Life Ceremony

This book is very strange & disquieting.I don't think I like it, but I keep reading it because it is so weird & I never know where the stories will go next.

If you liked earthlings you’ll enjoy this. It’s subversive, thought provoking and somehow simultaneously gross and charming.

I read 'Convenience Store Woman' a couple of years ago, so when another book by Sayaka Murata popped up I couldn't wait to read it. 'Life Ceremony' is a little different though, as it's a collection of short stories with what appears to be the theme of taboos and norms running through them all.As I find with many short story collections these were a little hit-and-miss. Some of them I absolutely adored and others I didn't quite get. These stories are also a little more out there than 'Convenience Store Woman', challenging us at every turn as to why we think in a certain way, why we think some things are normal, and presenting alternatives that are entirely possible.Reading this one on the train wasn't always the best experience as I was paranoid people were going to read it over my shoulder, and I couldn't keep my emotions off my face! That being said I didn't get bored at any point. Highlights for me included: A First-Rate Material, A Summer Night's Kiss/Two's Family, Life Ceremony, Body Magic, and A Clean Marriage.Verdict: The perfect collection for anyone into the weird, and wonderful and looking for a quick fix to get you out of a reading slump.

Honestly, I don't even know where to start with this!The writing was engaging and intriguing, and kept me reading until the end, even though I generally had no idea what was going on or why! The whole thing felt like it was trying to hard to be clever and obscure, with too many hidden meanings.I've studied literature at degree level and am well used to finding meanings within a text, but this felt like the whole purpose of the book was to have to work to understand it. At another time I may well have enjoyed it, but at this point in my life I want to enjoy what I'm reading without having to work too hard at it!

A bizarre, intriguing, daring collection of stories exploring and challenging social conventions.Each of Sayaka Murata's stories revolves around a specific, surprising or outlandish idea, like wearing human products, eating human flesh, chameleon-personalities or sex-less, clean marriage. We follow a main character (or a small group), usually through a short time, as they live this alternative scenario. The stories are mostly quite short, often feeling like thought experiments - some of them intrigued me more, some of them I vibed with less.It has to be stated from the start, this is an unusual collection and the topics here are mostly bizarre, foreign and potentially unsettling. But I found some of these stories truly intriguing and fascinating, and I have to admire the author for her imagination and boldness. 'Life ceremony' is a great option if you want to be challenged and like your books to get you thinking (or frown in bewilderment). This collection won't be for everyone, but if you liked any of this author's previous works, you won't be disappointed.

I was given an advanced copy to review by NetGalley.I’ve always been a fan of Murata’s work - they’re humorous, matter-of-fact and usually quite wacky. The same can absolutely be said for ‘Life Ceremony’. This new book is a collection of short stories, exploring the lives of outcasts and challenging the social norms.I love the way the stories change perspective, with one even being written from the point of view of a curtain. I also liked that these stories tread the line between horror and comedy, love and hate, and that it’s almost impossible to tell whether they’re set now, in the future, or some kind of alternate reality. Some of them are particularly graphic, so I’m not sure I’d recommend reading them around food… All in all, a super enjoyable read, and really exciting to see Murata’s work translated into this new format!

My first read by this author and as its a collection of short stories I found it a bit of a mixed bag.Loosely based around mind and body, its mostly stories about abnormal things that have become normal or stories of an abnormal person in a normal world.The title story was probably my favourite(and one of the longest). Here the theme is that the world population has declined to critical level and instead of traditional funerals when a person dies, a Life Ceremony is held for the deceased where family and friends are invited to the ceremony where the body is cooked and then eaten by the attendees! They are also free to couple off and have sex to try and populate the planet to try to help the survival of the species!!The opening story again deals with death but this time the human body and hair are turned into furniture, jewelry, clothes and anything else you can think of.You get the gist of these strange tails. When they are good they are really good, with metaphors galore but I`m not sure a full, albeit, short book of these stories can keep my interest and attention.I found a lot of the stories a little underwhelming and boring.The ones that did stand out though did enough to pique my interest in this author and I would look forward to seeing what she does with a novel.Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.