Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

30 reviews

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

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

Minor: Suicide attempt, Confinement, and Torture

destroycilantro's review against another edition

mysterious reflective relaxing slow-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? Yes

3.0

Started reading this book and couldn’t put it down and then the plot got really slow and I put it up on a shelf and forgot about it for about 3 years. Finally finished it and I must say I have a million criticisms of this book. At the very least it was poetic to read the ending of this book as the characters narratively return the beginning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, and Body shaming

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

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

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

Minor: Gore

risemini's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Violence, Alcohol, and Dementia

delekelll's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I think the max I can give this book is 4 stars, because I enjoyed it and it was enthralling, but THE sex scene  and the gratuitous focus on every single female characters boobs threw me off. (hey murakami is that something you can speak to ????) I enjoyed the way that the secrets of the novel were given out very slowly, and I thought the ending was great. I think that now I've read both favorite books of someone who was not the nicest to me I understand more about them. Also, I feel like I should have taken longer to read this book. 1170 pages in 4 days is a lot. But, I felt the need to finish and move out of the cat town while the train still stopped for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Dementia, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

Minor: Death, Rape, Animal death, Death of parent, and Religious bigotry

Definitely unsettling, when it is not outright morally reprehensible. However, it was a very fascinating book and some of the triggering materials related to the above content warnings were justified in being included in the novel.

ameliaszosz's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

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

3.0

The plot kept me going but this really isn't for everyone. The sex stuff is weird in a way that only detracts from the reading experience. It's not my favorite Murakami.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Pedophilia

Minor: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual violence

pedroelizabeth's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Drug use, and Sexual content

kibiiiariii's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

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

quixie's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I loved this book until about half way through then I started to trudge through it. The novel was too long and bloated, but I still liked it. Too many references to breasts and public hair, though, and the sex scenes made me laugh. Loved the fantasy element, didn't really feel the romance. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Violence, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Murder