Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

In the Miso Soup by Ryū Murakami

63 reviews

sisa_moyo's review

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

This is Murakami at his most dark and twisted. This is about an American Frank who comes to Japan to tour the red light district through the services of Kenji, the tour guide. But as the night darkens and the 2 walk through the streets of Japan the mood and tone get darker, deadlier and murderous.
I think Murakami excels most in these shorter books. Compared to his longer book Coin locker babies which at times felt like it meandered into tangents a bit, this felt more whittled down and straight to the point.
In the miso soup is well written in my opinion, the descriptions of Frank, of Japanese night life are so vivid you can clearly picture it, and also feel the creeps from Frank. There was wonderful commentary on America vs the other, of Japanese condition, loneliness and poverty that made the book a spectacular read. 
I think while the ending was vague and extremely open ended I quite enjoyed it, the lack of concrete, blatant resolution keeps one thinking about the book long after it, about what happened to each character afterward. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Mental illness, Gore, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Self harm

yuuqen's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Of course, I'm not sure there is such a thing as a real self. You could ransack your innards looking for the real you and never find it—slice yourself open and all you'll find is blood and muscle and blood. 

Este es mi segundo libro de Ryū Murakami (El primero fue Audition). Se nota que tiene opiniones muy marcadas que no teme mostrar en su escritura. In the Miso Soup es una meditación interesante sobre las cosas que oriente y occidente aman, fetichisan y odian sobre la otra. Si bien el "antagonista" era obvio desde muy temprano en el libro, no por eso lo hizo menos tenso. La paranoia es un estado constante en donde la pregunta no es quién si no cuándo. Y cuando finalmente llega la explosión de violencia (Porque demora en llegar, y ese a mi parecer es su gran defecto), no decepciona.

No sabía que había tantas maneras diferentes de describir un cuello cortado a la mitad. La habilidad de Murakami de describir estos escenarios horripilantes y sangrientos es evidente!

. 

Reconozco que, desde un punto de vista cultural, muchas referencias pasaron por sobre mi cabeza. Es muy probable que haya disfrutado mucho más el libro si mi conocimiento sobre la cultura japonesa fuera más extenso. Lo de la sopa de miso por ejemplo, no terminé de entender pero la puse en mi lista de alimentos que tengo que probar :). Creo que ese no era el punto pero bueno.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Self harm

losevaliza's review against another edition

tense slow-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Violence

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

natalieanya's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Mental illness

epeolatrist's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.5

Incredibly gory and gruesome—I was drawn in by the bone-chilling suspense of part one and the stomach churning gore of part two, but felt part three dragged and ultimately bored me a bit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Self harm and Adult/minor relationship

calamitydane's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

3.0

I liked the first two sections but I really didn't like section 3. The descriptions were disturbing, but I like that. The last part and especially the ending, didn't seem to mesh with the rest.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Murder, Body horror, Suicide, Blood, Self harm, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Death, Suicide attempt, and Fatphobia

Minor: Cannibalism

bloupibloupreads's review against another edition

dark tense 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Self harm

snuffbby's review against another edition

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

joy_ong's review

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