Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

I really loved this book. It is reflective, you see the world through a man who thinks he’s colorless and boring person. There’s some thinking about the line between reality and dreams, how something that you try to ignore/forget comes to you in one way or another and how you have to accept the things you can’t change. It has themes like depression, loneliness, friendships, trauma, abandonment and music. You see so clearly, without any filters to the maincharacters mind and it is so facinating! It normalizes humanity.

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q_bert13's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I’ve been recommended Norwegian Wood more times than I can count, but I decided to read this as my first Murakami book. A saddening story about loosing friendships- taking time to heal, and eventually returning back home to seek out those past friends. An emotional, reflective story full of complex, colourful characters. Despite how sad the themes could get, Murakami’s writing style is beautiful and warm.

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vaguelyredhead's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-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

2.75

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kaylamoran's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

3.75

This is such a hard book to rate, as there were things I loved and things I hated.

I hated the way the story centered on a fake rape accusation. I really don't think that's a helpful narrative, and it wasn't necessary for the story. Tsukuru could have been shunned for any number of reasons. I also found it a bit frustrating how seemingly cheating wasn't a red flag? Why would Kuro tell Tsukuru to fight for a woman with another boyfriend?

Ultimately I related to Tsukuru in many ways, and I was really rooting for him. Usually slow paced books with a ton of descriptors bore me, but that didn't happen here. I do wish Murakami spent a bit less energy describing women's breasts though.

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nessaraquel's review against another edition

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mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

3.0

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bridge_to_narnia's review against another edition

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reflective 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

3.75

This book is more like a character study with a revolving plot about being ghosted by his childhood friend many years ago. It’s a slow, lax, shuffle to an ambitious answer, but often in life we don’t truly know about what others think. The writing is smooth and easy to read, the only uncomfortable moments are the peppered in sexual imagery that were definitely not needed. Overall, I’d give this book a positive rating, though negative points for the sexual habits and lack of a concrete ending.

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maidinnah's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

3.5

Colorless is my second Murakami novel following Norwegian Wood, which leads me to concur with other readers that the classic Murakami tropes are fully present. In Colorless, Murakami explores the magic and fragility of childhood friendships and the impact they have on one’s identity. His writing is keen, introspective, and pensive, as always. I enjoyed the surreal atmosphere, the plain prose, and the emotionally affecting message of perseverance. However, the book did fall short of me loving it because of Murakami’s poor character writing and unnecessary plot devices.

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risemini's review against another edition

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emotional reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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