manuelac's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Trafficking and Death of parent
illiterate's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Trafficking
Minor: Drug use
jadeverse's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
okay i have opinions.
first of all murakami has a talent with setting up the scene, i was able to feel the atmosphere within the first few pages. with that being said, i don’t really vibe with his writing style especially when it switches to that weird screenplay-like narration. it wasn’t really my cuppa tea.
i didn’t really like any of the characters all that much, except kaoru but we are hardly with her for long, i didn’t really like takahashi and his sexist comments (apparently women have no idea how to read nor do they know what a trombone is) he was a pretty boring character, there was nothing interesting about him. the dialogue between takahashi and mari didn’t feel natural, the way takahashi spoke pissed me off because no one really talks like. not gonna lie, this book felt like i was reading an old john green novel.
also i hated the ending, i couldn’t help but feel disgusted with the borderline incest scene between mari and eri. speaking of endings, the book felt very incomplete almost as if murakami had just thrown whatever he had together into a novel. there were tons of loose ends and i hate when books don’t tie those loose ends :/
there were also a lot of things that just felt americanised, the red fox cap (im pretty sure Japan has their own sports teams lol) and the denny’s (could be wrong but is there even a denny’s in japan?). although this is probably more of a translation error than a fault on the author.
this is my first murakami book and it hasn’t really given me a good impression, however since i have norwegian wood i do plan on reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Minor: Sexism
mmefish's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
A perfect introduction to Haruki Murakami complemented by the novel’s music. I just wish I could read Japanese.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Physical abuse, and Sexism
penofpossibilities's review
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, and Sexual violence
Minor: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Murder
cheating
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