A review by futurama
Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

dark mysterious
1. A First Rate Material: A great opener. Love the reveal shock in the beginning. Grossed out by the skin veil. 
2. A Magnificent Spread: I don't agree when readers say Murata is funny but this story did have some humor. 
3/4 A Summer Night's Kiss and Two's Family: Were these stories connected? I know that's not the point, but still.
5. The Time of the Large Star: i liked this short little fairy tale. i'd love a novel out of it.
6. Poochie: the imagery was very funny and very disturbing.
7. Life Ceremony: wow. surreal, emotional, vulnerable, all sorts of stuff. Took a shock/weird concept and made something beautiful out of it. i think the first story tried to do this but didn't pull it off as well. this story covers social/cultural issues and introduces a new concept that almost convinces the reader of its probability. my favorite in the collection. amazing.
8. Body Magic: go Shiho!
9. Lover on the Breeze: a concept that sounds kitschy at first (pov of furniture) but it works. i think it works bc the protagonist almost believes the curtain is sentient, or Murata keeps that option open.
10. Puzzle: another knockout. i really enjoyed the longer stories. the transition of Sanae's transformation into an alien-like creature was really smooth. after reading i looked back at the story and couldn't find an exact transition point. impressive! this story seems like what Murata is all about/the message she tells in her stories. 
11. Eating the City: despite being the most normal story in the book (one the scale of normal this is the closest), i really liked this one! pleasant, almost wholesome. made me want to eat some plants
12. Hatchlings: Hatchlings and Life Ceremony are competing for my favorite story in the collection. Haruka is weirdly relatable because aren't we all switching personalities for others? I think Murata shines when the story's weirdness is relatable, or reveals something about humanity, and this one is the perfect example. 

I didn't like Convenience Store Woman and I really don't understand it when people think Murata's writing is funny. It's very dark. Honestly, I think people assume it's just Japan weirdness. Murata is literally on another planet. I don't like all of her stuff but when I do I love it and I learn. 
I also noticed lots of the friend characters are the protagonist's coworkers, people they are forced to interact with. what would happen to the protagonist if they had no one?