This story follows a couple as they have opposing beliefs on something about this world. In this world, using human body parts such as hair has been considered normal and is extremely common. So much so that every deceased person gets turned into some sort of product, whether it is clothing, furniture, or even a chandelier. The enforcement of social codes is prevalent throughout Life Ceremony, most emphasized in the story Hatchling where a young woman finds herself adopting a unique personality, mannerisms and style of fashion to fit whichever social group she is currently within, occasionally swapping several “selfs” in one day and wondering if there was a true self anywhere. this is an extremely doable level of gross so far. much closer to convenience store woman than earthlings on the sayaka murata scale.

i don't even want to keep middle aged men in my life or near me or in existence, let alone as a PET. Life Ceremony uncovers Murata’s preoccupation with our species’ norms writ large, beyond gender, sex, and reproduction. Several stories imagine near-future worlds in which bodies find new uses after death . . . In offering such exaggerated scenarios, Murata exposes the lunacy of the norms we so blithely follow . . . Murata’s lifelong feeling of being a stranger has given her a perspective from which to create her worlds.”— WIREDLife Ceremonies (2022) is a collection of 12 short-stories from Ginny Tapley Takemori, translated from the Japanese originals (2019) by Sayaka Murata. The same translator-author were responsible for the brilliant Convenience Store Woman and the, to me less successful Earthlings. Final Days (short story), English translation by Ginny Tapley Takemori, Freeman's: Change, 2021, ISBN 9780802158970. [35] not sure why this and earhtlings had so many similarities but other than that i liked the overall message a lot!

We always ended up fighting over this issue. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why Naoki was so averse to wearing or using anything human. She sees offices as encasing organs e.g. her coworkers, leading to quite a bizarre vista of the world. Sayaka Murata writes about the life more ordinary . . . But ordinary is a shape-shifting concept . . . Murata’s prose, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori, is both spare and dreamlike . . . Murata’s skill is in turning round the world so that the abnormal, uncivil or even savage paths appear—if momentarily—to make sense.”— Louise Lucas, Financial Timesthis story felt like a full novel put in very short words and I think it's my favourite of this book. it had absolutely everything and did not waste time on details that were unnecessary. it was amazing and strange and slightly relatable while at the same time deeply concerning. Per usual in short story collections, some texts are stronger than others, but this one truly displays some gems like the title-giving "Life Ceremony" (cannibalism! sex! morality!), and the ones discussing the relativity of what counts as repulsive ("A Magnificient Spread") or, ähem, respectful, maybe ("A First-Rate Material" about, you know, making curtains out of human skin etc.). And how can you not love a story written from the perspective of a curtain?! Plus: Even the really, really short fragments absolutely deserve to be in there. I found the last three entries to be a little weaker, but hey, overall, this is great stuff. All stories aim to challenge some aspect of normality, so it would be impossible for me to recommend a wholly "innocent" one for the more... conventional readers. Even so, I would definitely assign this as compulsory reading to all proponents of the woke movement, especially those keen to point out cultural appropriation wherever they go. And to all those who enjoy getting their world view challenged of course, even if in a rather queasy and nauseating manner.

An unconventional family of two women, not lovers but sworn to each other to live together when still single at 30. One is dealing with cancer, leading the other to consider her life, children and what a family is. Unusually tender and almost without any subversion of "normal" society. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.A hilarious story of two school girls feeding an unusual pet ( who turns out to be a burned out middle-aged businessman). To me, her work speaks with an understanding of the unconscionable—as if she was born with exceptional deep observation skills. The flat prose also conceals her judgment: Although her characters argue and discuss the question of norms, Murata’s voice never takes sides. She wants to create ambiguity and sensibility, not certainty. In contrast to the protagonist, another character in the story “Life Ceremony” calls the world a “brilliant mirage, a temporary illusion” that is simultaneously real: “All our little lies are gathered together and become a reality that you can see only now.” Although absolute norms may not exist, collective belief renders them tangible. Murata’s word choices — “mirage,” “illusion,” “lies” — asks the reader to challenge their notion of “reality.”