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A review by saturniidaes
Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.25
decided to read this as an introduction to sayaka murata in general, and DAMN was it an introduction.
her stories remind me of akutagawa's in a way, but with more sci-fi and dystopian elements, and thankfully, more implications of things like asexuality, abelism, neurodivergence, and things we're talking about more today than in the past. these short stories made me feel: uncomfortable, challenged, represented, repulsed, soothed. they also reflect a lot of japan-specific issues, like sex aversion, modernization, toxic work culture, etc. i'd love to write more analyses exploring how certain stories depict these issues in japanese society.
my favorite is probably "hatchling". i've seen some people praise its protagonist as possible autism rep, but she also resonated with me because i, an anxiety haver and chronic people-pleaser struggling with a true sense of self, also related to her myriad of personas crafted specifically for her different friend groups. (the hannibal lecter mention also helped lmao). i think "puzzle" is also underrated because i have never felt so simultaneously alienated from and related to the main character. the titular "life ceremony" was delightfully creepy and striking, definitely the most akutagawa-esque imo (reminded me of "kappa").
i mainly write these reviews for myself, but i also feel the need to point out, to anyone repulsed on a surface level by the graphic descriptions of things like bodily functions (defecation, vomit) or cannibalism -- your repulsion is valid, but it shouldn't factor into your review. the aim of the stories, i feel, is to deliberately provoke repulsion in you to challenge your definition of normalcy, or reality. this book made me want to throw up at times, but i understand why the author would choose to explicitly describe how sanae adores the smell of her best friend's innards -- nobody you know (hopefully) does that. it's meant to shock you, but not maliciously scare you off. "it has gore, which i couldn't read all of, but here's what i think considering all parts of the story" is a good review, but "it has gore which made me gag and so that alone knocks a star off my rating" is not.
conclusion: sayaka murata is my new favorite author.
her stories remind me of akutagawa's in a way, but with more sci-fi and dystopian elements, and thankfully, more implications of things like asexuality, abelism, neurodivergence, and things we're talking about more today than in the past. these short stories made me feel: uncomfortable, challenged, represented, repulsed, soothed. they also reflect a lot of japan-specific issues, like sex aversion, modernization, toxic work culture, etc. i'd love to write more analyses exploring how certain stories depict these issues in japanese society.
my favorite is probably "hatchling". i've seen some people praise its protagonist as possible autism rep, but she also resonated with me because i, an anxiety haver and chronic people-pleaser struggling with a true sense of self, also related to her myriad of personas crafted specifically for her different friend groups. (the hannibal lecter mention also helped lmao). i think "puzzle" is also underrated because i have never felt so simultaneously alienated from and related to the main character. the titular "life ceremony" was delightfully creepy and striking, definitely the most akutagawa-esque imo (reminded me of "kappa").
i mainly write these reviews for myself, but i also feel the need to point out, to anyone repulsed on a surface level by the graphic descriptions of things like bodily functions (defecation, vomit) or cannibalism -- your repulsion is valid, but it shouldn't factor into your review. the aim of the stories, i feel, is to deliberately provoke repulsion in you to challenge your definition of normalcy, or reality. this book made me want to throw up at times, but i understand why the author would choose to explicitly describe how sanae adores the smell of her best friend's innards -- nobody you know (hopefully) does that. it's meant to shock you, but not maliciously scare you off. "it has gore, which i couldn't read all of, but here's what i think considering all parts of the story" is a good review, but "it has gore which made me gag and so that alone knocks a star off my rating" is not.
conclusion: sayaka murata is my new favorite author.