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

Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami

60 reviews

lilureads's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

3.5

I dont know how exactly to rate this book

I loved seeing Fuyuko’s development throughout the book and I think it did a good job at portraying loneliness and the difference between every individual’s human experience.

It touches upon a plethora of subjects such as misogyny, loneliness, suicide, relationships, spirituality, SA and rape. I would even say that maybe it touches upon too many subjects? While many scenes in the book that treat a specific topic has a reflection of its counterpart later in the story, some points are still left open ended.

I do feel like womanhood could have been explored more thoroughly, being only mentioned

when Fuyuko enters the bookstore and her conversation with her old friend. But then again, those two are counterparts of each other. In the bookstore, Fuyuko reads about all the things a woman supposedly needs to feel fulfilled, like getting married and having children, but when meeting Noriko we see how it is not a guarantee for happiness?

There is no real conclusion or moral to the portrayal of both sides of the coin. Kawakami shows us all these different paths and choices, but doesn’t label one as the best or the better choice. She just shows us the endless ways of being human, of being a woman.

While I can appreciate the literary value of this book, I did not connect with it as deeply as I hoped. It was very slow paced and felt very long despite it being only 220 pages.

It did made me cry so kudos for that

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torismazarine'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? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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333amreen's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

The first half of the book felt REALLY slow paced (and it was!) but the latter half really caught me in (though it was just as, if not more slow) but what was different was the emotional connection I'd built with the characters! While this book can be found boring & uneventful by some (like past me) In hindsight, there's actually SO MUCH you can take from it if you you keep an open mind when reading this one, instead of constantly thinking "ugh, what's going on?" I now completely understand why someone on yt said it's a must read for when you're in your 20s. I COULDN'T AGREE MORE‼️

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moonravioli's review against another edition

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reflective sad tense slow-paced

1.5

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chrisljm's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

I'm sure the mundanity and passiveness of the main character is important to the story, but I couldn't stand it. It was very frustrating to read how she interacted with other characters, but specifically her lack of response when communicating with them or the way she constantly repeated what they said. I also found the book to be dull and dry, and often times the monologues (particularly with one character) came off insincere and preachy. All the Lovers in the Night is described as "insightful, entertaining, and engaging; it will make readers laugh, and it will make them cry" but I strongly disagree. The storytelling was so overwhelmingly monotonous that I wasn't emotionally engaged at all.

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soyboysimon's review against another edition

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sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Didn't love this, I feel truly neutral about it. Its like i was reading only to get to the end of it. i didn't connect with any of the characters or their problems, the main characters troubles seemed self-inflicted, and I absolutely hate the way it talks about—or rather doesn't talk about—mental health.

The main character is dealing with a number of things,

anxiety, depression, alcoholism, an eating disorder, recovery from rape

, but they are presented as being normal parts of life that she has to conquer on her own, without help, before she can let herself be loved. Its sick and twisted to me, it wasn't good for me, I don't recommend it if you deal with any of these problems.

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mariavdl's review against another edition

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reflective sad

Strong character development? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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srhdnshj's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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

3.75

I DON‘T KNOW AHHH, I don’t know if I like or dislike the book. It definitely did cause strong (mixed) emotions and I do have the wish to discuss every sentence of this book with someone. But at the same time most of the book was just the main character existing (not even living, her main flaw). (You do have to like these kind of books.)
I personally read the book quite fast since in my opinion the German version is well written/translated. It had a nice flow.

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alexandrabelze's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

my favorite kawakami novel by far! this one was so emotional and beautiful. i wanted nothing but the best for fuyuko the entire time

and was absolutely devastated by the ending

. i was not expecting to like this one as much as i did because of how i felt about kawakami’s other novels. i definitely will be recommending this one!

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blau_elmo'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

4.0

This book was my introduction to Mieko Kawakami's writing, and it was quite a compelling read.

The plot is heavily character driven, focusing on the inner turmoil/depression of the protagonist. Covering themes of loneliness, love, affection and women's role in society, as well as mental health, the events of the book are shaded in this pervasive darkness, one that clings onto you like smoke.

A bit slow at times, the book is short and the narrative tight such that it does not overstay its welcome. I will be looking to read more of her stuff in the future.

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