Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Almost Transparent Blue by Ryū Murakami

7 reviews

ccos's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

Honestly? I couldn’t put it down. In a word: raw.

I found it to be an incredible depiction of 70s junkie culture in Japan (a subculture I had no reference point for) and furthermore a complete sucker-punch of gorgeously detailed depravity. It’s elevated above mere shock material by both its prose, believable characters, and clever overarching themes/motifs. 

It’s, uh, not for everyone. The work is certainly graphic, contains racism and physical and sexual violence but IMO manages to avoid feeling merely exploitative due to its semi-autobiographical nature and how unapologetically human it portrays its characters. It documents the behavior but I think is far from glorifying it. 

I read in Japanese, but the English translation seems solid, expecting the god-awful (and woefully common) localization of Osaka-ben as an extremely over-exaggerated Southern accent. 

This was a really interesting book to read after 透明だった最後の日々へ (which unfortunately has no English translation and is woefully overlooked) as it clearly seems to have influenced that novel, given the similar ages of the somewhat unsympathetic protagonists, graphic nature, and beautiful descriptive prose. If you can read Japanese and enjoyed this book you should check that one out as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual violence

superpraskova's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

flexluthor's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

 Grimmest book I've read in a long long time. It's gross, it's grimy, it's sad, it's horrifying. It's like if Jack Kerouac had none of the whimsy of the beat generation. I did like it a lot, it's another one that can be sped through to reach the psyche-baring conclusion. Which I absolutely loved. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

escaping_america's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

pseudoliterature'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

this is definitely a book I read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

madzaaa's review

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, and Vomit

rishika_varma's review

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Violence, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol