Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

303 reviews

vinicoelho's review against another edition

mysterious reflective 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

3.5

Definitely will need to re-read. I liked how Murakami explored themes of fate/destiny and taking charge of one's life. The magical realism element was captivating and added a lot of depth, especially centering around the quote from Yeats and responsibility beginning in dreams. This is my first Murakami but the consensus seems to be that he writes women poorly and this is no exception. The women in this book are one dimensional and are always immediately described in sexual terms. They are less characters and more means to self-actualization for the protagonist. Lots of weird stuff surrounding sex including

a dream sequence in which Kafka rapes his 'sister' in a dream sequence. This is touched on later by Kafka saying the equivalent of 'man that was wrong huh' and using the experience to further his introspective journey.

I understand the unreliable narrator and we are deep in the mind of a 15 year old who is on his own for the first time but I feel like such a heavy topic could've been treated with more tact. All in all, I do think there is a lot here and Murakami's dreamy writing style is nothing short of beautiful. I definitely need to re-read to catch some themes and symbols I missed the first time around

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Animal cruelty

glitterhobbit's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Incest

This is not what I was expecting. I liked the first half and then it got really weird and not in a good way. A really disturbing sexual relationship between a 50-something woman and 15 year old boy. Not a fan. There also is zero tension for most of the book. The MC runs away and manages to escape any consequences or danger. Not as good as I was hoping. The rating is for the concepts, which I thought were interesting.

risemini's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Rape, Sexual content, Death, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Self harm, Violence, and Incest

10000hats's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

My first Murakami, so I don't really have anything to compare to but it was definitely hard to put down. It's one of those reread some lines over and over again books in order to really get what was going like. Very dreamcore, nonsensical/pos, and kinda absurd. Could almost say Kafkaesque but I wouldn't go that far. Left me in a bit of turmoil and frustration honestly, though I was very sad for some of the secondary characters. INTERESTING THOUGH, WOULD RECCOMEND.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Abandonment and War

Minor: Child abuse

quixie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Incest, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

spacewahine's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

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

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

morag's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Animal cruelty, Ableism, Animal death, Torture, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: War

minisaucisse's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Murakami is a wierd dude who only write women to give sex partners to his male characters. The story is sometimes tedious but in general interesting, minus the moments when something ludicrously illegal and amoral happens and everyone is okay with it. This makes the message of the book very muddy

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Blood, Incest, Rape, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexism and Transphobia

Women are useless and a transperson is used as a plot device ?

soyboysimon's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

Would have been a lot more enjoyable without the sexism. The way that Murakami thinks about women genuinely troubles me. He talks so lightly about serious topics like rape that shows you what he really thinks about them. The writing was enjoyable, the story was exciting and fast paced. I feel a little conflicted about the characters, some I love and some I absolutely despise. Would have been a better read without all of the sex scenes. We really don't need that much detail, its almost an obsessive amount of talk about d*ck. And ugh why is his first description of every woman how big her breasts are?!? There are also a couple of chapters that get very graphic. If you don't like gore maybe skip it, i sobbed over the amout of animal torture. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. Do i regret it? No. Will I be reading more Murakami? Also no

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, War, Body horror, Rape, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Murder, Blood, Sexism, Sexual content, and Transphobia