Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

3 reviews

jefferz's review

mysterious slow-paced

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

1.0

There are those who believe Murakami is a genius and artist vs those who think he is a hack. After reading two of his novels I align with the latter. While I liked The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle more than 1Q84, that's a very low bar to pass and Wind-Up has the advantages of being 300 pages shorter and possessing a more focused collection of plot threads vs 1Q84's introduced and completely dropped elements.

My biggest criticism of this novel and Murakami's works in general is the excessive amount of detail and word legnth that's added for no particular reason. The amount of tedious daily activities and movement by that main character adds nothing to the experience, story or characters included which is exacerbated by how repetive and monotonous they're written. Worse is how sporadic 
characters are added in to immediately segue into seemingly unrelated stories with no rhyme and reason. Yes there are connections between each story introduced but the execution is so lackluster, you're just left questioning why it was done this way and what was the point of it all? The plot is thin at best non-existent at worst and the characters are wooden do not inspire any level of interest.

The main character Toru Okada is self-described (repeatedly at every possible opportunity to remind the reader) as being apaethtic, forgettable and lacking of honor or drive which serves as a convenient and appropriate summary of the the entire novel itself. I found myself more interested and invested in the main "villains" (who are protrayed as the absolute embodiment of evil) than I did with Toru Okada who I felt half deserved the suffering he experienced. That's a sign that something went really wrong.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, and War

Moderate: Cursing, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Kidnapping

saskia6's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

after i finished this book i was sobbing hysterically but i couldn’t possibly say why. this hit me so hard.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Abortion

Minor: Cursing, Death, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

marinarc's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and War