Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami

53 reviews

mxpringle's review against another edition

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

4.5

I love the dream like state this book put me in where I questioned what events in it were real and fake. The writing and the way the characters were so fleshed our really gripped me and I haven't read a book so quickly in forever. However, as a with a lot of Murakami's writing, I did have an issue with how he portrays women and sex, and his strong emphasis on the male gaze. 

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vincentblackshadow's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective relaxing sad fast-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

4.0


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sawshiwen's review against another edition

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

3.0

Spoiler

essentially, this feels like a rape fantasy book...?

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seraphimgt's review

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

3.0

I liked it better than Kafka at least. My major issue with this book was how it handled violence against women.
Spoiler My professor pointed out that many people believe that Murakami is commentating on how many violent and sexual crimes against women go unsolved in Japan, and the rate of these crimes are rising, but that didn't make what happened to Shiro/Yuzu any less uncomfortable to read. Plus, false accusations are incredibly rare so every time I see one portrayed, it kind of pisses me off because it perpetuates and inflates a dangerously inaccurate idea that many misogynists have. I'm not saying Murakami buys into the idea that many women lie about being raped, and the reveal that Shiro HAD in fact been raped by someone, just not Tsukuru I think gives him a little leeway, but it's just uncomfortable.

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ellagriffin_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

Brewed coffee & false allegations. Thinking all you are is grey. Tokyo skies & bullet trains. Chlorine & matching suits. The cold that comes after people abandon you. An unplanned strong first step into Murakami’s work, with sadly more relatable subject matter than I care to admit. A dark mirror into my mind for the past little while. 

I was hoping for a little more of the magical realism he is known for, and found the pace slower than necessary in parts. But at it’s core is beautiful prose, clear human observations & an infectious sense of place. Looking forward to rest of his collection. 🤍

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rebekahelis's review against another edition

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

2.0

SpoilerI despise false rape/ SA claims as a plot line</spolier> I also hated how women were written in this book.

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ccs's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No

3.75


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elijahcole's review against another edition

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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

1.0

nothing happened in this book and it still managed to piss me off to no end. 

first 100ish pages i thought the main character was just a guy with textbook definition autism that led to him feeling like an outcast then, of course in classic murakami fashion, he was just a straight up shitty dude and he absolutely deserved it. he turned out to
Spoiler be a possible rapist?? and no one in this book took the rape accusations seriously? or cared that their friend was murdered because they were burdened by her being mentally unstable??

literally no resolution was reached and so many things were just thrown at the wall and never discussed again
Spoiler like tsukuru having a sex dream about/raping/being raped by haida (?)
 

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kaexilius's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated

4.75


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_blueberry's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious relaxing tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The way Murakami writes women is weird and I don't think he even understand what's weird about it. 

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