Vanishing World

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Amane is ten years old when she discovers she's not like everyone else. Her school friends were all conceived the normal way, by artificial insemination, and raised in the normal way, by parents in 'clean', sexless marriages. But Amane's parents committed the ultimate taboo: they fell in love, had sex and procreated. As Amane grows up and enters adulthood, she does her best to fit in and live her life like the rest of society: cultivating intense relationships with anime characters, and limiting herself to extra-marital sex, as is the norm. Still, she can't help questioning what sex and marriage are for. But when Amane and her husband hear about Eden, an experimental town where residents are selected at random to be artificially inseminated en masse (including men who are fitted with artificial wombs), the family unit does not exist and children are raised collectively and anonymously, they decide to try living there. But can this bold experiment build the brave new world Amane desires, or will it push her to breaking point?

Critics Review

Makes the ordinary world as we see it look strange again… Publishers will continue to seek out imitations of [Sayaka’s] vision – but why bother, when the real thing is so good?

Financial Times

In the imagination of Sayaka Murata, nothing seems to be off limits… Like The Handmaid’s Tale on acid… Murata deploys both visceral language and body horror to convey Amane’s lust… It invites us to consider how reproductive gender equality could transform society, with chilling ramifications

New York Times

Japanese fiction leads a boom in translated novels and Murata is its queen, striking a chord around the world with her weird tales of urban alienation under patriarchy and capitalism… Fit to burst with eye-popping twists and conceits… A typically wild ride

Daily Mail

Vanishing World could not have arrived at a more fitting moment, given the Trump administrations’ preoccupation with women’s bodily autonomy… Murata’s brilliantly unsettling ending will leave you reeling and questioning your own beliefs

Stylist

Japan’s answer to Brave New World… Murata has the uncanny prescience of the best sci-fi writers

Daily Telegraph

Quirky and thought-provoking

Grazia

More from the same

Author

Narrator

About xigxag

Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.