Content warning: Death, child abuse, incest, murder, cannibalism.
“My jaw was literally on the floor with every page,” is a real response I have received after recommending this book to a friend. Most replies have teetered between “why would you recommend this book?” and “thank you for making me read this.” I have also had, “Oh my goodness, that book was crazy,” and I honestly couldn’t have said it better myself.
Published in 2018, Earthlings by Sayaka Murata is an absurdist contemporary Japanese novel. Although Murata has received more international acclaim for her novel Convenience Store Woman, Earthlings is far superior. Both texts position characters at odds with their societies, exploring themes of alienation through extended metaphors. Yet, Earthlings also explores love, sexual assault, and the pervasive impact of patriarchy in Murata’s portrayal of contemporary Japanese society, all while integrating just enough disturbing scenes to keep readers engaged. This is the type of book you physically cannot put down, nor would you be able to guess what will happen next…whatever you’re thinking might happen, I promise you it is much worse. The lengthy warning at the beginning of this article says it all.
The first half of the book follows female protagonist Natsuki’s childhood who critiques society by describing it as “the Baby Factory.” She subsequently realises that her womb does not belong to her, but rather is a cog in the factory of society. Her parents belittle and abuse her, teachers take advantage of her, and Natsuki struggles to rationalise all of it. Murata takes the theme of alienation literally; Natsuki’s distance from societal structures seems to distance her from humanity as a whole. She views humans as Earthlings, considering them the aliens for their strange social structures and customs.
As Natsuki gets older, although she still views society as absurd, she finds herself in a loveless marriage to keep up the appearance of being a functioning member of society. Then, the second half of the book quickly deteriorates into madness, wherein even the most fundamental social constructs are abandoned. To this day, I am unsure if many of Earthlings’ events were literal or metaphorical; Murata artfully blurs the line between reality and fiction and leaves the reader with one of the most ambiguous endings I have ever encountered.
After everything, despite the people I recommended this to being thoroughly concerned, I have only received rave reviews in return.
“Osaka, Japan” by szeke is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
