--- product_id: 304195854 title: "Earthlings: A Novel" price: "AED 85" currency: AED in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.ae/products/304195854-earthlings-a-novel store_origin: AE region: United Arab Emirates --- # Earthlings: A Novel **Price:** AED 85 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Earthlings: A Novel - **How much does it cost?** AED 85 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ae](https://www.desertcart.ae/products/304195854-earthlings-a-novel) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description From the beloved author of cult sensation Convenience Store Woman , which has now sold more than one million copies worldwide and has been translated into thirty-three languages, comes a spellbinding and otherworldly novel about a woman who believes she is an alien Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman was one of the most unusual and refreshing bestsellers of recent years, depicting the life of a thirty-six-year-old clerk in a Tokyo convenience store. Now, in Earthlings , Sayaka Murata pushes at the boundaries of our ideas of social conformity in this brilliantly imaginative, intense, and absolutely unforgettable novel. As a child, Natsuki doesn’t fit in with her family. Her parents favor her sister, and her best friend is a plush toy hedgehog named Piyyut, who talks to her. He tells her that he has come from the planet Popinpobopia on a special quest to help her save the Earth. One summer, on vacation with her family and her cousin Yuu in her grandparents’ ramshackle wooden house in the mountains of Nagano, Natsuki decides that she must be an alien, which would explain why she can’t seem to fit in like everyone else. Later, as a grown woman, living a quiet life with her asexual husband, Natsuki is still pursued by dark shadows from her childhood, and decides to flee the “baby factory” of society for good, searching for answers about the vast and frightening mysteries of the universe—answers only Natsuki has the power to uncover. Dreamlike, sometimes shocking, and always strange and wonderful, Earthlings asks what it means to be happy in a stifling world, and cements Sayaka Murata’s status as a master chronicler of the outsider experience and our own uncanny universe. Review: Insightful, weird, brilliant and brutal - Earthlings by Sayaka Murata might be my favorite of all the books I’ve read this year. It’s dark literary fiction with a weird, speculative edge. I went in blind, and I’m happy I did, so if you haven’t read it and want that experience, by all means, stop reading now! But if you want my thoughts, by all means continue. Trigger warning for child sexual abuse. The story follows Natsuki, a young girl who feels she doesn’t quite fit in. On an annual family visit, her cousin Yuu confides that he feels the same way, and he believes himself to be an alien. Natsuki agrees with this sentiment, deciding that she too must be from another planet. A planet called Popinbopopia. The two agree to become a couple, eventually deciding to look for the spaceship that brought them to earth when they next meetup. This eventually leads to an incident which causes the family to keep them from one another, leading to a long period of separation. During this separation, Natsuki feels increasingly out of place in her society, which she equated to a factory. The factory has its parts, people, and they are meant to grow up, pair up and create babies to perpetuate the factory. Natsuki feels no desire to do this, and her sentiments are aided by manipulative, abusive incidents with a teacher. She’s more or less totally put off the whole sex thing. The second half of the book follows Natsuki as an adult, navigating the factory and trying her best to appear as though she fits in. Eventually her husband, who is more like a roommate, and feels the same about love and sex as she does, also decides he must be an alien, and they meet up with Cousin Yuu at the old family house. Without getting too in depth or spoiling anything, the plot and execution both get pretty out there, in the best possible ways. Reality starts getting fuzzy as the trio decide to start living as aliens rather than humans. The narration here becomes less and less reliable, leading to a dreamlike feel with its own internal logic. Though written from the point of view of a Japanese citizen, and set in Japan, the themes of being a cog in a machine can still relate to a western reader, though it’s clear that these societal norms are far more strict in the far east. I enjoyed the swathes of gray, the way the story toys with morality and gives very few clear stances on anything. Total freedom is both lovely and dangerous. What I love most about this story is the way Natsuki desperately wants to be normal, to conform to what she thinks she’s supposed to be, but can’t. She tries her best, but still can’t quite make it work. She’s an outsider yearning to be brainwashed. I feel like that isn't addressed enough in media. There's plenty of "I pretended to fit in until I came to terms with myself," But there's not always a legitimate, non-judgmental presentation of desperately wanting normalcy despite oneself. To willingly stand in line for the lobotomy. There are no concrete answers given in this one, and I love that. No one is presented as either 100% right or wrong, which puts the onus on the reader to decide or leave it be. I’d definitely recommend this book to fans of literary fiction, but really, I’d recommend it to anyone who thinks they can handle a story with a relatively graphic, though not-gratuitous, depiction of child sexual abuse. There is so much to love about this story. Review: LOVED IT, but trauma trigger warnings for many people. - WARNING! I ENJOYED THIS BOOK, BUT IT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE! My enjoyment is in the review, but it is NOT an easy read, and it has many trauma triggers. I told my partner a little bit of what was happening in the book, and she politely tapped out about 5 minutes into my description. Pacing - 5 out of 5 stars Two days. Done! It was my fastest, and also shortest read of 2025. I can’t criticize the pacing at all, whatsoever. Horror factor - 4 out of 5 stars I just finished the last page, and I’m sitting with the last 12 pages still rolling around in my mind. I’m having trouble even putting into words how I feel. I think the best way to put it, is the author gave me a true body horror, and something unexpected. I didn’t expect any of where it went, and it also didn’t let you sit with it for too long. There was maybe 12-20 pages of true horror in the entire book, but DAMN. I really can’t begin to say enough how much I enjoyed it. I was hoping for more of the alien angle to be played out. That really is my only critique, and I think it’s fair to say that isn’t spoilerish. It’s there, its just, muted and somewhat unresolved. Another 30 pages would have been perfect. Characters - 5 out of 5 stars Loved Natsuki. I felt everything she was going through….the trauma and her responses to the trauma felt so real. I loved her struggles, and also her relationships with Yuu, and her husband. It is a short book, but the author does what others can’t do in a short read. I loved the characters. The ending - 4.5 out of 5 stars The ending is why you read this book. That last chapter will sit with you in a really really unsettling way. I loved it, I loved it, I loved it. WARNING….it’s graphic, its stomach churning, and it’s a LOT. I just can’t really criticize the ending much EXCEPT wanting the alien story line to flush out a little more. That’s my only gripe. If you pick this book up and hope for an alien book, you will be left with a meh feeling at the end. Who should buy the book? YOU MUST BE READY FOR POTENTIAL TRAUMA TRIGGERS. I won’t say it loud enough, BUT if you are ok with that, this was quick and so worth it. Did I like it? Yes. Will I keep it in my library to read again? YESSSSS!!! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #16,853 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #72 in Magical Realism #236 in Coming of Age Fiction (Books) #843 in Literary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 3.8 out of 5 stars 4,967 Reviews | ## Images ![Earthlings: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71S1ynks1-L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Insightful, weird, brilliant and brutal *by D***. on September 12, 2023* Earthlings by Sayaka Murata might be my favorite of all the books I’ve read this year. It’s dark literary fiction with a weird, speculative edge. I went in blind, and I’m happy I did, so if you haven’t read it and want that experience, by all means, stop reading now! But if you want my thoughts, by all means continue. Trigger warning for child sexual abuse. The story follows Natsuki, a young girl who feels she doesn’t quite fit in. On an annual family visit, her cousin Yuu confides that he feels the same way, and he believes himself to be an alien. Natsuki agrees with this sentiment, deciding that she too must be from another planet. A planet called Popinbopopia. The two agree to become a couple, eventually deciding to look for the spaceship that brought them to earth when they next meetup. This eventually leads to an incident which causes the family to keep them from one another, leading to a long period of separation. During this separation, Natsuki feels increasingly out of place in her society, which she equated to a factory. The factory has its parts, people, and they are meant to grow up, pair up and create babies to perpetuate the factory. Natsuki feels no desire to do this, and her sentiments are aided by manipulative, abusive incidents with a teacher. She’s more or less totally put off the whole sex thing. The second half of the book follows Natsuki as an adult, navigating the factory and trying her best to appear as though she fits in. Eventually her husband, who is more like a roommate, and feels the same about love and sex as she does, also decides he must be an alien, and they meet up with Cousin Yuu at the old family house. Without getting too in depth or spoiling anything, the plot and execution both get pretty out there, in the best possible ways. Reality starts getting fuzzy as the trio decide to start living as aliens rather than humans. The narration here becomes less and less reliable, leading to a dreamlike feel with its own internal logic. Though written from the point of view of a Japanese citizen, and set in Japan, the themes of being a cog in a machine can still relate to a western reader, though it’s clear that these societal norms are far more strict in the far east. I enjoyed the swathes of gray, the way the story toys with morality and gives very few clear stances on anything. Total freedom is both lovely and dangerous. What I love most about this story is the way Natsuki desperately wants to be normal, to conform to what she thinks she’s supposed to be, but can’t. She tries her best, but still can’t quite make it work. She’s an outsider yearning to be brainwashed. I feel like that isn't addressed enough in media. There's plenty of "I pretended to fit in until I came to terms with myself," But there's not always a legitimate, non-judgmental presentation of desperately wanting normalcy despite oneself. To willingly stand in line for the lobotomy. There are no concrete answers given in this one, and I love that. No one is presented as either 100% right or wrong, which puts the onus on the reader to decide or leave it be. I’d definitely recommend this book to fans of literary fiction, but really, I’d recommend it to anyone who thinks they can handle a story with a relatively graphic, though not-gratuitous, depiction of child sexual abuse. There is so much to love about this story. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ LOVED IT, but trauma trigger warnings for many people. *by H***R on January 1, 2026* WARNING! I ENJOYED THIS BOOK, BUT IT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE! My enjoyment is in the review, but it is NOT an easy read, and it has many trauma triggers. I told my partner a little bit of what was happening in the book, and she politely tapped out about 5 minutes into my description. Pacing - 5 out of 5 stars Two days. Done! It was my fastest, and also shortest read of 2025. I can’t criticize the pacing at all, whatsoever. Horror factor - 4 out of 5 stars I just finished the last page, and I’m sitting with the last 12 pages still rolling around in my mind. I’m having trouble even putting into words how I feel. I think the best way to put it, is the author gave me a true body horror, and something unexpected. I didn’t expect any of where it went, and it also didn’t let you sit with it for too long. There was maybe 12-20 pages of true horror in the entire book, but DAMN. I really can’t begin to say enough how much I enjoyed it. I was hoping for more of the alien angle to be played out. That really is my only critique, and I think it’s fair to say that isn’t spoilerish. It’s there, its just, muted and somewhat unresolved. Another 30 pages would have been perfect. Characters - 5 out of 5 stars Loved Natsuki. I felt everything she was going through….the trauma and her responses to the trauma felt so real. I loved her struggles, and also her relationships with Yuu, and her husband. It is a short book, but the author does what others can’t do in a short read. I loved the characters. The ending - 4.5 out of 5 stars The ending is why you read this book. That last chapter will sit with you in a really really unsettling way. I loved it, I loved it, I loved it. WARNING….it’s graphic, its stomach churning, and it’s a LOT. I just can’t really criticize the ending much EXCEPT wanting the alien story line to flush out a little more. That’s my only gripe. If you pick this book up and hope for an alien book, you will be left with a meh feeling at the end. Who should buy the book? YOU MUST BE READY FOR POTENTIAL TRAUMA TRIGGERS. I won’t say it loud enough, BUT if you are ok with that, this was quick and so worth it. Did I like it? Yes. Will I keep it in my library to read again? YESSSSS!!! ### ⭐⭐⭐ Now that was certainly disturbing *by D***. on November 15, 2020* I read this author’s Convenience Store Girl so I know his characters are off the beaten path. But this tale went super dark. Story of a young girl in Japan and she has some mental illness or she is different in some way. As she experiences some terrible things, she changes along with it. All along she thinks the reason she isn’t the same is bc she’s an alien here on earth. Not sure I would actually recommend unless you like dark really really weird and somewhat gross (at the end). ## Frequently Bought Together - Earthlings: A Novel - Convenience Store Woman: A Novel - Life Ceremony: Stories --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.ae/products/304195854-earthlings-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.ae/products/304195854-earthlings-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart United Arab Emirates* *Store origin: AE* *Last updated: 2026-05-31*