Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami

4 reviews

sea_tea_books's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

4 ⭐
[A book club/buddy read selection.]

Beautiful and interesting descriptions of light throughout the story. 

The story is told from the perspective of the main character and depicts the messiness of life when individuals connect and their complex feelings and choices merge. More than once I became lost in the story and was even caught off guard by the abrupt ending. I'll be checking out more works from this author. 

Trigger warnings: alcoholism, rape
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edgaranjapoe's review against another edition

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

4.25

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robinks's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

My first Kawakami! The story reminded me a bit of Murakami: beautiful descriptions of scenes, interesting philosophical questions, and a protagonist who is very passive. It was refreshing to have a female protagonist though, and I liked the commentary on feminism presented through Fuyuko’s interactions with and about Hijiri.
Fuyuko and Hijiri initially had a bit of a romantic connection, and I would’ve loved to see that fleshed out. I was a little disturbed by the final argument between Fuyuko and Hijiri and how they became friends from that, and the age gap between Fuyuko and Matsutsuka creeped me out. I was also pleased to see Fuyuko’s growth at the end, but it felt rushed, especially with the time skip that we didn’t get to see.
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thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

The thing about an author's first translated novel being her best one is it sets the bar high for all her subsequent translated works, and they might not wholly live up to it.

Such is the case here with All the Lovers in the Night, whose story of a thirty-something woman with a solitary job in Tokyo bears similarities to Breasts and Eggs, but - published in its original Japanese nearly a decade before the latter - is less successful in terms of story and emotional beats, though I still like it.

I enjoy the novel's exploration of its themes - the transient and obfuscating nature of time, memories, and acts of remembering and recollection - and the gradual growth of the protagonist Irie. However, I can hardly remember the story - what takes place between the crucial scenes and plot points - for it seems static a lot of the time, with similar occurrings replaying in several loops.

There is nothing wrong with a novel that does not focus on plot, but what substitutes for that - be it inner monologue, rumination, characterization - should be effective, and in this case I do not find Irie's reflections to be effective enough. The book also needs more proofreading and copyediting, as there are still some missing words and grammatical errors. 

Nevertheless, I do enjoy watching the character grow as she tentatively learns to bask in the night and, step by step, revel in all its lights. 
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