Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Norwegian Wood

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

196 reviews

highonluthien's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Despite the very valid criticisms of Murakami's portrayal of women, I felt that Midori and Naoko were vast characters in their own right. They just didn't have the priviledge of sharing their thoughts the way our main character could because this book is in first person POV. The misogyny is still there, but the core of the women characters affected me more as a woman than our main character ever did.

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neyomi_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Interesting book, did not like the ending, was a bit dated in the language was was an interesting read.

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exlibris_asrc's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

i wouldn’t be surprised if the wood in norwegian wood was alluding to a boner. nothing but whining, misogyny and senseless name-drops like ok we get it they all like Bach and you read American literature. this is just a horny Catcher in the Rye glazed with heavy(er) misogyny. i don’t care if people like it - whatever - but if this was Murakami’s way of challenging himself to write a “straight” and “simple” story then all he is without his dreamscapes is a massive pervert. pick another book.

⚠️ oh and by the way, the “romantic love scene” was SA ⚠️

i can only manage to stomach a 2-star rating but i give it a 5/5 on grossness.

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barker805's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Totally engrossing. So sad and yet throughout there is a vignette of hope and beauty that shine through

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danielleboldry's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

such a brutal depiction of mental health, yet still so delicate in the way it is written. i am in love with murakami’s writing style, he paints a scene with such vivid detail, you feel it with every sense.

i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: a story about two troubled individuals, drawn together by some invisible, magnetic pull, who will find some way to weave in and out of each other’s lives, whether physically or mentally — is my favourite kind of story!!

i loved the way this book focused on the impact of human connection, and how differently people can serve your life, but how equally significant and necessary they can be.

(although, there were a couple of parts that were very uncomfortable to read. don’t get me wrong i love a bit of disturbing fiction, but certain bits just didn’t sit right with me)

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itsevie13's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I honestly don't know how I feel about this book. I didn't hate reading it, in fact there were times I couldn't put it down, but I didn't like it either. The book mainly focuses around the proganists interactions with various 'tragic female characters' but I found most of these women very 1 dimensional, mainly written as objects of desire for a kind of boring man (the protagonist). I don't know if the novel is actually supposed to say something profound about youth but if so it went over my head. The novel is beautiful prose though but perhaps a little up its own backside, saying a lot without really saying anything at all. I did appreciate the atmospheric setting and there were good philosophical moments but this was overshadowed by the flatness of the supporting characters also I did not appreciate the jumpscare of a graphic sex scene with a minor so watch out for that. Overall just a very male book, attempting to write complex female characters but completely missing the mark and a bit depressing tbh (but not in an interesting way).

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