Listen free for 30 days
-
Earthlings
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $17.12
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
- Amazon Editor’s Top Pick
- Bustle Pick
- Vulture.com Pick
As a child, Natsuki doesn’t fit into her family. Her parents favor her sister, and her best friend is a plush toy hedgehog named Piyyut who has explained to her that he has come from the planet Popinpobopia on a special quest to help her save the Earth. Each summer, Natsuki counts down the days until her family drives into the mountains of Nagano to visit her grandparents in their wooden house in the forest, a place that couldn’t be more different from her grey commuter town. One summer, her cousin Yuu confides to Natsuki that he is an extraterrestrial and that every night he searches the sky for the spaceship that might take him back to his home planet. Natsuki wonders if she might be an alien too.
Back in her city home, Natsuki is scolded or ignored and even preyed upon by a young teacher at her cram school. As she grows up in a hostile, violent world, she consoles herself with memories of her time with Yuu and discovers a surprisingly potent inner power. Natsuki seems forced to fit into a society she deems a “baby factory,” but even as a married woman she wonders if there is more to this world than the mundane reality everyone else seems to accept. The answers are out there, and Natsuki has the power to find them.
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.
You may also enjoy...
-
Life Ceremony
- Stories
- Written by: Sayaka Murata
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, Jeena Yi, Nancy Wu, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With Life Ceremony, the incomparable Sayaka Murata is back with her first collection of short stories ever to be translated into English. In Japan, Murata is particularly admired for her short stories, which are sometimes sweet, sometimes shocking, and always imbued with an otherworldly imagination and uncanniness.
Written by: Sayaka Murata
-
I Who Have Never Known Men
- Written by: Jacqueline Harpman
- Narrated by: Nikki Massoud
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deep underground, 39 women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before. As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl—the 40th prisoner—sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others’ escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.
Written by: Jacqueline Harpman
-
Lapvona
- A Novel
- Written by: Ottessa Moshfegh
- Narrated by: Ottessa Moshfegh
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little Marek, the abused and delusional son of the village shepherd, believes his mother died giving birth to him. One of Marek’s few consolations is his enduring bond with the blind village midwife, Ina, who suckled him when he was a baby. For some people, Ina’s ability to receive transmissions of sacred knowledge from the natural world is a godsend. For others, Ina’s home in the woods is a godless place.
-
-
I recommend this one.
- By Joan Osika on 2022-09-08
Written by: Ottessa Moshfegh
-
My Year of Rest and Relaxation
- Written by: Ottessa Moshfegh
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our narrator should be happy, shouldn't she? She's young, thin, pretty, a recent Columbia graduate; she works an easy job at a hip art gallery and lives in an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan paid for, like the rest of her needs, by her inheritance. But there is a dark and vacuous hole in her heart, and it isn't just the loss of her parents, or the way her Wall Street boyfriend treats her, or her sadomasochistic relationship with her best friend, Reva. It's the year 2000 in a city aglitter with wealth and possibility; what could be so terribly wrong?
-
-
A waste of your time
- By Jtoronto on 2019-01-02
Written by: Ottessa Moshfegh
-
A Certain Hunger
- Written by: Chelsea G. Summers
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eat Pray Love meets American Psycho in a seductive and sinister debut literary thriller. Food critic Dorothy Daniels indulges in her homicidal urges by murdering her lovers and devouring their organs in this intense, visceral, and lushly told tale of food, sex, power, and the pursuit of a very particular taste set between New York and Italy. Please Note: A Certain Hunger contains adult language and depictions of violence. Discretion is advised.
-
-
Perfection
- By Rae on 2023-04-11
Written by: Chelsea G. Summers
-
Tender Is the Flesh
- Written by: Agustina Bazterrica
- Narrated by: Joseph Balderrama
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans - though no one calls them that anymore. His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the "Transition". Now, eating human meat - "special meat" - is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.
-
-
Wow
- By Selina Boëtius on 2023-11-22
Written by: Agustina Bazterrica
-
Life Ceremony
- Stories
- Written by: Sayaka Murata
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, Jeena Yi, Nancy Wu, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With Life Ceremony, the incomparable Sayaka Murata is back with her first collection of short stories ever to be translated into English. In Japan, Murata is particularly admired for her short stories, which are sometimes sweet, sometimes shocking, and always imbued with an otherworldly imagination and uncanniness.
Written by: Sayaka Murata
-
I Who Have Never Known Men
- Written by: Jacqueline Harpman
- Narrated by: Nikki Massoud
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deep underground, 39 women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before. As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl—the 40th prisoner—sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others’ escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.
Written by: Jacqueline Harpman
-
Lapvona
- A Novel
- Written by: Ottessa Moshfegh
- Narrated by: Ottessa Moshfegh
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little Marek, the abused and delusional son of the village shepherd, believes his mother died giving birth to him. One of Marek’s few consolations is his enduring bond with the blind village midwife, Ina, who suckled him when he was a baby. For some people, Ina’s ability to receive transmissions of sacred knowledge from the natural world is a godsend. For others, Ina’s home in the woods is a godless place.
-
-
I recommend this one.
- By Joan Osika on 2022-09-08
Written by: Ottessa Moshfegh
-
My Year of Rest and Relaxation
- Written by: Ottessa Moshfegh
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our narrator should be happy, shouldn't she? She's young, thin, pretty, a recent Columbia graduate; she works an easy job at a hip art gallery and lives in an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan paid for, like the rest of her needs, by her inheritance. But there is a dark and vacuous hole in her heart, and it isn't just the loss of her parents, or the way her Wall Street boyfriend treats her, or her sadomasochistic relationship with her best friend, Reva. It's the year 2000 in a city aglitter with wealth and possibility; what could be so terribly wrong?
-
-
A waste of your time
- By Jtoronto on 2019-01-02
Written by: Ottessa Moshfegh
-
A Certain Hunger
- Written by: Chelsea G. Summers
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eat Pray Love meets American Psycho in a seductive and sinister debut literary thriller. Food critic Dorothy Daniels indulges in her homicidal urges by murdering her lovers and devouring their organs in this intense, visceral, and lushly told tale of food, sex, power, and the pursuit of a very particular taste set between New York and Italy. Please Note: A Certain Hunger contains adult language and depictions of violence. Discretion is advised.
-
-
Perfection
- By Rae on 2023-04-11
Written by: Chelsea G. Summers
-
Tender Is the Flesh
- Written by: Agustina Bazterrica
- Narrated by: Joseph Balderrama
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans - though no one calls them that anymore. His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the "Transition". Now, eating human meat - "special meat" - is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.
-
-
Wow
- By Selina Boëtius on 2023-11-22
Written by: Agustina Bazterrica
-
FantasticLand
- A Novel
- Written by: Mike Bockoven
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe, Luke Daniels
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since the 1970s, FantasticLand has been the theme park where "Fun is Guaranteed!" But when a hurricane ravages the Florida coast and isolates the park, the employees find it anything but fun. Five weeks later, the authorities who rescue the survivors encounter a scene of horror. Photos soon emerge online of heads on spikes outside of rides and viscera and human bones littering the gift shops, breaking records for hits, views, likes, clicks, and shares.
-
-
Great Audiobook.
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-09-19
Written by: Mike Bockoven
-
Motherthing
- Written by: Ainslie Hogarth
- Narrated by: Adina Verson
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Ralph and Abby Lamb move in with Ralph’s mother, Laura, Abby hopes it’s just what she and her mother-in-law need to finally connect. After a traumatic childhood, Abby is desperate for a mother figure, especially now that she and Ralph are trying to become parents themselves. Abby just has so much love to give—to Ralph, to Laura, and to Mrs. Bondy, her favorite resident at the long-term care home where she works. But Laura isn’t interested in bonding with her daughter-in-law. She’s venomous and cruel, especially to Abby, and life with her is hellish.
-
-
Fresh & lightly funny
- By CWickstrom on 2024-09-15
Written by: Ainslie Hogarth
-
Black Sheep
- Written by: Rachel Harrison
- Narrated by: Jeremy Carlisle Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nobody has a “normal” family, but Vesper Wright’s is truly...something else. Vesper left home at eighteen and never looked back—mostly because she was told that leaving the staunchly religious community she grew up in meant she couldn’t return. But then an envelope arrives on her doorstep.
-
-
not great
- By Kindle Customer on 2024-02-27
Written by: Rachel Harrison
-
Bunny
- A Novel
- Written by: Mona Awad
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England's Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort—a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other "Bunny", and seem to move and speak as one. But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies' fabled "Smut Salon"....
-
-
Confused
- By Bookie on 2019-08-19
Written by: Mona Awad
-
Brother
- Written by: Ania Ahlborn
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deep in the heart of Appalachia stands a crooked farmhouse miles from any road. The Morrows keep to themselves, and it's served them well so far. When girls go missing off the side of the highway, the cops don't knock on their door. Which is a good thing, seeing what's buried in the Morrows' backyard. But 19-year-old Michael Morrow isn't like the rest of his family. He doesn't take pleasure in the screams that echo through the trees.
-
-
Okay but not amazing
- By Candice on 2024-10-01
Written by: Ania Ahlborn
-
100% Match
- Written by: Patrick C. Harrison III
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 1 hr and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bart is 30. He is bald. He is overweight. He wears glasses. He is a fry cook. He hates cats. And kids. Bart occasionally does very bad things. He is looking for his perfect match. He has done his research.
-
-
I loved how it was a different kind of story. it had that surprise factor and it was dark!!
- By Kyle on 2024-10-09
Written by: Patrick C. Harrison III
-
Monstrilio
- Written by: Gerardo Sámano Córdova
- Narrated by: Victoria Villarreal, Johnny Rey Diaz
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grieving mother Magos cuts out a piece of her deceased eleven-year-old son Santiago's lung. Acting on fierce maternal instinct and the dubious logic of an old folktale, she nurtures the lung until it gains sentience, growing into the carnivorous little Monstrilio she keeps hidden within the walls of her family's decaying Mexico City estate. Eventually, Monstrilio begins to resemble the Santiago he once was, but his innate impulses—though curbed by his biological and chosen family's communal care—threaten to destroy this fragile second chance at life.
Written by: Gerardo Sámano Córdova
-
My Dark Vanessa
- A Novel
- Written by: Kate Elizabeth Russell
- Narrated by: Grace Gummer
- Length: 16 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, 15-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful 42-year-old English teacher. 2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: Remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past.
-
-
Horrifying and Brave
- By Courteous Reader on 2020-04-03
Written by: Kate Elizabeth Russell
-
Almond
- A Novel
- Written by: Won-pyung Sohn
- Narrated by: Greg Chun
- Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yunjae was born with a brain condition called alexithymia that makes it hard for him to feel emotions like fear or anger. He does not have friends - the two almond-shaped neurons located deep in his brain have seen to that - but his devoted mother and grandmother aren’t fazed by his condition. Their little home above his mother’s used bookstore is decorated with colorful Post-it notes that remind him when to smile, when to say "thank you", and when to laugh. Yunjae grows up content, even happy, with his small family in this quiet, peaceful space.
-
-
Way too short but very unique
- By Patrick Berard on 2023-07-27
Written by: Won-pyung Sohn
-
Animal
- A Novel
- Written by: Lisa Taddeo
- Narrated by: Emma Roberts
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joan has spent a lifetime enduring the cruelties of men. But when one of them commits a shocking act of violence in front of her, she flees New York City in search of Alice, the only person alive who can help her make sense of her past. In the sweltering hills above Los Angeles, Joan unravels the horrific event she witnessed as a child - that has haunted her every waking moment - while forging the power to finally strike back.
-
-
Very interesting story
- By Anonymous User on 2024-09-30
Written by: Lisa Taddeo
-
Reincarnation Blues
- A Novel
- Written by: Michael Poore
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
First we live. Then we die. And then...we get another try? Ten thousand tries, to be exact. Ten thousand lives to "get it right". Answer all the big questions. Achieve wisdom. And become one with everything. Milo has had 9,995 chances so far and has just five more lives to earn a place in the cosmic soul. If he doesn't make the cut, oblivion awaits. But all Milo really wants is to fall forever into the arms of Death. Or Suzie, as he calls her.
-
-
Amazing
- By Robin on 2021-03-08
Written by: Michael Poore
-
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?
- Big Questions from Tiny Mortals
- Written by: Caitlin Doughty
- Narrated by: Caitlin Doughty
- Length: 4 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, Doughty blends her mortician’s knowledge of the body and the intriguing history behind common misconceptions about corpses to offer factual, hilarious, and candid answers to 35 distinctive questions posed by her youngest fans. In her inimitable voice, Doughty details lore and science of what happens to, and inside, our bodies after we die. Why do corpses groan? What causes bodies to turn colors during decomposition? And why do hair and nails appear longer after death?
-
-
love Caitlyn!!
- By Alexander C. Taylor on 2020-02-10
Written by: Caitlin Doughty
What listeners say about Earthlings
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nik
- 2023-10-17
Beautifully terrible
One of my favourite books now. Heartbreaking and emotional, I feel like the author really captured how painful the act of survival can sometimes be.
Loved the narration as well, I felt like the voice was perfect for the story content! ♥️
I thank this book for ruining my psyche in the best way.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 2022-07-21
NOT what you expect
like literally first half ur like woah that took a turn! the last maybe hour or so its more like hey where did the FUCKING ROAD GO
also nancy wu killed it queen wherever you are you are an artist literally amazing fantastic wonderful i had fully fleshed out visuals of characters based on your acting alone. in addition to there being conversations with many people (some of whom were just introduced or are minor) and not once was i confused or wondering who was speaking. her acting was so good that when she would introduce a new character entirely id be like "thats a new person j havent heard that voice yet" like girl you need to be rich. k bye
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gigie
- 2024-10-16
What a strange novel.
If you think you are not fitting in society, This book might be for you. I enjoyed reading it. Very peculiar book . I’m going to need a full breakdown for this one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 2024-03-17
Difficult to proceed
It’s not what I expected. Very traumatising. Before “Earthlings” I’ve read “The Convenience Store Woman” and I was still shocked. Be prepared for disgusting scenes. I don’t recommend it to empathetic people.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 2022-12-28
Unexpected, sad, yet beautiful
A heartbreaking story of childhood trauma and stunted growth, Murata also casts a crititical eye on society's rigid expectations. Though it made me physically uncomfortable on more than one occasion, I did not find it gratuitously shocking. (though I do not mean that it is not shocking and I would abstain from reading if you are sensitive).
It is masterfully narrated. Nancy Wu breathes life into this electrifying and mind-boggling tale. She is one of the best narrators I have come accross.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2023-06-15
Good start
The first half of the book was great and really explored trauma in an intressting way that made my chest feel tight at times. Second half was kinda stupid and felt like it was there just for shock value. The ending was pretty bad and felt useless.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2023-04-02
Pseudointellectual take on the world. Shock value
This novel covers some serious subjects in a very disturbing but well structured way for the first half of the novel. the later half loses most of this charm by having the characters become so unusual and unrelatable that it is more of a shock value bait than anything. the idea of the world being a "baby factory" can be a legitimate concern for some people in what they believe society expects of them, but then the book has to make the people who challenge this status quo the most unrelatable and terrible people that you actually end up thinking to yourself "I'd rather stick with societal norms than subscribe to whatever these weirdos are doing to reject them."
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lori
- 2024-08-07
Waste of time and credit
I spent most of this book waiting for something to happen, it didn’t until the very end lol and then it was just so far fetched. It’s definitely weird and not worth the read imo I wish I would of saved my credit and my brain to be honest. Why is everyone saying this book is good?? XD
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 2024-09-11
what did I read?
the first half is great although hard to read. the second half I just don't know. did not enjoy
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!