Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

139 reviews

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

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

sofiam19's review against another edition

dark reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

Messed up! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Cannibalism, and Incest

stardustdreamer's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Incest, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual content

Moderate: Bullying, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

Minor: Excrement and Suicide

haruday's review against another edition

I.... can't even rate this. I don't even know how to give this a rating.

I saw the spoiler warnings of graphic content, so I prepared myself before diving into it, but this book was so hyped I thought I could look past it. And I did for the most part.

On the surface, this story is a horror tragedy of a young girl abused and controlled by the adults around her, unable to be taken seriously, losing her voice, autonomy, right to her own body and free will. She struggles to make sense of the world and her womanhood the best she knows how, with no healthy adult figures around to guide her or to rely on. So she disassociates. Believes she is anything but an Earthling. Things become an out-of-body experience, and she is only an observer, biding her time for reasons unknown. The only solace she finds in life is her childhood "sweetheart," Yuu.

The scene after Natsuki is taken advantage of by that fooking pedophilic sicko of a teacher is contrasted heavily by her intimacy with Yuu. Aside from the fact that he's her cousin (sweet home Alabama), at that moment, she's just a child desperate to be with someone she cares about. She wants her first to be with someone who is so starkly different to her grotesque abuser. Yuu is portrayed as shy, soft-spoken, kind, almost feminine. Everything that that "man" is not. And most of all, she trusts him to be intimate with her, even if neither of them understand the repercussions of their actions. Obviously, I do not condone any type of incest or sexual acts between minors, but it does happen. I enjoyed that the author didn't shy away from these taboo topics, and found myself empathizing with why Natsuki had behaved how she did. In a way, it was a very childlike, pure moment - a human instinct - to want to be comforted in that way. This scene stood out the most to me.

Again, unfortunately these types of horrid situations happen, with teachers taking advantage of children, family members that turn a blind eye, parents that are abusive and controlling, "friends" who have something to say about your sex life and family life, people that think they make up for their past actions by having children and contributing to the population... The book is shocking in its subject matter as it slowly unravels these gruesome experiences in an innocent, child-like perspective. Some of the thoughts are almost comedic and very fantastical, with mentions of aliens and magic. But the horror slowly dawns on you as you continue to flip the pages - a feeling that creeps up, slowly but surely, a sure warning for what's to come.

All fine. And then, it gets to the latter half of the book.

One after another, everything hits you on the head like a brick. Things happen. And I drew the last line at the

cannibalism

. Definitely a provocative read that made me feel super queasy at the end. I was literally squinting and skimming through the last few pages trying really hard not to visualize the scenes. Thought I could stomach it, but definitely going to be taking the content warnings more seriously in the future. I'm definitely not a horror girlie.

Overall, I feel very mixed about this book, so I'll refrain from giving it a rating. I can see how it's so divisive, but I did feel like it was very raw and real in the beginning half. I'm glad I was able to power through though and finish for my October reading challenge... you just probably wouldn't catch me reading it through a second time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Incest, and Suicide attempt

apeachy's review against another edition

Whoof…
I would like to start off saying that listening to the audiobook format of this while driving is a terrible idea. I received a speeding ticket listening to this on a road trip. So, I’m quite annoyed by that.

Truly though, it was because of how engrossing and tense Sayaka Murata’s writing is. Because of her skill to draw empathy from her readers, it made the multiple abuse/molestation scenes that much more horrific and heartbreaking.

I did not heed the trigger warnings, and I definitely should have. I don’t like to shy away from subjects or stories just because they make me uncomfortable, especially when they are making an important point. However, it was something I was not prepared for or desensitized to, and for my media consumption, I don’t need to force myself to finish when there are multiple thoughtful articles and video essays about this book and its themes. DNF

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

r_o_s_e's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Incest, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Minor: Excrement, Violence, Vomit, and Pregnancy

booksthoughtsandtea's review against another edition

The content is very graphic. Sexual assault of a minor from the Minor's perspective was too much for me. I'm hoping I will come back to this book at some point. I'm interested in the theme and I want to know how it ends. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Bullying, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Violence

lunchtime11's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

1.0

This book could be for some people, but it was absolutely not for me. Unnecessarily disturbing, grotesque, and vivid scenes without the internal reflection to match. Could not properly appreciate the themes and concepts explored, which are indeed worthwhile, due to feeling sick from the violence (physical, verbal, emotional, sexual, you name it). Was not prepared for this book based on cover and description - needed to read trigger warnings and gain more insight before picking it up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Incest, Bullying, Rape, Self harm, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Gore, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

bl41's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

WTF……… very absurd strange insane heartbreaking book

LOOK UP CONTENT WARNINGS I AM NOT KIDDING 

Such a traumatic, gut wrenching, disgustingly graphic narrative and a…. existential enducing read (?) A disturbingly beautiful exploration of dissociation and trauma. I was in tears. 

And that ending??? literally felt like a A24 horror movie. 

Read this late at night in one sitting— it absorbed me instantly. I’m personally fond of books that disturb me to my core, and you just know the writing is good when it gives you physical and visceral emotions.

Natsuki, the protagonist, suffered abuse from her own family and teacher when she was just a young little girl. Her imagination and weird fantasies about aliens served as her sole means of escape, but it ultimately drove her insane.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Incest, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual content