Book Review: Earthlings by 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?

If Sayaka Murata does one thing well, it’s writing characters who are different and marginalized by their peers. There’s a heavy load of trauma, suffering, and a multitude of triggers in this book, but despite that, I loved it—even when things felt overwhelming.

This is a story about three people who don’t fit into society joining forces to deliberately live outside it. It’s a celebration of freedom against capitalism, about breaking the molds society expects us to conform to. But it’s also a tale full of pain, disappointment, and the oppression of traditional values.

This was a page-turner. I related to Natsuki from the start, and reading her story felt like watching a car crash in slow motion, one that gradually morphed into something far more horrifying. I confess I felt somewhat voyeuristic reading the final third, where the characters have devolved so much they’re almost unrecognizable.

A must-read for fans of weird books and oddball characters. Some scenes are hard to stomach, so it isn’t for everyone.

I also have Convenience Store Woman in my pile, and after Earthlings, I think I’ll be reading it soon.

Story (Plot)
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lomeraniel

My name is Elena. Since I was a little child I loved science fiction and fantasy, and I can’t resist a good novel. In 2015, while wait I started to listen to audiobooks and I discovered the pleasure in being able to read while doing my daily tasks, so there’s always an audiobook playing on my phone. If you see me with my Bluetooth headphones on, please be gentle, I get easily startled.

I live with my boyfriend, which I met during my six-year stay in Belgium, four cockatiels, eight lovebirds, and a hamster in Madrid, Spain; and I like to spend my free time knitting and sewing while listening to audiobooks.