"My town is a factory for the production of human babies."
Do not be fooled by the cute hedgehog cover on this interesting novel that isn't afraid to pour on the shock value. From incest to cannibalism, I was ill prepared for some of the content as it begins with a girl who feels like an outsider in a world consumed with marriage for procreation.
So much of Natsuki's inner dialogue - imaginary friend/god, desire to be understood etc - seems palatable in her youth but goes to extreme as she grows. Well to be fair **spoilers** sleeping with her cousin was totally not okay, but her view of the world as being prepped as a future vessel for children is really disturbingly close to home. The idea that one must conform and live a prescribed life to be socially acceptable, pure, not too fat or thin, caring but not too intelligent - is a circumstance all women struggle with.
Murata takes these confining social norms and produces an extreme counter narrative in Natsuki.
Her asexual marriage grants her a small respite from the interfering of her family, until, as when most people marry to appease their parents, they face the prospect of having to deliver grandchildren.
What her family don't know about is the good looking school teacher whose unforgivable actions in Natuski's past serve as confirmation of her fears that women are purely tools in the service of the baby making factory. If I still lived in the suburbs I might share that belief.
Natsuki clings to the hope that the bond she shares with her cousin will help her escape society's demands and then things just take a turn for the weirdness.
I can't imagine anyone making this one into a movie - but never say never!!
4 out of 5 - a fluffy toy can lead you down a dark path.
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