Reviews tagging 'Death'

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

38 reviews

thislunarbeauty's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Domestic abuse, Rape, and Self harm

angela_iseli's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Pregnancy

allyem_reads's review against another edition

 

Y'all I just can't do it. Not only are there a multitude of triggers in here (including suicide, rape, sexual abuse of a minor, animal death, murder, and religious trauma) it's also uncomfortably slow and the weirdness is not enough to keep me invested. Plus I feel like this was Murakami at his most Murakaminess, and you couldn't read a single page of this book without getting at least two mentions of women's bodies in a derogatory way. I need to stop for the sake of my sanity.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Murder

3eggomelet's review against another edition

mysterious slow-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? No

1.5

Yes, I read the whole thing. I ordered all three books in Japanese and referred to them throughout my reading. 
The premise and concept of this book carried me through. I wanted to know what would happen. I'm not gonna say it wasn't worth it, but I would recommend against reading this if you're not already super interested.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Terminal illness, and Abandonment

bookwort's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Dementia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

lesmedmeg's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Death and Suicide

Minor: Sexual assault

sagesaria's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder

bites_of_books's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.25

This one was a let down... 

Murakami can write really beautiful passages but this 1000+ book was just way too long and about 40% of it was just boring descriptions of mundane things. I do enjoy it when an author takes care to describe certain details but this was just too much.

We follow Aomame, a young woman who climbs down a staircase off a freeway and finds herself in a seemingly different world from her own. On the other hand we also follow Tengo, a young man who is tasked with ghostwriting a novel for a teenage girl by his editor. Aomame and Tengo live different lives and the first Book in this novel is spent trying to figure out how they fit together.

The themes explored in this book go from loneliness, religion, the power of literature, broken family dynamics, and more. Some of it did feel visceral and real, but others were just explored over repetitive and overdone writing. 

Then there are all the descriptions of women and anyone who isn't perfectly attractive in the author's eyes... it was just awful. The mysoginy was rampant throughout as well as deeply uncomfortable descriptions of certain intimate encounters that left me feeling like chucking the book in a corner and going for a walk. 

I do not recommend this novel, it's not magical realism in my eyes, it's fantasy/sci-fi. It's entirely way too long for what it is and it's not enjoyable in the least. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Abandonment

rafagina's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Slow, repetitive and predictable. On top of that, every female character is written either in cringe and belittling ways or downright horrendously misogynistic. Every single chapter there are gratuitous sexual descriptions and abusive episodes happening that add nothing to the story. If this is Murakami I don't know why people recommended it so much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

blau_elmo's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Murakami's longest novel (more of a trilogy), spanning over 1,300 pages. It is a gripping story of multiple perspectives, and whilst the climax achieves its catharsis towards the end of the second book, the third book was a bit too bloated and draggy.

The characters, in general, were pretty likeable. The whole matter with Fuka Eri is a bit uncomfortable though, the fact that she is described as so young yet serves as some type of vessel for Tengo is a bit concerning. But still, she is my favourite character in the whole book. The way she is written and speaks is so entertaining.

A true behemoth of a book, it is a worthwhile read if you have the endurance for it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Violence, and Murder