Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

82 reviews

jcsie's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

chapter 2 had me almost crying on the subway, so thanks for that

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Incest, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Drug use

reading_112's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

⚠️strong topics of pedophelia, cannibalism, incest, and intercourse between minors.⚠️

mog261's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

3.5

this was the most demented book i've read for ages. i feel like i lowkey need therapy after reading it. it needs many, many trigger warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

soph183's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

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

2.75

This book was wild- I absolutely tore through it but feel like I have whiplash after finishing it. The blurb really was the tip of the iceberg, and the story was not what I expected at all. Also psa- despite the blurb mentioning ‘buried horrors of (the main characters) past’ take this as a big fat trigger warning as SA told from a child’s perspective is a rough surprise when you’ve had no indication it’s coming.

Although this was a powerful but sad look at dissociation to cope with trauma and questioning one’s  purpose in modern society, by the end of the book felt like I had lost my mind a little. As I was reading at such speed some parts felt like I must have skipped over sections as I struggled to make sense of the plot, but the ending reassured me it was just a wild ride. The last few pages were some of the strangest I’ve read for a while felt slightly unnecessary (but maybe that’s the point- to challenge what you know to be possible?). Also found the character of Tomoya really hard to stomach and even understand which made for difficult reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, and Suicide attempt

snerp_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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? Yes

2.75

The concept for this book was very interesting, and worth exploring, but I feel this book fell flat. 
I did enjoy the small tidbits of world-building around Natsuki's belief in Popinpobopia, and

how she used said beliefs to mask her coping mechanisms and responses to abuse as magical powers in her young mind.

 
I thought we would've gotten a longer narrative through her childhood,

but 40% into the book there was a pretty long time skip, which I felt threw off the pacing.

This would have been fine by itself, but the story seems to unravel too quickly and without satisfactory explanation

in the last quarter of the book.

Alongside those pacing issues, a lot of the heavier topics depicted seemed slightly ham-fisted in and included mainly for shock value, instead of for relevance or genuine exploration. There does seem to be an issue with the characters, especially Natsuki. The voice of her childhood self and her adult self are identical, in a way that both makes her sound too old as a child and too young and naive as an adult. This weird contradiction is prevalent from the start, and never goes away. The ending did not make sense or feel very thought out to me, and the few twists at the end didn't have much foreshadowing. 

However, I did find Natsuki and her husband's relationship interesting, and a refreshing change of pace from most written marriages.

The mechanic of framing Natsuki's vision of herself as an alien was also one of the main things I liked about this book.
I enjoyed the concept Murata created, and was drawn in to read more when she used it to explore Natsuki's feelings and reactions to the mistreatment of her by the adults around her, but I feel the book ultimately veered too hard into shock-value territory, and caused any potential messages or analysis to be flung out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Drug abuse, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Acephobia/Arophobia, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Death, Eating disorder, Infertility, Infidelity, and Stalking

pennywise30's review against another edition

The only book I wish I DNF, because of these labels that should have been listed. Be in a good headspace if you choose to read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment

maria_luciani's review against another edition

dark sad

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

4.25

Gross and truly bizarre. You'll either be very into it or despise it. I feel very weird but the writing was very much top notch. Read it expecting an unconventional horror book and I think that's the best way I can set your expectations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Eating disorder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, and Murder

Minor: Infidelity

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

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

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

ollyboston's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria