Life Ceremony: Sayaka Murata

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And that’s the spirit of most of the stories in Life Ceremony. The collection contains story upon story forcing the reader to evaluate the cultural norms she can never really escape.

I mean, normal is a type of madness, isn’t it? I think it’s just that the only madness society allows is called normal."A sharp interrogation of the way our brains and bodies react to trauma and to feeling ‘other’ that forces anyone to question what their place is, what’s truly necessary to exist in society, and what ‘normal’ truly means . . . Murata’s novels are a valuable, heightened exploration of the intense discomfort that people, autistic or not, who are just a little outside of society can feel when they try to force themselves to fit in. Murata’s message is: stop trying.”— Marianne Eloise, i-D The same characters as the previous one, but a much needed story following the previous one. Beautiful relationship and newly discovered family. Named a Most Anticipated Book by the New York Times, TIME, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, the Guardian, Vulture, Wired, Literary Hub, Bustle, PopSugar, and Refinery29

This is the first collection of Murata's short stories translated into English, featuring twelve texts set in the present, future, and in alternate worlds, focusing on topics like: kinda rudimentary to be honest. what my high school english teacher would call Hit You Over The Head Themes. Sanae quietly gripped the plastic bag in her hand, thinking of all the excrement filling Emiko's body.” Normal is a type of madness, isn’t it? I think it’s just that the only madness society allows is called normal."

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Fallon, Claire (June 12, 2018). "Amid All The Talk Of Incels, A Solitary Woman's Story". HuffPost . Retrieved June 13, 2018. Naoki has told Nana that any item made of human hair gave him the creeps. He says its sacrilegious— barbaric.

Such a great collection of short stories! I can’t really explain them as the best part of reading it was going in with no expectations and then having literal jaw dropping reactions as the unusual part of the story was revealed. Some of the stories seem to be set now, but in a slightly altered world with different customs, some seem to be set in the near future, others with an altered reality but all made me think about societal customs and expectations and how I’d react to the different situations. My favourites were “A First-Rate Material” in this world clothes are made from human hair, jewellery and furniture from human bones!; “A Magnificent Spread” about different food customs; “Life Ceremony” funerals are called life ceremonies and it is customary to cook and eat the dead person then go and have sex to create new life!. I doubt I will forget this one! “Poochie” an unusual pet two girls have a secret pet, a man pretending to be a dog!; “Lovers on the Breeze” about a curtain named Puff! I liked this one more than the last one only because it had more weight and importance on it. It was cute seeing their friendship and what their life was like. Again, not too much happened here but I liked it.

Sayaka Murata's Life Ceremony is a collection of 12 short stories. Each of the stories in the collection is narrated from a distinct point of view, set in a distinct narrative world, and possesses its own form, structure, and style. The following summary employs a streamlined approach, and relies upon a linear structure and the present tense. In the end, the Clean Breeder involves a kind of farcical and even obscene role reversal that puts all the discomfort and indignity of childbirth on the narrator’s husband—at least in the moment of conception. The man is the partner uncomfortably strapped down. He is the one facing the nurses’ condescending encouragement: “One last little push, Mr. Takahashi!”

I inhaled this book in a matter of hours. In Convenience Store Woman, Murata introduced us to characters living on the fringe of society; with Earthlings, she’s moved onto characters who are outside of society altogether. Eleven-year-old Natsuki firmly believes her cousin is an alien. Which is fine, because she is, too, a fact that’s revealed to her by the toy hedgehog she bought at a supermarket. As an adult, Natsuki’s beliefs are tested as her family and friends insist she should hurry up and have children (or, as Natsuki puts it, give her womb over to the ‘baby factory’) like all good humans do. In turns moving and disturbing, Earthlings is unlike anything you’ve ever read.”— Devon Dunn, Book Culture (New York)

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An indelible portrait of an imaginative young woman learning to survive. Original in conception and astute in its social critique; highly recommended.”— Library Journal (starred review)