Reviews tagging 'Death'

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

135 reviews

iris_lrf's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

This is one of the worst best books you will ever read. Murakami will sprout some of the most deep, poetic words imaginable, but it will be right after the fifteen-year-old protagonist

fucks the ghost of his still-alive maybe-mother

. It is a perfect example of the magic realism genre, and by that I mean it makes absolutely zero sense.

The ending, too, is ridiculously vague. I suppose I should be glad there's a chance she wasn't his mother, but potentially incestuous vampirism sure is something I hadn't considered before. Also, what the fuck was that worm thing about?

 

I haven't read anything else by Murakami (and I don't intend to), but according to others, a gripping style, adamant homo/transphobia, and obsessive Freudianism are all staples of his works. And this book is no different: a modern (at the time) retelling of Oedipus Rex where the protagonist is newly fifteen, fully aware of the prophecy, and - I cannot stress this enough - actively choosing to pursue it. It's technically not pedophilia because Japanese laws are different than in the west, but still. Come on. What the hell. Oh, and his sister's in the prophecy too. I'll let you guess which part. You think this review is running a little long? You haven't even SEEN the number of content warnings I'm going to slap on this bad boy.
All that said, even with one protagonist whose only character traits are "Oedipus complex" and "teenage boy," another who is just a walking autism stereotype (I mean, a child in a man's body? Come on), and a whole cast of chronically horny sociopaths, it SOMEHOW manages to be a page-turner. Truly one of the few books that you wish with all your heart you could put down, but are forced by some external power to continue reading until your sanity finally breaks. Because trust me, it will break. For me it happened around chapter five. 
So yeah, if multitudes of

needlessly graphic incest, VERY borderline pedophilia, pointless vagueness, childhood trauma, a trans man literally calling himself a woman of his own accord, gore, violence towards animals, AND MORE

are all things you can stand, sure. Go ahead. But don't say I didn't warn you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Transphobia, Murder, Violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual content

Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, Incest, Misogyny, Outing, Pedophilia, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Alcohol, Murder, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Transphobia

Minor: Cursing

nvemihere's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Rape

burnsys_books_811's review against another edition

1.5

I hate this book. I think honestly that Murakami is just not for me. While interesting in it's surrealist elements, there is far too much description of the 15y/o mc's penis to be an enjoyable read. I also don't like the aloof way a lot of really serious topics are handled in this book, as though they mean nothing. It's just a grossly uncomfortable read and I don't feel as though anything was gained from reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Grief, and Death

lea333's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Incest, and Rape

Moderate: Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Death, and Animal death

mariekeroos's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Grief, Incest, Murder, Rape, and Sexual content

espea's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual assault, Gore, and Death

Minor: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and War

onekid1egg's review against another edition

funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

really enjoyed the writing, taking some points off for the graphic oedipal details
i found the second story going along at the same time to be more enjoyable at parts, but I liked how they intertwined 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Death of parent, and Death

moonknitter's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.0

In terms of the plot it was definitely a very interesting book and I loved the magical realism elements and many aspects of how the book was written but I hated he main character. The chapters traded off between essentially the story of Nakata (and later Hoshimo) and the story of Kafka, Oshima and Miss Saeki. I wish the whole book was just the story of Nakata and Hoshimo. These characters were the most loveable, I found myself laughing out loud at things Hoshimo said. On the other hand, Kafka is just a teenage boy. I got very tired of hearing about his cock in this story. I get it, he is a teenage boy and this is a major theme. But all of the Oedipus stuff was pretty weird and I didn’t find him likeable as a chapter. He took himself too seriously and so did Oshima. It also would have been nice to have more female characters who were not just there to be sexual objects for the teenage boy/fulfill his weird mom issues. The gender identity of Oshima was an interesting topic but I felt like the way it was discussed between the two still felt contrived or something. Overall I did like this book but literally could have done without half of it I would hav been happy to just read about Nakata and Hoshimo and what they get up to together. This book also was very easy to imagine as a movie and I could see all of the characters as different actors. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Animal death, Sexual content, Murder, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Death and Abandonment

Minor: Rape

madamenovelist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Body horror, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Sexual violence, Rape, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Grief, Gore, and Incest

To elaborate on content warnings: Two different instances of incest, both involving an adult & a minor. One was consensual in the real world and another was rape in a shared dream. The animal cruelty is extremely gruesome and involves cats, so cat lovers should brace or skip this book altogether.

mandycollaud's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Sexual content, Murder, Gore, Torture, Rape, Incest, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, and Misogyny

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: War and Suicidal thoughts