Reviews with content warning for Acephobia/Arophobia - Earthlings

Do not read this book without first looking at the content warnings!!! Unless you're at peak mental health with no trauma of course, then go forth with my envy.

Picking up this book, with a reviewer using the word 'hilarious' on the front, with its bright green, cute hedgehog plushie and vibrant energy, I thought I was settling in for a lighthearted while at times sad read about a girl who was navigating being different and had a vivid imagination. While those things are true of the book, nothing could have prepared me for the horrors within the pages (though some content warnings would have been much appreciated).
Before I knew it I had been frozen for half the book, unable to stop reading, my own trauma being triggered time and time again by this innocent looking book rooting me to the spot. At one point I almost threw up. I know they say not to judge a book by its cover but you'd think there'd be some correlation in tone between the graphic design and the content within. Nothing about the book was 'hilarious' in the slightest, nor was it cute.

It was very well written and I have no doubt it's a good book, but I am currently not robust enough mentally to continue with it, though I might one day pick Earthlings up again when I'm more prepared for what may ensue.

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el219's review against another edition

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4.5

am so confused because did we all read the same book? do y’all just hate autistic people…. 😟
soo many people saying this is so imaginative & weird/disturbing & funny when all of this (minus the last 30ish pages) happens so often & is so sad :(
this book was so incredibly sad - natsuki’s dissociative tendencies & coping strategies were described in such a subtle and casual(?) way that made me sob, & unlike some reviews I’ve read, the characters don’t become hard to empathize with in their adult lives,, the way their childhoods affected the rest of their lives felt realistic rather than “disturbing” or “unnecessarily weird.” the relief and comfort they felt in identifying as aliens was v realistic too idc!! (don’t get me wrong their actions at the end of the novel were insane LOL but I hope u get my point) i felt increasingly more sad as the story went on and felt relieved for them when they all started to unmask and heal,, natsuki & tomoya’s marriage proved how being with “your own kind” or simply with someone accommodating can be completely freeing,, reading about them being happy living non-conforming lives was sooo validating too ~
my only question is is ms murata okay bcause some of these descriptions felt a little too real and concerningly relatable,, i luv her little asd coded characters even when they are a lil crazy ฅ(•ㅅ•)ฅ

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shmus's review against another edition

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challenging dark

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uparrowhead's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.25

Survive, whatever it takes.

To say that this book was eccentric and absurd would be a wild understatement, and I truly don't think that there's any words to describe the story I have just read.

In truth, I'm torn between whether I like it or not, but what I am certain on is that people should make sure they check the content warnings for this book before reading it because it really gets crazy.

I understood the overall message of the novel — a call for individuality and being unique in a world where conformity is praised and weirdness is seen as taboo — but the execution of this in the book left me speechless, for better or for worse.

Natsuki's character constantly hangs over me like a pendulum, swinging from being a relatable character to someone who's just far too strange for me to be able to understand. The book gets rough many times, exploring the difficulties Natsuki faced and getting quite disgusting by the end of the novel.

Coming straight from my reading of Convenience Store Woman, I find this book very difficult to unpack, and tenfold more intense (low-key traumatising, if I'm honest). Overall, Murata still managed to create an interesting and engaging read, but a lot of it was at the cost of my mental health. It's entertaining, but read at your own risk.

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markanthemum's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

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dragon_s_hoard's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense

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

3.0

I can’t decide whether this is a chilling indictment on collectivist society’s imperative to conform, the lack of supports provided to traumatized peoples, and the profound effects of formative trauma, or whether it is a chilling indictment on the lack of supports provided to traumatized peoples, the profound effects of formative trauma, and a cautionary fable about the need for both support and societal control because otherwise people go off and do absolutely bonkers things. </spoilers>

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irvvack's review

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3.5

Okay. So this book is weird as hell BUT it’s also something I’m glad to have read. It’s kind of like the joker but for women. I liked it a lot in terms of how it made me think about myself and society. The reason I’m giving it 3.5 stars is because I don’t think I’m ever gonna re read it. At least I’m not gonna re read it any time soon. And reading it the first time around was really difficult in places. Please do check the content warnings for this book. If it’s too much for you I’d recommend Murata’s other novel Convenience Store Woman. It delivers similar themes in a more digestible way.

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