Vanishing World

A Novel

By: Sayaka Murata

Narrated by: Nancy Wu

From the author of the bestselling literary sensations Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings comes a surprising and highly imaginative story set in a version of Japan where sex between married couples has vanished and all children are born by artificial insemination.

Sayaka Murata has proven herself to be one of the most exciting chroniclers of the strangeness of society, x-raying our contemporary world to bizarre and troubling effect. Her depictions of a happily unmarried retail worker in Convenience Store Woman and a young woman convinced she is an alien in Earthlings have endeared her to millions of listeners worldwide. Vanishing World takes Murata’s universe to a bold new level, imagining an alternative Japan where attitudes to sex and procreation are wildly different to our own.

As a girl, Amane realizes with horror that her parents “copulated” in order to bring her into the world, rather than using artificial insemination, which became the norm in the mid-20th century. Amane strives to get away from what she considers an indoctrination in this strange “system” by her mother, but her infatuations with both anime characters and real people have a sexual force that is undeniable. As an adult in an appropriately sexless marriage—sex between married couples is now considered as taboo as incest—Amane and her husband Saku decide to go and live in a mysterious new town called Experiment City or Paradise-Eden, where all children are raised communally, and every person is considered a Mother to all children. Men are beginning to become pregnant using artificial wombs that sit outside of their bodies like balloons, and children are nameless, called only “Kodomo-chan.” Is this the new world that will purify Amane of her strangeness once and for all?

Critic reviews

"Nancy Wu narrates a story of an alternate reality in Japan in which children are created artificially, not by intercourse. Wu brings a measured clarity to Amane’s perspective as she and her ex-husband search for love in this unique society. Wu captures both Amane’s deep discomfort with her world and the intensity of her private longings. Wu’s understated delivery is particularly effective in scenes that explore taboo or emotionally charged material through an almost absurdist lens. Wu also handles the book’s satirical and surreal elements with restraint, keeping the focus on the characters and the themes of love, loss, and alienation. Her performance adds a thoughtful dimension to this layered story, helping listeners stay grounded while navigating a world both alien and eerily familiar."

The horrors of domesticity

Beautiful. Surreal. A subversion of the current state of loneliness and declining pregnancies; the last 30 minutes or so encapsulate this in an almost body horror/sci fi way.

Excellent

This book is packed with interesting ideas, particularly about sex. I loved this book. Highly recommend.

-Wonderfully weird as ever. thought provoking

Still so wonderfully weird but thought provoking as ever. Really enjoyed these. not as weird as her other books in thar you wonder about hers or your sanity. I will keep reading her works.

Murata did it again

This author keeps coming up with crazy new philosophical ideas and it's great every time. Another disturbingly interesting 10/10 book

Another great Out-There tale

Every time I finish a story by Sayaka Murata, I feel my mind open a bit more. Such strange and fascinating worlds we get to sit in for a ride each time. I love when societal norms get turned on their head. I just didn't know they could also be stretched and turned inside out too!