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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.

I loved Murata's Convenience Store Woman, and was curious to see what her short stories would be like. As with any short story collection there were some that I liked and some that I didn't, but overall this is a fantastic collection of strange and thought-provoking stories on taboo topics.

Standouts for me were:

-Life Ceremony: your loved ones consume your body after your death in a celebration of life

-First Rate Material: human material products (i.e. human hair sweaters) are prized possessions

-Two's Family: two women in an unconventional relationship reflect on their life together

-Eating the City: an office worker hunts for fresh plants to eat in Tokyo

-Hatchling (my favourite of the bunch): a woman has created different personalities around the expectations others have placed on her.

Life Ceremony is uncomfortable, thought-provoking, and totally fascinating. I'd definitely recommend this to people looking to read something a little different, however it wont be for everyone.

CW: body horror, cannibalism, incest