Earthlings

by Sayaka Murata

[empressbrooke]

I don't really know how to categorize this book, or rate it. I notice that a lot of people are shelving it under 'horror', which certainly makes sense, although if someone asked for horror recommendations this book wouldn't be one that comes to mind. I don't know if this one would come to mind for any recommendations unless someone said, "I want to read something that is completely bonkers and off the wall and defies any expectations I could possibly have."

It covers the familiar themes from the author's Convenience Store Woman, about not fitting in with societal expectations and the reactions of society trying to hammer unconventional people into place, but it was like someone took Convenience Store Woman and held it up to some funhouse mirrors. As other reviews note, it involves physical, sexual, and emotional child abuse that leads to the main character disassociating to cope (and therefore not being able to fit into society's expectations for her as she grows up), so that might be something that some people just prefer to avoid altogether. But as dire as that warning is, it doesn't really convey how totally bonkers and bizarre the plot gets.

Sometimes reviews like this, even if they're from a negative review, make me pick up the book because I'm dying to know exactly what elicited such a response. If you too are going, "Well, how bonkers could it possibly get? I am morbidly curious!" then this book might be for you!