Earthlings is a seriously weird ride. Centred around the main female protagonist's disaffection from normal society, what she calls 'The Factory', we follow her as she hides from childhood trauma with a construction that she is actually an alien being. This novel is one of the weirdest I've ever read; it is not for the faint hearted and should come with absolutely every trigger warning going. It is daring, violent - sometimes gratuitously so - and bizarre. It wasn't necessarily my cup of tea but I appreciated what the author was trying to say about the nature of Japanese society in particular, and the world as a whole. Overall, approach with caution.

W o w! Do I know what I just read? No? Did I love it? I think so?????? Gripping, smoothly written with lots to think about, it’s one to question what life is about and what life is for. Fantastical but also painfully down to earth, I will definitely be recommending this book.

As a child, Natsuki doesn’t fit into her family. Her parents favour her sister, and her best friend is a plush toy hedgehog named Piyyut who has explained to her that he has come from the planet Popinpobopia on a special quest to help her save the Earth. Each summer, Natsuki counts down the days until her family drives into the mountains of Nagano to visit her grandparents in their wooden house in the forest, a place that couldn’t be more different from her grey commuter town. One summer, her cousin Yuu confides to Natsuki that he is an extraterrestrial and that every night he searches the sky for the spaceship that might take him back to his home planet. Natsuki wonders if she might be an alien too.

Back in her city home, Natsuki is scolded or ignored and even preyed upon by a young teacher at her cram school. As she grows up in a hostile, violent world, she consoles herself with memories of her time with Yuu and discovers a surprisingly potent inner power. Natsuki seems forced to fit into a society she deems a “baby factory” but even as a married woman she wonders if there is more to this world than the mundane reality everyone else seems to accept. The answers are out there, and Natsuki has the power to find them. Dreamlike, sometimes shocking, and always strange and wonderful, Earthlings asks what it means to be happy in a stifling world, and cements Sayaka Murata’s status as a master chronicler of the outsider experience and our own uncanny universe.

An eccentric and deeply disquieting novel, Earthlings depicts the dissatisfaction and discontent asexual Natsuki feels towards the world and the way it treats women. Natsuki is a fascinating character who is extensively developed and Murata really manages to get across to the reader the fact that she feels as though she doesn't fit in anywhere, however, she does find a kindred spirit in her husband, Tomoya. Those who enjoyed Convenience Store Woman will find much to love between the pages in this strange and exhilarating story. A humorous, heartbreaking and quintessentially human read. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Granta Publications for an ARC.

This is the oddest book I have ever read. At times it left me baffled and disturbed. Trigger warning for some scenes of child sexual abuse, incest and murder. At the same time it's magical and left me with a major book hangover when I finished. I finished it on my lunch break at work and genuinely struggled to concentrate for the rest of the afternoon because it left my brain so frazzled. It kind of reminded me of Perfume in how disturbing it was,... but with aliens. Can you see why I'm finding it hard to put a coherent review together? Basically if this sounds of interest to you, then please read it. It's actually weirder than how I'm managing to describe it.

Wow, this is one rollercoaster of a read. Very very different to the authors first book,
We are given a very deep into the mindset of a very damaged child, damage done that she could only save herself by finding survival in another world.
Very strange and dark, surreal in a way in how ones mind can try save us from ourselves.
Proceed with caution.

This novel begins with a family gathering, different generations joining together at the grandparents house in celebration. Natsuki a young girl sees herself as an outsider, the world wants her to breed and be a Fatory tool but she doesn’t have these ambitions; she is an alien that doesn’t want to live by the same rules as Earhlings. We soon learn that Natsuki’s life is not at all pleasant, her mother beats her and considers her stupid and useless and her young male teacher abuses her. Natsuki finds like minded people in her husband Tomoya and her cousin Yuu and all three decide that the rules created by earhlings are an illusion and they will live by their own logical and rational thinking. All this leads to a bizarre novel that becomes more outrageous with each page. The message in the end is clear but the path the novel takes is not for the faint hearted as, one by one, it ticks off taboo subjects.

Extremely unsettling and yet highly entertaining.

Earthlings is the story of Natsuki, an outsider who wants to became a useful member of the society/factory when she grows up because she doesn't want to be worthless and useless. Poorly treated by her mother who prefers her older sister, and a distant father leave her virtually alone in a world where there is plenty of danger. She grows up to be married to another misfit, and together with him and her cousin Yuu they decide to reject the world which has never accepted them and become true aliens.

Having read Murata's Convenience Store Woman(CSW), I was ready for an outsider's perspective and that I got. What I wasn't expecting was this deeply unsettling story of our alienness. Compared to CSW, this is gorier and more cynical. But the book is easy to read and I read it in one sitting. Its strength is its detachedness and while the content made me uncomfortable it never made me want to put down the book.

While I did like this book, I liked CSW better. It does have the shock value going for it, but in the end I was left wondering if anything was really said. This type of weird fiction is what I like, but this book fell short perhaps because of the expectations raised by CSW. Not my favorite of hers, but definitely a weird book which you should pick up for its radical surrealism.

Rating: 3.5 ⭐

(This review will be posted online on 01/10/2020)

This book hits you hard, it will literally leave you feeling confused and deflated. The plot line is so outrageous but so incredibly well written.
The story is full of symbolism. “The factory” is used to depict society. Over and over again we are taken through questionable segments of the book where we are told what society expects of our protagonists, but what if we don't fit in with “The factory”?
Why must we be controlled by what is deemed correct by what family and friends see as appropriate.
when we do not conform to what society dictates we are frowned upon, excluded, exiled.
This book covers some very weighty issues.

“Society was a system for falling in love. People who couldn’t fall in love had to fake. What came first: the system or love? All I knew was that love was a mechanism to make Earthlings breed”

We are thrown into Natsukis’ childhood, where we are taken through some crucial traumatic events that set the narrative for the story. My heart broke reading about how Natsuki and yuu were treated as children and how even as adults it didn’t stop there.
I won't go into the plot too much. Experience this for yourselves.
There were some beautiful moments too.
The end of the book is left open for interpretation. Very thought provoking.

Warning this is not a fluffy book , there are some hard to swallow moments, child abuse, sexual assault are a few. All told from A first person perspective. Again society dictation intervenes and the reader is left reeling by the response.

My nerves were shattered by the time I finished reading this. Honestly I loved this book, for just how thought provoking and how it questions “the factory”.
If definitely had the required effect.

Natsuki isn't like the other girls. She has a wand and a transformation mirror. She might be a witch, or an alien from another planet. Together with her cousin Yuu, Natsuki spends her summers in the wild mountains of Nagano, dreaming of other worlds. When a terrible sequence of events threatens to part the two children forever, they make a promise: survive, no matter what.

Now Natsuki is grown. She lives a quiet life with her husband, surviving as best she can by pretending to be normal. But dark shadows from Natsuki's childhood are pursuing her. Fleeing the suburbs for the mountains of her childhood, Natsuki prepares herself with a reunion with Yuu. Will he still remember their promise? And will he help her keep it?

Having read Convenience Store Woman by the same author-translator combo last year, I was really looking forward to reading Earthlings. I wasn’t disappointed.

Earthlings is a much darker and weirder book than Convenience Store Woman and tackles some really difficult subjects. The novel starts when the protagonist Natsuki is eleven years old and ends when she is in her thirties, but it’s not really a coming-of-age novel because she doesn’t become a functioning adult member of society. The first person narrative gives a compelling insight into Natsuki’s experiences and how they cause her to break from reality in order to cope.

Despite the traumatic subject matter, there were some lighter moments and overall the book was not a harrowing read for me. A recommended four stars as long as you have a strong stomach.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata is a pretty strange book to describe.

The book centres around Natsuki, a 11 year old girl who bonds with her cousin Yuu as they both believe they’re aliens from Popinpobopia. Pretty much everyone in her life (aside from Yuu) is horrible to her, she is physically and mentally abused by her mother and a teacher who sexually abuses her. After a series of events Natsuki and Yuu are torn apart and then we jump ahead to Natsuki in her thirties.

Natsuki has entered a marriage of convenience and still believes she is a alien but is wanting to become a Earthling. Natsuki and her husband try to push back against the societal norms disobeying their families who want them to provide grandchildren.

I can’t really say much more without giving away the ending which is very dark and unpredictable.

Overall the book is a critique of the patriarchy that still exists in traditional Japanese families and the toxic attitudes that surrounds sexual assault. There’s a lot going on in this novel and I’m sure not many people could predict that ending!!!

I highly recommend Earthlings and will definitely be looking forward to more translations of Murata’s works.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a ho eat review.

Loved Convenience Store Woman and had high hopes for this. It started strong but veered a little too bizarre for my taste in the end. Well written and well translated, interesting insight into pressures of Japanese marriage culture.

Having enjoyed "Convenience Store Woman," I was looking forward to this new novel by Sayaka Murata. It begins with eleven year old Natsuki, driving to her grandparents house in the mountains, with her parents and elder sister. It quickly becomes apparent that this is the highlight of her year, where she looks forward to meeting her extended family - especially her cousin, Yuu.

This is a much darker novel than the previous one I read by Murata. Natsuki is the odd one out in her family and clings to a stuffed toy, Piyyut, which she got at a supermarket at the age of six. She believes he is from the Planet Popinpobopia and that he gives her magic; meanwhile Yuu believes he is an alien and is waiting to be collected by a spaceship to be taken to his home planet.

Part of this novel takes place during childhood and part when Natsuki is older, and married. This novel covers some dark themes - trauma, abuse, cannibalism and what it takes to fit into a society that rejects us. I found it a somewhat distressing and uncomfortable read, but this novel does have important things to say. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

while sayaka murata's 'convenience store woman' has elements of strange behaviour, 'earthlings' gives in completely to the bizarre and- overwhelmingly- horrifying.

as a child, natsuki begins to believe that she's a magician. emotionally and physically abused by her family, sexually abused by a teacher, she comes to view the world around her as a factory: one where everyone has their set roles, and any deviation must be destroyed. the only way she copes is through depersonalisation, and complete acceptance that she deserves what is done to her.

her cousin, yuu, has been told since birth that he is an alien. the two are best friends and the thought of one day escaping earth together is what keeps them going. after a tragedy occurs when they are younger, the two are split up for over 20 years, only to reunite when natsuki travels to their grandparent's home with her husband.

sayaka murata tears apart feelings of alienation and hopelessness, complete mental ostracisation from society, and puts the pieces together in any way she sees fit. the narrative is fast moving, never really lingering on the horror in the moment, forcing the reader to adjust to the breakneck speed of suffering these characters endure.

in spite of that, there's a definite feeling of love between these three characters. while they are all bullied and beaten by their families, their friends, who have all been brainwashed by the factory, they find solace in understanding one another, and while the ending can hardly be considered a good one, it's definitely a positive for these characters in finally feeling content in a world that's so against them.

Earthlings is very much the opposite of 'Convenience Store Woman'. Moreover than not, the reading experience was filled with moments of incredulity and vexation to what was transpiring in the novel. It's difficult to explain what it's really about because to explain it is to spoil it. Just know that there were moments where things are uncomfortable to read. This was rooted in surrealism and a bizarre read - but a great one.

I requested a copy from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

One unique, twisted and quirky story. Having read “Convenience Store Woman”, I was looking forward to reading this novel and yes, I am not disappointed.

This is a great novel, and I think the author took a lot more risks with this one! She takes on similar issues as in “Convenience Store Woman” but she takes them much MUCH further and I am all for it.

The main issues raised are Japanese social expectations for women especially, abuse in all the senses of the term (emotional, physical and sexual) but also the toxic reactions about those subjects and how easy it is to be gaslighted or being shamed and misunderstood by even the closest people to you.

The author explored the fantasy genre with some surprising gruesome parts in it that reminded of “Out” by Natsuo Kirino (fantastic novel).

I will recommend this book and cannot for more translated books from this author. Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for letting me read an advance copy.

CW: abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse of a child, sexual scene between children, paedophilia, gore, cannibalism.

This was, without a single doubt, the weirdest thing I've read this year. And last year. Probably ever. Also one of the best. The content is harrowing and Natsuki's childlike narration only adds to the unsettling feel. The fantastical elements are so so well written - aliens, non-humans, witches, magic - but they're written to dress up truly horrifying facets of a fractured upbringing and a family and society that don't appear to allow non-conformity, even in response to abuse.

The oppression, the abuse, the response to it from both Natsuki and her family. The aliens, the witches, the familial connections. It's all shocking, it's all so upsetting. And the whole thing is just honestly so so weird. I swear I spent most of this book shaking my head and going 'what??'.

I could not possibly adequately review this strange little book. I don't want to spoil anything, and don't even think I could. How to write about something when you're not entirely sure how the author ever got it written down in the first place? Don't be fooled by the cute cover - this is a horror story in its entirety. It's excellent and genuinely harrowing. Five stars.

Big thanks to the author, NetGalley, and Granta Publications for the eARC. Due to be published: 01/10/20!

Like many readers I really enjoyed Convenience Store Woman when I read it back in 2018, finding it a refreshingly deep but accessible read about gender conformity in present day Japan. So I was excited to hear that this author had a new novel coming out, and from the cover it looked like a kind of cute and quirky read: space and plush hedgehogs! That said, early reviews had me prepared that this was going to be a bit more peculiar than the former novel... but this was weird, unsettling and then some.

Earthlings follows Natsuki, who we meet when she is an 11-year-old schoolgirl. A misfit whose family are less than sympathetic to some of the strange things she comes out with, something terrible happens to her at this age and the consequences of this series of events shape the rest of her life and her outlook on the world. Natsuki's only real friend is her cousin, Yuu, and they bond over her belief that Natsuki’s plush hedgehog, Piyuut, is an alien from a planet called Popinpobopia, and that they too are extraterrestrials. Something happens between Yuu and Natsuki which means they don't meet again for the next 23 years, and the fallout affects the whole of the family.

We then rejoin Natsuki in the present day, where she is a 34-year-old married woman in a sham marriage which she has entered into to appease her family and peers. While this is a fake marriage, the couple share the same view that they are different from everyone else in society who is part of the Factory - those who are conforming to societal norms of marriage, jobs, having kids. The couple then decide to travel to the remote property where Yuu is now living as an adult, and let's just say that from here things escalate somewhat...

I think Earthlings is comparable to CVS in a kind of broad-brush way: both protagonists are misfits in contemporary Japan, not wanting to conform to societal expectations of their gender and both find ways to escape this (still accompanied by men). The author also inserts some brief snippets of ideas about this alienation that are relatable on some level; ideas and themes which formed a lot of what I found enjoyable about CSW. But ultimately Earthlings was a bit too bizarre, extreme and off-the-wall for me. The ending felt a bit rushed and muddled, and other parts of the story could have done with more fleshing out too. Nevertheless I must admit I found this book hard to put down as I read compulsively needing to find out how this wacky story was going to hurtle to its madcap conclusion.

Wow, what did I just read??

I enjoyed Convenience Store Women but liked this one a lot more, I think. I started out thinking that this would be kind of twee, kind of YA-ish. But boy oh boy does it go to some DARK places!

The biggest theme of the book is not feeling like an Earthling. Feeling like you don’t fit in here, like you’re from a different planet. Constantly throughout the book, you’re wondering if the narrator is right. Are she and her husband and her cousin aliens? Or is this a mental illness that’s a coping strategy? There’s a lot of sly commentary on how if you don’t follow an expected path through life, or have an unconventional marriage, you can be seen as an alien by society (which the narrator calls the Factory).

Funny, sweet, and strange. But I am not joking around - there are some MESSED UP bits in this, particularly THAT sequence at the end...

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Having previously read Murata's Convenience Store Woman, I knew that this would be odd. What I wasn't expecting was a whole host of weird, coupled with incest, cannibalism and child abuse.

Honestly, I'm not sure where to start (or indeed finish) with this. The writing is very simplistic, and there's isn't really much of a plot either other than Natsuki trying to cope with her awful childhood by re imagining a world where she has magical powers. We follow Natsuki through childhood, and several life altering events, before moving 20 years into the future and seeing how her life has progressed (or in actual fact how she hasn't changed at all). Her husband has some kind of aversion to the female form, being utterly disgusted by the sight of his wife's legs, as well as an obsession with not giving into the 'Factory' - his idea of the societal norm. Honestly, I just think they all need some therapy.

There's me never visiting a mountainous retreat in Japan. My most resounding emotion when reading this was just...what the hell did I just read? That said, I still wanted to know how this whole bonkers experience was going to end. And it was just as insane as I expected it to be.

This book is utterly bizarre and part of me thoroughly enjoyed just how experimental it was, another part of me winced often at some of the content. For those who want an emotionally charged novel, who aren’t obverse to obversion, then check this out!