Earthlings ~ Sayaka Murata

Title: Earthlings

Author: Sayaka Murata

Genre: Novel

Original Language: Japanese

Translator: Ginny Tapley Takemori

I feel so torn after reading this book.

Alert: Do not let the cute hedgehog on the cover page of this book fool you. It is only to make the attack much more vicious towards the end of the story. It isn’t a cute novel from the perspective of an 11 year old as it may look. This book HAS content. Child abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, misogyny, incest, isolation, hikikomori (acute social withdrawal), society seclusion, murder, and to top it all up cannibalism. This book is down right shocking, gripping and outrageous. This dark fantasy fairy tale is just so vicious, it makes your heart go for a toss.

Having got that out of my system I would like to add that this book is brilliantly written in a way that it surreally blends childish innocence and society taboos towards the urge to survive and not give in. The narration is remarkably emotionless which is a good thing given the plot. The way the author gently crosses the line between reality and augmented reality created by the protagonist is very cleverly done. The characters are unique, and I liked some concepts like ‘the factory’ and the planet name ‘Popinpobopia’, the annual family get togethers and the festivals.

I do understand how much effort it takes to write a book, to put all the hustle going inside the head to stretch it out on paper, to be so bold in your writing, to live in the pressure to awe the readers. I truly do appreciate what authors do for us. But once in a while, some authors with very different and pressuring views kind of hit the face both in a good and a bad way. Sayaka Murata is one such author to hit it smack right in the middle of the forehead. The climax of the novel just crossed out all the will to finish it to the end. I did not see that coming at all. But with so many different angles and concepts in this story, another one shouldn’t have made any difference. But it did. Big time.

This is the first book that I have read by this author. I would like to read more mainly to bring her in to my ‘good books’, quite literally. This novel for me is a big ‘Nada’… I am so sorry for saying this and I think this is the first time ever I hold this opinion for any book or author. My apologies.