Wonderfully creepy and odd stories ( )

Just no. ( )

These stories gave me whiplash. Going from "Two's Family" more tender look at family to the jaw-dropping first two pages of "Poochie" (I literally had to put the book down for a few minutes from shock) had me reeling - but not in a bad way! Throughout this collection I was delighted, shocked, intrigued, and grossed-out, and almost every story left me thinking about something new or considering a topic from a new light. Murata casts a funny kind of spell with these stories...I'd recommended giving them a try if you're in the mood for something both sweetly kooky and a bit unsettling. ( )

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/life-ceremony-by-sayaka-murata-translated-by-gin...

A baker’s dozen of unconnected short stories, vignettes of life in a series of different worlds which are not quite like ours. The creative use of human body parts, including discreet but socially sanctioned cookery, is a recurrent theme. These are all very weird and disturbing but also memorable, and recommended if you think you can take a bit of body horror. ( )

“…normal is a type of madness, isn’t it?”

Weirdness went on a holiday trip and brought back thought experiments as souvenirs for friends and family.

I had enjoyed Convenience Store Woman, and was looking forward to Sayaka Murata’s collection of short stories. “Life Ceremony” turned out to be a mixed bag, though. There were some great and memorable stories, but then again, there were stories that protested too much, stories that preached and fell flat, stories that went too far just because they could. I was bored at times. Still, I don’t regret reading “Life Ceremony”, and I might read Earthlings at some point as well.

“A First-Rate Material” – an engaged couple is settling their differences in a world slightly different from ours. Creepy, creepy, creepy…

“A Magnificent Spread” – “Here is to everyone’s disgusting foods!” This one is kind of funny, kind of satirical, with lots of atrocious food.

“A Summer Night’s Kiss” – a few pages about people with different sexual preferences. Me, the reader: “Yes, so what?”

“Two’s Family” – quirky characters with an unusual family arrangement. A lovely story.

“The Time of the Large Star” – here is a town where you can’t sleep. This one is a fragment rather than a short story. It didn’t impress me.

“Poochie” – Who wants a secret pet? There are different kinds… Weird, but fun.

“Life Ceremony” – Ouch. Let’s break as many taboos as possible in one story! If you are squeamish, this is not your cup of tea ;)

“Body Magic” – a nice story about discovering your sexuality. I found it to be too preachy, though.

“Lover on the Breeze” – love and window curtains. “Yes, so what?”

“Puzzle” – weirdness going into such a weird territory that it becomes ridiculous. I kept wanting to laugh, I wonder if that was the author’s intention?

“Eating the City” – so, you want to harvest your food from stuff that is growing in the city, do you? Cool scary weirdness ensues. I liked this one ☺

“Hatchling” – we all play various roles depending on who we are with, and people love to put each other into role boxes. Let’s take this to the limit! It gets very creepy by the end and is probably the best story in this collection.
( )