I don't know what goes on in Sayaka Murata's mind but, I like it! Life Ceremony is a collection of short stories that focus on familiar themes of love, sex, food, society and death but, in true Murata fashion, are turned on their head and considered through an obscure lens.

Life Ceremony is a collection of short stories. This was my first book by Sayaka Murata and it was weird. These stories are very shocking, The first story is all about using the human body in products so nothing is wasted, for example there are coats made of human hair and furniture made of human bones. It is speculative fiction so there is no clear setting, it is up to the reader to decide. I am not the biggest fan of short stories so this was not ideal for me. I am giving it 3 stars. My favourite story is Two's Family. The cover is definitely striking and reflects the stories. Overall it was gross but interesting to see how the short stories reflect society.

I read Convenience Store Woman back in 2020 and really enjoyed it. I was really looking forward to this short story collection as a result.

“Mixing taboo-breaking body horror with feminist revenge fables, old ladies who love each other and young women finding empathy and transformation in unlikely places, Life Ceremony is a wild ride to the outer edges of one of the most original minds in contemporary fiction”.

This one was… a lot. Okay, so I wasn’t sure what I was expecting (if I had read Earthlings I would have been *much* more prepared) but I was shook by some of these stories. Some of them were genuinely nauseating that it took me by surprise. But… I enjoyed it??? It’s very hard to explain but Murata writes in such a way that has you mesmerised even by the most shocking of things. She uses these outlandish ideas to make comments on typical societal conventions. For example, there’s an asexual couple who want to have a child and are not sure about how to go about it, because they don’t want to have sex. So that story follows them navigating crazy medical procedures. Or there’s a story where people make products from humans (skin, hair.. you name it) and one character is completely disgusted by it and nobody can understand why. These kinds of stories make us question the human condition, why we think a certain way and why we expect others to act in certain ways.

I will say that there were some hits and some misses. I found some stories really captivating while others not so much.
But Murata is a phenomenal writer and I love the way her writing pushes outside the boundaries. If you love weird, translated fiction and short story collections, this is definitely one to check out when it’s released.

Huge thank you to Granta Books & NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

Life Ceremony is a collection of weird and wonderful short stories.

I've never read any of her work before but Earthlings is on my TBR and I'll definitely be reading it soon!

These shorts were really interesting and some were down right disturbing! I would love to know what's going on in Murata's imagination because it is wild

This was possibly my most bizarre reading experience to date. It is a collection of short stories, each of which examines a taboo issue (mostly involving death and/or human bodies) by imagining a world in which the behaviour is normal. I'm glad I read it, and will certainly read more of Sakaya Murata's work, although with this one I would say it was more interesting than enjoyable.

As for the writing, Japanese literature in translation always seems to me a little stilted and unnatural and therefore difficult to assess, but as translations from Japanese go, this seemed to me to be well written.

Life Ceremony was interesting. I always think there are two kinds of writing that Sayaka Murata does—one like Convenience store woman and one like the bizarre Earthlings. I enjoyed both and so I was looking forward to Life Ceremony. I enjoyed how the extraordinary sits comfortably with the ordinary—a curtain falling for a boy who comes into the house and being jealous of its owner/girl., wearing clothes of human hair and becoming furniture or clothes after your death etc. I wasn't really digging the cannibalism vibes though.

3.5 stars. I love reading fiction from other countries because of the fascinating glimpses I get into different cultural sensibilities along with the story. I always find that this is especially true of Japanese fiction and is probably why I am regularly drawn to it.

This is my first experience of Sayaka Murata’s writing and it’s fair to say that it could never be mistaken for the work of a European. It is interesting, compelling, repulsive, frightening and unexpected. It displays all of the power to shock of films like Battle Royale, with a quite different approach to levels of taste - often quite literally.

As with most short story collections, there are some that are far better than others but they all challenge our understanding of what is and isn’t normal and/or acceptable and make us ask ourselves questions, as all good fiction should.

This is a quirky, thought-provoking read, I just wish that some of the ideas were left a little less unfinished.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Granta Publications for an arc of this collection in exchange for an honest review.

I was given a free ebook ARC through Netgalley.
DNF at 30%.
I will leave this unrated on Goodreads, but have to leave a rating here that reflects what I did read.
The first story in this collection was disturbing but intriguing, I enjoyed the blending of horror/dystopia/societal commentary. However the next few stories I found either boring or too overtly didactic in its themes. Finally, with being totally grossed out by the premise of the titular story Life Ceremony, I have decided to DNF. Perhaps some of the subtleties were lost in translation, or maybe this just isn't for me, but these stories were very different from Murata's Convenience Store Woman, and wasn't what I was looking for. I enjoy surreal, gross and even horrifying, but this just felt like it was simply intended to shock, without any great depth.

What's the book about?

Twelve unusual short stories about family and friendship, sex and intimacy, belonging and individuality.

My thoughts:

I am blown away by the way Murata's mind works. Who else could make such a horrid act as cannibalism sound poetic and dare I say, to some extent even compelling. I enjoyed almost all the stories and can't wait to see this one becoming a bestseller (it definitely will!).

3.5

Thank you to NetGalley, Granta, and Grove for providing me an eARC to review!

This definitely leans more Earthlings than Convenience Store Woman, but it explores the themes Murata does so well - modern relationships, pregancy/reproduction, and society's shunning of those who don't conform. But it also introduced some new ones - finding pleasure/peace with your own body, making fun of the urban romanticisation of rural life, and first love.

I think Murata is at her best when she's at her weirdest. Were some of these stories an unpleasant reading experience? Yes. But is it also iconic? Also yes! It's so refreshing to see an author just doing whatever they want and have it be entirely unique. Would definitely advise looking up content warnings though because at times this is...a lot. But there are also some stories which are shorter and quieter which is nice too.

I think maybe my favourite story was 'Eating the City' but the weirder ones like 'Life Ceremony' and 'A First Rate Material' definitely stood out just because of how strange they were, with 'Poochie' and 'Love on the Breeze' also getting honourable mentions.

Life Ceremony is a collection of twelve short stories by Sayaka Murata. Sayaka takes modern day taboo issues and talks about makes them ‘normal’.

Now, there is a warning on this! Do not read it if you are squeamish or easily creeped out, because trust me you will be reading this book!

Sayaka creates tiny worlds in each and every one of her short stories. Imagine, at someone’s death a strange meat is carved and served to their families as part of the ‘Life Celebration’. This just one of the stories you encounter, many include sex, gender roles, relationships, friendships, and more specifically, talk about people in general. Different personalities, characteristics and upbringings cause extremely subjects that Sayaka isn’t afraid to discuss.

Sayaka’s writing is so unique that you have no idea where she is going to go next. Is the story going to become even more creepy than it already is, so much so you are cringing at the page, or is it suddenly all going to work out just as it should? Sayaka poses question after question and makes sure the reader answers these by the end.
Sayaka is definitely a master of her craft, and these short stories are just a snippet of what she can do. You can really picture the characters and their weird quirks in such a few short words or pages. I was definitely creeped out reading this story but I was so excited and just had to keep reading!

The worst thing for me was the chandelier, when you read this book you will understand. That is the stuff of nightmares, and, I will be picturing this for a long, long time. I’m delightfully disgusted, but in the best way.

A collection of short, weird stories unlike anything I've ever read before. I can't say what I thought about this book, because I'm just not sure. Some of the stories were better than others, but the stories were so random and strange that I just couldn't put the book down!

A very different, random book of strange, short stories!

Murata never fails. I enjoyed this just as much as earthlings and convenience store woman. Light and easy to read but always introspective.

In her first collection of short stories, Sayaka Murata explores society and identity in uncanny yet creative ways. Life Ceremony is a bundle of tales, some humorous, most horror which take on norms and values of society and reinvent them in a peculiar way. Most take in modern-day Japan or an alternate future reality which is up to the reader’s imagination.

Life Ceremony – the titular story of a woman who witnesses her friend’s life ceremony – a process in which in place of a funeral, the deceased is used to make a meal which is shared amongst the funeral-goers who then go on to partake in procreation as a way to create life out of death. A First-Rate Material – an engaged couple who stand on opposite ends of using deceased bodies in everyday materials such as clothing or furniture. This one was rather fascinating to read in a way I couldn’t really describe. Poochie – Two middle school girls take turns feeding their… strange pet. This one just threw me off completely. One of the shortest ones but definitely gets your attention.

A strange but wonderful collection of stories. I am very glad I went through this with no expectations as a first-time reader of Murata. I particularly enjoyed her nonconformist way of exploring societal norms. Some stories I prefered over the others but overall, a strong collection, nonetheless.

These are a set of short stories and are very thought provoking in so many areas. It is certainly, in places, not a book for the faint hearted but it raised many questions in terms of current issues and life style choices. Some of the stories work better than others but that is only to be expected. I am surprised that this author is not as popular in this country as Haruki Murakami as to me this book of short stories far surpasses his last one.
I highly recommend this if you are into the more weird side of life and like a thought provoking novel.

If Sayaka Murata didn’t write a book that made me want to crawl into a hole and hide, it wouldn’t be Sayaka Murata. These short stories will be sure to have your skin crawling. It’s a comfortable balance between popular appeal of Convenience Store Woman and horror filled extremes of Earthlings. Each is different yet draws together a similar line for me of how far comfort boundaries could be pushed in writing. It doesn’t disappoint and I’ll be sure to get a copy to add to my collection once it’s out.

This was unusual, unconventional, and weird. This collection of short stories explores many different topics that explores the question of how we live. I thought that her stories examined what we consider normal, but used an extreme and grotesque way to do so. I found some of the stories very interesting, particularly the stories on asexuality and partners raising children together. The titular story, “Life Ceremony,” was uncomfortable as it spoke about a tradition of eating the flesh of the recently deceased in order to conceive. Frankly, I struggled to read that particular story and felt physically sick. However, it brings around the conversation of what the human race will do in order to survive. This theme is one that runs through many of the short stories. I found her style of combining the unreal and mad with the normal mundane fascinating.

I want to first say that despite my low rating I do think this author writes interesting short stories and has a very creative mind. There were some stories that I really liked but the bad overshadowed the good with this book. Despite this, I do think that some people would find entertainment in reading this book, I don't regret reading it myself, I am just left wondering "was that it?"

The writing is very simplistic, which I think comes down to the fact that it is translated into English so I won't hold any grudge about that. I reads similar to the Brothers Grimm type tales in this way. A lot of the stories are more speech based instead of heavy on description, it felt a little unusual in this way.

At some points I feel like the stories are thought provoking but then some of them fall flat and I'm left unsure of what the point was. The ending of the final one 'A Clean Marriage' is a perfect example of this. I was so confused when that story suddenly ended.

My favourite story was 'Poochie', it was probably the shortest of them all, it got to the point quickly and had thought-provoking commentary on the overworked office worker.

Some of the stories involved subjects that I suppose class as Horror, but some of them are far from that. And none of them are scary, it's not that kind of Horror.

Like all of Murata’s fiction that I’ve read before, Life Ceremony manages to be poignant while also being deeply weird. And the short story format works well for these uncanny tales. I can’t imagine a first person narrative from the POV of a curtain who a man falls for working as a full novel but it is perfect here in ‘Lover on the Breeze’. I enjoyed Life Ceremony overall, but the largely similar protagonists (curtain excepted) of young detached women do feel a bit repetitive and wearing after a while.

You have to "like" the works of Sayaka Murata otherwise you just aren't going to get it. Luckily I'd read "Convenience Store Woman" a while back so was happy to read "Life Ceremony". It is also short stories which again isn't for everyone. The first couple of stories are weird, but weird in a good way. The author does take everyday life and then puts a little spin on it, like using human bones and hair as decoration, furniture and clothing. It is a mixed bag, being short stories, but I liked the majority of them and will happily read more Sayaka Murata in future.