Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

17 reviews

jennifer_'s review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

1.5

i have a few things to say about this one. number one being: somebody needs check this man's hard drive!!!!!!! the hyper-sexual descriptions of actual children and mentally-childlike girls, the gratuitous descriptions of child rape, the very strange (and very difficult to believe) perspective of the female narrator towards sex, sexuality, and her body.... all of these elements were inescapable for the duration of the book. they did nothing to contribute to the novel's plot, themes, or character development. i would consider myself to be tolerant to mature themes in books when they are tactfully incorporated into the book's larger message, but i left this book just feeling very disturbed. my biggest takeaway from this story was not the revered complex storyline, themes of absurdity and surrealism, or enduring true love, but ultimately the pedophilia, misogyny, and perversion that the reader was subjected to for 1000(!) pages.

sadly, this has to be the most disappointing book i've ever read due to my hopefulness going in. this was my first time reading murakami, and i had heard rave reviews about his work, including this series. while i am giving this book 1.5 starts instead of 1 star, it is only because of the slight bit of merit in the book's prose and unique premise. 

however, i can't recommend it, and i'm sad to think about the other books that i could have read during the long and tedious hours spent on this book. please, learn from my mistakes, and spare yourself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual violence

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

flitch's review against another edition

3.5

I found this to be an enthralling read, but ultimately a let-down. Much of the early symbolism felt meaningless by the end of the book, and many of the intriguing plotlines were simply abandoned. For a novel with a strong female lead - who I loved! - the misogyny was overwhelming. The obsession with breasts really detracted from my ability to enjoy the story.

I loved the surreal qualities of the story, especially the interplay between the intentions of the characters and the nature of reality. The writing itself is beautiful and thought-provoking.

I absolutely hated

the introduction of underage rape as a plot element, made even worse by the bizarre supernatural explanation "absolving" the perpetrator. Almost DNF after a sympathetic character described an assault and the resulting infertility in graphic detail front of the victim. Entirely unnecessary and disgusting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Animal death, Incest, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

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

qstew's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Dementia, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Confinement, Torture, and Suicide attempt

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

mxpringle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.0

This book was so so good in every way except one, and would have been 5 stars except for the sheer misogyny in describing every female character's breasts and

the horribly disturbing adult/minor relationship and blatant pedophilia

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gore

kibiiiariii's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail