Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Kafka on the Shore

Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

303 reviews

luciuh's review against another edition

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

woooww!!!!! this is my first murakami book and i can firmly say that 1) he’s an amazing author and that 2) he’s an absolute freak. i think this is one of those books where i understood so much reading it, but still feel that there is so much more to understand about it. it’s characters exist in this strange state of conscious and unconscious, magical realism to a T… if only he would write women well.

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ericispublius's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

A lot of mysteries in this piece, unraveled slowly unto the end — we walked away with some unanswered. Murakami knits a world that rhymes with ours, but is eerily different. He taps into Japanese folklore in a way that is easy to pick up for the novice

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pasfer92's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective fast-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

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lio_ramon_dolor's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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anamelon's review against another edition

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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? N/A

0.25

One of those books where if there was an accidental fire in a library and this was the only book that was burnt, the library would actually become better.

This book was mostly a bunch of nonsensical drivel built up to look like a well put together castle meant to give you the impression that it is actually grand and outstanding.

Reading this was a huge waste of time. The writing itself was mediocre with no nuance or any type of impressive prose.
The only mildly interesting plot points were the initial interviews of the children fainting and following Nakata's journey and his dynamic with Hoshino, though even that turned quite insipid towards the end.
I can definitely see why Murakami is said to be the Colleen Hoover of Japan. Bad pacing, bad storytelling, flat characters, no real character to the story itself just an air of pretentiousness to the story made to make you think "this is so intellectual I could never understand it".
I always try finding any type of positivity from books I read, even those I hate with a passion like Prince Harry's "Spare" which was so bad to the point of hilarity, at least. I can't even say that for this book, just relies on a bunch of shock value one after the other to make it memorable in some way because God knows its writing isn't enough to be remarkable. Only time I've read Murakami and I wish for anyone else to spare themselves and not make the same mistake

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smalljules's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

I have no idea how to rate this book, explain it, or even how to feel after finishing it.
Magical realism was a new genre for me but I think I enjoyed that aspect of it.
There were parts of this book that made me laugh, cry, scream “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK”, and parts that had me questioning my own sanity.
I think I really liked it.
I have no idea if I would recommend this book.
But I am so glad I read it.

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