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dorathebald's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Really love Aomame's morally-ambiguous character but Tengo is annoying af.
Also the over-sexualisation of minors and insinuating that they wanted sex with a much older adult is just fucked up.
Also freshly-baked boobs. wtf is that.
Also the over-sexualisation of minors and insinuating that they wanted sex with a much older adult is just fucked up.
Also freshly-baked boobs. wtf is that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Stalking, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Gun violence, Slavery, and Pregnancy
Minor: Confinement
sarah984's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
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? No
1.0
This book really disappointed me. All of the characters sound fascinating in theory, and I liked the parallel universes idea, but the writing was just really bad. Important points are reiterated over and over like the reader might not be paying attention, and plot points are over-explained (there is a part in book 3 where the POV characters are constantly missing each other and the narration is constantly telling you exactly when they passed each other by even though it's obvious - it made me feel like Murakami thinks his readers are idiots).
All of the characters talk about taking control but just get pushed around by the narrative. Most of them hardly do anything at all.
The writing around underage girls is gross, especially a plot contrivance which allows a major character (who is a teacher!!) to have guilt-free sex with a teenage girl. All of the female characters are written very poorly and described by their breasts even when they are dead.
The romance that is basically the whole point of the book is ridiculous.
All of the characters talk about taking control but just get pushed around by the narrative. Most of them hardly do anything at all.
The writing around underage girls is gross, especially a plot contrivance which allows a major character (who is a teacher!!) to have guilt-free sex with a teenage girl. All of the female characters are written very poorly and described by their breasts even when they are dead.
The romance that is basically the whole point of the book is ridiculous.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Dementia, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death and Incest
Minor: Fatphobia and Car accident