Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Tokio blues (Norwegian Wood)

Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Tokio blues (Norwegian Wood) by Haruki Murakami

169 reviews

niallgoulding1's review against another edition

medium-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

3.25

Mixed feelings about this. I found the book very odd.

In one sense, I can see why it is so well loved. Murakami writes beautifully. He writes through the eyes of a teenage boy dealing (or not dealing) with his childhood friends suicide. In this I think the author is successful as you feel like you're inside the characters head and they're are some beautifully insightful sections on grief and isolation. I can see why someone who feels a little bit lost or out of kilter with the world might feel heard by this book.

However, as many have commented before some of the events of the story are just bizarre. You could argue that some of this is the author reflecting a teenage boys mindset (i.e. the female characters are 2d heroines in need of rescuing not due to bad writing but rather because that is how the central character perceives them). However, that's undercut by sections which demonstrate a really weird relationship with women in general and don't orginate from the mouth of the protagonist. In particular, the scene where a 13 year old girl basically seduces and sexually assaults an adult woman is beyond the pale and served no purpose that I could see. Equally the ending where the protagonist continues to be irrestible to every woman he meets for no apparent reason seemed like fanfic.

Even a month later I'm not sure what to make of this book. Just a strange experience

Content Warnings

arisorbit's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

The book itself was quite mentally engaging and thought provoking however Murakami's way of depicting women might rub you the wrong way due to the lack of depth, constant sexualisation and character development.

Content Warnings

isaa's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.25

Watanabe es un pinche misógino. Murakami definitivamente es un misógino. La historia de Reiko me traumo y tuve que dejar de leer el libro por 2 meses. Comoquiera tiene partes muy buenas, escritas muy bonito y entiendo porque a la gente les gusta tanto este libro.

Content Warnings