Earthlings: From the author of the international bestseller, Convenience Store Woman: Sayaka Murata

Product Description THE MINDBLOWING NEW NOVEL FROM THE AUTHOR OF CULT INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN ‘Shocking, hilarious and hugely, darkly entertaining. Murata has crafted an unforgettable, original hybrid of absurd fantasy and stark realism’ Financial Times Natsuki isn't like the other girls. As youths, she and her cousin Yuu spent the summers in the wild Nagano mountains, hoping for a spaceship to transport her home. When a terrible sequence of events threatens to part the cousins for ever, they make a promise: survive, no matter what. Now, Natsuki is grown. She lives quietly in an asexual marriage, pretending to be normal, and hiding the horrors of her childhood from her family and friends. But dark shadows from Natsuki's past are pursuing her. Fleeing the suburbs for the mountains, Natsuki prepares for a reunion with Yuu. Will he still remember their promise? And will he help her keep it? Dark, sharp and with a deeply unexpected twist, Earthlings is an exhilarating cosmic flight that will leave you reeling. 'I loved this book! Radical, hilarious, heartbreaking' Elif Batuman, author of The Idiot Review ‘I loved this book! Radical, hilarious, heartbreaking’ Elif Batuman, author of The Idiot 'Shocking, hilarious and hugely, darkly entertaining. Murata has crafted an unforgettable, original hybrid of absurd fantasy and stark realism' Financial Times ‘Gut-shredding… Earthlings is a frequently disturbing but pacey read, with its own off-key humour’ the Observer ‘Provocative and radical’ Stylist ‘Whatever Earthlings is, whatever planet it comes from, it’s a tale of quiet desperation to make your brain fizz’ the Guardian 'Brilliantly translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori... Earthlings shares some DNA with [Convenience Store Woman], with a female central character dealing with feelings of dislocation, but by the end it is altogether weirder and more shocking... Profound and scary in equal measure. Brilliant writing' Big Issue 'Earthlings is a firecracker of a book. If you appreciate trigger warnings, this book requires them all child abuse, violence, incest, and plenty more. But somehow the story skates along the top of all this darkness, and shimmers with a deadpan wit. I loved it' --Cal Flynn, Five Books From the Back Cover 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 promise: survive, no matter what. Now Natsuki is grown. She lives a quiet life with her asexual husband, surviving as best she can by pretending to be normal. But the demands of Natsuki's family are increasing, her friends wonder why she's still not pregnant, and dark shadows from Natsuki's childhood are pursuing her. Fleeing the suburbs for the mountains of her childhood, Natsuki prepares herself with a reunion with Yuu. Will he still remember their promise? And will he help her keep it? 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 leave and write full time. Convenience Store Woman has sold more than a million copies in Japan alone and is being translated into twenty-three languages worldwide.