Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Kafka On The Shore by Haruki Murakami

90 reviews

valjeanval's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I picked this one up at the library to celebrate Banned Books Month. I've read a bit of Murakami in the past, so I expected some weirdness, and I was right to expect it. This book is an Oedipal myth, and it gets very mythy with talking cats, personality displacement, and portals to pocket dimensions. I couldn't see the exact reason why it was banned, but probably statutory sex scenes with people who may be mother/son but it could also be the fact that it features a trans man who is particularly nuanced and treated like a human being by basically every character. You just never know with book banners.

My husband often asks me if I'm liking whatever I'm reading, and I often found that questions hard to answer with this one. This book is profoundly uncomfortable and occasionally horrific. It's also Murakami, so there's a great deal I probably need four or five re-reads to interpret. Did I like it? Kind of? When I wasn't horrified? It's hard to explain. I had similar feelings after 1Q84. I like reading Murakami, though, because it really makes my literary interpreter brain kick into gear. Even when I don't understand points of the story, I enjoy thinking about them and why they are there. This book made me think about Japanese civilians in WWII, Greek Mythology, classical music, poetry, libraries as memories, memories as libraries, why people help others, capitalism, philosophy, and lots more, so it felt worth my time. That said, definitely check out some trigger warnings before reading this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Incest

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

emma_succubus's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

Murakami's books are always a convoluted mess that leave you a bit like you just had a very realistic dream. This book is no different and leaves you a bit lost in the end. I think a very appropriate way to end this story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Incest, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pedophilia and Blood

Minor: Death of parent and War

geerbeer's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

Wtf gewoon. Kon ook wel zonder alle rare seksuele fantasieën en onnodig dierenleed 😭 ben hier ook gewoon te dom voor ofzo. Wel interessante concepten over de ziel en soms mooi omschreven stukken.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

samcsmith's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, Incest, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Ableism, Rape, Self harm, Medical content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War

centaurstesticle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and War

jodean's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

If I understood a thing about this book, I can't put it into words. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Terminal illness

Minor: War

milliebiggs's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

My copy of Kafka On The Shore is now possibly my most treasured book. Murakami is an insane genius and I want his brain just without his pervertedness. This book was absolutely insane and confusing but so incredible. I loved all of these characters and this was just such a smart book!! Insane!!! Murakami has some crazy effect on me idk what this book was laced with. But anyway this was a very good book and I have so many thoughts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, and Abandonment

soton's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-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? It's complicated

2.0

2nd Murakami book. The author has a clear formula: two women, the one I (the protagonist) long for the most but who's out of reach, then the one who's unrealistically frank and open with from the second I meet who I have sex with. It's too formulaic, like the same book in different fonts.

I still think they're well written, and I like the magical realism aspects, but ultimately I didn't enjoy the fetish content which I feel like was a huge aspect of this book. The pseudo-incest foreshadowing "You are prophesized to sleep with your sister and mother", and the weird way Oshima was written about calling him a "he/she" who "becomes a woman when he sleeps" all just made me want to stop reading it. The intended thrill of the incest just manifested as dread for me, and the self-insert rape scenes were worse than I was expecting. It feels like reading someone's personal fantasy fulfillment for fantasies I don't have. It's clear Murakami books aren't for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Blood

Moderate: Death, Transphobia, and Murder

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Dysphoria

jayvdw's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

This book is a fever dream. It may not feel like it while reading, but the moment you close the book and try to really think about everything, that is the moment it hits you.

After finishing the book the first thing I did was browse the internet for almost an hour, reading and listening to different theories. The book is complex and like Murakami said: the book consists of several riddles with no answers, instead the riddles combine, and the possibility of an answer emerges. In my eyes, this means there is no one way to interpret the book. Each and every person will have their own view of the meaning and full story. 

I loved how the book combined Western and Eastern philosophy and mythology. This only enriches the fever dream-like feeling of the book. In addition to this, the book talks about many different important themes and makes you think about them. 
 
Overall, the book is wild and crazy, it brings out the magic within the mundane. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a more complex story. Even after finishing the book, it will still haunt your mind and you will wonder what it all could really have been about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Incest, Suicide, Grief, and War

ericispublius's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A lot of mysteries in this piece, unraveled slowly unto the end — we walked away with some unanswered. Murakami knits a world that rhymes with ours, but is eerily different. He taps into Japanese folklore in a way that is easy to pick up for the novice

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Incest, Rape, Transphobia, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual violence, and Violence