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leabharlady's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, and Sexism
bookofcats's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcohol and Mental illness
Moderate: Ableism, Vomit, Death, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Sexism
Minor: Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Outing, Cancer, and Abandonment
joshuahc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Suicide
Moderate: Sexual assault, Drug use, and Rape
Minor: Lesbophobia and Ableism
nonorora01's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Minor: Ableism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, and Suicide
madamdun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Ableism, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide
jarshi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As someone who reads a lot of Japanese literature, I feel like I can’t escape Murakami because he’s probably the most popular and accessible Japanese author out there. And whenever I read his books, I feel that I’m finally starting to understand Murakami as a writer and what he wants to convey…
…and then… he will write… the most insane unnecessary shit you have ever read in your entire life and I feel the rage of a thousand suns within me. Seriously, what is his deal?
Graphic: Suicide
Minor: Ableism and Bullying
marinarc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Ableism
n_asyikin_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
What a book. At the end of my read, I felt this tiny pressure just behind my chest, & I knew that these characters & their stories would linger.
It was the sort of story that you want to take your time with; I found myself as if I was a third person in between conversations, or the person privy to Watanabe's intimately complex humanly thoughts. Norwegian Wood was one of those reads for me that went beyond just storytelling; I don't know how to explain it, except the writing was so otherworldly yet it grounded you securely upon earth.
Murakami & Rubin infused an individual with their surroundings, marrying wisdom inspired by nature to be reflected upon one's conscious contemplation; it was a work which disintegrate any physical boundaries that led you to a cosmic discovery.
These characters were trying to work through the rhythm of life and death; trying to understand the physical & psychic interactions between people. The depictions of the manifestations on how people approached those (frankly) rhetorical conundrums were brilliantly depicted through the parallel & contrast between the characters.
And I have to say, of all the characters, I adored Midori the most. I loved how unfiltered & unforgiving she was. She was a bright soul inspite of her storms; most conversations involving Midori & Watanabe immediately put me at ease; those two together brought about lightness to being. I think, whereby Watanabe tend to get stuck in melancholic rumination, Midori forced him to live in the present. She was never fearful of her emotions, or needs; Watanabe caring for her was the tenderness that she needed in the chaos of her world.
There was also Reiko. The wise Reiko reached out to me like a mentor she was to Watanabe. Her stoicism was a possible route Watanabe could take, providing pragmatism in Watanabe's tautology.
Sex was central to this story. It reflected a mean for human interaction.
Norwegian Wood will make you contemplate. It felt like having the stories of the universe contained within these casts of individuals. What more can I say except, this book is beauty in every shape & sense of the word.
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Ableism, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent