Reviews

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

Only show reviews with written explanations

cristina19's review against another edition

3.0

Well

Wow wow wow. This novel got unhinged in such an unexpected way in the final chapter and it really turned the book around!

There were parts of this novel that were very cringy, but it was also full of heart and understanding at the same time. I think this was a hard tale for me to read due to the evident abuse that the main character (and some of the supporting characters) endured by their parents and the rest of their community that really broke them. Some of the things other characters (especially Natsuki's mother) said to her were horrible and I had a hard time reading how she was being treated at some points. To me, this was a very difficult story to read due to how horrible people can be to each other, especially to those who are clearly reaching out for help.

But all that aside, this was a good novel overall that I think suffered from an issue with some extra fluff that could have been cut out, but nothing that severely hindered the story or anything like that.

norahmack's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark medium-paced

4.25

bunny18's review against another edition

Go to review page

fast-paced

3.25

This was one of the strangest, most sickening books I’ve ever read.
It takes skill to write stories like this!

shirumoon's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

In the first one or two chapters, I was so enthralled with what I'm reading, both stylistically and the setup of the story but unfortunately it didn't unfold in a way that I would have wanted to. Some things that I disliked:
The main character is kind of running in circles, no matter how much time passes. Sure, might have been a deliberate choice and trauma does stifle your development but the main character's struggling just felt redundant at some point. Also what I generally fail to relate to is that endless enduring of

family absue and coercion

but I guess that's an integral part to the book's social commentary on Asian culture and family dynamics. It was frustrating to read though and made it predictable that at some point... they would lose it. And then the gore increased to unneccessary levels.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure whether I struggled more with the idea of the book itself or with the execution? It just didn't feel new and revelatory to me, just not really a deeper message there beneath that one layer of critizising society. Nicely written nevertheless and it had good pacing.

Content Warnings