Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - All the Lovers in the Night

I thought the language was quite repetitive and for me this made most of the book feel quite slow. But the last 30 pages really brought it all together for me and made me adore the book. I think it encapsulates human experience very well as someone who struggles a lot with mental health. The character of Hijiri specifically is flawed but her flaws for me didn’t make me end up hating her nonetheless. The ending was beautiful.

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lizetteratura's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.0

All the Lovers in the Night is a frigid yet powerful novel that delves into loneliness, connection, and self-discovery, but it also describes work and the close connection of friendship and love, as well as a thought-provoking perspective on social and gendered expectations. The main character, Fuyuko Irie, is easily relatable, and Kawakami does an excellent job at conveying her emotions through the story. The novel moves at a bit slow-ish to medium pace, which may not appeal to everyone, but it allows you to really immerse yourself in the plot. If you appreciate stories that focus on characters and emotions, this one is absolutely worth reading. I wish Kawakami had developed and examined the characters further, but I enjoyed her writing approach of contrasting them, as with Fuyuko and Hijiri. It's a story that sticks with you and makes you wonder long after you've finished reading (endings tend to do this to me).

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laurenleannereads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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_peaseblossom_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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elia0400's review against another edition

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dark 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

3.5

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charlereads's review against another edition

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3.0

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gillthequill's review against another edition

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challenging 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

3.0

When reading this novel, I kept feeling like I was on the verge of some great truth. Like this work was saying something profound, in it's sometimes preaching monologues, hidden in those small details (like the perfume). But I kept getting the impression, despite the excellent writing, this work was not for me. I'm not sure who it is for. It felt like there wasn't a clear lesson, clear takeaway, clear goal I could find. There were themes, yes, of depression, mental illness, societal expectations, how beholden we are to other's opinions, and being a woman in society (especially Japanese society). It felt like capital G Great Literature some high school student may have to read one day. I left with mixed feelings but I don't necessarily regret reading the work, if alone for how wonderfully written it was.

Content Warnings

elisa_rachel's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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