Reviews tagging 'Torture'

In the Miso Soup by Ryū Murakami

40 reviews

angeliteauraa's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Blood, Gore, Death, and Physical abuse

jan_coco_day's review

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Ryu Murakami is the superior Murakami. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Blood, Misogyny, Murder, Hate crime, Violence, Physical abuse, Death, Gore, Torture, Cursing, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

melodyseestrees's review

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.75

This is a gore-filled book and has a lot of violence against women characters. The majority of the killer's victims are women somewhere between high school age and their thirties. The killer talks about sex with the dying bodies of women in a particularly grotesque manner.

He slits one woman's throat, exposes her vagina, tries to get another man to fuck her as she is dying and then ends up putting a severed ear inside her. He also rants about dead woman's "pussy being the best best" because "the brain is dead but the pussy is still alive so there is no resistance."

There is one man killed as brutally as some of the women. There are two other men killed but not much detail is given. There is a homeless person who also dies with details given via the news.
The killer's motives for their actions are lackluster and dissatisfactory.

The killer has no motives behind killing or whom he chooses to kill. He just kills.

The killer's backstory and skillset are also very lackluster.

He learned how to slit throats without them gushing blood from people in reform schools. Even though he was 4-7 years old when he attacked his mom, killed a swan, or killed two people that are never described in detail. Oh and he was also into black magic and hypnosis too, of course.

This is a story to read if you love gore, hate women, and aren't fussed about the details. This is not what I look for in horror and I think it should be categorized as Gore Porn or light Splatterpunk instead.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Body shaming, Child death, Gore, Body horror, Fatphobia, Murder, Animal cruelty, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Torture, Animal death, and Rape

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Toxic friendship

The main character is in his twenties and dating a sixteen year old, at least one on-page victim is also a high schooler and may have been a minor.

jordanpmck's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Animal death, Murder, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Cannibalism, Mental illness, and Medical trauma

Minor: Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Rape, and Classism

bethany01's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Vomit, Gore, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence

graceehobbss's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this was more than just a thriller and that’s always how it should be

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore

snuffbby's review

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

had my heart racing, thought provoking, unpredictable and tangible. i really enjoyed this and at no point did i know what would happen next. this is my second of Murakami's books and i find his writing refreshing and visceral. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Sexual violence, Blood, Violence, Torture, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Vomit

gnothiseauton's review

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

What American Psycho wishes it could be 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, and Violence

joy_ong's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Rape, Animal cruelty, Excrement, Torture, Animal death, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Vomit

booksthoughtsandtea's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Oddly terrifying and fascinating. I am unsure if I think the mental illness representation further harms the mental health community (I'm in that community) or not. In some ways it shows the harm of forces institution, and how it does not help if the patient doesn't want to change. This book was very fatphobic. The only fat person in this whole story is an American... and it doesn't sit right with me. I think this book is a meditation on the fasination people have with foreigners, how classism is so prevalent in wealthy and less wealthy countries, lonliness,  and how we are all fascinated by death. Either way, this book had me empathize for the bad guy... That's a hard feat when murder is involved.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Stalking, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Animal death, Gore, Murder, Sexual violence, Torture, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Rape, and Drug abuse

Please take care of yourself and read the content warnings.