A review by nitroglycerin
Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Weird. Creepy. Disturbing. All words I’d use to describe one story or another in this collection. The stand out story is of course the titular Life Ceremony, which aside from the obvious, is a discussion on social norms and doing what we do because we’re told to by law, government or tradition. The opening story, A First-Rate Material also explores this from a slightly different angle. 
As per Muratas other work she subverts social normals and explores human contradictions