Reviews with content warning for War - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Reviews tagging 'War'

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

63 reviews

cheuksin's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark slow-paced

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

3.5

First time reading a Murakami book , when people said his writing was overly horny they really weren’t joking
Malta Kano was wearing a trench coat. The lapels were closed tight across the front, but from the subtle fragrance of a woman’s naked flesh I could tell she was wearing nothing underneath.
It never really explained why toru okada doesn’t speak to his family
The sexualisation of the 16 year old May Kasahara is uncomfortable
At least it didn’t have a Cliff hanger
“She told me that the baby’s name was Corsica and that half the baby’s father was me, while the other half was Lieutenant Mamiya.” Isn’t lieutenant mamiya an elderly man, also when the fuck did they even meet like did I miss something?

Content Warnings

nicolelis's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

4.5

Took me forever and a day to read but very good! A lot of plots going on and some occasionally disturbing stuff, but I'd recommend!

Content Warnings

dakotahreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

abisnail564's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

1.0

Content Warnings

kaitlyn_avecado's review

Go to review page

slow-paced

1.5

I just...So many people said this book was 10 out of 10. I've read one other of his books, but after reading this.....I'm never reading Murakami again. I hate how his books focus on an uninteresting, unemployed male character who never seems to care about anything happening around him. Murakami's portrayal of female characters is the kicker for me. He only writes about eccentric women who float about the protagonist and have sex with him. It feels like he adds trauma to the female characters to make them "deeper/more interesting". I slogged through this book hoping it would get better. Finally, some plot unfolds in the last 50 pages. Not worth it. SKIP

Content Warnings

shannanigans's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

Content Warnings

ninthwave's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

It feels too soon to review this book. I'm giving it three and 1/2 stars for now, but may change that later. I believe I'll have a better understanding after it has had some time to sink in.

As far as basic enjoyment goes, I didn't realize it would be quite so violent. I understand the necessity of it in the narrative, I just didn't expect it going in. If you haven't read it and are considering doing so, it is very graphic.

It's interesting that readers spend so much intimate time with the main character in his head, yet very few of the other characters with whom he interacts ever address him by his first name; indeed, only one character ever addresses him by his first name alone, and only once, as I recall. This decision by the author is an effective technique that increases the sense of distance between the protagonist and his world.

This was well-written, but I preferred 1Q84's story.

It's difficult to assign a star rating. There's plenty of symbolism and some of the prose is beautiful. However, the pacing dragged for me at certain points, and I didn't find the tale as a whole consistently compelling, particularly some of Mamiya's recollections. Comparing Murakami to Murakami, I think 1Q84 is the stronger work.

Content Warnings