Reviews tagging 'Death'

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

325 reviews

bookfriend8's review

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No

4.0

This is messed up

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Incest, Body horror, Rape, Cannibalism, Murder, and Pedophilia

savvy999's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Goddamn this book is wack. Literally anything that could happen does happen. Grotesque and alien, but childlike and naive. Full of fearful splendor. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Pedophilia, Incest, Death, Cannibalism, Murder, and Vomit

alexandrabelze's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

oh wow. where to even start? a unique, extremely dark, and satirical take on the constraints and pressures of society’s expectations: a portrayal of extreme anomie. murata did not hold back on the scrutiny. she captured the whimsical and overactive imagination of children so perfectly, especially when it came to processing trauma. this was an amazing portrayal of childhood trauma and how that affects people differently in adulthood. the last two chapters or so were a whirlwind of “wtf” but i was still captivated. extremely excited to read convenience store woman.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Gaslighting, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Violence, and Eating disorder

Minor: Bullying, Grief, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Vomit

t33_'s review against another edition

dark medium-paced

3.0

Uhh literally the most weirdest outlandish disturbing book I have ever read at the moment. Honestly I’m not sure what I read but I read it 🤣🤣

A little bit of child abuse, a little bit of incest, a little bit of pedophilia, a little bit of cannibalism and more. So definitely some trigger warnings for sure!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars 
Not sure I can recommend this book to many people because it may not be a lot of people’s cup of tea. So no I wouldn’t recommend it to most people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Vomit, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Murder, Cannibalism, and Death

autumnwhite's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexism, Cannibalism, Violence, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Incest, Death, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Domestic abuse, Blood, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Misogyny, Gore, and Sexual assault

prod_atashi's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Incest, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Medical content, Torture, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, and Murder

staticspider's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

This book is marketed as a horror book but there is a difference between horror and depravity... this isn't horror. One thing I will say is that they depicted abuse perfectly. Unfortunately there is no help for those struggling in this story. Trigger warning for those interested: child abuse, sexual abuse, suicide, incest, cannibalism, victim blaming, and a large amount of undiagnosed/ untreated mental health issues. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Gaslighting, Incest, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment

shoelace's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death, Pregnancy, Self harm, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Mental illness, Violence, Bullying, Confinement, Gore, Incest, Blood, Cannibalism, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Infertility

questionablereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is wild, unhinged, chaotic and depraved, and I absolutely loved it. You're introduced to Natsuki, a strange child who is quite loud about her strangeness. She experiences tragedy that no child should have to face and then you are quickly thrusted into her life as an adult, living quietly against the status quo. This book takes no prisoners and touches on taboo topics such as murder, incest, child abuse, motherhood/parenthood, cannibalism... societal norms as a whole. The book holds a strange dichotomy of reading as it is lighthearted in tone, but the topics discussed are heavy and often uncomfortable. I personally was hesitant to pick this up, but by the end of chapter one I could tell this was going to be one of the best books I have read this year. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Incest, Cannibalism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

whimsicalish's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Earthlings follows the same themes of  from Convience Store Woman; not fitting in society's roles, pressure to conform, and feeling isolation. Sayaka Murata knows how to create an engaging story with these same themes as page turners.

This wasn't as hopeful as the previous novel, but the message was more visceral in imagery. I couldn't help but feel sadness for the characters.

I look forward to more work from this author. I only wish I could read it as it was originally written rather than translation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gore, Murder, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Mental illness

Minor: Suicide attempt and Incest