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pryingblackbird's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
afternoonlight's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
weird, often disgusting, but surprisingly funny.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Cannibalism
Moderate: Sexual content
wordsareworlds's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
3.5
A solid anthology, Murata uses a lot of extremely weird and unsettling elements as a way to comment on life and society. I enjoyed it, but felt like some of the stories were really heavy handed in their commentary, rather than letting the reader infer anything.
Not all the stories were weird in a body horror/dealing with mortality way. One was about a love triangle between a girl, her boyfriend, and a sentient curtain hanging in her room, and I did really enjoy that one. My favorite overall was Puzzle. None of them were a complete miss, but there was one (or two nested together) about the ways the relationship between two women could have gone that were the most "normal" but also the least interesting in how they flowed with the rest of the anthology.
There are elements of gender essentialism I find on par with most other Japanese literature I've read, but I don't think it really veers into anti-queer or anti-trans sentiment.
I'd recommend this to people who are looking for the literary version of Black Mirror that deals with society and mortality using bodies and extreme personalities instead of technology.
Not all the stories were weird in a body horror/dealing with mortality way. One was about a love triangle between a girl, her boyfriend, and a sentient curtain hanging in her room, and I did really enjoy that one. My favorite overall was Puzzle. None of them were a complete miss, but there was one (or two nested together) about the ways the relationship between two women could have gone that were the most "normal" but also the least interesting in how they flowed with the rest of the anthology.
There are elements of gender essentialism I find on par with most other Japanese literature I've read, but I don't think it really veers into anti-queer or anti-trans sentiment.
I'd recommend this to people who are looking for the literary version of Black Mirror that deals with society and mortality using bodies and extreme personalities instead of technology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Body horror, Stalking, Death, and Infertility
bellorie's review
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
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
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
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
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.
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
Graphic: Cannibalism
florenceherson's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-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
4.25