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Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
82 reviews
jinglebellyee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Still thinking between 2 or 3 stars… I really want to love it because of the friendship struggles that the book explores (which personally hits very close to home) but oh man.. I absolutely can’t unds the part where Tsukuru was “accused” of “r@ping” his friend Shiro like what do you mean – you either did it or you didn’t!! It’s so violent and horrifying but yet the book didn’t conclude the part well (or so I thought) and it merely just ended with Shiro being mentally ill.. and brutally murdered?! And the murderer is on the loose!
It’s also very strange (and honestly disturbing) that Tsukuru has sexual dreams about his platonic female friends, and continues to talk about Kuro’s breasts and feminine touch when he met up with her WHILE he had Sara as his girlfriend. I wished they focused just on the friendship and the coming-of-age, adulting and self-identity struggles they each had, without going into unnecessary details about Tsukuru’s inner sexual desires that really didn’t add much to the story. Like isolation and loneliness, and having all your friends walk away and ignore you out of the sudden.. HURTS and they are so real! Which the author could have focused on, and explored more when they finally reunited. And the abstract meanings and life lessons that people like Sara, Haida bring to Tsukuru’s life.. so many more meaningful things to talk about.
I’m going to walk away from this story just remembering that Tsukuru is a h@rny guy that wants to screw all his female friends. Okay yknw what, 2 stars it shall be then
It’s also very strange (and honestly disturbing) that Tsukuru has sexual dreams about his platonic female friends, and continues to talk about Kuro’s breasts and feminine touch when he met up with her WHILE he had Sara as his girlfriend. I wished they focused just on the friendship and the coming-of-age, adulting and self-identity struggles they each had, without going into unnecessary details about Tsukuru’s inner sexual desires that really didn’t add much to the story. Like isolation and loneliness, and having all your friends walk away and ignore you out of the sudden.. HURTS and they are so real! Which the author could have focused on, and explored more when they finally reunited. And the abstract meanings and life lessons that people like Sara, Haida bring to Tsukuru’s life.. so many more meaningful things to talk about.
I’m going to walk away from this story just remembering that Tsukuru is a h@rny guy that wants to screw all his female friends. Okay yknw what, 2 stars it shall be then
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Abandonment
mxpringle's review against another edition
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
4.5
I love the dream like state this book put me in where I questioned what events in it were real and fake. The writing and the way the characters were so fleshed our really gripped me and I haven't read a book so quickly in forever. However, as a with a lot of Murakami's writing, I did have an issue with how he portrays women and sex, and his strong emphasis on the male gaze.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, and Murder
Minor: Eating disorder and Vomit
vincentblackshadow's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Moderate: Miscarriage
sawshiwen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
essentially, this feels like a rape fantasy book...?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Eating disorder and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death
seraphimgt's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I liked it better than Kafka at least. My major issue with this book was how it handled violence against women. My professor pointed out that many people believe that Murakami is commentating on how many violent and sexual crimes against women go unsolved in Japan, and the rate of these crimes are rising, but that didn't make what happened to Shiro/Yuzu any less uncomfortable to read. Plus, false accusations are incredibly rare so every time I see one portrayed, it kind of pisses me off because it perpetuates and inflates a dangerously inaccurate idea that many misogynists have. I'm not saying Murakami buys into the idea that many women lie about being raped, and the reveal that Shiro HAD in fact been raped by someone, just not Tsukuru I think gives him a little leeway, but it's just uncomfortable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Rape and Murder
ellagriffin_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Brewed coffee & false allegations. Thinking all you are is grey. Tokyo skies & bullet trains. Chlorine & matching suits. The cold that comes after people abandon you. An unplanned strong first step into Murakami’s work, with sadly more relatable subject matter than I care to admit. A dark mirror into my mind for the past little while.
I was hoping for a little more of the magical realism he is known for, and found the pace slower than necessary in parts. But at it’s core is beautiful prose, clear human observations & an infectious sense of place. Looking forward to rest of his collection. 🤍
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
rebekahelis's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
ccs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
elijahcole's review against another edition
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
1.0
nothing happened in this book and it still managed to piss me off to no end.
first 100ish pages i thought the main character was just a guy with textbook definition autism that led to him feeling like an outcast then, of course in classic murakami fashion, he was just a straight up shitty dude and he absolutely deserved it. he turned out to be a possible rapist?? and no one in this book took the rape accusations seriously? or cared that their friend was murdered because they were burdened by her being mentally unstable??
literally no resolution was reached and so many things were just thrown at the wall and never discussed again like tsukuru having a sex dream about/raping/being raped by haida (?)
first 100ish pages i thought the main character was just a guy with textbook definition autism that led to him feeling like an outcast then, of course in classic murakami fashion, he was just a straight up shitty dude and he absolutely deserved it. he turned out to
literally no resolution was reached and so many things were just thrown at the wall and never discussed again
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Eating disorder and Miscarriage
kaexilius's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts