lumari3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Incest, Animal cruelty, and Rape
Minor: Transphobia
robiinav's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Rape, and Incest
Moderate: Transphobia
sanikaaa___'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Graphic: Gore, Dementia, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Blood, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Transphobia and Death of parent
iris_lrf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
All that said, even with one protagonist whose only character traits are "Oedipus complex" and "teenage boy," another who is just a walking autism stereotype (I mean, a child in a man's body? Come on), and a whole cast of chronically horny sociopaths, it SOMEHOW manages to be a page-turner. Truly one of the few books that you wish with all your heart you could put down, but are forced by some external power to continue reading until your sanity finally breaks. Because trust me, it will break. For me it happened around chapter five.
So yeah, if multitudes of
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Transphobia, Murder, Violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, Incest, Misogyny, Outing, Pedophilia, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Alcohol, Murder, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Transphobia
Minor: Cursing
minisaucisse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Blood, Incest, Rape, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexism and Transphobia
Women are useless and a transperson is used as a plot device ?soyboysimon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, War, Body horror, Rape, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Murder, Blood, Sexism, Sexual content, and Transphobia
_danichuu's review against another edition
2.5
I know that’s Murakami’s shtick but it just felt so excessive in this book. I’ve read one of his other novels and a short story and they both obviously include sex as a random topic but it didn’t feel like it happened enough for me to be dreading the next one.
Also didn’t love listening to someone describe in detail a man murdering cats. And I know the whole story was this Oedipal situation. But you’d think once you convince yourself a woman is your mother you wouldn’t want to have sex with her so many times???
Like I though he was gonna do it once on accident and stop. But no. Mans was allll about it.
Not even going to go into his assaulting his sister. Even if it was in a dream it still felt so gross and like it was just tossed in at the end to wrap up the prophecy.
This was just not the book for me. If this book had been all about Nakata I would have loved it. His chapters are the only thing that got me through.
But Kafka really made me want to stop reading this so many times.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, and Rape
Minor: Transphobia
cheriepie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Graphic: Animal death, Rape, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Transphobia
caseyreads998's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
a decent magical realism road trip romp sandwiched between some of the most unbearable fake deep horrifying garbage I've ever encountered in fiction
it is bugging me to give this such a low score when I've given higher ratings to works I find much worse in terms of prose/etc but seeing skill squandered is blindingly painful
Graphic: Rape, Animal cruelty, Violence, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Incest, and Pedophilia
Minor: Transphobia
larsisreadingweirdly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Minor: Transphobia and Rape