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fkshg8465's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.0
Weird and slightly disturbing, but u think that was the point of the self reflective journey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Pregnancy, Rape, Dementia, Blood, Death, Child death, Infidelity, and Murder
lilreddress's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really enjoy Murakami, but find him hard work (possibly as a result of the translation rather than the original writing) and the female characters are comically awful at times.
I think nothing would have been lost if we just didn't mention the aunt or child's breasts at any time. It was pretty irrelevant to the story, and was pretty uncomfortable coming from a male writer. I think a female author would have probably left them out, or at least would have written female voices in a more realistic way.
The length is also questionable. I kept stopping reading to go read something else instead and coming back to it. I don't mind slow paced, and in fact the artist holed up in the country cottage gave some nice cosy vibes, and I loved reading about the everyday parts of life. However, this was truly glacial. Could have cut a hundred pages and still had the story intact, I think.
This is one of his weaker ones, but still very good. And definitely matches the level of weirdness I have come to expect.
I think nothing would have been lost if we just didn't mention the aunt or child's breasts at any time. It was pretty irrelevant to the story, and was pretty uncomfortable coming from a male writer. I think a female author would have probably left them out, or at least would have written female voices in a more realistic way.
The length is also questionable. I kept stopping reading to go read something else instead and coming back to it. I don't mind slow paced, and in fact the artist holed up in the country cottage gave some nice cosy vibes, and I loved reading about the everyday parts of life. However, this was truly glacial. Could have cut a hundred pages and still had the story intact, I think.
This is one of his weaker ones, but still very good. And definitely matches the level of weirdness I have come to expect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault, Stalking, Rape, Alcohol, and Confinement
Minor: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, War, Abortion, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Dementia, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Murder
georgiarybanks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Child death, and Rape
nimra's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
a portrait artist sets out for a journey in his car after getting divorced and gets settled in his friend Masahiko's dad and famous artist, Tomohiko Amada's isolated house on a mountain. Soon he finds himself invested in the history of this house and Tomohiko Amada, so sucked in the mystery of it all that it's too late to get out. the book follows him on his day to day solitary routine and development of his character as he starts unveiling secrets about the house and it's inhabitant.
if i were to categorise this book in genre, i couldn't have because it contains so many elements from different genres; at times it was a horror, definitely a historical fiction and absolutely a work of magical realism.
these 681 pages were a true journey and one that i am grateful to have taken.
the only thing i would have appreciated more would have been some closure of Mr. Menshiki's life.
now i am all here for an open ending but a detailed exploration of Menshiki's character would've been amazing since there was too much suspense built around him and i was anticipating it, other than that though, i don't think i have another complain with this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Rape
Moderate: Child death and Death
Minor: Confinement
sneako's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Grief, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Death, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Dementia
Minor: Torture
some more content notes: lengthy discussions of the sudden death of a parent, and the sudden death of a sibling (as memories from the past, not current events). / there is a creepy relationship which is never explicitly said to be pedophilic or incestuous but is sort of implied that it might be, and it involves some stalking. there is no violence against the child, however. / there is also a scene in which a character asks the protagonist to choke her during sex which brings him to some dark psychological places. / the rape scene is a dream/fantasy and does not occur in "real life." / there is a decapitation scene which is brief but bloody and graphic. / there is discussion of war crimes including the various mass killings of nazi germany, kristallnacht, and the nanking massacre.
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