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Life Ceremony

By Sayaka Murata
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Check link for latest rating. ( 26,040 ratings, 4,831 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata is a collection of short stories exploring the quirks of human behaviour and societal norms. Each story dives into the essence of what it means to be human, often blending the mundane with the bizarre. Murata's tales challenge conventional views, inviting readers to ponder new perspectives on life, identity, and community.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2499
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this collection of stories if you appreciate unique, thought-provoking narratives that explore the intersections of societal norms and personal identity. The author crafts intriguing tales that question conventional ideas of humanity and culture, offering a fresh perspective that is both unsettling and captivating.

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Radical, untamed, always unexpected: a thrilling, can't-look-away collection of stories from the author of the internationally bestselling phenomenon Convenience Store Woman

Radical, untamed, always unexpected: a thrilling, can't-look-away collection of stories from the author of the internationally bestselling phenomenon Convenience Store Woman

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

From the author of international bestseller Convenience Store Woman comes a collection of short fiction: weird, out of this world and like nothing you've read before.

An engaged couple falls out over the husband's dislike of clothes and objects made from human materials; a young girl finds herself deeply enamoured with the curtain in her childhood bedroom; people honour their dead by eating them and then procreating. Published in English for the first time, this exclusive edition also includes the story that first brought Sayaka Murata international acclaim: 'A Clean Marriage', which tells the story of a happily asexual couple who must submit to some radical medical procedures if they are to conceive a longed-for child.

Mixing taboo-breaking body horror with feminist revenge fables, old ladies who love each other and young women finding empathy and transformation in unlikely places, Life Ceremony is a wild ride to the outer edges of one of the most original minds in contemporary fiction.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata is a captivating and imaginative collection of stories that evokes both charm and unease. With its brilliant and haunting narrative, the collection explores the fragility of societal norms, leaving a lasting impression on readers. The writing is compelling, offering tales that are bizarre yet strangely relatable, ensuring they linger in the mind long after reading.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781783787388

Publisher: Granta Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 May 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Granta Books

Contributors:

  • Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 194g

Pages: 272

Collections

Fiction Fiction in Translation General Fiction Sayaka Murata

About the Author

A bestselling literary sensation, SAYAKA MURATA has won all of Japan's major literary prizes, and been named a Vogue Woman of the Year. Murata spent eighteen years working part-time in convenience stores before the success of Convenience Store Woman afforded her the freedom to write full time. She is the author of Earthlings and Convenience Store Woman, which has sold more than a million copies in Japan alone and been translated into twenty-three languages worldwide.

Also by Sayaka Murata

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  • On Sale
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    Convenience Store Woman
    Meet Keiko. Keiko is 36 years old. She's never had a boyfriend, and she's been working in the same supermarket for eighteen years. Keiko's family wishes she'd get a proper job. Her friends wonder why she won't get married. But Keiko knows what makes her happy, and she's not going to let anyone come between her and her convenience store......
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  • Vanishing World
    "Normality is the creepiest madness there is..." From the author of the bestselling literary sensations Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings comes a surprising and highly imaginative story set in a version of Japan where sex between married couples has vanished and all children are born by artificial insemination. Sayaka Murata has proven herself to be one of the most exciting...
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  • Earthlings
    Natsuki isn't like the other girls. She has a wand and a transformation mirror. She might be a witch, or an alien from another planet. Together with her cousin Yuu, Natsuki spends her summers in the wild mountains of Nagano, dreaming of other worlds. When a terrible sequence of events threatens to part the two children forever, they make a...
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  • Vanishing World
    Normality is the creepiest madness there is... In our near-future world, children are solely conceived by artificial insemination. Even sex between married couples is viewed as taboo. Amane's family is irregular. Her parents copulated to create her and hope that she too will find love and have a child with the person she marries. But Amane falls in line with...
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  • Convenience Store Woman
    Shortlisted for the Best Translated Book AwardLonglisted for the Believer Book AwardLonglisted for the Warwick Prize for Women in TranslationA Los Angeles Times Bestseller The English-language debut of an exciting young voice in international fiction, selling 660,000 copies in Japan alone, Convenience Store Woman is a bewitching portrayal of contemporary Japan through the eyes of a single woman who fits...
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