Earthlings - Sayaka Murata, Ginny Tapley Takemori

[ionic sandal]

From <t:1702080000:D> to <t:1704672000:D> | Leader(s): @uneven forum

Book Link
Cover: https://cdn.thestorygraph.com/wtwjyl6eoshz1245vez4a8ce5aoy

ID: 657041183eb705c45848fbe4
Announcement: #buddy-reads message

[sullen chasm]

I'm excited to start this book ✨

[prime ibex]

I started last night I couldn't wait

[uneven forum]

@everyone Greetings my fellow earthlings 🖖 thank you for joining my buddy read. I'd like to present to you some questions to kickstart our discussion together👽

What was your first impression of the book?
Did you often play pretend as a kid?
Have you read any other of Sayaka Murata's works?

[prime ibex]

I'd heard of the book before since I saw it floating around the web, but I never really knew what it was about until a few months ago. I tend to not like covers that have a ton of stuff other than the title and author's name on them, but the color is catchy and the hedgehog plushie is pretty cute

I used to play pretend a lot as a kid. We'd do all sorts of things; play horses or warrior cats were probably the most common

I haven't read any of her other works

[heavy rampart]

Don’t you need to ping everyone individually first to make sure they’re added to the thread? Or does the new bot do that?

[uneven forum]

do I? I'm not too sure

let me do that rq

[heavy rampart]

I just see a few people in the thread. Idk I don’t know how the new bot works

[uneven forum]

same

[heavy rampart]

Looking at other new buddy reads posts, but no one’s done an announcement post yet

[uneven forum]

hahaha right that's why I'm a little apprehensive

[heavy rampart]

Ok I think I got it

[uneven forum]

aaah

[heavy rampart]

/events announce, then enter the id, which is in the pinned post

[uneven forum]

okok thanks tink

[heavy rampart]

You’re welcome!

[uneven forum]

i dont think i have the role for that command haha

gregg says its for staff

[heavy rampart]

There's a role for buddy read leaders, I think you have to DM @gilded needle for it

[uneven forum]

ah ok 👍

[ionic sandal]

@uneven forum,@cosmic beacon,@floral oracle,@prime ibex,@lethal furnace,@glad wyvern,@heavy rampart,@sullen chasm,@severe sable,@steel rock,@west edge,@mental field,@tall musk,@livid silo,@hushed cliff,@lilac relic,@calm river,@pearl lava

@uneven forum,@cosmic beacon,@floral oracle,@prime ibex,@lethal furnace,@glad wyvern,@heavy rampart,@sullen chasm,@severe sable,@steel rock,@west edge,@mental field,@tall musk,@livid silo,@hushed cliff,@lilac relic,@calm river,@pearl lava

Greetings my fellow earthlings 🖖 thank you for joining my buddy read. I'd like to present to you some questions to kickstart our discussion together👽

What was your first impression of the book?
Did you often play pretend as a kid?
Have you read any other of Sayaka Murata's works?

Greetings my fellow earthlings 🖖 thank you for joining my buddy read. I'd like to present to you some questions to kickstart our discussion together👽

What was your first impression of the book?
Did you often play pretend as a kid?
Have you read any other of Sayaka Murata's works?

[uneven forum]

yo why did it posted twice

[heavy rampart]

Weird

[cosmic beacon]

1. I just found the cover really cute and funny
2. Yes, all the time. My sister is 14 years older than me and we never even lived in the same house, so I had to play alone a lot, and it was always pretend. Later I met my neighbors and we also played pretend all the time. We had pretend houses, boyfriends, you name it LMAO
3. nop, this will be my first

[uneven forum]

I remember playing pretend as cows with my cousin ahahaha

[steel rock]

Before I read it for the first time, my first impression was that it seemed like a pretty innocent weird book.
I'm a kid and often play pretend.
I've read Earthlings and Convenience Store Woman by Murata.

[glad wyvern]

What was your first impression of the book?
Cute little rice balls(?).

Did you often play pretend as a kid?
Yes. I built parks and castles with blocks and pretended I was the manager or a princess lol.

Have you read any other of Sayaka Murata's works?
Nope.

[steel rock]

This is going to be such a wholesome book, right?

[glad wyvern]

I'll cry if it's not

[uneven forum]

I'm two chapters in and I can feel so much wholesomeness already

[prime ibex]

I read chapter 1 yesterday and
||The first chapter felt very playful to me which was fun. I was hoping they'd stay in the mountains a little longer since I was excited to see what else Natsuki and Yuu are up to. Bit weird that they're cousins, but they're kids after all. Natsuki has a wild imagination which isn't uncommon for a kid, but I didn't expect Yuu to believe he's otherworldly too haha||

[uneven forum]

ch 1 ||there were some bits where Natsuki hinted that she don't feel belong in her family, her wild imagination is probably an escape from this alienation she felt||

[prime ibex]

||It also becomes more apparent why as you go on ||

[hushed cliff]

1. My first impression was that it’s going to be a light and funny story.
2. All the time, I used to pretend to be super spies with my cousins.
3. Yes, I’ve read convenience store woman and Life Ceremony.

I actually read this book already but I love Sayaka Murata and want to know what other people think about her books

[west edge]

I've read some books by Sayaka Murata and I was curious about other works, and this cover was too cute to resist!
I did and tbh I think I still do often enough :D

[sullen chasm]

This will be my first Murata book to read, and I mostly want to read this one because of the cute hedgehog on the cover 😂 (just kidding, I love books on magical realism and this one would fit with that theme nicely). I definitely used to play pretend when I was little, especially with my friends and/or Barbie dolls 😁

[prime ibex]

Chapter 2
||This did not go at all where I thought it would go
Lots of fucked up things happening and yet she's narrating it so innocently (for the lack of a better word) since Natsuki doesn't know any better and is still a child. I had a feeling about the teacher when he first showed up, but it's so sad. As is her home life; she has a really awful childhood and I feel so bad for her ||

[uneven forum]

ch 2||she was just about to end her life there and then, but Yuu managed to stop her, I feel like she's fully aware of her messed up situation but still tried to use play pretend as an escape||

[livid silo]

Hi :)

• its really popular so i wanna read it
• yes lol
• nope. It its good ill read more of his works

[prime ibex]

||That makes sense also! It's heartbreaking really||

[pearl lava]

Hello! I will be joining this BR later in the month, because I have a LOT of books to read before

I'll answer the questions now, though, so I don't forget:

1. I didn't read a lot about it, just reviews from people I know, but I want to be surprised.
2. YES! Me and my sister would always play pretend and we'd even have lists of our imaginary friends
3. No, never, but I'm excited!

[uneven forum]

ah no biggie, take your time

[prime ibex]

Chapter 3
||I'm happy for Natsuki that she found someone in Tomoya who shares her beliefs. I feel like I can relate to the notion of the Factory to some extent; there's definitely some truth to it with heteronormativity, expecting women to have children and just capitalism in general I feel. It must be relieving to have found a partner you feel no pressure with regarding these things. No doubt Natsuki's trauma plays a role here too, but she seems to be content for now. I was hoping she'd realize how badly her family had treated her as a kid and maybe cut them off, but of course it's never that easy. I'm excited to see what will go down in Akishina now that they're back there with Yuu 👀||

[uneven forum]

ch 3 ||I feel like Natsuki and Tomoya are just besties that got married for convenience haha I kinda sense that there's a little distance between them I'm not sure how to put it||

[uneven forum]

ch 4 ||this is probably the most satisfying chapter so far, I'm soooo glad that pedo was dead, Natsuki was smart enough to get rid of the evidence, clearly she's very intelligent and strategic. Still, it boils my blood when I see them headlines going "young blood passed away tragically" etc etc. Natsuki, you did well!||

[prime ibex]

||Yeah that part was super frustrating||

Chapter 4
||That was intense I mean, good for her honestly but the fact that she felt like she had to do it in the first place is really awful. I'm glad they didn't find out it was her but man. I do hope she can find a little peace now, but the comments about her mouth and ear being broken are horrible||

[uneven forum]

just finished the book! phew it was a lot to take in, how transcendental! I need some time to gather and process my thoughts

I found that there were some philosophical themes in the book, themes like metaphysical world, nihilism, free will and determinism are definitely the highlights for me

[tall musk]

1. It seems interesting? It’s in my potential tbr of books
2. I diiiid! I had a lonesome childhood and playing pretend was like something I had to all the time
3. Yess, I’ve read Convenience Store Woman and had liked it

[prime ibex]

Chapter 5
||This is really just getting wilder and wilder lol
I'm glad Natsuki got to meet Yuu again and that they got to talk about what happened even though there's no closure imo. Yuu grew up, Natsuki didn't which isn't surprising probably given her trauma. Tomoya went off the rails 💀 I didn't expect that one at all. I kinda wish he and Natsuki were friends even because it seems like they'd get along better than they are now if they tried a little harder.||

[uneven forum]

ch 5 ||I like how everything in the countryside is so exciting for Tomoya, and is not bothered by the lack of internet signal at all. He always so supportive of Natsuki, which I think represents a contrast to how in a normal marital relationship every husband would dictate his wife, and the wife should always be submissive towards her husband. There are lots of great detail of quirkiness between Natsuki and Tomoya (even went as far to try and have intercourse with a family member 💀). At the end of the chapter Tomoya's father showed up and I think that's the part where I can see why he hates him so much he's now the totally opposite of him||

[uneven forum]

ch 6 ||this is probably the wildest part pf the book, and it delivered what it had promised haha. So Natsuki was pretty much fed-up with her family's interrogating and dictating, and then her friends and sister refusing to believe what Mr. Igasaki had done to her. She's had had enough of it all, yet she still couldn't escape from those constraints so she hoped to be "brainwashed" and "be part of the Factory". However, Tomoya the MVP just had the greatest idea - live as Popinpobopians. After that proposal, the questions raised by Yuu (iirc) was definitely interesting, i.e. "what is reality?", "what is freedom and what do I do with it?" It's something we should question from time to time and not be blinded by conformity to socially-constructed norms. This is truly a great book, despite a lot of major trigger warnings haha||

[glad wyvern]

I finally found the book, will start next week

[cosmic beacon]

I might read the first chapter today, I'll be snuggling in bed but I'll make sure I annotate my thoughts and then write them here

[cosmic beacon]

Chapter 1
||Kids have a wild imagination. I remember some crazy stories I used to come up with, but I never even told anyone I had imaginary friends, let alone tell them I could do magic or that I was from another planet ahah
I loved the mountain vibes, I hope we come back here soon. ||

Begining of chapter 2
||What a shitty mother, fuck, it is infuriating. No wonder Natsuki has to make up a whole new world to cope with this abuse :/ ||

[cosmic beacon]

Middle of chapter 2
||I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. Holy shit, this is horrifying, disgusting, so fucked up||

[cosmic beacon]

Chapter 3
||I am glad that Natsuki found someone who didn't force her to be something she does not want to be. Let's see how things work out now in Akishina||

[cosmic beacon]

Ahm, I finished it. Holy moly

[uneven forum]

You finished it in one go?

[cosmic beacon]

This was not what I was anticipating. I loved it. I'll write more in depth thoughts later, I prefer to type on my pc

[cosmic beacon]

Yeah lmao, I had a vaccine today and slept 5 hours during the afternoon, so I was pretty awake now and couldn't stop reading it

And the book was shorter than I thought it was

The writing was also super smooth

[uneven forum]

it is a short read but it packs a punch

[cosmic beacon]

Indeed, jesus

I had no idea what I was getting into, but this never crossed my mind, it really took my by surprise

I was expecting it to be ||about sweet children and their made up fantasy worlds ||

[uneven forum]

instead it's about ||traumatized children coping through committing taboos ||

[prime ibex]

Same

[prime ibex]

Chapter 6
||Yeah truly every time I think this book can't get more weird, it does! I found it a bit confusing what happened with Kise; was she really the one who took the evidence of the murder out of the incinerator to incriminate her sister all these years later? It was a little confusing how and why the guy's parents showed up at the house. I mean I know why, but it wasn't explained very well which could stem from the fact that Natsuki's mental state was already dwindling at that point. I was kinda happy to read that the three got together again and started to live their lives together, but it all went downhill from there. Somehow it wasn't surprising that they ate the couple they killed given that they'd been stealing food and probably not getting all their nutrients. The ending was absolutely crazy, but that ties in nicely with the rest of the book||

[glad wyvern]

Chapter 1
||Okay it is nothing I have expected, but I love how it is a rollercoaster, a whirlwind of information and emotions. I had a big time reading it but I'll not try to reenact my "agog and aghast" here.
The calmness the prose has while dealing with the fact that we have an alien and a magician here on Earth is hilarious. Thanks go to this book for explaining to me why they have eggplants and cucumbers on their altars (digression but I saw "Weathering with You" last week and was left wondering why they put raw veggies on altars.)

"Nonhuman lives jostled up against the window. The presence of nonhuman creatures was stronger at night. Strangely enough, though I was a little scared, I felt as though my own feral cells were throbbing." potentially it can be foreshadowing. ||

[uneven forum]

@everyone

Greetings my fellow earthlings 🖖
We are about 2 weeks into the buddy read and have until January 8th 2024 to finish the book. Do make sure to update your progress and thoughts from time to time for BR points 📈

I personally do not recommend going into this book blind because it contains major graphic warnings like ||child abuse, paedophilia, cannibalism.|| (I also apologise for not informing beforehand). So if that is not your vibe, feel free to react "leave" on ⁠#buddy-reads message

And I wish you guys a happy holiday in advance! 🎆

currently reading: seapotato
finished: claymoto, spinch, scarlatte

[tall musk]

I’ll be starting this once I’m done with my current reads

[uneven forum]

sure! we still have some time

[cosmic beacon]

And it is a fairly quick read, I believe

[tall musk]

It issss, it’s quite short!

Starting it now

[tall musk]

Thanks for the tws
I’m going in blind expecting this to be a fun-ish read but Ig I’m in for something else

[uneven forum]

oof you better be ready cuz this will be a wild ride

[prime ibex]

Happy birthday

[uneven forum]

thanks spinch

[tall musk]

Happy belated birthday, Claymoto!

[tall musk]

annnnnd I didn't. My plans of a cosy day were hijacked by some and I couldn't start 😭
Starting fr now

Ch. 1

||I really dislike the way the mum treats her

The world that Natsuki’s created feels almost like escapism rather than mere imaginative play. Like right off the bat we see the way Kise's being cared for and (the lack of care/concern shown to Natsuki) idk if I’m reading into it too much but I feel like yk good-girl syndrome with Natsuki overcompensating to fit in with her sister’s loud-ish existence||

||Also I'm going both and at Yuu and Natsuki's relationship like Ik they're kids but like
||

||That last line though
feels quite omnious ||

Ch.2
||NO, YOU CREEP! GET AWAY FROM HER ||

||I HATE HER MUMpls someone save this kid or help her get away from this foul excuse of a person ||

||The repetitions 😭 the writing's really capturing the emotions and sensations of the scenes described. This is going to be a hard read ||
I'm sharing thoughts as I read since I keep forgetting to share them until it's too late otherwise

||OMG WTF WTF WTF NO NO NO THIS IS HORRID I HATE THIS NO
I HAAAAAAATE THE MOTHER
AND THE TEACHER
AND THE SISTER||

||wth's happening 😭
this book is hard, really hard. I'm going to take a break and continue later ||

[uneven forum]

i'm not sure if i should laugh...

[tall musk]

pls don’t
Of everything I’d presumed, this book turned out to be the last thing I’d expected

[uneven forum]

I know it is very shocking

if you're feeling uncomfortable you don't have to finish it

[tall musk]

It’s fine, shocking definitely but now that I’m aware of what I’m facing, I’ll be able to power through it tonight

[uneven forum]

good luck

[tall musk]

I finished this last night and need some time to compose self

I’ll share my thoughts from the other chapters soon-ish

[uneven forum]

awesome!! looking forward to see what you think

[prime ibex]

It was a lot more intense than I thought

[floral oracle]

-The book sounds interesting and it's been on my TBR for a long time!

• I play pretend as an adult too D&D is just grown up pretend!
• Convience Store Woman really resonated with me.

[glad wyvern]

Chapter 2
||“Mr. Igasaki often warned me about the color of my underwear. That’s why I wore a black shirt, but it seemed that still wasn’t good enough.”
ew what a creep, but how is underwear related to shirts. Don't they wear pants or skirts ||

[glad wyvern]

||I'm traumatized by this book. ||

||“No. As your husband, I’ll do whatever I can”
this is really wholesome but they are kids aaaaaaaaah ||

[glad wyvern]

||noooo they got busted ||

[glad wyvern]

Chapter 5
||“Yuu choked, spraying miso soup over the kotatsu.”
Me too, Yuu, me too
oh the poor grandfather. I hope Tomoya will give up his plan.||

[mental field]

finished chapter 1 ||This chapter really gave the feeling of seeing darkness through the eyes of a child. It seems like yuu i might be adopted and maybe his mother resents him for it. its very tragic how Natsuki is made to be an unwanted part of her family both in how she sees herself but also in how her family sees her||

[mental field]

chapter 2 ||WTF most of the time my face looked like this with a mix of deep pity for the mc but the sex scene has almost made me dnf this book the sex viewed with chilhood innocence...... but im to invested in this story so i will persevere||

[uneven forum]

this book has put us through so much shit

[glad wyvern]

Chapter 6
||“In that case, let’s take Yuu with us. If being Popinpobopian is catching, then he must have been infected. Let’s go to Akishina, where Yuu’s waiting.”
why is this moving. why am i rooting for them. ||

[glad wyvern]

||I- It's getting weirder and weirder lol.||

[glad wyvern]

||“Eventually we were not satisfied by the surface alone and started in on each other’s innards with our teeth and tongues.”
is this how it's gonna end 😢 they still have a woman in the fridge tho||

[mental field]

start chapter 3 ||The societal expectation that as a woman you must want children im not even 20 and its still assumed that because im female i must love babies ||

[glad wyvern]

I finished it's my first book of 2024
||It's delusional. All the social expectations push you into cookie-cutter characters, but if one discards all the standards, what makes one a human, an Earthling, yet living on planet Earth means being the odd one out. It is the irrational thing to do, trying to be a Popinpobopian on Earth, it's not helping with survival at all.
But Earthlings are never rational. I think it is okay when one goes out and living a life of their own as long as they don't cross the bottom line. It is fearful when a person only listens to "rationality" and despises "humanity" - that's all the things irrational - because that will only make them a robot, a monster, an alien.
This story is really pitiful: they are struggling to make their own choices for themselves, but they go to far. Maybe that's what they want; their past trauma already made them Popinpobopians. Some of the points they bring up are really valid though. The expectation of having a child is frustrating. Why put all the unnecessary pressure onto their shoulders when it's really the personal matters they are talking about. ||

[mental field]

finished chapter 4 ||i really dont know what to say like i feel so bad for Natsuki and her censorship t o cope with murdering someone but also now when she is an adult i really hope she gets some help ||

[mental field]

I finished ||I....I dont have any words..... throught most of this book my face looked like this like it just kept getting worse and worse and i cant imagine it ends up better for them though they will likely be deemed not fit for trial since they were completly insane but i cant really blame Natsuki for ending up like she did she really tried so many times to reach out for help just to get rejected again and again||
im honestly not sure if i liked this book or not
it was so much to process and since i went in completely blind The cute hedgehog betrayed me i ended up quite suprised

[severe sable]

going in blind (although reading a few reactions, I'm gonna assume it's gonna be || traumatising ||

yeahhh (I'm still delulu tho)

nope.

[ionic sandal]

@uneven forum,@cosmic beacon,@floral oracle,@prime ibex,@lethal furnace,@glad wyvern,@heavy rampart,@sullen chasm,@severe sable,@steel rock,@west edge,@mental field,@tall musk,@livid silo,@hushed cliff,@lilac relic,@calm river,@deep shell,@vivid bolt

hihi just a lil reminder that this BR is until January 8th 2024 which is about 5 days-ish to finish the book. Do let me know if you'd like to extend the duration so that you can finish the book and earn BR points.

There are definitely a wide range of thoughts and emotions being expressed here thus far. So here are some questions before the BR closes:

• Who is your favourite character? and which character you despised the most?
• How would you rate the shock value on a scale of 1-10?
• What is your biggest takeaway from this read?

currently reading:
finished: claymoto, spinch, scarlatte, hanzy, seapotato, amanda

[floral oracle]

I'm delayed in getting my copy but it's actually coming today

It's a shortish book so I'll definitely be able to finish

[eternal ingot]

It's a shortish book
so I'll definitely be
able to finish

- Vaude (Krampus' Helper)🖤

[floral oracle]

Thank u for your vote of confidence Haiku

[uneven forum]

nice!

[uneven forum]

its short but it packs a punch

[floral oracle]

I'm really looking forward to it, Convience Store Woman really resonated with me

[uneven forum]

I also wanna read CSW, i heard its quite similar with earthlings?

[floral oracle]

I'll let you know when I finish!

[deep shell]

I don't think I'll manage
I have two exams till the 8th of January and I'm all into them

[severe sable]

chapter 1
||i thought the cousin was mocking her, but he really believes he is an alien..... they really believe like they're "outsiders/outcast"||

[severe sable]

contd || honestly same extended family reunion is so overwhelming. i don't know most of the members, yet they know me.... and there's ALWAYS a new baby somehow 😭||

||why is the|| mother || so annoyed all the time||

[severe sable]

wow she's really ||a bitch||

|| “This child is so stupid and slow at doing whatever she’s asked. She’s like a weight around my neck. I swear I’m quite worn out.” She smacked me on the head with the file containing the circular||

wtffffd

[uneven forum]

||her mother pisses me off so much, she keep using natsuki as a dumpster||

[cosmic beacon]

1. ||I would say my favorite character is probably Tomoya, just because I loved the way he embraced Natsuki's story and usedd it as his survival mechanism as well.||
2. ||Hm, I would say it is definitely a shocking read, specially if you go in blind like I did. I would say 8.||
3. ||That allienating people can be really harmful and have severe consequences in the future. These 3 people had to find a way to cope with their lives, which in the end got harmful even for themselves. ||

[severe sable]

chapter 2: honestly I have no words

[glad wyvern]

1. ||I like Natsuki. She's strong and really tried her best to survive in the insane world. I dislike Mr. Igasaki ofc ||
2. ||7-8, it's shocking since nothing went the direction I thought it would take, but I didn't feel a mind-blowing shock. I was like 'okay, that's what happens now' and went with it.||
3. ||Parenting is very important. I still don't want to have children, but if I ever have one, I'll try my best to educate them to be a good person and also give them a happy childhood.||

[heavy rampart]

Ch 1 ||Lets get married ||
Ch 2 ||my mom didn’t believe I was being sexually abused at school. Also let’s have sex Also can anyone explain what was going on with her throat thing? I think I blacked out||

Ok I think I understand now, reading other people’s comments up-thread

[uneven forum]

will you persevere?

[heavy rampart]

Yeah sure

Ch 3 ||she’s suddenly in her 30s?||

I have to take a break now, and I really wish I’d just set aside some time so I could read this uninterrupted

[heavy rampart]

Ch 3 ||Its so weird, but everytime she says his name, it sounds like “You”||

[mental field]

yes listening to the audiobook i got confused a couple of times but tbf english isnt the original language

[heavy rampart]

No yeah, totally agree. It was just confusing at first

[severe sable]

chapter 3
||it's a little odd but accurate? to call societal expectations of marriage and children as a reproductive factory.... like it's weird but true 😭 and it furthermore reinforces that their values are disconnected from the society's which makes them more of outsiders/alien as they believe they are||

[severe sable]

chapter 4

so that happened ||yeah he deserved to stay far away from kids. and then that happened.... well now he won't be able to abuse kids||

[severe sable]

omg each chapter gets more absurd

[uneven forum]

it gets more demented the further you go hahaha

[severe sable]

god this is unhinged. they're discussing the nutritional value of ||sperms???? ||

[uneven forum]

OOF i totally forgotten about that yea

[severe sable]

the ending was so unsettling

I'll share thoughts about the book in a while

[uneven forum]

sure! take some time to recover

[mental field]

i dont think you can recover from that book/j

[heavy rampart]

Ch 6 ||Yeaaaaahhhhhh cannibalism!!!||

That was weird, I loved it

[floral oracle]

So I may have intended to only start this book and ended up reading it all in one sitting

Oops

So yeah, I really liked it actually.
It's definitely surreal, I had no idea what I expected this book to be about but definitely not that. The same can be said that I did not expect the ending to go that way. People who rate this like a 1 are imo cowards
||Fucked up twists and turns aside, I think that Sayara Murata has a real talent on speaking about society, where women have their place is in it and what we're expected to do/be, social illnesses and the need to conform too, even exploring how to deal with trauma, along with the horrors of not being believed or not getting proper support for abuse. I can't really express why I like her novels so much. This is a definitely different tone to Convenience Store Woman, definitely more extreme and NSFW. Conformity was a big part of CSW but this book explores it in a more surreal and general way, I think. Parts of this was Murakamiesque at the beginning but then it definitely took off on it's own direction, parts of this are almost cartoonishly horrible but it's so easy to roll with it and just kind of look on in horror.||

||It’s really hard to put into words things that are just a little bit not okay.||

||The end chapter just continued to escalate as much as possible with those final few pages even making my hardened ass feel a little bit queasy. Well done is all I can say for the visceral, sad and fascinating adventure this was.||

[heavy rampart]

I think that's the best way to read it, personally

[floral oracle]

Oh totally, I'm glad that I ended up doing it this way.

[floral oracle]

So now that I've read it I can say that the subject matter is similar but definitely less extreme

[heavy rampart]

Yeah I really liked it ||It was really interesting to figure out what the MC meant underneath what she was saying. I like things that work on levels. Like, was she delusional and creating a fantasy story to deal with the trauma of being sexually assaulted? Did she really believe in the Factory? Was she an alien? It works no matter what interpretation you choose to believe.||

[floral oracle]

I love that there's a ton of interpretation you can do with this book- I'm so glad that I finally got around to this after it being on my TBR for months lol

[heavy rampart]

Same! If nothing else, it was completely unlike anything I’ve ever read

Hearing the mcs ||rant against the Factory that brainwashed you into just wanting to work and have babies ||

[uneven forum]

ahh that's great then

[sullen chasm]

If it's possible I'd like to extend! Hope to start this tomorrow but won't have enough time to finish then before the 8th

[uneven forum]

sure! how much longer do you need?

[sullen chasm]

Would a week be okay?

[uneven forum]

so till the 15th then?

[sullen chasm]

Yes please 🥺

[uneven forum]

alright, noted!

[fathom aurora]

BR has been extended!

[ionic sandal]

Ongoing BuddyRead

Earthlings - Sayaka Murata, Ginny Tapley Takemori

Description

It's been sitting on my shelf for quite some time and I can't leave it unread no longer I just wanna find out who's crazy enough to read this with me

Start Date

<t:1702080000:D>

End Date

<t:1705276800:D>

Thread(s)

#1182699244029747230

Requested By

@uneven forum

Leader(s)

@uneven forum(0)

Interested (19)

@uneven forum,@cosmic beacon,@floral oracle,@prime ibex,@lethal furnace,@tawdry canyon,@heavy rampart,@sullen chasm,@severe sable,@steel rock,@west edge,@mental field,@tall musk,@livid silo,@hushed cliff,@lilac relic,@calm river,@deep shell,@vivid bolt

Event ID: 657041183eb705c45848fbe4

[uneven forum]

thanks!

[ionic sandal]

@uneven forum,@cosmic beacon,@floral oracle,@prime ibex,@lethal furnace,@glad wyvern,@heavy rampart,@sullen chasm,@severe sable,@steel rock,@west edge,@mental field,@tall musk,@livid silo,@hushed cliff,@lilac relic,@calm river,@deep shell,@vivid bolt

BR EXTENDED!

Our BR will be until January 15, an extra week to make progress in your read. If you haven't finished and discussed it yet, please make sure to do so to get the points. There are some questions in the pins that you can answer as well.

currently reading: celine
finished and discussed and processing the trauma: claymoto, spinch, scarlatte, hanzy, seapotato, amanda, mimosa, Vaude, Tink
Do let me know if I missed anyone!

Happy reading!

[tall musk]

processing the trauma

[uneven forum]

yea i forgot to strikethrough the text

[tall musk]

Thanks for hosting!! I’ll get to sharing my final thoughts and answering questions in some time now

[deep shell]

I will try to get my hands on the book and read it.
I have a week before my next exams

[uneven forum]

good luck with your exams!

[deep shell]

Thank you

[tall musk]

I've had some annotations that I finally got around to exporting - sharing them now

Ch. 2

||“Marriage Pledge
We hereby pledge the following:
1) Don’t hold hands with anyone else.
2) Wear your ring when you go to sleep.
3) Survive, whatever it takes.
Natsuki Sasamoto
Yuu Sasamoto”||
||This is both cute and sad. 11 year olds should not have to focus on surviving, they shouldn’t even be thinking of survival and living to their fullest. It shows the contrast of how they’re literal kids with the first two pledges and then the last one just hits ||

Ch.4

||“It was a strange feeling. So what was the blue lump I’d killed? Mr. Igasaki hadn’t even been there. I’d only done battle with the Wicked Witch, but the Witch herself had disappeared without a trace.”||
||
Can we condone this act of murder when presented this way. This book’s really good in making us question societal norms, morals and ethics. I feel sad sad sad and angry and mad ||

Ch.5

||“Do you really want me to save you?” There was a grass-cutting scythe by the front door. “Do you, Tomoya? If you really want me to save you, then I will do my very best.”
My husband realized what was in my line of sight and quickly shook his head. “No, no, actually I don’t really want you to help me.”
“Really? Okay, fine.”

||
||I cackled hard here like it’s such a straight-faced comment and then Tomoya’s realisation||

Ch.6

||“I was too busy eating the two of them to join in the conversation. They would be so delicious with some steamed white rice I thought. Now that I’d recovered my taste buds, I was savoring the various flavors: sweet, bitter, sour, salty.
“Oh, my ear!” I suddenly exclaimed.
“What about it? Is it tasty?”||
||

I’m done done done. Cannibalism???! Like the book couldn’t have gotten more absurd but like how does Murata do thisss? How does something so wild as cannibalism be presented in a way where the reader (me) just…accepts it and understandsss||

[tall musk]

My final thoughts now that I've had some time to let them simmer -
||I really loved this book and while I won't say I enjoyed the content (I mean can anyone? considering how heavy the content is), I admire Murata's way of dealing with societal norms/ expectations. She breaks all barriers and you're left all vulnerable and exposed to the truths being presented and you just understand & accept it all.
Just like her other read, Convenience Store Woman, there isn't a direct indication of everything yet the details that are needed are all there and you can't help but walk in the shoes of the MCs. Haven't we all sometimes felt ourselves victims of The Factory and felt alienated from the 'earthlings'. It's all so highly relatable. The way no one can truly understand you unless they've gone through something similar, the way it's often so hard finding kindred spirits in those we meet, having to mask and be pretend workers of The Factory. I found the depiction of disassociation, alienation from society, escapism, masking, the building up of imaginary worlds so very real. I'm still finding it hard to put my thoughts into words and can't express myself fully but I'm super glad I read this book. It's one I didn't know I needed ||

[uneven forum]

||what i find so great about this book is that it puts you in a spot, leaving you wondering about everything you have been taught growing up. Is it really our only purpose? becoming a component of The Factory? and forever operate as a singular component, supporting other components? At the end the book tells us we must break the mould (not in the way the characters did), but can we also accept how will we be viewed? it is definitely a mind-opening read.||

[tall musk]

Yesss! I do agree completely! It ||makes one ponder upon a lot of ethics, morals, and preconceived notions, certain concepts we just seem to accept without any thought or questioning ||

[deep shell]

I started reading it
Still at chapter one, but wanted to say ||her boyfriend is her cousin, her aunt's kid thank God they're kids and it's nothing serious (I hope)||
Also, it gave me Spirited Away vibes

[deep shell]

I hate her mom

[deep shell]

Chapter 1
|| oh God, I thought this will be a sweet little story, but no! How can she treat her kids like that!?? I have to say, she f-ed both of them. Like, it's not just the favoritism, she insults her kid as well! And now she thinks her mother's words are true. I do hope it gets better. But with all of this, I'm even wandering if they will go to Obon the following year. ||

[deep shell]

Chapter 2

|| It's handy having a dumpster in the house. In this house, that's my role. When Dad and Mom and Kise get so fed up they can't bear it any longer, they dump everything onto me. ||
Girl wtf 😭

And that's how kids end up thinking about ||unaliving themselves || smh
Can I just go there and hit their heads

https://tenor.com/view/the-office-steve-carell-no-please-no-god-no-gif-5938426

|| wth is wrong with that teacher 😭😭 he's a pedo, a pervert, a stalker, wth. || I thought this will be a cute book

[uneven forum]

plot twist: it is far from it

[floral oracle]

Oh no...

[deep shell]

|| "When we grow up. Then we'll be able to live." "Really?" "Definitely. "||
Don't want to ruin the mood, but this can't be further from the truth. Sadly

[tall musk]

I get what you mean here ||and while yes it’s certainly a lot further from the truth, at least in my case, I do feel like I’m finally ‘living’ now rather than being stuck in that survival mode. But yeah, the hope we have towards a better future seems to wane the older we grow ||

[tall musk]

Didn’t we all
If anything it’s|| a book that’ll keep making your jaw drop until you’re forced to accept and understand and think ||

[deep shell]

I understand. Now that I think about it it feels like once you ||forget about having a better future and start focusing on the present, it does feel like living. All this waiting and dreaming makes it hard ||

Chapter 3
I really liked the ||marriage arrangement between those two. It feels really nice and convenient to hide yourself from society. At the same time, I think we all need the courage and the freedom to not have to hide. Also, them keeping watch over her for so long definitely made it worse. How are you supposed to learn and move on when someone's constantly reminding you about it ||

[deep shell]

Chapter 4
I'm not at all surprised. Seems like a natural turn of events. ||It was smart of him to choose a student who doesn't get along with their family. But that was also his downfall. Like the others, I am pleased he's gone. I hope Natsuki won't think about it anymore. Her mind is trying hard enough to keep her away from the trauma. ||

[sullen chasm]

I finished the book today, but sheeszz || no words. That was some dark stuff! My heart broke for Natsuki multiple times (and for Yuu too with the way his mum treated him). Definitely felt a bit queasy after finishing this one. I did wonder a bit about the ending though, were their stomachs distended from starvation/malnutrition or was something else going on there? ||

I need something happy now 😭

[deep shell]

Chapter 5
Wow, this chapter was a roller-coaster. I don't even know from where to start.
||Yuu is trying hard to be normal lol. But j found it weird he said they are in a relationship, he used the present tense and not the past, which makes me wonder if he still takes their marriage vow seriously. The husband is definitely as creepy as the sister. Just opposites. I agree with Natsuki that trying hard to do something taboo is also following human rules. As an alien he should be above that and not even concerned with them at all. I also liked the current Natsuki. So aloof and out of it, just a spectator enjoying the show. Although, if she killed her father-in-law now she wouldn't be able to escape as she did as a kid. ||

Chapter 6

||Do it a lot and make a family, then once the relationship has cooled, you play around outside the marriage. That's the way it is for lots of couples, isn't it? Playing around is a man's reward. Your father has had his fair share, haven't you dear?||

||is that why bathed with your son till he was 15? Missed you husband getting his reward, huh?||

|| Both Mom and my sister kept going on and on about how wonderful motherhood was||
Is this the same bamboo stick that was so ||rude to Natsuki as a kid and just dumping everything on her and calling her useless and loser??? That did not seem like wonderful motherhood to me ||

[deep shell]

||Yes. Not imitating the Earthlings but coming up with our own ideas for living. That's how we can live on a planet that isn't our own. ||
Yay! Way to go. That was what I was talking about.

[deep shell]

I finished the book or the book finished me. I'm not sure yet

I have to say I expected them to ||die there. Their survival methods weren't really that good in the long run. But I guess their families won't settle. Just how mentally ill do you have to be, to not throw up when cutting someone who looks like you. And it's weird they thought eating humans is more rational than catching some animals. Cannibalism was not something I was expecting from this, although I was expecting a threesome at the end. Who to blame for this, eh, who to blame? ||

[deep shell]

I think they ||ate to much Man food. Like, they had three different types of dishes and I suppose they had a lot, since the man was big. Yk when you eat to much and it feels like you're 3 months pregnant. Or more in their case||

[sullen chasm]

|| but they've been up there for ages with very little food so no way they could've survived that long with only the Man and Woman? I thought maybe their stomachs were all distended from starvation/undigested bones and stuff ? Or maybe it was some magic weirdness? ||

[deep shell]

I thought the ||sister and mother arrived the following day they ate him. Maybe it was bones||

Maybe it's better we don't know

[sullen chasm]

ahh I thought || it had been a while because they were discribed as emaciated. But yes I agree better to not think of it too much 😬 ||

[deep shell]

||Maybe the food they ate was not very nutritional and diverse. They did seem to run out of it as some point, but I think it was before the earthlings.|| Also, I was just speeding at the end, so might've missed some info. Wanted to be done 😭

[severe sable]

its 430am and i got the urge to lay out my thoughts about this book.

||tbfh, this was quite an unexpected read. i didn't read the blurb and didn't know what it was about...but I certainly didn't expect that. this book reminded me a lot of Blindness by Jose Saramago. i feel like this was an interesting take on how trauma and neglect push people out of society's advertised lifestyles, the "norms". the alienation and abuse that Natsuki received from her own family before any of the cram school incidents took place. Yuu's mother used him as an emotional support object instead of treating him as a child leading them to have alien experiences (no pun intended) from other people their age. and societal expectations burdened them and were oppressive to them bc the same society - from parents to extended family to friends- never bothered with them. their trauma, already made them feel like aliens (literally), and they didn't want to pretend to be earthlings. i won't recommend it to anyone bc this was quite a heavy read and i also wont say i LOVED it - but I needed to read it. ||

[ionic sandal]

@uneven forum,@cosmic beacon,@floral oracle,@prime ibex,@lethal furnace,@glad wyvern,@heavy rampart,@sullen chasm,@severe sable,@steel rock,@west edge,@mental field,@tall musk,@livid silo,@hushed cliff,@lilac relic,@calm river,@deep shell,@vivid bolt

BR ended :alien: :vulcan:

Thank you for joining us, dear Earthlings. All of your thoughts and opinions about the book are very much appreciated. I hope I can host another crazy read soon :face_with_peeking_eye:

Special thanks to the ones who finished the book within the timeframe: claymoto, spinch, scarlatte, hanzy, seapotato, amanda, mimosa, Vaude, Tink, tasty radish, celine, mimosa
I'll report you eligible for BR points, do let me know if I missed anybody!

[sullen chasm]

Thanks for hosting!

[tall musk]

Thanks for hosting! I’m glad I read this book 💜

[floral oracle]

Thank u, I love u

[glad wyvern]

thank you for hosting 🖖

[glad wyvern]

damn a lot of people read this one

[uneven forum]

yup they were all lured by the unsuspecting hedgehog on the cover

[deep shell]

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read this therapy promoting book

[vague sentinel]

From <t:1727740800:D> to <t:1731628800:D> | Leader(s): @fallow falcon

Book Link

ID: 66da55e5188387f68499711a
Announcement: #buddy-reads message

[rich gull]

I'm ready

[fallow falcon]

[nova bane]

I thought it was December 2024?

Oh NVM

[fallow falcon]

There's a lot of ongoing BRs and November is packed with reads as well - I know I'm super busy so if anyone needs an extension when November comes I'll be happy to extend until December 1st!

[mental field]

im so excited to see everyone reactions when they read this

[fallow falcon]

I'm stoked to read this!!

[nova bane]

I got confused with the br dates this had before , dec 2023 to jan 2024

But if i do need an extension I'll let you know

[fallow falcon]

[ionic sandal]

@fallow falcon,@sly verge,@astral vortex,@tawny tusk,@nova bane,@sullen zinc,@sudden sinew,@viral kernel,@pale sparrow,@west edge,@flat dust,@rich gull,@surreal tangle,@open flame,@slim yarrow,@haughty glade,@tidal leaf,@fair parcel

[fallow falcon]

Greetings, Earthlings ִֶָ𓂃 ࣪👽˖ ִֶָ་༘࿐

This Buddy Read starts October 1st, in 2 days. I think it's safe to assume we're all looking forward to a weird read and a wild ride - regardless, please take the time to check the content warnings for this book HERE.

1. How did you find out about this read? I personally watched so many booktube videos on this and the reviews peaked my interest.
2. What medium will you be reading this in? I got the e-book for this!
3. Do you like this cover? If you had to judge this book solely by this cover, what do you think it'd be about?

[rich gull]

1. OBC members forced me to join
2. e-book
3. The cover is misleadingly cute.

[fair parcel]

1. I've had it on my list for awhile and I've read Convenience Store Woman.
2. e-book (Libby)
3. Yes. Maybe aliens? (I've only heard that this book is a bit of 🤯 )

[sly verge]

1. Through OBC I know there was another BR earlier this year but I'm now in my BR phase and it sounded interesting
2. ebook for me too!
3. I think it looks cute but I've no idea what it's meant to be about based off the cover

sorry, I didn't meant to tag Alex!

[nova bane]

Pretty sure , whatever it is it's gonna be uniquely creepy

[fallow falcon]

no problem at all! pings are totally fine with me

[west edge]

1. I read Convenience Store Woman first and then wanted to read another book by Sayaka Murata
2. I have a paperback that has been collecting dust for some time now
3. it‘s so cute i know the content of the book won‘t be as cute

[sudden sinew]

1. I have read other books by Sayaka Murata, so I had this in my tbr for the longest time. Felt this was a perfect oppirtunity to dive into it finally
2. I will be reading it on my kindle, since i do not usually purchase smaller novels in physical format (inflation is crazy TT)
3. well that a hedgehog is somehow relevant hahaha

[nova bane]

Inflation

[sudden sinew]

I started yesterday as I was going to Melanie Martinez’s concert

And man- what is going on💀💀

[rich gull]

I'll start it tonight 😆

[sudden sinew]

cant wait

I need to talk about it

I am up to ch.3

[fallow falcon]

feel free to do so in spoilers! we'll catch up to you and reply once we get to your point in the story

[sudden sinew]

ch.1 + ch.2 impressions:

• ||ok well lemme be clear- I was coping til the written confirmation that yuu and the mc love each other in an incestual way Whats up with Japan and incest in their media. Genuine question since this isnt the first time Ive seen it happen. I also hate how I subconsciouly enjoyed their romance (EXCLUDING THE CORE INCEST PART) since the two kids felt like true 'together for life' type of bond and I find that rly rly sweet. But yikes||
• ||The teacher???????? The part where he taught the poor girl a special BJ lesson? Genuinely broke my heart, especially when she dissociated and was observng herself get assaulted by both the teacher and her mum later on. I also read this while in queue to enter the concert venue, so if anyone overlooked and saw the content of the book ||
• ||I dont think I cringed my face as much THIS fast in a book ever- it just kept getting worse. The entire thing. The kids thought they should 'connect' in an intimate level next to the grave of their relative?? ||

[rich gull]

Chapter 1: ||childhood trauma and dissociation? Bring it on ||

[rich gull]

Chapter 2: ||WHAT THE ACTUAL F. Why is this child so alone and unprotected. ||

[sudden sinew]

Ch.3 -|| I rly hope this book isn’t focused on the sibling romance :///// ||

[sudden sinew]

||It wasn’t - can’t believe she murdered the guy - LETS FUCKING GO ||

[fair parcel]

Ch. 1
||Not to be that person but the character is strange,as expected. Are they (Natsuki) hallucinating? Is this like Eleanor Oliphant?
Is the cover/cute and innocent but disturbing a representation of the MC?|| I am intrigued.

|| okay...it's a bit gross that Natsuki is fantasizing about...bugs? Also..incest? What is this, the royal family?||

||Oh. I don't like the mom. The language for what I presume is a young child is so inappropriate. But even if she were older, the verbal abuse is unwarranted. Perhaps this is why Natsuki engages in...escapism(?)||

[rich gull]

Chapter 4: ||She killed the disgusting pedo and she didn't realize what she did ||

[rich gull]

Chapter 5: ||Tomoya trying to commit incest? I don't know what the heck I'm reading anymore.||

[rich gull]

I finished. ||No. Just, no.||

[fallow falcon]

[fallow falcon]

@rich gull I won't be getting to this read soon but I'd love to hear your thoughts about this if you're comfortable sharing? I'd be happy to read them once I finish! No pressure if you don't want to discuss the read though

[rich gull]

Sure, as soon as I have some time! I stayed up late to finish so I thought I'd gather my thoughts today instead.

[sturdy walrus]

My bad

[sudden sinew]

||"what is this, the royal family?"|| I CACKLED

[sudden sinew]

||yeah hes so weird, I thought he would be the most humane one but nope||

[rich gull]

So, my thoughts with very minor spoilers for Convenience Store Woman as well.
||First of all I have to say that Sayaka Murata is no stranger to me. I read her Convenience Store Woman and I rated it very low because it never clicked with me. Then I started seeing this book everywhere and I read many reviews (with full spoilers) before rejecting the idea of adding to tbr. All this is to say that I was fully aware what I was getting into. Having read her other book, I realized Earthlings was very similar to CSW, the ideas and concept behind them was the same. This was the first turn-off. Her husband here was a potential criminal ready to r#pe his comatose grandpa and a cannibal, while the other husband was "just" an incel, but this is where the differences kind of stop in terms of concept. I read a GR review last night that says this book is kind of a parody and this is my second disagreement with Murata. She had an excellent material in her hands, the idea was very interesting and she could have delivered the (very obvious) message in a different way. Everything was too much, to the point that it felt like mocking the exact things she tried to highlight. The mother had to be the worst mother possible, the sister had to be the most unbearable person on earth, the cannibalism had to be to the most far-stretched extent possible, you get the point. It was all too much. So much that her point was extremely obvious since the beginning. || Anyway, I'm kind of sad for this negative review because I know many people appreciated the book. Still glad I gave Murata another chance to cross her off my list once and for all (one author less on my endless tbr list ).

[sudden sinew]

ch.5 -|| "one of my husbands teeth flew out and landed at my feet. It was covered in blood. I picked up the bloody tooth and put it in my pocket" ||

[sudden sinew]

Finished - I honestly dont know what to rate it. I would say I enjoyed it despite the themes depicted in the trauma of the mc, but honestly maybe I should have read the content warnings mb . Ill give it points to being completely unpredictable which made me want to keep on reading. Rn Id probably give it 3.5 maybe even 4 - certainly enjoyed it way more than convenience store woman

[fair parcel]

Ch. 2

• || why does Natsuki's family hate her so much? This is so sad... Also head injuries and physical abuse may be what's causing these...hallucinations(?) Me thinks she has either schizo or serious head injury that is causing these thoughts and behaviors||

• || Natsuki is in 6th grade. So...9?. Experiences child abuse, physical/sexual abuse/neglect. To survive she escapes through her imagination/"magic"-- do wonder if she has some head injury that makes this possible. Or it's a form of coping mechanism||

• ||TEACHER IS A FUCKING CREEP . OH NOOOOO. Still on survival mode...poor child. -OH. She's depersonalizing? as she's being assaulted. This is so sad and gross. Internalized misogyny by the mother; rather uphold patriarchy than call out misconduct||

• ||meets Yuu again at the wake,N thinks Igasaki gonna kill her?? Tells Yuu to consummate their marriage. Grossss.||

• ||I do wonder if Yuu's home situation is the same or similar to Natsuki that they also feel the need to escape. Both Natsuki and Yuu just...surviving. So sad... This chapter I feel like encapsulates the mood of the book-- disgusting, surprising, and sad/dark. I have no hope that it will get better||

[fair parcel]

Ch.3

• ||Oh time jump, just like CSW. Grew for what at their old house? Who is the husband? Why won't Shizuki not mind her own business? Odd also that she's the best friend but we've barely learned about her||
• ||Flashback to after the incident. Ohh so marriage is a collaboration.. on surinuke? Like a dating app?||
• || Tomoya, the husband, is suicidal wants to be at Akishina house.. Why??||
• || The visit: Awkward...Yuu, Natsuki and her spouse at Akishina house||
• ||OHHH. Factory = society, Earthling = someone brainwashed by society, Alien = not brainwashed by society. Natsuki wants be an earthling but her husband does not.||
• || So interesting that the husband is as odd as Natsuki. I do want Yuu's POV but seems unlikely that we'll get it. Also why is Tomoya so fascinated by the silkworms and Akishina house??||

[fair parcel]

Ch.4
||Oh wow so she was jailed in her own flashback
forced to go to cram school witht that creep teacher
why would she still go to Igaski's house tho? everything is pink??||
||Ohh her trauma made her kill Igasaki. Can't say I blame her tho.Glorification by the town. Society is weird.||

[fallow falcon]

Can't wait to dig into this and read everyone's thoughts ugh

[fair parcel]

Ch.6
||Their parents separate them. Tomoya was beaten and is now bald too. Castigated for not having sex and children

• commentary on societal expectations for married people and women in general? ||
  • ||the spouses try to persuade Yuu to come with them back to Akishina and escape society
    oh nooo gross. sperm as food. got worse...people as food ||
    ||The great lengths people have to go through to gain freedom? ||

||General thoughts: Well. This was a wild ride to say the least. I also kinda like that none of my initial questions were really answered. But it is disturbing and got worse as it ended. I do wonder what the book would've been like from Yuu's perspective. Overall, it was okay. The translations did hinder this one a bit, I think. The dialogue seemed just a bit...off. Anyway, this was a 3/5. ||

[nova bane]

Chapter 1
|| Okay so as a person who liked his cousin(still do) gotta say if you love someone you love em you can't help it and i respect em for taking action on it ,
in many religions incest is a taboo prolly because of the biological risks(harmful gene mutations) i def cant think of an explanation for incest being morally unacceptable(well considering they're the same age ofc)
P.S.= but again i dont see myself ever fallin for a sibling so there's that ||

Tl;dr-im sleepy and my brain isn't functioning to its full potential

[nova bane]

Chapter 2
||What in the mothafuckin tractormonkey fuckface assjacker cockshit thunder cunt horseshit fucking booger is that teacher doing Istg if that worm faced dipshit doesn't get the most cruel death known to man i might jump off a fucking building and take the author with me ||

[nova bane]

Chapter 3
|| Finally a normal chapter or jus the calm before a storm? ||

I think i like the book so far

||And what the fuck happened to that teacher i wanna see him suffer ||

[fallow falcon]

I'll start this soon!

[fallow falcon]

Ch.1: ||Oh so the little plushie is Piyyut. Interesting. Also, girl, if that's your first cousin... just don't...||

||Oop, kids are really weird. I think it's interesting that the author mentions how Natsuki has a hard time telling the adults apart – I remember feeling this very distinctly whenever we visited family away from home.||

||'The phrase "close-knit family", which I'd come across in a school library book and had stuck in my mind, always came back to me whenever I saw my parents and sister together. If I wasn't there, the three of them would make a perfect unit. So I wanted them to spend time together as a close-knit family without me now and then.' – where are you going with this, child ||

||'Yuu called his mom Mitsuko instead of Mom. Apparently, she'd told him to. Aunt Mitsuko had divorced three years ago, and since then she's depended on Yuu as though he were her husband.' – this paragraph gave me the ick for some reason.||

||Excuse me, why is Natsuki "hopeless"?? I'm getting the WORST vibe from the adults in this family mom is a bully ||

[fallow falcon]

I'm having a really hard time understanding what you mean when you say ||that you can't think "of an explanation for incest being morally unacceptable"|| but maybe I missunderstood your comment?

[fallow falcon]

Ch. 2: ||'It's handy having a dumpster in the house. In this house, that 's my role.' – is this child okay?? Someone call child services ||

|| ||

||'Grown-ups had it tough, too, I thought. Miss Shinozuka functioned well enough as one of society's tools, but maybe she wasn't functioning as one of society's reproductive organs.' – I can tell I'm going to need a breather from this book. I hope this kid gets a break.|| Honestly, I need a break from this chapter.

[nova bane]

||I mean incest is considered disgusting,unacceptable, immoral by the factory(lmao) , i can't think of a reason for it being considered disgusting if its consensual like if both agree go for it have fun||

[fallow falcon]

I understand. Thanks for making it clear.

[nova bane]

||Other than the fact that incest leads to harmful gene mutation i dont have a reason for it being considered bad||

[fallow falcon]

End of ch.2: ||has EVERY adult in this child's life failed her??||

[eternal ingot]

End of ch.2:
||has EVERY adult in this
child's life failed her??||

- Alex🌻

[fallow falcon]

||Natsuki is 11 at the beginning of the novel, and 13 when the incident with her teacher happens ||

[mental field]

That's a pretty big bad though

[floral oracle]

Just a friendly reminder that while this subject above is under the context of the book, let's keep in mind that it may fall under the purview of uncomfortable or controversial topics to discuss, so let's not get too in-depth with this subject.

[fallow falcon]

Ch. 3: ||I didn't expect a time-skip but I'm glad we got it. I hope we can take a minute from the awfulness.||

||Oh please let her husband be a decent human-being he sounds so nice so far||

||'I just thought that matching myself to others might help reduce the chances of causing offense if, for example, my words came across as too tense or gloomy or perhaps too curt and cold.' – still in survival mode all these decades later / 'The baby she had produced (...)' – I can tell she feels very heavily about the subject of sex and family. No wonder ||

||Oh I think I can tell Natsuki's husband is way over his head... and will definitely be a problem.||

[nova bane]

Yeah but It depends if they want a kid

[fallow falcon]

Ch. 4: ||||

[fallow falcon]

||I really enjoyed how this was handled: how Natsuki "protected" herself with her out-of-body experience, leading her to believe she wasn't killing her rapist, rather an Evil Witch; how the colours were different in her mind and she wasn't aware of the actual, brutal killing; how the pink and blue tint gave the blood a golden hue, helping her shut down the even in her brain.||

[fallow falcon]

Ch.5: ||You're going to try and do... what? And WHAT DO YOU MEAN "it's alright, that's EVEN WORSE what is wrong with Natsuki and Tomoyawhy is everyone in this insane||

||I want to believe that her looking at everything go down like it's a drama or a play is her still depersonalising and being unable to relate to "human" emotions... but I refuse to believe none of her friends helped her before. I don't believe it can be a cultural thing, not to this degree. It feels... way too pessimistic.||

[fallow falcon]

Ch. 6: ||Everyone in this novel is terrible. I thought I would be able to relate to some of the things Natsuki was being told, but all these characters are a crude, vile caricature of society. It's hard for me to try and find meaning behind the plot when it just feels needlessly evil, bleak and hurtful.||

||The word 'receptacle' makes me incredibly nervous. Three highly unstable, traumatised individuals, living together under this cult-like assumption...||

||"Does snow count as food?" – ||

I finished.

[fallow falcon]

I really enjoyed reading your review, I agree with most of these points

I think... I'll call it a night for now, make some final notes tomorrow.

[sudden sinew]

||It’s like no longer human by osamu Dazai but deranged😭😭||

[wind yew]

Late night thoughts huh

[rich gull]

Sorry about that

[nova bane]

[nova bane]

Chapter 4 starts with that cocksuckers name and i dont like spoilers but i wanna know if that piece of shit gets what he deserved(tortured to death with the pear of anguish)

I have to know

[mental field]

||the teacher?||

[nova bane]

Yes

[mental field]

||iirc she kills him||

[nova bane]

Lets fucking go

Now im motivated to read it

[nova bane]

Chapter 4
Nope that wasn't satisfying at all but gotta give it to sayaka murata to make a ||murder|| seem hilarious

[nova bane]

Chapter 5
|| Sure her husband wants to become something nonhuman and considering that the novel has cw of cannibalism , tomoya will be having a good meal soon. ||

https://tenor.com/view/cat-haram-gif-25493928

[lilac juniper]

i’ve started this book !!

[nova bane]

I jus finished it lmao , enjoy

Chapter 6
|| Im a very insensitive individual I've watched tons of gore , have read very fucked up graphic novels so i don't feel disgusted (actually i do) but i feel sad for them , 3 people jus hating the society (relateable) and its functionality and how everyone has a particular role they have to play and being forced to do it ,it gets frustrating and everyone has that feeling,that feeling of want to escape from those chains that bound you , all those relationships , all those duties , being a father,mother,a child , but cannibalism?incest? That's def not the solution lol , go be a monk , also think rationally natsuki if you dont want to procreate and your family is forcing you fucking change your country and dont contact them until they are wise enough to understand that its your womb not theirs
I want to say more but f1 qualifying jus started so i wont.
And to rate this one im not sure || therefore I'd like to ask you guys how do you rate your books? Whats the criteria?.

[lilac juniper]

finished chap 1
this is going to be an interesting experience

[nova bane]

Very interesting actually

[lilac juniper]

nevermind, pausing this for now. definitely not in the right headspace to be reading this.

[nova bane]

Alright so i give this a solid 1.5 it was a 3 until chapter 3 then it jus

[mental field]

||about the last point you really have to put yourself in her place like she has been abused and beaten down both mentally and physically by everyone she was supposed to trust her whole life so i dont think its a case of "just changing country"||

[nova bane]

|| I do understand that but i believe changing the environment should be the first step in that case , the more she stays(stayed) with them the more unhinged it got , iirc she was gonna go live in Tokyo i guess? But didn't dont remember why.
traumatized people do lose their sense of rationality if only she had someone wise enough to guide her ||

||Maybe changing a country or their environment wont fix it but its a step , a step away from toxicity||

[fallow falcon]

I'm sorry to hear about this but also, please prioritise your mental health and well-being and check all CW

[fallow falcon]

I just realised I never gave my final thoughts on this braindead

||This was... a ride? I'm conflicted about the themes and the execution but I enjoyed it thoroughly. On one hand, I felt like all characters were very black and white and I needed a HEALTHY dose of suspension of disbelief to get through some portions of this. On the other hand, I really digged the horror and the subversive themes. I think it's good I let this review sit in the back of my mind for a few weeks; thinking back to my time reading this book, I remember several "no way" moments and a few eye rolls. There was definitely space for improving these characters a bit more (how the families were straight-up the villains in this story and how MC's husband was... a terrible person all around??) unhinged; this novel was unhinged... for better or for worse.||

I think 2.5 from me

[ionic sandal]

@fallow falcon,@sly verge,@astral vortex,@tawny tusk,@nova bane,@sullen zinc,@sudden sinew,@viral kernel,@pale sparrow,@west edge,@flat dust,@rich gull,@surreal tangle,@open flame,@slim yarrow,@haughty glade,@tidal leaf,@fair parcel,@zinc gust,@somber meadow,@lilac juniper

[fallow falcon]

Hello, Earthlings
We have about 2 weeks left on this read. So far I have the following noted down as "finished":

Alex, Lioness, S, ahri, Raskolnikov
For everyone else, what's your status? Are you reading/planning to start soon? Here are some Qs for everyone that finished (spoilers for the whole novel):

1. ||Natsuki and Yuu were failed by many of the adults in their lives. How did you feel about the portrayal of the family members and other adults in the book?||
2. ||Do you think that the aspects of society that the author is critiquing can be applied to Japanese society only?||
3. ||Did you enjoy the graphic nature if the ending chapters and the "transformation" of the MC?||

[open flame]

Gonna start reading today!

[nova bane]

I jus wanna know what the author was smoking when they wrote this

[sly verge]

Starting this one now!

[open flame]

1. I heard about it on booktube plus it was also recommended to me
2. I will be reading the e-book as well!
3. I think it's intriguing; from the cover I'd think the story is about animal abuse

[sly verge]

Chapter 1: ||I hope her boyfriend is just called Cousin Yuu and isn't actually her cousin ||

||Now are they a magician and an alien or are they just playing? ||

||Of course the girls have to help out in the kitchen||

[rich gull]

1. I think ||they were drawn in an almost caricature way. I don't know how else to explain it. They were the worst possible, without some kind of background. This way it became oversimplified and it didn't reflect the complex human nature. In my opinion of course.||
2. Definitely not! ||Which is why I was sad that the author "killed" her message by this far-fetched parody. It could have been so much more relatable.||
3. Nope.

[open flame]

Chapter 1:
|| Ooh I'm wondering if this is actually about aliens or if it's just an extended metaphor. I really understood the part about stepping away and letting her parents and her sister be one family unit, I hope the book explores her lack of feeling connected with her family more.
It's also so interesting to see similarities with other Asian cultures! (Getting together at grandparents's house for festivals, praying to ancestors, expecting only young girls to help out with household activities 💀) ||

[flat dust]

I am starting today! Just sat down with it

[fallow falcon]

As always I really resonate with this!

[flat dust]

Chapter 1: I'm really curious about ||the magical realism in this novel. Part of me hopes Pityyut really is an alien creature on earth fighting the forces of evil haha. I also think Yuu is sick and will die at some point, and then we'll see how the book handles that. I feel bad for Natsuki's feeling like less a part of her family than her sister. I hope she gets some attention and finds self acceptance.||

[flat dust]

I'm about halfway through chapter three, which is just shy of the halfway point in the book, and ||I'm not really sold tbh. I find the writing really stunted and awkward. When the protagonist was a little kid, the writing style at least suited her age, but now that she's in her thirties and the writing is just the same, I don't really buy it. Also, the aggressive repetition of the factory metaphor is getting a bit tedious. Like ok, I got it, thank you. ||

The protagonist ||dealt with some pretty horrible things when she was a kid, and I hope we get to see her process that trauma and do more than just "survive" but I'm not sure the book has a deft enough touch for the resolution to feel satisfying. Also still waiting for the horror/magical realism elements to come into play||

[flat dust]

Chapter 5: So our protagonist ||murdered her rapist with the power of dissociation and hallucination. Honestly, good for her. I find it weird that her husband is so fully bought into her story of the other planet. I'm starting to think that our magical realism is going to be a matter of interpretation: is it her imagination or brought on as a response to trauma, or is the magic in the book meant to be taken as a real force in the world?||

[mental field]

||I actually was confused about how this book was magical realism and thought i must have forgotten something but that makes sense ||

[fallow falcon]

I fully forgot about the magical realism aspect, as in ||I totally accepted the notion that this was all a coping mechanism of Natsuki after her terrible childhood and adolescence and that this was just a horror book disguised as magical realism in a sense.||

[flat dust]

Finished! I ||hated this book tbh. This was just three people in desperate need of therapy, having simultaneous mental breakdowns and going feral, stealing food and murdering and eating people until they're found and, I assume, put in institutions.||

[fallow falcon]

woop thank you

[flat dust]

Sorry, hit send before I spoilered, my mistake

[fallow falcon]

and aw ||I'm sorry that you didn't vibe with it, I totally get that tbh||

[flat dust]

Haha that's ok, it was a very different read for me and not everything is going to land every time

I agree with what you and Amanda have said, that the ||magical realism aspects are mostly coping mechanisms and products of a traumatized little girl's imagination, which I'm totally cool with||

But yeah, I don't know, that last section ||wasn't it for me. But that's useful information, I won't rush out to read Convenience Store Woman haha||

[fallow falcon]

I actually enjoyed ||the ending chapters a lot! Unfortunately the characters were really off and one-dimensional for me, which made me dislike it overall.||

[flat dust]

sorry, wandered off to do some cleaning

to build on your point, I was thinking about character motivation while I was vacuuming haha

[fallow falcon]

I also went off vacuuming

[flat dust]

so our protagonist ||feels like the system has failed her, she has experienced trauma at the hands of people who are supposed to look out for her, her mother and her teacher, but that same system still expects her to be a "productive member of society," so to speak. So she gets none of the benefits of safety or belonging from that social system, but she still feels the weight of societal expectation. ||

this leads her ||to forsake that system and entirely embrace her fantasy of being an alien||

with Yuu, we know ||his mother was unwell, attempted suicide mutiple times before succeeding, and leaned on him for support as though he were an adult, so we can say something similar about him. ||

||but I don't really understand the husband character? he had to shower with his mother? does this suggest that he also is the victim of sexual abuse? because he seems to buy in to the Pobopobopian (I have no idea how that word is spelled haha) fantasy the most of any of them. And I guess his character is where my analysis breaks down. ||

[fallow falcon]

I got the faint idea that ||there was sexual abuse hinted at. I also felt like Yuu was abused or parentified as a child since his mother viewed him as "the husband" rather than the child. I believe there is a recurring theme here of both sexual assault and adults failing these children. It feels like a lot could have been done with the plot, but I didn't enjoy the overall result as much as I could have.||

[flat dust]

totally, ||this is me trying to make sense of the book by looking at what we know, but I absolutely agree with you that I didn't really connect to the characters or the themes very much||

[fallow falcon]

I really appreciate the discussion on this! I think when I was done with this book I was ready to just "eh what the heck" and take a break from it, but it's nice to get some good convos out of a book I don't necessarily love

[flat dust]

absolutely I entirely agree, it's way more rewarding to try to parse it out with someone than to just put it down and be like "nope" haha

[rich gull]

I also ||understood that there was sexual abuse hinted for both the cousin and the husband.||

[sudden sinew]

||it was bizarre for sure- but I knew it would be going into this book, so it was in line with my expectations! Well it wasnt but just cause I did not expect it to go THAT crazy lmao||

[sudden sinew]

samee I rly enjoyed reading this book and reading everyone's opinions cause some of you guys have such interesting thoughts and just- wow

[flat dust]

continuing on ||my strain of trying to make sense of things I didn't like about this: I found the language really simple, stunted, and sometimes awkward. When Natsuki is a little kid, this kind of works, but after she matures to an adult I found that I couldn't match the language and the really two-dimensional worldview with this adult character. But maybe, even as she ages in body, her mind stays stuck in the period of her trauma and so she never fully matures to adulthood, which would help explain the really simple and childlike use of language ||

idk ||if I'm just coping at this point and trying too hard to make the book cohere haha||

[sudden sinew]

I think it is that yeah- ||we are following natsuki's pov and head, and she is clearly not ok or mature in a way... so it makes sense that the writing is reflected in the book||

[flat dust]

right, and ||we get indication that her trauma is still with her since she can't taste or hear out of one ear, so it seems like she's a bit stuck in her childhood and the use of language may reflect that ||

[sudden sinew]

||I mean even her thinking she is an alien (which is the whole premise of the book) is a giveaway that my girl is not really there due to trauma she experienced since childhood. That actually makes me really sad because it is just heartbreaking with what she went through but anyway||

[flat dust]

yeah, ||the entire book as a trauma response is interesting to me but heartbreaking, I agree||

[glad loom]

that language is actually sayaka's style imo, she deals with heavy, disturbing and awkward subjects in very basic language. i am unsure if it's an artifact of translation but it is consistent across works.

[flat dust]

oh that's useful information! I have found that this type of language is consistent across the Japanese books that I've read translated into English this year, so maybe it is an effect of translation like you say

in which case my analysis is working toooo hard haha but that is totally fine

[sly verge]

Chapter 2: ||Lowkey life can sometimes feel like you work/live in a baby factory||

I know this book is so weird, but this book is so weird

||Her mum doesn't sound very understanding when she's just trying to help her out||

||Why is her mum being like this? If your child is saying that their teacher is being gross then maybe believe them.||

||I can't believe her mum is repeatedly hitting her and berating her like this. I just want to give her a hug.||

||Can I kill her teacher already? wtf he's so disgusting||

||In a way disassociation as a response to trauma kind of is a magic power, especially if it can help you bury memories. But boy when they resurface...||

[sly verge]

||They are way too young to be having sex but I get that she's seeing this as taking ownership of her body before it's taken away from her. It's such a sad concept but the fact she's borrowed a book from the library to learn how to have sex with someone she loves is sweet and funny.||

||Why am I feeling so many things? This book has been a complete 180 for me.||

||She wants to kill herself so she isn't hurt by other people? Please, I need to protect her so much.||

[fallow falcon]

||I'm glad I wasn't the only one who found this so incredibly distressing yet meaningful. MC is absolutely lost at this point and this is her way of taking control of her body and life.||

[sly verge]

||Absolutely. I can totally understand her logic with things too and it's horrible but she's just trying her best in the ways she knows how||

[sudden sinew]

its rly sad yeah ://

[sly verge]

Chapter 3: ||I'm also the type of person who changes how I text depending on which friend I'm talking to||

[sly verge]

||I feel so bad for her husband too||

||Her husband was stealing from his job and is mad for being fired? Come on now.||

||They sound absolutely off their rockers but at the same time their metaphors make sense too.||

Chapter 4: ||Her family locked her in her room when she was home? They're despicable.||

[sly verge]

||She killed him but how ironic that everyone is praising him and saying he was killed by a pervert when in fact he was the pervert. I hate it here.||

||It genuinely is so sad that she's chosen to believe she's an alien with a higher purpose in order to cope with everything that's happened to her but at least she's made it through.||

Chapter 5: ||It's heartbreaking that she feels like her body doesn't belong to her but isn't that the case for so many women around the world?||

||......yep, just casually disclose that you want to commit incest at the breakfast table.||

||Yuu is really the only one here who is speaking any sense because how can Tomoya ever think it's a good idea to SA his granddad so he can then possibly be okay with having sex with women?? It's so gross and yes I get that he has childhood trauma and sometimes trauma is generational and cyclical but that doesn't mean you can do that.||

||What we're not going to do is victim blame anyone, especially a literal child||

[sly verge]

||I can't believe he went to his brother's house and propositioned him like that||

Chapter 6: ||Why are all these parents so okay with abusing their kids like this? It's horrible||

||A man's reward for getting his wife pregnant is that he's allowed to cheat? I hate thinking like that||

||It's so weird that so many people are concerned with their sex life. It's none of your business.||

[sly verge]

||I'm glad they're happy in their little bubble but holy moly, discussing story their sperm and using it as food is a little too much for me.||

||I've just realised that her husband is a-okay with physical contact now so maybe they are healing even if it's in an unconventional way||

||Oh man, her sister has totally tracked down the gross teacher's parents as revenge right? For something she didn't even do||

[fallow falcon]

I have an issue with ||how terrible everyone is in this ||

[sly verge]

||Same! Like not a single person in this is completely moral and I definitely feel bad for some of the characters but I'm not sure I actually like any of them||

||Cannibalism??||

[rich gull]

^Because, why not

[sly verge]

||Cannibalising each other?? That's true love /j||

Finished. ||What a strange little book. I genuinely didn't like a single character but they were all so fascinating in their own ways. I love how this was escapism as a trauma response even if it was really pushing the boat out with that. Some of it was a little bit too extreme for me but with the characters it made complete sense too.|| 3.5 ⭐

[fallow falcon]

hi! this read was extended and is set to end today! are you reading this?

[fair parcel]

To answer #2: || I don't think so. There are behaviors and practices in this book that society as a whole, regardless of country, continues to practice. The mother's decision to defend the abuser is prevalent in all societies, for instance. Some people would rather uphold the "norm"(patriarchy) than challenge it and face the consequences/backlashthemself for not doing so. Also, this general expectation/pressure for married couples, especially women, to have children is common in Western society too. Sadly. Because women are often, as shown in the book,... just baby factories. 🙃 ||

[ionic sandal]

@fallow falcon,@sly verge,@astral vortex,@tawny tusk,@nova bane,@sullen zinc,@sudden sinew,@viral kernel,@pale sparrow,@west edge,@flat dust,@rich gull,@surreal tangle,@open flame,@slim yarrow,@haughty glade,@tidal leaf,@fair parcel,@zinc gust,@somber meadow,@lilac juniper

[fallow falcon]

Hi all! This read ended yesterday. I'll be submitting points shortly. Here's the list of members who finished (if I missed you, please let me know and point me to the discussion posts so I can add you to the list!):

Lioness, ahri, S, Alex, Raskolnikov, thelaspage, abi

Thank you for joining me in this weird adventure

[rich gull]

Thank you so much for hosting!!

[sly verge]

thank you for hosting Alex