"In Paradise-Eden everyone is the child of all humankind, and everyone the mother of all humankind. This recalls the love-filled world that existed before Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit."
In today's world, marriage is no longer necessary. The old way of creating babies is shunned at. Manu people choose to be in love with fictional characters.
Sayaka Murata has done it again, creating an "ideal" world that feels strange yet fascinating at the same time. Like Earthlings, the book has its own charm, but both books have an unsettling ending that I am not a fan of.
Still hoping another book like Convenience Store Woman will be written, for that's my preferred taste in book. Overall, it's not too bad.

Sayaka Murata’s Vanishing World offers an intriguing concept set in a world where sex doesn’t exist as we know it, and sexual relationships between married couples are taboo. Instead, people form relationships with other partners, real or fictional, for sexual purposes. The concept itself is fascinating, but the story feels a bit flat, with the lack of a strong plot making the book more of an exploration than a compelling narrative. The ending, however, is classic Murata. A “wtf” moment.

In this book, Murata explores themes like unhealthy obsessions with fictional characters, societal rejection of traditional relationships, and the decline in birth rates. These ideas are timely and thought-provoking, but the book doesn’t delve into them as deeply as I’d hoped. Instead, it often feels like Vanishing World is more about the world itself than the people living in it. The first half of the book drags, but the second half picks up significantly, providing the narrative drive that the beginning lacked.

Amane, the protagonist, is an interesting character but hard to connect with. She is the only person who engages in physical relationships yet I felt she does it without much interest, almost like it’s a chore. On the other hand, her respect and emotional attachment to the fictional characters she considers “lovers” is one of the book’s standout aspects. In this world, people talk about their fictional relationships with the same reverence they would real ones

While Vanishing World doesn’t match the brilliance of Earthlings or Convenience Store Woman, it’s still a worthwhile read for those who enjoy Murata’s unique perspective on society.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Sayaka Murata did it again!! This was soooo weird in the best way — so original and disturbing and hilarious.

While horrifying in the way that Murata writes best, Vanishing World asks a lot of interesting questions about how children should be raised, about polyamory, family structures, and the roles of sex and love in society.

Murata continues to be such a fresh voice. I'll read anything she writes.

Originally found this concept really intriguing. However I felt the story dragged on, and i’m not sure it was my cup of tea. I think ha’s some point ant moments that could be used for commentary on traditional gender roles and traditional perspectives of marriage and relationships but i’m not sure I loved it!

I WILL READ AAANYTHING SAYAKA MURATA WRITES!!! aaahhh thank you so much for giving me this galley 🥰🥰🥰

Thank you to the publishers for this ARC.

I unfortunately deeply disliked this and I've been trying to gather my thoughts because I don't wish to write an overly emotional review, but I'm struggling to find the appropriate words.
While I didn't think the book overall was very good, the ending is what truly bothered me immensely. I do not understand the reasoning behind it nor do I want to, frankly.
I thought the world building was essential to the story Murata wanted to tell and yet it felt so haphazardly sketched out. The themes that the book aimed to explore are so incredibly interesting, but it's all told in such surface level, repetitive (and a lot of times confusing) writing that it made for a really uninteresting and disengaging reading experience. I struggled to connect to anything told in this book.

The reason why I came off this so upset is not only because of the contents of the ending in itself, but because the simple fact that the story ultimately led there was so extremely disappointing. I personally felt like I had just entirely wasted my time and I strongly dislike when I feel a book does that.

While I had only read Convenience Store Woman which I did enjoy, this has deterred me immensely from reading any more of her work if I'm being honest.

I’ve read Murata before. Convenience Store Woman was an interesting read, while Earthlings was a weird, surreal book that knocked me off my feet but still managed to captivate me. So, I knew this new book would be no different. I was prepared—but was I really?

A bizarre read, undeniably strange.

The polar opposite of today’s social norms, this book presents a world where desires and sins take centre stage. It offers a somewhat distorted reflection of love, family, and sex—a dystopian world stripped of our ‘normal, ordinary’ values and social conventions. Futuristic surreal world.

The book feels more like an abstract concept than a structured plot; without this concept, there’s little substance. The writing is simplistic, with repetitive dialogue that seems to go in circles. It had the potential to explore fascinating questions—Can humans thrive in a society without families? Can a world without family truly function? What would happen if traditional gender roles were reversed and men could give birth? What if infidelity were no problem, polygamy were the norm, and marriage was more like a friendship or a contract, with no sex involved? What if sex were no longer an option at all, and babies were created without sexual intercourse? There are lots of interesting conversations to be had, but it failed to deliver.

Sadly, with every page, it went further downhill. The ending was horrendous—so bad I nearly developed an eye twitch. “Why, Murata? Just why?” It was shocking, uncomfortable, disgusting, and entirely unnecessary.

My least favourite of S. Murata’s works.

I really hovered on the rating for this one because I love many of the concepts explored, but the execution was not always interesting or entertaining for me personally.

Murata does a great job at throwing the reader into worlds (either setting wise or in the narrator's mind) that are so strange, yet the writing style quickly left me accepting things as "normal". I'd say the idea primarily explored here is whether the vision we have as family would remain if cis men were able to carry pregnancies to term. This includes whether we'd still hang on to the same desire for traditional family structure if such a concept were possible.

What I thought worked well:
- The transition from the MC holding onto what her mother taught her was "right" and slowly adjusting to the world in Paradise Eden.
- The story's emphasis that most of the carriers of the children are no longer important or valued once they go into labor and then all focus is solely on the children. Children are the most important reason for anything, apparently.
- The Madonna and the Whore complex is touched on a bit with the husband describing that he comes home to his wife who is like family, like a sister, and he feels clean interacting with her.
- The above adds to the concept of family existing solely as a means to guarantee care for children.
- Amane wondering if her husband had a womb, if he'd still be with her. I think this was the strongest discussion in the book.

What I think could've been stronger:
- A few concepts are repeated a bit too much and did make Amane's narrative a bit tedious at times.
- It takes quite a bit of the story before we actually see Paradise Eden, so I think this could've been trimmed just a bit.
- At times, this wasn't the most engaging story for me. and I think I lost interest most when we were dealing with Amane's husband's girlfriend troubles, which is a personal thing for me.

Overall, if you enjoy Murata's work, I think you'll get something out of this. I didn't enjoy it as much as "Convenience Store Woman", but it game me some concepts to think about.

Sayaka is an auto-buy author for me. I was lucky enough to receive an e-ARC from Grove Atlantic. I did not enjoy this as much as Earthlings and Convenient Store Woman, but there is no mistaking that Sayaka wrote this book. It’s definitely Sayaka coded. This book is split up into 3 parts (no chapters, or at least no chapters in the ARC version). The first part was engaging and had me devouring it quite fast. The second part was a slog, very repetitive. Like, I get the point, please proceed. The third part was where things picked up and got interesting again. The last couple pages threw me off kilter, of course Sayaka had to throw in something completely disturbing. Parts 1 & 3 get 4 stars, part 2 gets 2 stars… I’ll give this 3.5 stars. Love you Sayaka. I’ll read anything you write, no matter how insane it is.

Initially, my reaction to Vanishing World was one of discomfort—even disgust. The ending was UMbelievable and it made me hysterical. Murata’s unsettling vision of the future was difficult to process. However, as I reflected on the novel, I came to appreciate its brilliance.

In Vanishing World, Sayaka Murata explores profound themes that challenge societal norms and provoke deep reflection:

• Declining Birth Rates and Reproductive Ethics – The novel presents a society where natural procreation is obsolete, replaced by artificial insemination. This shift raises questions about the ethical implications of reproductive technologies and the consequences of declining birth rates.

• Social Isolation and Loneliness – Murata examines the pervasive loneliness in modern society. Despite living in a highly structured world, characters experience emotional detachment, highlighting the fragility of human connection.

• Unhealthy Parasocial Relationships – It explores how people form one-sided emotional bonds with media figures or fictional characters, emphasising the human need for connection and the risks of seeking fulfilment in virtual or imaginary realms.

• Challenging Taboos and Societal Norms – Murata critiques traditional notions of sex, gender, and family, portraying a society where natural reproduction is taboo and conventional relationships are stigmatised. This forces readers to question their own perceptions of normalcy.

• Conformity vs Individual Desires – The protagonist, Amane, struggles with her identity after discovering she was conceived through natural procreation—an act now considered deviant. Her journey explores the tension between personal autonomy and rigid societal expectations.

As Amane navigates relationships, both real and parasocial, and contemplates life in an experimental community where the traditional family unit has dissolved, Vanishing World critiques the rigidity of social norms and questions the true essence of human connection. Murata’s thought-provoking narrative forces readers to reflect on the fluidity of societal standards and the implications of deviating from established norms. Are you normal or are you mad?

The novel serves as a striking commentary on the evolving definitions of family, love, and identity in a world that continuously reshapes its moral and ethical boundaries.

This novel was published in Japan quite a while ago, but has been recently translated into English following the success of Murata's other fantastic novels. I didn't like this as much as Earthlings and Convenience Store Woman, but I did like it. The writing was very blunt, which could be disconcerting. But you were supposed to feel uncomfortable and you get used to it.
This is set in a strange near future. It imagines a post- sex world. People reproduce artificially, families and marriage are being phased out, and romantic relationships are with anime characters. By taking these ideas to an absurd extreme she provides a very interesting thought experiment. It raises ideas and makes you consider what is good and bad about and what we really need from sex, love, and our current societal structures. My one major issue was the ending, it wasn't just taboo/weird, it was very very wrong and I don't know what to do about it - it almost spoiled the entire book for me.

"Vanishing World" by Sayaka Murata is a thrilling exploration of a world where our sense of normalcy is completely redefined. However, the main character’s wavering opinions—with little development—made it frustrating to read. The experiment city, while intriguing, felt underdeveloped beyond its hauntingly similar children. The strange ending left me deeply unsatisfied, and the story often felt like it lacked direction, repeatedly overexplaining the plot. This had so much potential, and I think it could have been stronger if we experienced the world through different characters rather than just a mundane life in a high-tech city.

In another imaginatively strange story from Sayaka Murata, we visit an alternate future where marriage is transactional and all procreation happens artificially.

We are introduced to Amane, who is pulled between the conventional and unorthodox views at odds throughout the story. She herself was conceived “traditionally” (ie: by sex), which she initially finds repulsive and embarrassing in her modern sexless society. She begrudges her mother’s antiquated views, but also finds herself struggling to conform to the expectations of her contemporary culture. Murata creatively extrapolates consequences of real current issues, such as Japan’s declining birth rate and gender inequality, while also highlighting the changing cultural attitudes and phenomena of our modern times.

As Amane navigates marriage and romantic relationships (two vastly different affairs in the context of this story), she discovers her own opposition to the norms and influences of her society. While Murata provides an extremist example of Amane, her journey is reflective of a classic coming of age (and a shocking unraveling).

“Vanishing World” offers a unique and unsettling perspective on the consequences of conformity and the importance of being informed in a changing society, with all the bizarre elements that have distinguished Murata in the science fiction genre.

I think the mixed reviews for this book say it all. Reading is all about the interpretation of the reader and, whilst this one was not for me, it certainly had me in its grasp and I stuck it out to the end.

Whilst this is my first experience with Murata's writing, I would like to read more of her work before passing judgement on whether her style is for me.

I can see the appeal of the weird and wonderful portrayed in this book and, whilst not my favourite piece of translated literature, I will certainly be giving her other works a try!

Thank you to the author's, publisher & netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

I enjoyed the premise and the idea of the book however I think the execution was very boring and overall just nto a good fit. It also may have been a problem on my end but it was just one continuous blob, no chapters to separate it.

'Vanishing World' is a book by Sayaka Murata and it follows the same pattern as all of her stories, with the weird atmosphere, the disturbing plot, and the exploration of society's rules.

The book is divided into three parts, with the first two exploring the main character's early life and her sexual awakening, as well as what led her and her husband to join the experimental city. Those parts have some rather boring passages, with themes and dialogues often being repeated to the point that I thought I swiped back a few pages on my ebook and was rereading them. Alas, that pattern was used more often than not and it got tiring.

The third part was the more 'exciting' with more action moving the plot forward and a quite disturbing ending. I can only translate it into the plan backfiring and having people omit their animal instincts leads to them acting to the extreme. Still, it wasn't easy to read.

Finally, the book was quick paced and it was easy to finish it in a few days due to the simple narration, even if the story won't leave the reader for many days to come.

What did I just read????????

The ending is f*%#d!

I loved her first book.. I'm not too sure about this one. It kept me reading it.. so I guess that's good.

This was two dystopian worlds in one. The main one, which is focused on for much of the story, is a world in which people no longer have sex to procreate. In fact, those who do get married don't have sex, and see each other more as siblings rather as romantic partners. While some people still have sex, or masturbate, there are many who feel that those acts are no longer necessary. Amane is our protagonist, and one of the few within her social circle that still partakes in these acts and seemingly enjoys them.
And then there's Chiba, which is an Experimental City. In this city they are attempting to make it so men and older women can also carry children in artificial wombs. Once born the babies are taken away so no one can know what baby they actually gave birth to. They are all seen as everyone's children, while all adults are seen as Mothers, and raising is done in a communal fashion.
This book was weird, and I loved it for the most part. It makes you think about the world we're in now, where there are declining birth rates for various reasons. What would this world look like if families were thought of differently.
Many people complain about repetitive language, but the language seems the same as many of the other books I've read translated from Japanese. They have a different style of writing which is definitely not for everyone, but I really enjoy it.
Spoiler for the end - and the only reason this book didn't get five stars. <spoiler>Why did the story have to end with Amane having coerced sex with a Kodomo-chan (child). While it isn't necessarily a small child, we're not really given details and it made me extremely uncomfortable.</spoiler>

I'm not sure how, but I've never read any of Murata's work until now--which is surprising, because I love East Asian literature in translation and know of her books. I'm glad I got the chance to read this novel; the voice/writing in it is so assured and confident, which I liked a lot. Murata specializes in the eccentric and unknown, and in a world where people no longer have sex, our protagonist confronts this reality and her upbringing in her life, especially as she marries (not for love) and finds herself in an entirely new situation. I enjoyed the book overall, and will check out of Murata's other books!

DNF @ 38%. Nope nope nope. Not for me. I can tell what Murata is trying to convey but I don’t like being beat over the head with it. Every conversation revolved around sex. I didn’t want to hear the same conversation over and over anymore. I skimmed and read the final bit. I was obviously confused and also disturbed.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.