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shelbytheduck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Pedophilia, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Child abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Sexual assault
maac's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts
GODD THIS WAS SO EW i would rather put my finger in a mouse trap before i interact with this ok basically EVERY SINGLE WOMAN (which totaled to about 6) had a sexual relationship with the men. INCLUDING a 17 year old girl. which murakami attempts to justify?!??!??? the only reason i finished this was because i was so far in. all the women are over sexualized, the plot drags on but is still somewhat interesting to keep you reading (or bc u got like 500 pages in and figured u might as well finish it), all of it just makes you feel sick and while there’s some interesting parts none of the sickening parts needed to be addedajhoppel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Torture
ktrecs's review against another edition
- 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
1.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Dementia, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Gun violence
qi_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
- book 1 = a much slower character study and can see that people might stop reading at this point since the plot meanders for while. however, since i enjoy character driven stories i didn't mind.
- book 2 = plot picks up but not as fast as i expected. start to uncover the background but still was left unsure of where the plot would go because it was still a little bit stagnent.
- book 3 = plot picks up again but it didn't feel rushed and was actually still quite slow and i was approaching the end and was still like so what is gonna happen. it did feel a little repetitive between the perspectives though.
- ending = i have so many questions but im not mad about it ?? i would have gladly read another couple hundred pages just to answer the questions. however, i still felt satisfied which is quite weird.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
blueberryhotel's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Death, and Incest
Minor: Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence
randanopterix's review
- 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? Yes
3.75
Weird book. Worth reading! But I don’t think I’ll be reading it again.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Murder
dorathebald's review
- 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? No
4.5
Also the over-sexualisation of minors and insinuating that they wanted sex with a much older adult is just fucked up.
Also freshly-baked boobs. wtf is that.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Slavery, Stalking, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Slavery
Minor: Confinement
juliecantread's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug use, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence
notsayingrevolutionbut's review
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
Not in the same way that TSOA broke me, where I turned into a husk, but more like I think I saw the time-knife from The Good Place flash before my eyes
Anyway, this review will be unstarred because I don't know how to place such values on this book and I do not care to try. As for my thoughts: I have no thoughts. I present only a bulleted list of stream-of-consciousness reactions for posterity (includes mentions of canonical self-harm, rape, blood, and murder):
- the reading experience goes from good to GREAT if you listen to Janáček's Sinfonietta at the same time
- the content warnings needed for this book could form a robust companion novella
- if I hear about the size of someone's breasts one more time, I will eat my hat and yours too
- I would probably do anything for Tamaru
- (whispers softly) what the fuck is going on
- I, too, would like to corrupt my blood vessels by way of various literary intrigues
- found family assassin! style is the surest way to my heart
- have I mentioned Tamaru
- even though my brain is burning, I can appreciate how masterfully this is written
- looking at the moon? IN THIS ECONOMY???
- I haven't seen pacing this good since Nirvana in Fire, and that is the highest compliment I can possibly give
- singing a little Broadway ditty to myself in order to cope
- hELP
And now, on to quotes that present Liz thinks future Liz might enjoy:
"The moon had been observing the earth close-up longer than anyone. It must have witnessed all of the phenomena occurring-- and all of the acts carried out-- on this earth. But the moon remained silent; it told no stories. All it did was embrace the heavy past with cool, measured detachment." [p. 244]
"But decent motives don't always produce decent results. And the body is not the only target of rape. Violence does not always take visible form, and not all wounds gush blood." [p. 275]
"Tamaru is a man who keeps his word. He might kill you without hesitation if necessary, but even so, he would care for your rubber plant to the end." [p. 610]
"This is what it means to live on. When granted hope, a person uses it as fuel, as a guidepost to life. It is impossible to live without hope." [p. 705]
"'I'm like a rock wall,' Tamaru said. 'Plus, when it comes to being gay, I'm in the big leagues.'" [p. 742] [you and me both, Tamaru. You and me both]
"Hi, how are you? Check out the process of elimination." [p. 775]
"They were not very healthy-looking blood vessels-- blood vessels damaged by years of drinking, smoking, an unhealthy lifestyle, and various literary intrigues." [p. 878] [new life goal unlocked]
"To him, this was no longer a fictional world. This was the real world, where red blood spurts out when you slice open your skin with a knife. And in the sky in this world, there are two moons, side by side." [p. 880]
"That's fine. It's my gift to you. If it gets troublesome to have, just toss it into Tokyo Bay. The world will take one small step closer to disarmament." [p. 976] [quoth Tamaru my beloved]
"That familiar, yellow, solitary moon. The same moon that silently floated over fields of pampas grass, the moon that rose-- a gleaming, round saucer-- over the calm surface of lakes, that tranquilly beamed down on the rooftops of fast-asleep houses. The same moon that brought the high tide to shore, that softly shone on the fur of animals and enveloped and protected travelers at night. The moon that, as a crescent, shaved slivers from the soul-- or, as a new moon, silently bathed the earth in its own loneliness. That moon." [p. 1015]
And that's all, folks! I don't know what just happened in this book, I don't know if I will ever be the same again, and you should probably read it if you also wish to experience those feelings. I am going to lie down and not get up for the foreseeable future.
Graphic: Violence and Sexual content
Moderate: Rape, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Torture and Self harm