Vanishing World (2025) by Sayaka Murata

 Audiobook Review

Vanishing World (2025)

by Sayaka Murata

Translated from the Japanese by Sayaka Murata

  I'm not an anime watching fetishist, but it is hard to deny the emergence of East Asia on the global cultural stage since World War II.  Compare the popularity of cultural products emerging out of markets like South Korea, Japan and Taiwan to places like France and Germany.  When was the last time a German act played Coachella?   Generally speaking, if the New York Times does a full length or capsule length review of a work of fiction translated from Japanese, Korean or Chinese, I'm going to take a look and if I see anything like "speculative fiction" or the like I'm going to check out the Audiobook and maybe even read an E-copy on my Kindle.   It's one of the most interesting areas in global fiction- East Asia and South Asia I'd say, but South Asia gets a boost because of the large number of English language speakers. 

   Vanishing World has it all: It's a work of disturbing speculative fiction, and it takes place in an alternate present where Japan turned to IVF after World War II, and where traditional sex between a married couple has become akin to incest.   It is a fascinating world, drawn out with the kind of wavy realism that I associate with Japanese literature read in translation.  Getting the Audiobook was a real stroke of luck. I spend so much time waiting for Audiobooks in the library queue. 

  But this was one of my top books of the year for sure.