Reviews

Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

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bellorie's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is a series of short stories touching on magical realism and speculative fiction. For me, the stories made me see things in a different light and see new ways of thinking. Each story can be pretty shocking, but the author pulled it off in a way that makes the stories feel real and believable. It may be the recency effect for me, but I felt like the last story (Hatchling) was my favourite because it had me thinking for a while - even though the character's actions may sound extreme, it’s not far from reality.

seasamread's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

castral's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

theworldisonfire's review

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challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I reallly do want to buy this, so that I can re read this over again

bookishkitkat's review

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4.0

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. I loved how casually bizarre all the stories were. I especially liked “Poochie” because it was so funny and unserious, but my favorite has to be “Two’s Family.”

wholelotofweird's review against another edition

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challenging emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Like with any short story collection there are some that really hit and some that are just kinda okay.

But, if you liked Earthlings this collection is perfect. Murata really nails the feelings of isolation and alienation, and manages to make familiar experiences and feelings surreal.

Content Warnings