Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

28 reviews

kerrence30's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

The main idea of the story was good, the complexities of the magical realism part were a bit forced, in my opinion, as at times it made sense, but other times it didn’t, and was covered up by characters saying “I can’t explain it, I just know” and you’re expected to roll with that. If you do then fine, it’s a fun story of parallel universes. My only sticking point is the gratuitous sex. There is a fair amount of description of the bodies of minor characters, of which doesn’t add anything to the story. For example, going into detail about how the two underage girls touched eachother doesn’t then lead her to realise she as attracted to women… it’s unnecessary, and I can’t imagine why… I listened to the audiobook and eventually skipped 30 seconds once I realised where it was going. 
That’s the only reason why I could rate this so high. It was otherwise a well written and unique story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Pedophilia and Pregnancy

Minor: Child abuse and Rape

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

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

kypo's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

This book was good for around the first 2/3 of it but the last half dragged on unnecessarily. I got the feeling the author didn’t know how to end the story. The concept of the novel is intriguing though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Kidnapping, 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

brandiereadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

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

lisas_novel_idea's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Suicide attempt