Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

180 reviews

thebookwasb3tter's review

It was maddeningly slow, I found the main character to be  awful and self absorbed, the women were written as sex caricatures, and the dialogue made me cringe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Grief

pepelu's review

emotional reflective sad slow-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

sammm_888's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

dee97's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Mental illness, Suicide, and Grief

fergascod's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Un llibre amb una atmòsfera molt trista. Tots els personatges estan atravessats per la desgràcia. Segurament no l’hauria d’haver llegit tenint en compte com estic últimament, tot i que potser sí.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent

claukv's review

challenging dark emotional 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Stalking, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Lesbophobia

liberphilia's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent

sakurachiyou's review against another edition

sad 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

0.25

 

Whether you believe it or not, Murakami got me out of a 1.5-year-long reading slump, and not for the reasons one might expect. It's because I wholeheartedly detest his writing. If I am certain about two things regarding my relationship with literature, it's that I love hating on books and that I am dedicated to hating Murakami's books. Hating his books gives me life. That's it; that's who I am. Now that I have established myself and my views, let's talk about the book on a surface level. 

 

"Norwegian Wood," Murakami's undoubtedly most popular book. What a train wreck, what a mess! C'est un vrai gâchis! (Pardon my French; I wanted to swear, but I settled for a more civilized approach.) 

 

For lack of a better word, the main viewpoint of the book follows the male gaze; it's the male experience in a strictly male world. Every problem a woman is facing can be solved by a man, and that man can only be Toru. Every problem or insecurity is forgotten once they have sexual interactions with him, and boy oh boy, do the women in Murakami's world exist just to be sexual beings? 

 

I don't understand the appeal of Murakami's world or his characters. The melancholic and depressive state that looms around every page doesn't seem well executed in my perspective. Need I go through the reasons why I believe that mental illness matters are handled very immaturely and messily? Because they are, and it's very evident. 

 

I was under the impression that people like this book because of the atmosphere that the author creates, the vibes, the mood. There was no such thing as a melancholic atmosphere. I could not get in the mood because the writing style does nothing for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Grief

tilde_c_s's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

etwasinspired's review

dark emotional 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

Second read. Murakami is the master of longing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, and Grief