Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - La ballade de l'impossible

Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

La ballade de l'impossible by Haruki Murakami

169 reviews

leabharlady's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective medium-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? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

abbyluvsfrogs444's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

This was a hard book to rate and review. I've been off and on reading this for almost two years. It's not that I didn't like it, I just always found something better to read. This was such a complicated book. I have complicated feelings about it. Toru was duller than a butter knife. And I hated how the only thing he seemed to like about Naoko was her body. I don't believe that he loved her. He lusted her. Big difference. It felt very objectifying whenever he talked about Naoko. The way mental health is talked about is...interesting. I'm not sure Murakami gets it. And I don't think he understands women either. Stick to writing about your dull, little men, sir and leave women out of it.

Content Warnings

emolr's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-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

4.0

Content Warnings

erinbarton's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

this had elements i really enjoyed - the 60s tokyo setting, the writing style, the vivid food descriptions - but unfortunately i just found this underwhelming in plot and characterisation

Content Warnings

kittkat's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Eine Art Liebesgeschichte/ Geschichte über das Erwachsenwerden in Japan der 1960er Jahre.
Naoko und Toru verlieren einen Kindheitsfreund als sie alle gerade mal 17 Jahre alt sind und versuchen ihre Leben danach einzeln weiterzuleben. Irgendwann finden sie sich wieder, aber zu dem Zeitpunkt kämpft Naoko schon mit vielen anderen Dingen und ist tief in ihrer Trauer versunken. Toru gibt ihr jeden Beistand, den er ihr anbieten kann und versucht aber gleichzeitig ein normales Jugendleben an der Uni zu führen, während er Naoko schon völlig verfallen ist.
Toru trifft viele Menschen und die ganzen Menschen machen den Roman letztendlich zu dem, was er ist.

Das Buch war auf englisch noch viel viel schöner geschrieben und ich habe es sehr genossen und dabei noch ein paar Tränen gegossen (= geschluchzt und gerotzt). Leider kann ich aber mit den letzen ca. 5% vom Buch immer noch nichts anfangen… Warum musste ich das lesen? Ich habe gehofft, dass es nicht so schlimm ist, wie ich es in Erinnerung hatte, aber doch doch :)

Content Warnings

kyoe983's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional relaxing sad medium-paced

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

2.5

The one thing that this book keeps consistent throughout the story it's aesthetic. Through Murakami's writing style and the translator's work, we're transported in the somber and full-of-death world of Toru Watanabe, with every scene, place, thought, and dialogue seeming extremely vivid. This clearness of the story seems very entertaining while reading, but if you take it away you'll realize that Murakami writes about a bunch of nonsense. The flaws of this book are numerous, and even if it seems you're following a story while reading, you're not. There are just events. Rememberings of a 40-year-old man. Are his thoughts even real? He does mention in the first chapter that he doesn't remember much, and then proceeds to write a full book, very vividly and detailed, about his life 20 years ago. Maybe that also explains why the ending is so fucking bad. Maybe.

Content Warnings