Name: Earthlings
ISBN: 9781783785674

Sayaka Murata

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 asexual husband, surviving as best she can by pretending to be normal. But the demands of Natsuki's family are increasing, her friends wonder why she's still not pregnant, and 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?

Earthlings

Mari-Claire Parrin

Karola

Firstly, I had to study hard to become a work tool. Secondly, I had to be a good girl, so that I could become a reproductive organ for the town. I would probably be a failure on both counts, I thought. 

"Until when?" I muttered, repressing the urge to cry. How long do we have to just survive? When will we be able to live rather than just focusing on surviving?"

Commentary on capitalist society. Also, relatable.

Jonnie

I wanted to study harder and become the sort of child that grown-ups found useful. Then, even if I was worthless, maybe I wouldn't be thrown out.

Also commentary on capitalist society. Also,,, relatable.

"Until when?" I muttered, repressing the urge to cry. "How long do we have to just survive? When will we be able to live rather than just focusing on surviving?"

She had always been exemplary in learning to be a woman, truly a straight-A student. It looked excruciatingly tiring.

Natsuki isn't like the other girls. Together with her cousin Yuu, she spends her summers in the wild Nagano mountains, hoping a spaceship will take her home. When a terrible sequence of events threatens to part the cousins for ever, they make a promise: survive, no matter what. Now, Natsuki is grown. She lives quietly in an asexual marriage, pretending to be normal, and hiding the horrors of her childhood from her family and friends. But dark shadows from Natsuki's past are pursuing her. Fleeing the suburbs for the mountains of Nagano, Natsuki prepares herself for a reunion with Yuu. Will he still remember their promise? And will he help her keep it? A dark and magical reckoning with what it might take to survive a shattered life, Earthlings is an exhilarating cosmic flight that will leave you reeling.

Cloverhart!

iachille

Huh. Not what I expected from a book with a cute plush hedgehog on the cover.

Edit: why am I always rating books really highly and then coming back 24 hours later like, no, I actually didn't like this book??

Huh. Not what I expected from a book with a cute plush hedgehog on the cover.

Edit: why am I always rating books really highly and then coming back 24 hours later like, no, I actually didn't like this book??

never read anything before that was simultaneously so disgusting and brilliant. hated and absolutely relished every second of it, would not recommend

tash

Bizarre, and wild and my oh my such an insane little book. It starts off with so much pain and then every chapter onwards you yell "what the heck" atleast 3 times. The irony lies in whether I recommend this to someone because ofcourse society would call you weird for it. 

diya

more like a 4.25/5

Bizarre, and wild and my oh my such an insane little book. It starts off with so much pain and then every chapter onwards you yell "what the heck" atleast 3 times. The irony lies in whether I recommend this to someone because ofcourse society would call you weird for it. 

"survive whatever it takes" WDYM I BARELY SURVIVE READ THIS BOOK this is so fucked up yet heartbreaking — well, that was my first reaction after i've read this book and now i feel more calm. so here's my review but not-so-review bout this book (who has the plot that is not as cute as the cover) as a woman, it always makes me sick when the world always sees that we have to get married just because we have to have children, like a factory. i hope people just respect other people's marriage, with whatever options they would choose in their marriage. also, this book made me more afraid of people, literally. knowing the reason why someone did something terrible when you know all their stories from the beginning is just... so complicated. it's heartbreakingly sad to think that there are people who have experienced this awful terrible thing since childhood, facing the trauma by living with it until now, at the same time there are people who have always seen the happy things in their lives. i hope everyone out there who is facing trauma from their childhood could heal in some way. and its a reminder for us about how fucked up this world is and please always keep the words that come out of your mouth a good word. there will always be mean and evil people in this world but make sure you always try to be a good damn person.

leah

nidsy

undecided if 3.5 or 4 but yeah crazy read 😭

moira

I've been wanting to read this book for months but couldn't find a copy anywhere. Now that I've finally read it, I can see why people call it bizarre-but more than anything, I found it deeply heartbreaking.

The story follows Natsuki, a girl who believes she's an alien and feels out of place among the people around her. Her only friend is her cousin, Yuu, who shares the same belief. They promise to survive on this planet of earthlings and find the spaceship so they can return to planet Popinpobopia together.

I love books that tackle heavy themes while weaving them into a unique and surreal narrative. I love the metaphor of society as a 'Factory.' I LOVE SAYAKA MURATA.

I honestly like the ending. It reflects the consequences of extreme societal pressures and expectations, ultimately driving the characters to madness.

Do you accept your fate as an earthling, or do you conform to the societal brainwashing that turns you into just another cog in the machine?

I've been wanting to read this book for months but couldn't find a copy anywhere. Now that I've finally read it, I can see why people call it bizarre-but more than anything, I found it deeply heartbreaking.

The story follows Natsuki, a girl who believes she's an alien and feels out of place among the people around her. Her only friend is her cousin, Yuu, who shares the same belief. They promise to survive on this planet of earthlings and find the spaceship so they can return to planet Popinpobopia together.

I love books that tackle heavy themes while weaving them into a unique and surreal narrative. I love the metaphor of society as a 'Factory.' I LOVE SAYAKA MURATA.

I honestly like the ending. It reflects the consequences of extreme societal pressures and expectations, ultimately driving the characters to madness.

What is the best way to live?

Do you accept your fate as an earthling, or do you conform to the societal brainwashing that turns you into just another cog in the machine?

A true definition of don't judge a book by its cover 🤣🥲

I'll give it 3 stars just because I didn't know what to feel after reading. It's so chaotic and interesting at the same time...that's it. All I can say is WTF did I just read??? Definitely not for everyone. So, read at your own risk 🫡

Kath

A true definition of don't judge a book by its cover 🤣🥲

I'll give it 3 stars just because I didn't know what to feel after reading. It's so chaotic and interesting at the same time...that's it. All I can say is WTF did I just read??? Definitely not for everyone. So, read at your own risk 🫡

Katie Berges 

Extreme trigger warnings before reading this, do NOT go into this blindly like I did. This is the type of novel that you have to make a distinction between liking something because it makes you feel good versus liking something because you can acknowledge it made you feel something at all. This was good but not enjoyable; I don’t even know if I can truly recommend it because it was emotionally very disturbing. The main character resorts to escapism in the most violent, depraved way. Weirdly, I needed to keep reading it. It is definitely not for everyone (I don’t even know if it was for me), just consider this my warning. 

Rana Sulieman

Mind blowing, dark and wild, the new novel from Sayaka Murata - author of bestseller Convenience Store Woman - asks: how far would you go just to be yourself?

a creative and provocative way of exploring societal expectations, and trauma and coping. Pls read the content warnings lol

ashley

˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

I thought I'd be prepared for this after reading Life Ceremony but boy I was so WRONG 

agn1kai

earthlings is an enigmatic and equally horrific escape from the human factory —  where you have to serve as an efficient reproducing tool — to the mountains of akishina. a place of overwhelming saddening nostalgia that exists only in summertime and memories of which become so vivid with age that they inevitably get intertwined with meticulously woven, unintentionally made up details of the time when the world seemed bigger, the river seemed deeper, and the space between the house and the bridge was immense for such small legs.

the main characters deem this escape to be the only solution catering to the aliens’ needs. a society based on factory principles hurts some individuals so badly they have to reinvent reality to cope with this, with the understanding that they have been failed by everyone they ever met. when normalcy is so abnormal and abusive, what is there to look up at? in such a world of harassment, injustice, and reproductive pressure even the aliens’ sense of rationality seems more logical to those inhabiting the pages of earthlings.

sayaka murata is a genius when it comes to portraying women-specific suffering in a stinging, sobering way which is devoid of lame preachy lecturing. it’s sharp, and it aims right at the eye, inflicting the most excruciating of pains. some of the conclusions the young main character had come to were more believable, and some were less, natsuki’s parents and sister lacked multidimensionality, and the use of words and concepts felt repetitive at times but. overall, it was a very solid and fresh narration, maybe because i found there what i had been expecting from it, what i was ready for. earthlings are good for consumption right after life ceremony, when you are still able to recreate its echoes, but you are not scared of this extraterrestrial experience anymore.  

the ending truly leaves you at a loss for words, but could there be a mundane, earthly ending for a story about “non-earthlings”? or a tale of taboo and eternal damnation? we should invent a society where women feel like their bodies belong to them, where human bodies are more human bodies than tools, and where every child is safe and protected in their nest. but that would really have to be a society existing somewhere in unknown depths of outer space, huh? 

“my town was a collection of nests, a factory for manufacturing babies. i was a tool for the town’s good, in two senses. firstly, i had to study hard to become a work tool. secondly, i had to be a good girl, so that i could become a reproductive organ for the town. i would probably be a failure on both counts…”

lily lily 

earthlings is an enigmatic and equally horrific escape from the human factory —  where you have to serve as an efficient reproducing tool — to the mountains of akishina. a place of overwhelming saddening nostalgia that exists only in summertime and memories of which become so vivid with age that they inevitably get intertwined with meticulously woven, unintentionally made up details of the time when the world seemed bigger, the river seemed deeper, and the space between the house and the bridge was immense for such small legs.

the main characters deem this escape to be the only solution catering to the aliens’ needs. a society based on factory principles hurts some individuals so badly they have to reinvent reality to cope with this, with the understanding that they have been failed by everyone they ever met. when normalcy is so abnormal and abusive, what is there to look up at? in such a world of harassment, injustice, and reproductive pressure even the aliens’ sense of rationality seems more logical to those inhabiting the pages of earthlings.

sayaka murata is a genius when it comes to portraying women-specific suffering in a stinging, sobering way which is devoid of lame preachy lecturing. it’s sharp, and it aims right at the eye, inflicting the most excruciating of pains. some of the conclusions the young main character had come to were more believable, and some were less, natsuki’s parents and sister lacked multidimensionality, and the use of words and concepts felt repetitive at times but. overall, it was a very solid and fresh narration, maybe because i found there what i had been expecting from it, what i was ready for. earthlings are good for consumption right after life ceremony, when you are still able to recreate its echoes, but you are not scared of this extraterrestrial experience anymore.  

the ending truly leaves you at a loss for words, but could there be a mundane, earthly ending for a story about “non-earthlings”? or a tale of taboo and eternal damnation? we should invent a society where women feel like their bodies belong to them, where human bodies are more human bodies than tools, and where every child is safe and protected in their nest. but that would really have to be a society existing somewhere in unknown depths of outer space, huh? 

“my town was a collection of nests, a factory for manufacturing babies. i was a tool for the town’s good, in two senses. firstly, i had to study hard to become a work tool. secondly, i had to be a good girl, so that i could become a reproductive organ for the town. i would probably be a failure on both counts…”




Ryan Mateyk

Never read a more normal book in my life.

I still feel sick weeks after reading this. Truly wish I never had. Where were the trigger warnings?????

tori 👻

Tsamarah

3.5 stars rounded down

This book is the definition of bizarre. Just when you thought some moments where crazy, the next chapter ended up making you feel so creeped out. 

I believe that the themes of Convenience Store Woman is very visible here; and i think will continue to reflect on her upcoming works as well, though this book definitely have waaay darker tones. Nevertheless, I had a pretty great reading experience.

I started this as an audiobook and I do love Sayaka Murata…however…I did not get far into the book without going “huh” and then rushing to google for content warnings and spoilers. I will say! Check the content warnings for this one! I will probably revisit it in the future when I learn to cope with certain topics better. 

Murata explores the experience of coping with trauma in a surreal way, unlike anything I've read before. From trauma-bonding amongst the characters to exploring the anxieties of the female experience in Japanese society, Murata paints a vivid, colorful portrait full of twists and turns. Whenever I thought I'd pinned down where the book was going and what it was saying, Murata would prove me wrong. It is unpredictable, and at times horrifying. In a book full of crazy events, however, the scariest parts are the societal truths that surround them. This book expands on the themes of Convenience Store Woman and dials them up to a 100, thus cementing Sayaka Murata as one of my favorite authors. This is a page turner, it is entertaining, fast-paced, shocking and extremely sincere. There's no holding back, and I was left thinking about this book way past the time I finished it. It is admittedly not for everyone, but give it a shot and I'm sure you'll find something worthwhile in it.