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.

I could not put this novel down. Parts of it were childish and imaginative, others were dark, vivid and haunting. It was bizarre and repulsive, but so addictive.

We first meet Natsuki as an 11 year old girl who, as a result of being abused by her family and teacher has developed coping mechanisms to deal with her situation. We meet her again when she is in her 30s, still scarred by her past and living with her asexual husband. As this peculiar story unfolds, it becomes apparent that Natsuki is attempting to avoid becoming a part of the factory, aka a society that demands economic and reproductive success.

Don't be fooled by the cover or the childishly narrated text, this novel is grizzly, and the further we get towards the end the more grizzly it becomes. I honestly think I will be scarred by some of the scenes in this book for a while. Strangely, I disliked it at the same time as finding it compulsively readable. I probably wouldn't reccomend it unless you like horrors

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!

The follow up to convenience store woman, this short novel is strange, dark and very unnerving at times. In a way it is very compelling, I really did need to know what had happened Natsuki, but I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed the process.

Split into two halves, the first half of the novel sees 9 year old Natsuki trying to find her way in the world, surrounded by a family who dont understand her, or seem to like her very much. She understandably doesnt trust other adults around her and feels that she doesnt belong in the world she inhabits.

The second half sees an adult Natsuki, in an asexual marriage of convenience, still without a place in the world. She doesn't want to cornfirm tosociety's norms but in an attempt to escape this will go to extreme lengths to escape it.

I understand that this book questions the world we live in, its patriarchal and misogynist ways, but I just wasnt a fan of the confused yet over simplistic writing style. I can see that others would really enjoy it, but it just isn't one for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Granta Publications for providing me with an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger Warnings for this book include: paedophilia, sexual abuse, incest, cannibalism, murder.

Sayaka Murata is one of the most incredibly unique writers I've ever had the honour of reading from. Following her book 'Convenience Store Woman' I didn't think they could possibly produce something more incredible, yet here we have 'Earthlings'.

Earthlings is the story of Natsuki, who we see at ages 11 and 34 being pressured to conform with societal norms, whilst dealing with past traumas and abuse, along with her cousin, Yuu, and husband Tomayo who've also suffered. The trio believe themselves to be aliens from the planet Popinpobopia in order to process what they've been through together.

This book was an absolute roller-coaster, I laughed, I was hurt, I found parts incredibly hard to read - yet when it all came together this was so incredible and intense that I just couldn't stop. Sayaka Murata will definitely be an insta-buy author for me from hereon-out.

If you're seeking an intense, hard-hitting but short novel, 'Earthlings' is the one for you.

“Survive, whatever it takes.”

Natsuki doesn’t fit in. Each summer, young Natsuki looks forward to visiting her Granny’s house in the mountains of Akishina with her parents, younger sister and extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins. There, she is consumed by a fantasy world where she is a magician and her cousin Yuu is an alien from Popinpopobia, which becomes a place to find solace from the Factory with all its expectations and pressures to work, marry and reproduce. A sick, twisted and brilliant critique of the contemporary treadmill and inspired follow up to Murata’s superlative Convenience Store Woman.

This novel is super odd to say the least! If you’re looking for something a bit different then give this a try.

I loved how unique it was, although I have to say I did find the abuse parts particularly hard to read, more so than other books actually. Something about it hit a nerve for me.

Overall, I enjoyed it but didn’t find myself completely hooked, instead I was able to make my way through it over a couple of days, despite it being a relatively short book.

At every turn, this book caught me off-guard. Just when I thought I had a handle on where it was going or what it was trying to do, something else would happen to the main character Natsuki and I'd cling on tightly for the journey. I had watched a video of various early readers reacting to the ending so of course I was waiting for that, and it did not disappoint. I was left with a lot of questions about the book I knew I'd get no answers to as well as plenty of questions about what we expect of each other in society.

I saw 'Earthlings' on NetGalley almost immediately after I'd finished reading 'Convenience Store Woman', and couldn't start reading fast enough. Wonderfully weird from the outset, this was such an entertaining read, and impressively weaves in the same critiques as CSW. Though I found the directness of CSW a little more successful, this title really exhibits the extent of Murata's brilliant imagination. More Sayaka Murata NOW, please!

Ok so, first of all this book is one that needs the trigger warning of all trigger warnings, if you're easily offended, just keep moving. However, it is absolutely worth every single assault of the brain and senses that it throws at you.

I waited about a week after finishing the book to write this review to allow myself to decompress. Quite honestly it left me bereft and speechless. This book is wildly clever and looks at the layers and conformities of Japanese society in the most bizarre and warped way.

Do not let the cute, fluffy and cuddly cover fool you, this book is anything but. Dark, twisted and deeply disturbing this book catapults you through a roller-coaster of emotions including utter disgust and revulsion.

It's weird, wacky and somehow very wonderful. An absolute must read of 2020.

I feel the need to bleach my brain. I wish there was an indication in the blurb about just how vicious the abuse - both sexual and psychological- of the primary school/teenager is. I read on because I felt I needed to know if she was going to be ok, when I know better. Why did I not DNF? I don’t even know that myself.

This book is in turns funny and deeply disturbing. It managed to contain every taboo under the sun and still be hilarious. In all seriousness though, trigger warnings for child abuse, violence, incest and cannibalism.

In Earthlings we follow the story of Natsuki, first as a lonely misfit child and then later as an adult making her way in the world. As a child she isn’t close to her family; her mother is verbally abusive and gives preferential treatment to her younger sister instead. Her real solace is visiting her cousin Yuu, and they form a close bond as children, even reenacting a marriage ceremony.

Natsuki is painfully naive which of course makes the hardships she endures all the more shocking, particularly when her school teacher abuses her. Perhaps as an act of wilful escapism she comes to believe she has been granted magical powers by a hedgehog teddy she bought from a bargain bin. These magical abilities are how she explains dissociative states where she floats out of her body or loses memory due to trauma.

When she confides in Yuu about her magic powers, Yuu admits in return that he believes he is an alien. This is really the seed for a way of equating feelings of alienation with a belief that they are genuinely aliens from another planet.

As quirky as it is, it’s also a critique of capitalism, sexism and gender roles. Natsuki compares society to a factory, viewing education and parenting as tools to brainwash people in to becoming obedient workers, and to coerce women into becoming manufacturers of babies. She deals with the pressure and repercussions of not living up to her role as a woman in society and ditching the whole template in order to find liberation.

Thoroughly entertaining and I will be seeking out 'Convenience Store Woman' and reading anything else Sayaka Murata writes.

I read Murata’s novel the Convenience Store Woman back when it had first been released in English, and I absolutely loved its voice and discussion on society and women. I liked how it highlighted the sexism of women in Japanese society, mixed in with the feelings of being an outsider in a society that had rigid rules that must be followed or you will be ostracised, but it was handled in an absurd and often funny style that made it unique. Now Murata has decided to take those same themes and make this a disturbing and vile take that will leave you feeling a bit nauseous.

Yet I really liked it.

I’ve read a few other Japanese authors, and it’s a thing that Japanese literature is often surreal, strange, and culturally saturated. Just read a Haruki Murakami book to understand, so I wasn’t too shocked or surprised with what I was getting into. The only thing that surprised me was the complete difference between Murata’s books, but to me it showed her range, and I was captivated by her writing. She has a clear and straight forward approach that doesn’t muddy the story and helps you focus, which makes reading the content even more unnerving with how direct it is. I’ll leave warnings at the end of the review if you wish to prepare yourself for what the story contains.

I never knew what to expect with the story. The synopsis left me blind sided, but it made the gut punching scenes all the more shocking. We see the world through Natsuki, and you can feel her isolation from the ‘Earthlings’ of the world. Her detached style was analytical, but made some very interesting statements on society and the ‘Factory she is forced to abide and how her desire to not conform to the Factory all the more understandable.

The novel is more of a commentary on social structures. It has a feminine take on the pressure of women in society in regard to wifely duties and double standards, which are harder in Japan. The expectations weighing on Natsuki to conform is suffocating and oppressive, while fearing she would lose herself to the Factory and become a baby maker for their use, but also being pestered by her family unit to give in or stay on outcast. I really related to her struggles and it made more sense how her mental state progresses throughout the narrative.

And while it discusses these issues, there is still a lot to be interpreted, whether the Factory or Natsuki being an alien is real, or whether she uses that idea as a coping mechanism. Because of how suffocating the atmosphere can be, combined with the loss of innocence she experiences that makes her more cynical to the world and it’s structures, it could be a possibility but it’s open to our interpretation. Murata weaves the narrative so carefully that all the pieces come together to create the jaw dropping events that proceed it.

If you’re going into this expecting another Convenience Store Women then you’re going to be getting something entirely different. Murata has proven she can go anywhere with her imagination and I can’t wait to read more of her work. Get read for a weird and shocking novel.



Content warning: child abuse, incest, rape, murder, cannibalism.

All kinds of messed up. I had previously read and really enjoyed Convenience Store Woman, and while this addresses some of the same issues, that of the outsider wanting to fit into a society that they struggle to understand, this one is not really like that book. Not a bad thing, but this one is much more brutal.
Natsuki narrates. We start when she is 11 years old, she suffers emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her family, who don't understand her at all. She accepts at face value that she is a "dead loss" and believes herself a burden. She did also sexually abused by her teacher. The only person who understands her is her cousin Yuu, he's been told by his mum that he's an alien, which he believes. The two disappear into their own world of make believe.
23 years later and Natsuki is in a marriage of convenience to a husband also struggling to fit into society (the factory). Things start to fall apart when pressure builds from family for them to conform to the 'rules'. The two head to the mountains where they meet up with Yuu and try to drop out of 'the 'factory' completely.

Natsuki voice is childish, and matter-of-fact. She describes some shocking things in detail and that voice doesn't change from the 11yr old to the 34 yr old. I found in some ways, this would Dresden the effect of what she was telling you, maybe not a bad thing as in places this a bit of a gore-fest.

*Many Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion*

This book is amazing, it completely melted my brain and I very much enjoyed my brain being melted. Earthlings is strange, unsettling, and weird, yet its very engaging, takes you places you near dreamed of and will freak you out for weeks to come. Perfection!