Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

5 reviews

edgaranjapoe's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Sexual content, and Gore

Moderate: Death, Incest, Alcohol, and Vomit

Minor: Cancer, Acephobia/Arophobia, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Excrement, Homophobia, Stalking, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Grief, Infertility, Medical content, Animal death, and Blood

kymzii's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

Body Horror and Culture Shock
This is a collection of short stories that deal (somewhat metaphorically) with issues surrounding culture, food and lifestyle. However, it is the way Murata approaches these subjects that lift these stories out of banality i.e.

Spoiler

one story involves cannibalism and fertility rituals and another involves using dead human bodies as clothes and furniture.

Her tone is cool and removed and her characters seem a little closed off even when they are baring their souls. My one criticism is that some of her stories go nowhere and the collection would have been better without them e.g. the story where

Spoiler

a woman things she is a building (I'm still not sure what actually happened) or another when a woman is describing how she has a different personality with different friend groups (it just didn't go any where and her husband gets needlessly upset about the whole thing).

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Cannibalism

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Stalking, Grief, Gore, Excrement, Toxic friendship, Infertility, Eating disorder, and Cancer

thesaltiestlibrarian's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Vomit, Dysphoria, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Stalking, Medical content, Sexual content, and Misogyny

Minor: Pregnancy and Animal death

august_18's review

emotional hopeful mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Cannibalism, and Body horror

Moderate: Cancer, Grief, Incest, Death of parent, Death, and Medical content

Minor: Pregnancy

amymariereads's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

It's safe to say I will read anything by Sayaka Murata - I adore her take on society and what it means to conform to normality. 

Once again, Life Ceremony does not disappoint. Each story with its own take on society and sometimes questioning the norms and morals of the people in the tale. Some of the stories are harder to read than others, but each with their own reason and purpose. I was left pondering after each one, and if the purpose was not obvious to me - I would take some time to think about the reasoning of that short. 

I know many people discovered Sayaka Murata off of the success of Convience Store Woman and maybe had a shock when they picked up Earthlings. And this book of short stories I had to jump at the chance to pick up. 

The short stories included were titled:

A First-Rate Material
A Magnificent Spread
A Summer's Nights Kiss
Twos Family
The Time of the Large Star
Poochie
Life Ceremony 
Body Magic
Lovers on the Breeze
Eating the City
Puzzle
Hatchling

Some longer than others, some making you question your own morals, and making you think "would i?".

As well as some heart warming tales where you pine for certain people. I could easily see some of these Short Story themes making it into future Black Mirror episodes - or at least something which commentates on the human race and the future of society. 

I dont want to go into spoiler territory but I would recommend you maybe taking this at a slower pace, even limiting yourself to one short per day. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and if anything it's just left me wanting more Murata immediately! 

PS: I think my favourite short story was Life Ceremony and the grimicing look into society, the future, and how things that feel morally wrong can be rewritten for the public perception and become the norm over time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Excrement, and Grief

Minor: Sexual content