Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Audition by Ryū Murakami

39 reviews

mermaidsherbet's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Torture, Body horror, Toxic relationship, and Child abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Cancer, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Sexism, Cursing, Gore, Murder, Alcohol, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, and Medical content

spooky_coochie's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.5

has a few great moments really dissecting how ridiculously high standards are for women and how men will completely disregard a woman's personhood in favor of their fantasy. Aoyama can only think of women as a dichotomy of good and bad, despite being told - "nice person, bad person, that's not the level this girl is at," and his eventual concession that she "was not a nice girl, but that was how he decided to think of her."

And OF COURSE the final third goes hard.

But I hate to say, Takashi Miike's film adaptation really elevates the source material. For starters, the tension building doesn't really work as well in the book - probably because we're really only in Aoyama's mind, and not getting things like flashes of Asami waiting by the phone or feeding vomit to a tongueless bag man (who is not present in the book at all).

It's fine that the violence and horror isn't as overt in the book, but it is so very unsubtle about Asami's motivations by the end. As Aoyama is being poisoned, he stops a moment and spells out Asami's entire psyche - oh, she must hate men because of her abuse and therefore wants to remove their feet just like her stepdad who molested her blah blah blah. It goes on for a page or so explaining everything in no uncertain terms. Like, thanks, I gathered that. And it's so unnatural, too - why would he have this moment pondering her entire schtick and thoroughly psychoanalyzing her when he's minutes from getting gored? Perhaps the bluntness is partially a translation issue, but even then, I think Miike draws this out much better. The film's not exactly subtle in how it connects the dots between Asami's past and her violent tendencies, but it's a bit more artful than this.

Anyways, I hate to say but I'd probably like this better had I not already seen the film adaptation. In comparison, this feels like...a half-baked treatment of the film script. Which obviously isn't the case, but...

also, and this is of course not Ryu Murakami's fault, I really cannot get over how atrociously bad this release's cover art is!!!! My other thought is that, based on how he's written women in the books by him I've read, Haruki Murakami totally would have fallen for Asami's shtick and had his feet removed lol 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Pedophilia, Homophobia, Sexism, Transphobia, and Misogyny

thespencerj's review

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Gore, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, and Sexual content

Minor: Murder

kamurphy919's review

dark mysterious sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Murder, Torture, and Death

montyroz's review

dark medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Stalking, Torture, and Violence

themadbloodstone's review against another edition

dark tense 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

3.75

While I do appreciate this novel, the two things that nearly brought me to give up on it was its slow pace and prose that felt longer than it should. However, it is not to say that it did not serve a purpose. You forget that you are reading a Ryū Murakami book and find yourself thinking you’re reading a little romance between lonely Aoyama and mysterious dream girl Yamasaki Asami. You, the reader, even glances over the explicit red flags the iconic villainess has left behind.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal cruelty, Torture, Animal death, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content, Pedophilia, Mental illness, and Child abuse

Minor: Misogyny

sspaghettiboness's review

dark sad tense medium-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

5.0

I am always in total awe when I read Murakami’s works, and this novel was absolutely no exception. The way he unfolded the story of a man going from widower to head-over-heels in love was well paced, and littered with painfully accurate descriptions of those feelings. The way you first meet someone and become completely enamoured, the way a person will dig so deep to quell any possible notion of them being anything other than perfect. That heart fluttering moment of trying to decide when to best touch their hand for the first time, or when do you go in for the kiss? 

But this is not a love story. 

It was extremely painful to read, at many points. So many other characters were constantly pointing to the faults in Aoyama’s mental gymnastics to prove his beliefs right. It made me want to stick my hands into the pages and just slap his face. 

The last two chapters are, of course, a dazzling masterpiece of macabre. This is the second time I’ve noticed Ryu using this particular method of violence, which I found very interesting. I don’t want to say more and give it all away, but, the last chapter had me white knuckling the book. 

I could go on and on about how much I love Ryu, probably forever, but I digress. Yet another amazing read. I wish more of his works were translated into English. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Gore, Torture, and Violence

owlribbon's review

dark tense

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Gore

Moderate: Infidelity, Grief, and Death

cozyscones's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Torture, and Sexual content

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, and Grief

minayana's review against another edition

dark medium-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

3.5

You ever read a book and you’re not quite sure why you liked it as much as you did?
Objectively, this is a pretty average book but it’s a fun and quick read. I’ve been in quite a reading slump recently, and this definitely got me out of it. There was just something about this book that was so unserious and I found it to be ridiculous and funny at times lol. 
This book is riddled with misogyny and very much written by a man. Personally, I didn’t feel a lot of the tension or the build up. I think this is a book that would be a lot better going in blind. I don’t think I enjoyed the book in the way that I was supposed to…..but I actually did end up liking it in an odd way and idk the book was kinda camp lol 3.5 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Violence, Sexism, Animal death, Torture, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual assault