In The ceremonySayaka Murata (Inzai, 1979), one of the most interesting writers on the Japanese narrative scene, has decided to reflect on the concept of normality. Humor and fantasy combine in a writer determined to defend difference, people who do not fit into a society full of pre-established, often stupid, norms. Themes such as family, friendship, sex, loneliness, and selfishness hover throughout the stories of the author of best-seller The girl from the 24-hour store (2016), motifs that he analyzes from a perspective tinged with strangeness and grotesquery.