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Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
15 reviews
orionstar109's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-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
4.5
I went into this book completely blind and founf myself not wanting to put it down after the first 20 pages.
The only reason I deducted from my rating is due to the author's comments about women in the story. He rarely makes an effort to describe the very few female characters in the story beyond their physical appearance and how the main character reacts to their presence, so -.5 for misogyny
The only reason I deducted from my rating is due to the author's comments about women in the story. He rarely makes an effort to describe the very few female characters in the story beyond their physical appearance and how the main character reacts to their presence, so -.5 for misogyny
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Fatphobia
emcatbee's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This book reminded me why I don't read books written by men. I have no idea how Murakami became a canonised author. His writing is fine I guess but it's eclipsed by the incel level misogyny and fatphobia. Not a single good portrayal of a woman in this book at all and to be honest the men didn't come off great either. One start because I guess the descriptive writing was fine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Misogyny
ran_sophia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I read the book a second time, and although I enjoyed it the first time, I enjoyed it a little more now. The main reason was that I wasn't confused at the beginning and knew the motives, the world of the book, and overall it made sense to me from the beginning. I found the writing and storytelling style to be very enjoyable. I also really liked the story and it was very nicely laid out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Violence, Animal death, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement
Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, Alcohol, Car accident, and Death
spicewitch's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
pretty sure this book is 60% misogyny by weight, and the other 40% was exhausting. an unenjoyable slog of a book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
lea333's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Misogyny, Animal death, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol
lea_liest's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, and Fatphobia
avocadotoastbee's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
"Unclose your mind. You are not a prisoner. You are a bird in flight, searching the skies for dreams."
Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami is mind-bending!
The description of the plot might dull the reading experience, since the novel is mainly plot-driven.
But here's some background information:
We follow an unnamed narrator into two different worlds - the Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World. The storylines alternate in chapters.
In the Hard-Boiled Wonderland, the narrator is a 35-year-old man who works as a Calcutec, a human computer/encoder that processes sensitive data. In this world, two organizations, the System and the Factory, fight over the data. The system employs Calcutecs, while the factory, which wants to sell data illegally, employs Semiotecs.
The narrator receives a new assignment and the story takes its course.
Meanwhile, The End of the World takes place in a minimalist setting - a town (also unnamed) surrounded by a huge wall with beasts, or rather unicorns, running around. All the people there have neither minds nor shadows and work only for the sake of working. The narrator is new in the town and is assigned the job of "Dreamreader".
In the first half of the novel, it is unclear whether the two stories take place simultaneously or consecutively. However, there are certain themes that appear in both stories that somehow connect them: Unicorns, skulls and paper clips.
Chapter 26 explains in detail the connection between the two worlds.
This made me root for the narrator to escape his fate in both worlds. Therefore, I was disappointed with the ending.
Nonetheless, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World is a prime example of Murakami's magical realism. The novel explores ideas such as consciousness, unrequited love, the feeling of being trapped, and forgiveness. His signature writing style is evident. There are allusions to jazz, certain books and movies, and, of course, (unfortunately) misogyny.
If you like other novels by Haruki Murakami, I'm sure you'll enjoy this book as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Body shaming
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Confinement
manel_'s review against another edition
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
airheadgallery's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
my thoughts on this book are very well mixed. the weird fixation on the professor’s granddaughter’s body is the first thing that hits you. i’ve read murakami before so i know stuff like this isn’t new but what was new to me was the weird descriptions of what the main character proposes how the granddaughter eats and his sexual desires towards “young, beautiful, fat women.” this could have been more bearable to read if the granddaughter wasn’t continuously referred to as “the professor’s chubby granddaughter” as opposed to the zero other professor’s granddaughters we’ve been introduced to in the book. there is a million more things i could say about this but on a positive note about the graddaughter i do like the fact that over time it’s revealed that she is smarter than the protagonist. yes her homeschooling and with her grandfather’s work but also by the way she handled the two guys who managed to create much trouble for the protagonist. she was just like “yeah two dweebs showed up and i shot one of them in the ear and they left.” insane. love it.
i will say the premise of the book was incredibly interesting and i think as a whole this is probably one of murakami’s best works (even though it’s not my absolute favourite). i like the two stories going back and forth, while also reflecting each other. it has really cool imagery throughout the book, while i might have not liked it all the time, i could exactly imagine what the author was talking about.
i know some people didn’t like the name dropping in the book but i felt like it wasn’t for no reason and added to the overall vibe. i also might be saying this because i did buy the stranger by camus while also getting this book unknowing it was mentioned so i felt a little pride while reading. however i also feel like the name dropping can also tell you a little something about the character. i couldn’t tell you what, i haven’t read any of those books, so i wouldn’t know.
i will say the premise of the book was incredibly interesting and i think as a whole this is probably one of murakami’s best works (even though it’s not my absolute favourite). i like the two stories going back and forth, while also reflecting each other. it has really cool imagery throughout the book, while i might have not liked it all the time, i could exactly imagine what the author was talking about.
i know some people didn’t like the name dropping in the book but i felt like it wasn’t for no reason and added to the overall vibe. i also might be saying this because i did buy the stranger by camus while also getting this book unknowing it was mentioned so i felt a little pride while reading. however i also feel like the name dropping can also tell you a little something about the character. i couldn’t tell you what, i haven’t read any of those books, so i wouldn’t know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Fatphobia