Earthlings

A Novel

De: Sayaka Murata

Narrado por: Nancy Wu

• Amazon Editor’s Top Pick
• Bustle Pick
• Vulture.com Pick

As a child, Natsuki doesn’t fit into her family. Her parents favor 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.

©2018 Sakaya Murata (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

UHHHH

Overall I liked this a lot. Definitely one of the stranger stories I've come across in a very long time without a doubt. Very dark look inside broken minds that find each other and try to make sense of the world while landing on very, VERY disturbing conclusions. I found myself repulsed in a lot of moments but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't compelled the whole time.

Two flaws: I'm gonna give a HUGE content warning because this contains some pretty graphic and harrowing depictions of CSA that kind of come out of nowhere. Luckily I have no related trauma so it "merely" unnerved me but if that's a subject you're uncomfortable with I'd either give this a pass or just be prepared that it's in here. The other flaw is probably a personal thing, but the narrator, while doing an excellent job conveying the childlike mindsets of the main characters, unfortunate chose a voice for the Yu character that sounds *exactly* like Milhouse from The Simpsons. It's honestly pretty hilarious but it did make the tone really bizarre and uncomfortable before I adjusted.

NOPE. NOPE. NOPE.

I want to start by saying I loved the story Convenience Store Woman. I liked how unusual the main character was and how the story was a "slice of life" story. I thought this story would be similar by glancing through the listing and reviews. I don't like to give too much away to myself by reading too much of them, but I think I will definitely make sure to read more reviews next time. Honestly, the writing itself was very good and I did like the main character as she was unusual again. I was not prepared for the rape or murder, but it did add depth to the character at least. My "NOPE" warning is for the cannibalism. Please, for your own sake, just stop listening to it before the last 30 minutes. Maybe even the last chapter. Anything you can imagine will not be as bad as listening to that. I nearly threw up. I've read a lot of things in my life that I would recommend not to, but this is the worst thing. The detail it's described in was way, way, WAY unnecessary and is what made it almost unbearable. It made me do a 180 on this book. I'm even going to hide it from my library so I don't have to think about it again. Once again, Nancy Wu did a splendid job. I don't hate the book, just the ending.

Experimental Writing

The speculative nature of this novel makes it hard to recommend. However, I found myself experiencing primal but childlike emotions along with the MC; anger mostly. The theme became a bit repetitive by the end. Now I have to find a nice book to cleanse my pallet.

This is crazy, disturbing, weird, and extreme!

When I finished listening to Convenience Store Woman, I immediately looked for other books by Sayaka Murata. I found this and got intrigued right away. Oh boy! This book is crazy in a good way. Even though it was disturbing, I understood what Natsuki went through and why she did all of those crazy things. I got sexually assaulted many years ago. It made me disconnect from a lot of things, especially from myself. I felt so lost and struggled how to cope with what happened to me. While I was listening, it was comforting that Natsuki found connections who understood her. Thanks Sayaka for writing this book.

Bizarre, Thoughtful, and Troubling

The plot was moving and twisted and then just plan absurd. If you like any of those adjectives, give it a shot. But seriously, quite the read. Well worth a listen. Think Lolita meets space alien meets Vonnegut meets TC Boyle and you'll be a third of the way there. Haha!

A Heartwarming Slice of Life about a Japanese Polycule

Sometimes you think you got married just due to societal pressure only to find out you really and truly WERE meant to be together, just in a relationship a tony bit abnormal.

Feel good read of the summer!

Unsettling with need of trigger warnings

This book completely rocked my brain. It covers really dark topics like trauma, misogyny, abuse, assault, and features cannibalism, but it's handled with nuance and insight into contemporary society. I won't stop thinking about it any time soon

Favorite book of the year!!!

This has to be my favorite book I’ve read this year… This book is the perfect amount of beautiful and twisted. It was so interesting I could not put it down. Also, the narrator is AMAZING. She really immerses you in the story. Absolutely recommend spending your credit on this book!

definitely a strange read

Much like convenience store woman, also written by Sayaka Murata, this book is seemling flat with lots of internal monologue to get a grasp on the narrators thoughts. Very chaotic and dark in some places but definitely a good read. Nothing is quite predictable so you are on your toes- nothing really jaw dropping though aside from the ending but more from disgust rather than surprise. I recommend this book as a casual read. I didn't take much away from it other than some entertainment. I love the audio reader, they do a fantastic job.

Idk if I loved it or didn’t

Very very disturbing material (and I love dark books) think it’ll take me a while to know if I can really liked it or really didn’t.