Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Kafka på stranden by Haruki Murakami

336 reviews

sushcore's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

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

booksense's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Murder

noeul's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death and Emotional abuse

Minor: War

cheynanigans's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Incest

bobbijo104's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Rape, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death

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

das_'s review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

0.5

A quite interesting mystery full of self-discovery at its core, with quite an unusual narrative that tells this story from multiple angles at once, this book seemed quite promising from the start. However, the overly casual dialogues that oscillate between intentionally inarticulate and pseudo-intellectual quickly got on my nerves, and the subsequent attempts to make light of pedophilia as well as incest were only the last straw. I'm fairly confident that this is the worst book that I've read in the past decade or so.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, and Murder

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

k49's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror and Gore

Minor: Transphobia