Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri

9 reviews

squidknees's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Murder, Suicide, Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Violence, Child death, Grief, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and War

lowercase_ron's review

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Suicide, and Death

zoiejanelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.0

some words other reviewers used to describe this book that i find accurate:

• melancholy
• meandering
• solemn
• poetic

this was a fascinating look into japanese culture and gave a simultaneously realistic and depressing view of the religious, class, and economic issues japanese people still deal with today. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Child death, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Alcohol and Classism

Minor: War and Violence

chrisljm's review against another edition

reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.0

The narration was very stream of consciousness, but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. However, something I did appreciate from the novel was how it lingered in my head and gave me things to think about afterwards. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Torture, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexual content, Blood, and Suicide

savvylit's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

My favorite books lately have been short in length while still packing a massive punch, and Tokyo Ueno Station is no exception. This novel is a masterpiece examination of class, despair, migrant labor, grief, poverty, generational trauma, cultural attitudes towards the homeless, globalism, and mortality. The story is nonlinear; a perfect fit for the way one would imagine a spirit experiencing memory.

This is the first book I have ever read that not only has a homeless narrator, Kazu, but also heavily features a community of folks who live in temporary dwellings. Yu Miri has created an unflinching and empathetic glimpse into the margins of modern Japanese society.

Lastly, Kazu's descriptions of the scenery and historical anecdotes grant readers a clear image of the physical setting. Thus, Ueno Park essentially becomes as real of a character as Kazu himself.

I can't stop thinking about this powerful book. I hope you'll read it, too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Violence

Minor: War and Hate crime

ollie_again's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Child death and Death

Minor: Death of parent, Animal death, Suicide, and Violence

arinowasabi's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Violence and War

nuka_lola's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Suicide, and Hate crime

Minor: Violence

marywahlmeierbracciano's review

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

There's no use sugar-coating it--this book is sad.  It follows Kazu, an aging man experiencing homelessness in a park near Ueno Station in Tokyo.  A working class everyman from a dialect-speaking region of Japan, he spends most of his life laboring in faraway cities, dutifully sending money home to his family.  Now that he's dead, he can't seem to leave the park where he spent his final years.  He reflects on the events that lead him here, including coincidental connections to the imperial family which fail to bring him good fortune.  This slim, chapterless volume reflects primarily on class disparity and grief.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Suicide and Death

Minor: Violence, Animal death, and Death of parent