Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro

7 reviews

franksreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Misogyny and Pregnancy

Minor: Murder, War, and Toxic relationship

nineinchnails's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

the end threw me for a loop but i still really enjoyed this! there was a lot of loose ends (and ambiguity) which had this feeling a little anticlimactic but i’m sure i’ll get much more out of this novel on a reread. it does feel a little underdeveloped but it was still really engaging.

this was pretty eerie and atmospheric at parts - it almost felt like a horror, which does explain feeling slightly cheated by the ending. despite how short this was (183 pages) it felt much longer somehow; even the side characters felt relatively complex and well developed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Suicide, and Misogyny

Moderate: Murder, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Child death, Animal death, and Grief

Minor: War

Child neglect

bhargavi_lawbookskettlebells's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Animal death, and Murder

emmacb's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

Having tried to read another book by this author and sort of lost interest halfway through, I didn't have high hopes but wanted to give a celebrated writer another shot! I enjoyed this book, but would have liked to learn more about some of the events in the story. 
I know the focus is on the characters recollection of past events, but I still would have liked to know more about

what happened with her and her husband in Japan, then in America and how that affected her daughter,

rather than leaving it completely unresolved for the reader 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Animal cruelty, Sexism, and Death

Minor: Murder

Brief mention of infanticide

sketchydelusion's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Sexism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Murder, Domestic abuse, War, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcoholism, Classism, Death, and Colonisation

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

Just eerie vibes the whole time but I would expect nothing less from this man

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicide, Animal death, Child death, Murder, War, Colonisation, and Genocide

ajdotcom's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

This book reminded me of a David Lynch movie, in that I felt that there was some great thematic narrative just beyond my reach, but I didn't quite understand it. Ishiguro's minimalist style leaves room for reader inference, and the entire book, especially the parts set in Japan, have an overwhelming sense of foreboding. This contrasts with the parts set in England, where Etsuko is looking back at tragedy rather than feeling it coming. This book is complex, and I think it is about many different things- family, grief, cultural and generational differences, pre- and post-war Japan. I wouldn't recommend it if you need to "understand" a story or reach a satisfying ending (or really any ending at all)- I'd say this is written in a way that allows you to drift with the ominous flow of the storytelling. I was entirely wrapped up in it and the tone, moreso than the plot, will stay with me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Grief, and Suicide

Minor: Murder

A major plot point is the recent suicide of the narrating character's daughter; the circumstances of this are discussed, but there is not a play-by-play description.

There are mentions of child murders at two points, the first with no explicit detail and the second with one graphic detail mentioned almost in passing. These sections make up a total of probably four sentences.