'd have to say yes again. This book won't be for everyone! But after all in Murata's own words ....
"Normality is the creepiest madness there is" so that's okay with me!

All the stars from me - what a vibe!

This was my first by Murata and it was a trip! I really enjoyed how quickly we fell into the world and it established itself to make the reader understand the evolvement of the world as the characters knew it. Murata has an incredible incredible talent of placing the reader in the world she’s built and then providing characters that add color and texture to that world. The end was weird and uncomfortable, but I liked it. Very Uncanny Valley vibes.

Towards the end, I still didn’t feel a complete connection to the narrative or the characters but enjoyed the reading experience overall!

"Some people satisfy their urge in a similar way to the copulation of the old..."

Amane is an exception amongst her peers; conceived by loved rather than artificial insemination, she has an alternative view of the world. This is a world where 'clean' no intimacy marriages exist, love is reserved for anime and nonreal characters; the norm of the nuclear family are flipped. 


As Amane grows up and marries her husband Saku, both of them continue relationships with real and nonreal people - I found this fascinating, and wondered about the connections made between clean and dirty, and intimacy. One day, both of them volunteer for a government project which throws away all of what they know...


Murata has created another short stort which critiques the societal expectations placed on women (and men) where they are in service of the human race, despite advances in technology - the same patriarchal expectations are still embedded within the very fabrics of society. In addition, I found the exploration of intimacy; the removal of emotional connection and human touch fascinating. Is intimacy as primal as many view it as?

This is a short dystopian rollercoaster of a book; in a similar vein to Murata's previous translated books, it has some eccentric characters, and mindboggling scenes. Ginny Tapley Takemori must have had a lot of fun translating this!

Thank you @netgallary for this e-arc

Going into a Murata book is like taking a step into one of those beautiful hotel pools that disappear into the abyss. Beautiful and overwhelming, and absolutely unpredictable, but comforting in its strangeness. She is so gentle and communicates her literary bizzare stories, by lulling you into her odd commentaries on life, emotion, and expectation.

Vanishing World, in particular, is a dystopian sci-fi future. As with all good books I recommend going in knowing absolutely nothing - not even a summary. I know that the ending in particular will be divisive in the way that Earthlings was, but goodness, I love her wonderful way of looking at the possibilities of humanity. This wasn't my favorite only because I felt that the protagonists thought process wasn't the clearest at the halfway point, but this is my only real criticism.

This was a wonderful ride and a social commentary on community, family, sexuality, and individuality that is so weird yet so grounded.

[This eARC was generously given to me via NetGalley by Grove Atlantic in exchange for an honest review.]

Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata is a chilling, thought-provoking dive into a dystopian society where traditional concepts of family, sex, and individuality have been erased in favor of sterile reproduction and collective child-rearing. Murata’s signature blend of detachment and surrealism makes the world feel both disturbingly foreign and eerily plausible, as the protagonist begins to question the cold, harmony-obsessed system around her. Like Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings, this novel challenges norms around gender, intimacy, and identity, but pushes even deeper into unsettling territory.

Sadly, this one was one I couldn't push myself to finish. I'm not sure if it's the writing or the translation but I found it the writing to be flat and at times confusing. I do think the premise is compelling and do think that I may try to read it via the audiobook in the future. I don't have much more to say about it since the writing was my biggest qualm but I do think that other readers will still pick this one up and hopefully enjoy it more than I did.

I received an ARC from NetGalley.

I had a very mixed reaction to this book. I was utterly unprepared for what unfolded, likely due to my skipping the synopsis. Still, I was not ready for the disturbing world it presented – a reimagined Japan where sex has vanished, and children are conceived artificially.

Initially, I found myself enjoying the narrative. However, the ending made me deeply uncomfortable, and I don’t think that the final scene was necessary. Even if the goal was shock value, I believe it could have been handled differently.

It's frustrating because the book clearly had the potential to explore some weighty and compelling issues.

"My husband liked listening to me talk about my love life, and he seemed to want me to fall in love again. He was a bit like a little sister in that respect."

Vanishing World imagines a world where married couples are the same kind of family as blood relations, insemination is done only artificially, and sex is slowly becoming extinct. Amane is a strange person, insofar as she was actually made "the old-fashioned way", making her a rare specimen amongst her peers. Love is also a big topic in this novel, and according to this world, one is supposed to love their spouse the same way one loves a sibling or a parent. However, romantic infatuation isn't completely gone, and many of the characters in this book do have girlfriends or boyfriends - sometimes real, sometimes fictional.

The way this book describes parasocial relationships is intriguing and I think there is huge conversation there that we aren't really having. In the age of social networks, many people become enamored or obsessed with celebrities or fictional characters, to the point where it severely impacts their everyday lives. Unfortunately, Vanishing World didn't explore this topic as much as I would have liked.

The way Sayaka Murata imagined Experiment City, a place where all children are Kodomo-chans and all adults are Mother, was quite interesting and well done. I also enjoyed the concept of external wombs for men. The whole idea teeters on the edge between fantastical and disturbing, and it's fun to speculate on how that would work while having some comfort in knowing it (probably) won't ever happen in real life.

Overall, for me, this novel was somewhere in the general vicinity of Earthlings, although more milquetoast. For such a taboo topic, I'd expect some significant visceral reactions, but there weren't any.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Press for the ARC.

"How had Adam and Eve spent their first night after leaving paradise?"

This is the second of Murata's books that I've read (the other being Convenience Store Woman), and it's definitely the weirdest. This is a book that is utterly preoccupied with sex and family, and the language and values that surround it. It's a dystopia, there's no doubt about that, but with hints and whispers of a better world in which change is embraced.

I really enjoyed the use of language in this book, twisting words we already know to have strange and uncanny meanings. This does at times make the book a little bit confusing, but once you get into the swing of things, it becomes really effective.

However, this book generally felt quite shallow. Every conversation the characters had, and every scene, was about sex, family or babies. I had no idea of what life looked like for these characters outside of these key issues.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this book, and it was a very quick, breezy read, but I don't think I'll reach for Murata again any time soon.

(I was given a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!)

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 people no longer have sex 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 envisioning 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.

Sayaka Murata introduces us to a world where any kind of sexual endeavors are forbidden. This was such an unsettling story and I still couldn't put it down. It really makes you reflect on current issues regarding declining birth rates and society filled with lonely, isolated people. It's not an easy read by any means but I'd still recommend it to someone who's open-minded enough to read between the lines. The story is very bizarre with a pretty unique premise which excites me as someone who often gets overwhelmed by the oversaturated market. The book left me shocked and speechless and reflecting on the current world situation and that's all I really wanted. To sum it up, Sayaka Murata did it again!

I’m not sure if I enjoyed the book or not. If it were any longer I wouldn’t have continued. At times I was intrigued and highly uncomfortable and I love books that make me feel things no matter what way. Other times, I was utterly bored. The dialogue wasn’t close to being realistic, but at times I wondered if it was supposed to be that way because it was so strange and added to the discomfort. It was like watching an over directed twilight zone episode with bad acting.
I don’t know if this was because it was an early copy so I didn’t count it against the book, but the dialogue was confusing at times. It was difficult to know who was talking.

Looking for something truly unique? Sayaka Murata’s latest novel, Vanishing World, is bonkers on a biscuit! It’s a dystopian story about an alternative future Japan, where the ideals of love, marriage, and intimacy have all radically changed. The story follows a woman in a sexless marriage, because sexual relations between married couples are forbidden. Instead, society encourages couples to seek affection from outside their unions and in all types of wacky ways.

It’s definitely a bizarre read, but honestly, did we really expect anything less from Murata? The book introduces a some strange but fascinating concepts and I found it refreshingly different and a lot of fun. I recommend it to anyone open to exploring an abstract story without judgment, and of course, to all the currently devoted fans of Sayaka Murata.

Vanishing World publishes on April 15th. Thanks to NetGalley & @Groveatlantic for the digital arc. I'm a huge fan of all of Murata's one-of-a-kind, imaginative worlds.

Sayaka Murata’s, Vanishing World, explores so many social topics in one dystopian world where sexuality and romantic connection are a thing of an archaic past.
The meaning of romantic connection, nuclear family, and child-bearing were all brought into question and this story was equal parts eerie and intriguing. I do feel like much of the dialogue was somewhat repetitive and focused on the mundane that could’ve been better used world building.
And of course, the ending… I understand the concept; society evolves and to remain insistent on the past is insanity / suppressing innate human nature can lead to harmful behaviors. The ending was so disturbing and unnecessary; though, that I feel the intended “shock value” just overpowered the whole message.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC; this book publishes April 15th, 2025.
This review is posted on Goodreads, Fable, and StoryGraph.

Welcome to a society where people have gone with artificial insemination and are eliminating the need for any and all sexual reproduction all while creating a social taboo against sexual intercourse. However our main character Amane is longing for the old days. She learns quickly though how hard it is to go against society and social norms. The people around her are unhinged and adding to her feelings. She goes though moments of denial, bargaining, and anger. I enjoyed following Amane though childhood to adulthood and being there with her to experience different feelings. You see her battle with her responses to desire, love, and family.

This felt like the feral baby of Murata's previous books Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings. I can see parts of each in this one, not in plot but in tone, character voice, and questioning of social customs/norms.

I enjoy Murata's questioning look at society, and in this she questions family, sex, pleasure, parenting, adoption, etc, - poking holes in how society and relationships are currently structured, asking why things are the way they are, and introducing different structural ideas and norms for society.

While this one was still enjoyable and thought-provoking, it felt a bit repetitive and the social norms felt overly explained. I wanted more character voice here and less explanation.

3.75, rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy