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

Wow something about this book really hit. I can completely understand how some readers may not enjoy that story but the writing is beautiful. I almost always enjoy magical realism and this was such a complex story with so many turns, flashbacks, and tales from others but it is a worthwhile reading experience. The only aspect that I did not fully enjoy of understand was the main character, Toru Okada's relationship with a 16 year old girl named May. Aspects of this relationship didn't sit right with me. The character of May herself also toed the line of of being realistic and making me question her sanity. It felt as though the questions she asked and points she brought up although plausible for a 16 year went too far in her obsession with death and direful topics. Also for being described as an undeveloped teen her character felt overly sexualized.

ex. when Toru Okada comments on how she looked good in a bikini or her in a letter to Toru she speaks about feeling the urge to be naked and undressing when thinking about Toru.

Content Warnings

maybealexisreading's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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jckurtz's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

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acecatlady's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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grace_ocb's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was a wild ride. It felt like a fever dream throughout and the magical realism was both enchanting and terrifying. I was fascinated by the narration and all of the larger-than-life characters. I finished the book and immediately had to go read theories on the story and breakdowns of what had happened. I found the ending perfectly fitting and very satisfying in a way I wasn’t expecting. Definitely one of the more challenging books I’ve read lately and totally worth it.

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elyselani's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

verbamatic's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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