Earthlings Audiobook By Sayaka Murata cover art

Earthlings

A Novel

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Earthlings

By: Sayaka Murata
Narrated by: Nancy Wu
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As a child, Natsuki doesn’t fit into her family. Her parents favor her sister, and her best friend is a plush toy hedgehog named Piyyut who has explained to her that he has come from the planet Popinpobopia on a special quest to help her save the Earth. Each summer, Natsuki counts down the days until her family drives into the mountains of Nagano to visit her grandparents in their wooden house in the forest, a place that couldn’t be more different from her grey commuter town. One summer, her cousin Yuu confides to Natsuki that he is an extraterrestrial and that every night he searches the sky for the spaceship that might take him back to his home planet. Natsuki wonders if she might be an alien too.

Back in her city home, Natsuki is scolded or ignored and even preyed upon by a young teacher at her cram school. As she grows up in a hostile, violent world, she consoles herself with memories of her time with Yuu and discovers a surprisingly potent inner power. Natsuki seems forced to fit into a society she deems a “baby factory,” but even as a married woman she wonders if there is more to this world than the mundane reality everyone else seems to accept. The answers are out there, and Natsuki has the power to find them.

Dreamlike, sometimes shocking, and always strange and wonderful, Earthlings asks what it means to be happy in a stifling world and cements Sayaka Murata’s status as a master chronicler of the outsider experience and our own uncanny universe.

©2018 Sakaya Murata (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing
Coming of Age Fantasy Fiction Literary Fiction Magical Realism Summer Mind-Bending Scary Inspiring Suspenseful
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What listeners say about Earthlings

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look up trigger warnings!

I feel like the narration didn't bother me when it was meant to be the pov of her child self, but later on in the story, I found the voice annoying. especially the male voices. overall, the story was good.

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The weirdest book I’ve ever read

The book started weird and ended even weirder but somehow kept me intrigued the entire time.

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An interesting take on abuse, and dehumanization

A very disturbing story, but compelling! It's clear that, while the main characters end up doing something horrendous, it's understandable WHY in the first place. All of them were victims of some form of abuse in their lives, and it led them to believe that only "earthlings" deserved to be treated kindly by others. Definitely recommended, if you're looking for a depressingly and tragically sweet story.

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Favorite book of the year!!!

This has to be my favorite book I’ve read this year… This book is the perfect amount of beautiful and twisted. It was so interesting I could not put it down. Also, the narrator is AMAZING. She really immerses you in the story. Absolutely recommend spending your credit on this book!

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Unsettling with need of trigger warnings

This book completely rocked my brain. It covers really dark topics like trauma, misogyny, abuse, assault, and features cannibalism, but it's handled with nuance and insight into contemporary society. I won't stop thinking about it any time soon

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definitely a strange read

Much like convenience store woman, also written by Sayaka Murata, this book is seemling flat with lots of internal monologue to get a grasp on the narrators thoughts. Very chaotic and dark in some places but definitely a good read. Nothing is quite predictable so you are on your toes- nothing really jaw dropping though aside from the ending but more from disgust rather than surprise. I recommend this book as a casual read. I didn't take much away from it other than some entertainment. I love the audio reader, they do a fantastic job.

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Idk if I loved it or didn’t

Very very disturbing material (and I love dark books) think it’ll take me a while to know if I can really liked it or really didn’t.

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A casual descent into madness, or is it?

I find it interesting that events like this don’t occur more. The buildup to the conclusion was marginally unexpected. It’s weird how disassociation can be equally comforting and taboo in this case

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So messed up

If you like ultraviolence, screwed up humor, and devastating childhood tales, this is for you. Otherwise, it's nauseating and it just gets worse and worse. I would classify it as bizarro lit more than anything else. If you like bizarro, go for it.

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Excellent and gripping

Another masterpiece by Sakaya, beautifully read and written by Lucy Yu. Very dark and intense, loved every minute. Highly recommended. Run and grab the book, you won’t be sorry.

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