Review: Earthlings

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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.

The author is intentional about subverting expectations for women, in her own life and in her writing.

Translated into English by Ginny Tapley Takemori, I read this because it is on the Tournament of Books long but not shortlist, and counts for January in Japan.

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