Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Norwegian Wood

MURAKAMI CANNOT WRITE WOMEN.
Like, seriously. His depiction of women, whom—unlike the other books of his I read—take up most of the energy in this book, is horrendous. They don’t feel like real characters. They feel like manic pixie dream girls envisioned by a man who doesn’t interact with women. And maybe that adds to the naïve narration of Toru, but some scenes are truly disgusting and quite frankly irredeemable. It’s a shame, since otherwise the prose is magnificently-written and immersive. The Murakami charm is definitely there: I felt like I was drawn into late 1960s Japan and could relate to the wistfulness of young adulthood portrayed. Unfortunately, the way in which women are portrayed in this book make “Norwegian Wood” one of my least-favourites from Murakami.

Content Warnings

cassieperry's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I would definitely check the trigger warnings before reading this book.

Most of this book is exceptionally good. The writing style is freshly simple. I enjoyed the characters perspective and degree to which things are shared with the reader.

However, the casual acceptance of language discussing sexual violence and the blatant sexism in this book is too distracting and disgusting to consider giving it a higher reading. It pulled me out of the book whenever it occurred and made me disdainful for the author.

Content Warnings

ford_defect's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

ldoppstadt's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

2.0

Content Warnings

aisclaradm's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

Slow-moving romance novel. I quite enjoyed it, but I couldn't pinpoint what I liked about it and sometimes found myself bored or uncomfortable with certain elements. I think I was hoping for more from the book about which I had heard so many rave reviews (hence my missing star and a bit) but overall it was lovely, with a beautiful ending.

Content Warnings

fatima_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

2.0

Content Warnings

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