Welcome to Litsy!

Was weird, uncomfortable, and somehow still a bit boring.

How much of propriety and morality is enforced by others; and how much of it is innate?

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata forces us to confront our own humanity - or society‘s definition of it, through the heartbreaking and fascinating stories of Natsuki, Yuu and Tomoya.

This book wasn‘t by any means super high on the weird meter. But, it stays with you. It certainly made me pause & take note of how the fractures & disintegration happens within us.

If I had a nickle for every horror novel that turned cannibal I'd have several nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's still weird it's happened several times.

bookriot.com/cannibalistic-horror/

I read this in a day. It was pretty heavy and progressed into some sort of bizarre depravity. I liked it though
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Do not judge a book by its cover.

How to unread? But seriously this was me throughout the book: 🙂🙃😢🤬🥺😭🤬🤬😭🤬🤮🤬😨🤯😭🤬🫤🙃🤨😠😈🤯😵🫥🤬😧🫨🙃😧😠😶🙁🙃🙃🫣🤮 🤮🫠

Check for content/ trigger warnings if you‘re gonna pick this up!

Edit: this was an awesome read! Haha. Don‘t be fooled by my emojis… Or do? 🫠

😭

18% 😱🤬

The original F-word. 😏

Oh, I love mine but it is hard sometimes.

3.8/5 🌟

Do not be misled by the cover, nothing cute bout this book. Not sure what to say. It left me speechless. So many emotions and thoughts. Very glad I read it. 👍

Started this one just now! I‘m not far in but it‘s already painful to read! The way Natsuki is treated by her family is almost unbearable and I don‘t have any hope that this will get nicer🙈 (don‘t get me wrong, it‘s REALLY good, just painfull to read👀)

4.5/5 ⭐️
Un libro a tratti molto crudo ma brillante, che racconta l'assurdità delle convenzioni sociali attraverso gli occhi di Natsuki, una bambina convinta di non appartenere agli esseri umani, e contraria quindi alle loro tradizioni comandate.

A surreal, dreamlike read about childhoods full of abuse - emotional, mostly, but not exclusively – and how that shapes the future of the people affected.
Natsuki is a pensive child who feels she doesn't fit in – into her family as a child, into society and human life as an adult. The childhood friendship/relationship with her cousin Yuu and her family's reaction to an occurrence on a summer night affects & alters her whole life.
...

Thank you @actualdisneyprincess for this fun #jolabokaflodswap 🎁
I love it! I‘ve been looking forward to this book and you can never have too many Reese‘s Peanut butter cups! 😍😍😍

1. Usually like to focus myself on a single book.
When reading anthologies/short story collections or books outside my fave genres that don't hold enough suspense, I might throw in one or two other reads for distraction.

2. The tagged was an absolute - very unexpected - fave, along with the bleak modern classic Play it as it Lays by Joan Didion.
Bailed on The Arrangement by Robyn Harding, 'cause of the topic hitting much harder than expected.

This book was a lot to take in. It started innocently enough, but then started getting dark and twisted. There‘s a lot of neglect and physical/sexual abuse, so if you‘re really sensitive to those subject matters- I would steer clear.

Overall, I liked that this novel was different from anything I‘ve ever read (although it was pretty obscene). I still found it interesting, and was trying to figure out how it would all play out.

Both mom and my sister kept going on and on about how wonderful motherhood was, as if it were some kind of religion. I was still hoping to be brainwashed. But repeating “motherhood is wonderful” over and over like a Buddhist chant was hardly going to be enough to brainwash me on its own.

I‘m reading this one next. I‘m not sure what to expect since I‘ve seen so many mixed reviews. Only one way to find out…

#BookMoods

I like a certain level of #Bizarre but this book went way over the edge and was truly BIZARRE! I read it recently & was disappointed as I loved Convenience Store Woman.

Apologies for the cursing, but this is a profoundly fucked up, nearly nonsensical story. CW for basically everything from abuse, incest, violence and cannibalism. While the themes of loneliness and social conformity, particularly in Japanese culture, may be relevant it felt like too much of this book was written purely for shock value. If you are looking for another Convenience Store Woman, go elsewhere.

I loved Convenience Store Woman & appreciate how the author writes about characters who are outside the norm but this book was at the really dark end of crazy. I‘m not even sure how to review—parts of it are a pick but at times it was a pan as I felt the author was tossing triggers in there at the end for shock value & the dark humor that I appreciated in CSW was just too dark to be funny to me . I finally ended up splitting the difference with⬇️

Well, I did finish listening to this but unfortunately I hated it. I understood what the author was trying to do but it did not work for me.

This is making me really uncomfortable. Not sure if I will finish.

I think unforgettable is probably one of the best descriptions of this book. I'm not sure I get how it's humorous, but it's definitely one I'm going to be thinking about for a while

This started out really strong, possibly better than Convenience Store Woman. Then it went from dark to absolutely bat shit crazy. Still calling it a pick.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I came into this off of Convenience Store Woman and boy oh boy is this different. It does follow a similarly offbeat protagonist who defies societal norms but the similarities end there. Natsuki is an abused child who believes she's an alien from the planet Popinpobopia and longs to be brainwashed into fitting in as an Earthling. Trigger warnings for everything under the sun but specifically sexual qssualt, incest, child abuse, and cannabilism.

Definitely did not know what I was getting into with this one! I read Convenience Store Woman and loved it, which sounds like it is the same way quite a few people come into this one only to find themselves surprised 😅 Definitely planning to get going because I'm intrigued so far but whew does this deal with some intense (and dark) topics.

Holy Shit. I should have read a few reviews first, but I went into it blind having loved The Convenience Store book… 🤣🤦‍♀️ what did I just read??? As everyone else has said- ALL THE TRIGGERS. What a bizarre book. I guess it‘s a pick, but I wouldn‘t read it again.

The most bizarre novel I've ever read that just gets even more outrageous as you get further into it.

It's well written though but it just got too weird for me towards the end.

It covers a range of disturbing themes including sexual abuse, incest, murder and cannibalism.

Despite the subject matter, there were lighter moments that were nice to read but overall it's a unsettling and heartbreaking read, so beware.

I wouldn't read this again. 😶

🎧 Uhhhh what did I just read and why did I like it?

I don‘t know but the ending is insane.

TW: child abuse (verbal, sexual), incest, canabalism, a magical hedgehog … well what more can I say that would scare you away after that … Read at your own risk.

A translated work. Disturbing to say the least. Well written & narrated.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/3

I loved Convenience Store Woman- this takes all the same themes and digs deeper and darker into them. If you've ever felt like you don't belong this might be for you. Warning- it does cover the topic of sexual abuse.

So I just finished this author‘s other book, Convenience Store Woman, last night, and I liked it so much I borrowed her other book from the NYPL. #food

Next up . . . I've read another by this author. I've heard this is weird. I'm hoping not too weird 😕

I loved Convenience Store Woman, so I knew I would get here eventually. Why didn't anyone warn me?!

TW: uh, if it's taboo or triggering, it's in here, I promise. Incest, child abuse, cannibalism to list the big ones.

It's honestly a sweet book that examines societal pressures and bodily autonomy. I was relating pretty well right up until that unexpected ending. Recommended reading for the right audience.

Super mixed feelings. CSA warning. A really interesting story moving through a woman's childhood to adulthood that just becomes more absurd but...makes sense?

This book starts innocently with an imaginative child, moves into an intriguing coping mechanism for difficult topics (molestation/abuse) and ends (without giving anything away) wildly outlandish, but in a logical way. And with about the same speed and horrific entertainment as a car crash

I severely (yes, severely) enjoyed it, and that makes me worry for myself. This author is a master of the unreliable narrator and mixing charm with the bizarre

I honestly don‘t know what to do with this. The writing is beautiful, but the story is horrific. I‘m glad I read it, but I would never recommend it. I think I need a hug?!

Weird, wonderful and a magical hedgehog.
Be warned there is a tiny bit of incest

First time in waterstones in months.
Feels good to be back, I've missed them and the workers have missed me too

Current read. I picked this one up on Libby after finishing with Convenience Store Woman. I‘m really enjoying Murata‘s storytelling style. Can‘t wait for the #ItsLit virtual book chat on the 19th.

Don‘t let the cute cover or my cheerful floral background fool you, this is a dark, dark read. It‘s weird and unsettling and just when you think it can‘t get any weirder or darker, it definitely does. I‘ve never read anything like it and probably don‘t need to again, but because it kept me turning pages no matter how grossed out I was, it‘s a pick.

Well that got a bit weird👀 This was not a book for everyone, it had some very disturbing (yet intriguing) scenes that won't be easy to forget. That being said I loved the writing style, enjoyed the book and know this story will linger in my thoughts for quite awhile.

Woah. Fascinating and uncomfortable. Worth your time. There‘s a magical hedgehog too.

I read the last ten percent of this book with my hands over my eyes - it just gets weirder and weirder. It starts with a 9 year old girl who is berated by her family, assaulted by a teacher, and she seeks comfort with her cousin, believing they are probably both aliens. As an adult she finds a spouse who will commit to an unusual relationship but things come to a head when the families start insisting they comply with social expectations.↘️

Earthlings is an uncomfortable read, it‘s dark and twisted. It‘s not for everyone. I hesitate to say “read this” because I know some are likely to be put off by many parts. But for me, it was something I couldn‘t stop reading. It‘s way out of the box but this past year has been anything but ordinary. Maybe I just needed something bizarre to kick off my 2021 reading. Whatever the reason, Earthlings is a book I‘m definitely not going to forget.

Things just got really weird. 😳

I found the first half of this book to be extremely sad as we follow Natsuki an 11yo girl who is subjected to different kinds of abuse. So much so that her reality fractures and Popinpopobia the alien planet she believes she is from gets created so she can deal with her trauma. We jump to her adulthood later in the book where Murata could reconcile Natsuki‘s coping mechanism with reality but instead goes into high gear. Pick!