Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

172 reviews

tilde_c_s's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Grief

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Death, and Alcoholism

etwasinspired's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

Second read. Murakami is the master of longing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Grief, and Mental illness

stuckduck's review against another edition

dark sad medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Mental illness

m4rtt4's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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? Yes

4.25

Naoko❤️‍🩹 I truly loved her.
Actually I really liked all the female characters, though they all more or less were also used as vessels for fulfilling the author's sexual fantasies — especially Midori, her personality at times was so pick-me-girly for the sole purpose of getting Watanabe's sexual attention.

This one was a re-read, and I must say I felt it so much more now at 20 — the main characters' age — than when I first read it at 16 years old. I've read all Murakami's novels, and even though I kind of miss the magical realism that was almost nonexistent in this book, it didn't really need it either as it was deep enough just like this. I just wish the metaphor of the "well" Naoko talked about in the beginning had appeared later on in the story, it should have had a greater purpose. Overall a very melancholic yet great reading experience, but for your own good, do consider skipping this if things related to suicide trigger you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Sexual content, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Medical content, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Violence, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Lesbophobia

redflyingbook's review against another edition

4.25

This was my first murakami novel - I did recognize some problematic aspects but altogether it was a stunning rendition of what might be some of the most formative years of a life. It beautifully depicts complex personalities and struggles that hit quite close to home, exploring topics like love, friendship and mental health in utterly poetic and emotional ways. I really did like the writing style.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, and Sexual content

ragingpages's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Grief, Cancer, Suicide, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, and Rape

anna_l's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Suicide, and Sexual content

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Blood

yorozuya's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-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

4.25

My first Murakami and despite travelling while I started the book, I devoured it in the little time I had!

There's some messed up bits in here I won't lie but the writing style is so smooth and the way these dark themes are explored are so intriguing! The way Murakami describes memories will definitely stay with me for a while to come, and so will that very first scene of nothing but a description of a forest and a well...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Dementia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Grief, Death, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, and Sexual content

halsteady's review against another edition

sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, and Death

Moderate: Homophobia

abbyluvsfrogs444's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

This was a hard book to rate and review. I've been off and on reading this for almost two years. It's not that I didn't like it, I just always found something better to read. This was such a complicated book. I have complicated feelings about it. Toru was duller than a butter knife. And I hated how the only thing he seemed to like about Naoko was her body. I don't believe that he loved her. He lusted her. Big difference. It felt very objectifying whenever he talked about Naoko. The way mental health is talked about is...interesting. I'm not sure Murakami gets it. And I don't think he understands women either. Stick to writing about your dull, little men, sir and leave women out of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, and Sexual content