Earthlings

“How long do we have to just survive? When will we be able to live rather than just focus on surviving?”

This is one of the strangest books I have read in quite a while, but damn, did it work for me. It's such an odd, sad little story with odd, sad little characters. I've been putting off writing this review for two days because I can't figure out how to put my feelings into words. It's a book that is best gone into knowing as little as possible, but at the same time, the content is so heavy that content warnings feel like a must-have for many readers. It's a darkly humorous book despite the devastating events that form the backbone of the story, and Natsuki is a weirdly lovable character despite her oddity—or perhaps, because of her oddity. I related to her more than I thought I would. Earthlings broke my heart in the best way and I'm going to be dwelling on it for a long time to come.

✨ Representation: all characters are Japanese

✨ Content warnings for: child abuse (sexual, physical, emotional, verbal, and mental), pedophilia, victim-blaming, coercion, incest, cannibalism, violence, gore, murder, ableism, pressure to procreate, trauma

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