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A review by ciancitt
Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
I love Sayaka Murata, her weird stories, her willingness to push boundaries and suspend judgement. I love her detached way to tell a story; her style makes the oddnesses stand out, while allowing readers to make up their own minds.
This short stories collection does, as expected, deliver her own brand of provocative stories and unapologetic characters - and I could not get enough. Murata takes you on a journey that examines society's biases, that looks at the inevitability of change, and makes you question our current practices. I particularly enjoyed how these women were (mostly) presented as unburdened by social norms, free to live their own realities - being perfectly aware (yet uncaring) of the fact they were at odds with others.
Living in Asia, as a foreigner, queer woman, reading Murata is comforting and hopeful (you know, as much as one can find a story about a human-hair sweater comforting and hopeful).
Honourable mentions in the collection: Two's Family, Life Ceremony, Lover on the Breeze, Hatchling.
ARC REVIEW (Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic)
This short stories collection does, as expected, deliver her own brand of provocative stories and unapologetic characters - and I could not get enough. Murata takes you on a journey that examines society's biases, that looks at the inevitability of change, and makes you question our current practices. I particularly enjoyed how these women were (mostly) presented as unburdened by social norms, free to live their own realities - being perfectly aware (yet uncaring) of the fact they were at odds with others.
Living in Asia, as a foreigner, queer woman, reading Murata is comforting and hopeful (you know, as much as one can find a story about a human-hair sweater comforting and hopeful).
Honourable mentions in the collection: Two's Family, Life Ceremony, Lover on the Breeze, Hatchling.
ARC REVIEW (Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Cannibalism
Moderate: Death
Minor: Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Stalking