I can't say I enjoyed the novel because some scenes were brutal to get through, but it's definitely a book that I'll be thinking about for a while. Murata lends no easy answers, and it's entirely up to reader interpretation.

The ending is surreal, to stay the least, and left me completely shocked and confused. But is the alternative better? What can be said about the lines between living in a capitalist baby-making society versus heeding to one's most basic animalistic tendencies? In this regard, Earthlings does remind me of Han Kang's The Vegetarian, which in some ways examines a woman's descent into madness caused by societal pressures. Yet, when pressures intensify from family and friends, having to live within the bounds of society (also called the Factory) becomes overwhelming and unbearable. Characters will do anything to survive, even if that means faking normalcy. As we follow Natsuki, what starts as childhood trauma at the beginning of the novel slowly morphs into horrendous and surreal acts of violence as means of self-preservation. In Earthlings, Murata poses questions about normalcy and tests the bounds of conformism and rebellion against societal norms.

After finishing Earthlings, all I could think was, 'what the heck did I just read?' It was definitely not what I was expecting, especially with the cute cover of a hedgehog! I don't want to give anything away because it's a novel where readers are meant to be shocked and surprised however, I will include content warnings at the bottom of the review because of the nature of the content.

Sayaka murata goodreads