Pământeni

Pământeni tells the story of Natsuki, a girl who feels left out. At eleven, she sees her parents favour her older sister. Her closest friend is Piyyut, a toy hedgehog. He says he comes from Popinpobopia to help her save Earth. She spends a summer with her cousin Yuu. There, she decides she must be an alien. They stay at her grandparents’ home in Nagano, among the mountains.

As an adult, Natsuki lives with her husband. They do not have sex. Her childhood still haunts her. She seeks escape from a world that expects people to have children.

Sayaka Murata’s novel mixes strange fantasy with stark, true-to-life scenes and dark humour. It explores abuse and how it feels to be alone. Its characters face pressure to wed, have sex, bear children and work. The book uses incest and asexuality to question social rules. At its heart, people seek control over their own lives. They also seek bonds they can choose for themselves. Natsuki believes in aliens. This belief gives shape to her sense of not belonging in her middle-class Japanese family.

This edition forms part of the Actual series. Iolanda Prodan translated the book from Japanese. She also wrote the notes.