Vanishing World was my first read by Murata and I know it won’t be my last…. But I also know it won’t be my favorite. This book didn’t quite hit the mark for me - I found the pacing to be a bit odd and the writing was a bit too choppy for my liking… which is a shame because I love a good, weird book.
The best way to describe this is as the least sexual book I’ve ever read that is exclusively about sex.
This book made me feel awkward and uncomfortable, and for that, I’ll give it three stars because it genuinely takes a lot to catch me off guard and I guess you could say this one did.
Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review…. I’m sad that it wasn’t the book for me but I’m looking forward to giving her another try soon ;)

I was really intrigued by the premise of Vanishing World and had high hopes going in. The concept had so much potential, and I can see how it might resonate with the right reader. Unfortunately, the style and pacing didn’t quite click for me, and I found it difficult to stay engaged. While I ended up setting it aside before finishing, I recognize that every book has its audience—and this one simply wasn’t for me. I appreciate the author’s ambition and the themes explored, even if the execution didn’t fully land in my experience.

Murata's Vanishing World will leave you questioning what we humans deem 'normal'. Wondering how far can humans stray from what we deem socially acceptable today. This book explores themes of intimacy, family and social normality. Once I started reading this, I couldn't stop talking about it. The ending of the story at first left me unsettled. After pondering on how the final part ties in to the rest of the novel, I'm somewhat content. Murata is not here to make us comfortable, she is here to raise questions, and have her audience sit in the uncomfortable chaos.
Thank you Grove Atlantic for the ARC!

"Is there any such thing as a brain that hasn't been brainwashed? If anything, it's easier to go insane in the way best suited for your world."

3.5*

In typical Murata fashion, Vanishing World is a book that puts societal norms under a microscope. Murata wonders what our motivations are for doing the things that we do- is it really our nature as humans, or is it just what we've been conditioned to do over time? Humans are always going to be able to adapt to whatever the new social norms become, and eventually the old things we used to think were normal will become weird and outdated. To the point where those things are so foreign to us, it's comical that we used to think they were normal.

Vanishing world is an exaggerated exploration of that, but it's pretty interesting to think about it as a sociological experiment/phenomenon. I love how Murata's characters (in Convenience Store Woman, Earthlings, and Vanishing World) loudly and often violently question the world around them. They're little freak weirdos for sure, but I love the way they try to stay true to who they are and fight against what people say they're "supposed" to want. That said, I feel that this novel is the weakest (or at least my least favorite) of the three. The world building is confusing, and the characters seem to contradict themselves often. I like the overarching themes but I had a hard time grasping onto details and character motivations.

Murata's musings on family vs love in the first two sections of the book are really interesting, but I thought there lacked some nuance in these discussions because they felt so compartmentalized. Like they absolutely could not ever coexist together- all of the decisions you make, or the reason you decide to marry, is in pursuit of love or family. These characters seem to have opinions on which is better or more valuable than the other. I think these critiques are valid and interesting and have merit, but I didn't love the black and white thinking surrounding them.

What really struck me in this book was the idea of fictional characters being so important to people, to go so far as to say they shape who you are and who you become in life. The love you have for them molds you and they live on inside of you, even after your time with them is through. The story takes it to another level of idolization for sure but there are so many parallels that could be made here with fictional characters and even the idea of celebrity in our society today. Loved this so much but I struggle to see how exactly it fits in with the other themes of family/love. I think the connective tissue here is the idea of loneliness. But it didn't always feel like there were strong segues into discussing these ideas versus the others.

Love a book that makes me think! It's lit fic summer baby! This wasn't my favorite Murata but I really like all of her weird little books and I think I'll keep reading them as long as they keep getting translated for silly little English speakers like myself.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! Vanishing World is out now.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

This would've been a 3 star review had the ending been better. The ending made me sick to my stomach and I pondered giving the book only 1 star because of it. I'm disgusted.

In "Vanishing World" the author imagines a Japan where bodily love & sex have been made redundant. Children are conceived via IVF by partners who are not in any way intimate with each other, kissing your husband, for example, is considered incest. Sex has become an embarrassing thing of the past. Our protagonist is obsessed with it even though she never has any good sex at all. She also seems to be obsessed with having a child herself but lacks any other motivation apart from doing what society expects of her. While I found the book's novum and world building fascinating, I disliked the protagonist more and more and I loathed the ending of the book. This would've been a strong book without this pedophilia vibe even though it reminded me of Brave New World in parts.

2 stars

set in the near-future Japan, Vanishing World paints an image of a society where natural sex and biological parenthood are taboo. In this world, children are created via artificial insemination and communal child-rearing is the norm.
The protagonist, Amane, has a shock when she discovers she was conceived naturally. Because of that she is considered an oddity and struggles with forbidden desires in a world that deems intimacy as "unclean".
Murata uses her trademark deadpan, darkly comedic voice to bring this sterilized way of living to life, and it is both disturbing and hilarious.
I really enjoyed this book, it was my first ever Sayaka Murata novel, but I will definitely check out her other books!

This book was so strange, so eerie, but so good?! It offers the reader so much to think about regarding sex, gender, and societal norms. I really enjoyed this one!

Sayaka Murata's books are always intensely strange and thought-provoking and this is no exception. This is not my favorite of her books, but it certainly has a fascinating premise. Not safe for work! But interesting.

Ohhh, how much I had been looking forward to Sayaka Murata’s new old book (originally published in 2015)!

In Vanishing World, Murata creates a society where natural reproduction between married couples is labeled as inc*st – deeply frowned upon and considered outdated – while artificial reproduction has become the norm. The protagonist, Amane, who was actually conceived naturally, just doesn’t seem to belong in this world.

We follow her through episodes of her childhood, the discovery of her se*uality, and her path into marriage. The concept is super intriguing, but sadly, it’s completely undermined by a very monotonous execution with sooo many repetitions – our protagonist doesn’t go through any real development, the dialogues are weird, and her obsession with having se in this society is just plain bizarre. Especially since the act itself seems so mechanical that no one involved gets anything out of it. Meh.

"Love is the courage to be called a pervert."



Even though I loved Murata’s other books, Vanishing World just didn’t do it for me. It felt too distant, too sterile, too much brain over heart – and the ending finally broke every last taboo and completely lost me as a somewhat willing reader (I might’ve given it 2.5 stars) 🤮

Murata’s Vanishing World imagines a future Japan where sex is taboo, romance is obsolete, and artificial insemination is the moral standard. In this starkly sanitized society, love has been outsourced—to AI idols, virtual crushes, and state-regulated parenting protocols. It’s speculative fiction that doesn’t shout for your attention but gets it anyway, in it's cold, detached, indifference to you the reader.

We follow Amane, a woman conceived the “old-fashioned” way, trying to scrub herself clean of desire in a world that equates physical intimacy with disease. The novel is clinical, precise, and deeply unsettling—Murata’s signature mood. The world-building is sparse but effective, and the themes (repression, conformity, emotional erasure) hit hard.

Until the final quarter, I was completely in. But then it escalates—viscerally. For some, the ending will feel brilliant in its boldness. For me, it tipped into a kind of emotional obliteration that felt more punishing than illuminating.

It's not the sort of book I love but I am glad to have read it. If you appreciated Earthlings, this may feel like a natural evolution. Just know: it’s colder, weirder, and more unforgiving. Visionary? Absolutely. Enjoyable? Depends on your threshold for literary dread.

This one was a little too strange for me. The premise was certainly original, and it held my attention. I never considered putting it down. By the end, though, it felt like it never quite developed beyond that initial weirdness. The characters were difficult to connect with, none felt especially likable or even relatable. It made me confused by many of their decisions. Even the most basic interpersonal dynamics were hard to get a grip on. I didn’t understand what anyone’s motivations were. What was the thematic core? Sex is strange? Normalcy is fluid? The systems we take for granted are destined to be absurd in retrospect? I’m open to the idea that I may be missing some cultural context, but for me, it didn’t land. The speculative elements felt more provocative than purposeful. The biologist in me is screaming at the lack of respect for sexual selection.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Press for access to this book.

This author sure knows how to write a sick annd twisted ending. Earthlings worked for me. Vanishing World did not. I genuinely still feel a little nauseous about how this one ended. Overall, it was interesting and a fascinating adventure and critique of sex and reproduction as a whole. Although sci-fi-esque, it’s easy to understand and follow along with the rules of this world within the scope of the novel. I did feel a little detached from the main characters as they seemed to be detached from themselves. I truly think this story would have a lot more potential for me, but I desperately need a different ending.

Amane struggles in between her past that binds her to sexual pleasures, a present that binds her to her family and a future that gives her an opportunity to mother infinite kids. Its as if she lives on all of them and simultaneously tries to disassociate form all of them. The writer exhibits a dazzling imagination in conjuring up a world that's progressing in unbelievable speeds and alienating its own inhabitants. It's a world that solely populates using artificial insemination, where people fall in love with unreal manga characters and which considers any physical relationship between spouses as incest.

The concept was good but the story didn't make any sense. There are many quoteable paragraphs but the book as a whole doesn't work. The characters felt too weakly written. It would have been better as a short story of less than 50 pages.

Sigh. This book was wild. Earthlings kicked my butt when I read it last year. And I should’ve known this one would too. I honestly dived into blind like I did with Earthlings. I was in constant shock throughout the book. The ending though 🙁 I need an adult... Did that really happen, or…😭
The concept was new to me and I think the author did a good job explaining throughout the book how everyone was accustomed to the new norm. No sex. And babies are born only through IVF. I feel like the author had to constantly explain, to really show just how uncommon sex is. Otherwise I loved it, check your trigger warnings. I enjoyed the book, it was shocking, it was detailed and it stopped me on my tracks a few times.

The premise of this is wildly inventive, and the execution is just as strange, offering a surreal social landscape that’s both unsettling and fascinating.

The writing style is reminiscent of Convenience Store Woman—detached and quietly incisive—and I really enjoyed that book. However, where Convenience Store Woman offered a compelling connection to its quirky protagonist, I never felt as invested in the MC in Vanishing World and her bizarre journey.

Still, the sheer weirdness of the world kept me reading. If you’re looking for something offbeat and cerebral, this might work for you.

The works of Sayaka Murata never fail to surprise, boldly shattering the conventional boundaries of society norms. Through her writing infused with irony, sarcasm, and social critique, she compels me to reflect deeply. She forces me to see and understand the world from strange, extreme perspectives, where limits are blurred.

This time, she explores the themes of love, marriage, and sex. In this sterilized world, everything we once knew about these three concepts has shifted. We can love anyone, form romantic and sexual relationships with them—even with virtual idols or fictional characters. Normal sexual intercourse is considered incestuous, while marriage is reduced to a contractual partnership devoid of romance.

Through the hesitations of Amane Sakaguchi’s point of view, the author invites us to explore all possible outcomes when we blindly accept what is deemed "normal." Should we remain critical, willing to experiment, and brave enough to question the rules—even break through boundaries?

Thank you Netgalley and Grove Atlantic from Grove Press for providing copy of this ebook. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Expecting release date : 15 April 2025

I was not ready for this one lol I've read one other book by this author (Earthlings) and I enjoyed it enough, it was definitely shocking. I'm still not really sure how I feel about this one, especially the ending. I think I understand the commentary the author was trying to get at, I'm just not sure that it was actually achieved.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Unfortunately I don't think this book was it for me. I have heard so many things about Murata so when I got this book I was excited because this would be the first book of theirs I would read and I was disappointed. There were so many things that didn't sit right with me in this story.

Although I will still be picking up another book by Murata because I was intrigued by the way she tells story. This particular book just wasn't for me.

Sayaka Murata’s "Vanishing World" reads like a whisper from the future—one that startles, unsettles, and strangely seduces. In this eerie, sterilized version of Japan, love has been rewritten, sex is a memory few dare mention, and babies are born from tubes, not touch. Enter Amane Sakaguchi, a young woman conceived the old-fashioned way—a glitch in the system, an echo of a fading humanity.

From the sterile streets of her childhood to the bizarre social laboratory of “Experiment City,” Amane’s world unfolds like a dream half-remembered and half-feared. Here, parental roles are redesigned like Ikea furniture, romantic affection is outsourced to digital avatars, and AI companions soothe the ache of solitude better than humans ever could. Murata doesn’t just craft a dystopia—she holds up a mirror, fogged with our own fingerprints.

The prose is cold and clinical, almost surgical—fitting for a world where biology has become an inconvenience. Yet within that emotional frost, Amane's confusion, yearning, and quiet rebellion pulse like a stubborn heartbeat. Her existence becomes a question mark drawn in ink across sterile glass: What does it mean to be human when humanity is inconvenient?

Yes, the narrative sometimes strays into surreal side streets, and yes, the ending might rattle even the most seasoned speculative fiction reader—but that’s part of the spell. "Vanishing World" isn’t here to comfort. It’s here to provoke, to prod at the boundaries of what we think is “normal,” and to ask: If technology can meet all our needs, do we still need each other?

Murata doesn’t deal in sci-fi clichés—she deals in quiet horror, philosophical disarray, and the beautifully broken mosaic of human identity. This isn’t a future we’re marching toward. It’s one we may already be sleepwalking into.

So read carefully. And when you put it down, ask yourself—are we vanishing too?

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.