Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami

38 reviews

charlie29's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

let me start by saying that this book has an open ending. So many things are left unexplained (the ones that are, aren't even enough to explain all the shit that went down in this damn book)

Who the fuck killed Shiro, was the story of Haida’s father even real, was Haida even a real, living person at all, and if he was where on earth did he go? just to name a few of the plot holes

also, this book is heavy on sexualizing women: I couldn't bear to read it at certain times, Tsukuru’s imagination and all his dreams were disgusting, period. The way he thinks about his so-called "girl best friends" is straight-up disturbing and thank God they were his best friends, could you imagine if they weren't?
Apart from all that, if you survive reading the first 80 pages, it's a fast-paced book, but don't expect this gigantic revelation cause you aren't going to find it. It has a nice and reflective part: the loss of self-identity and finding yourself, but it's all pretty empty.

I also hated that the whole reason behind the friendship break-up is a girl faking a rape, like isn't it enough to live in a real-life society where girls that get raped are not believed? So to make the whole plot twist about a girl getting raped and for once being believed, but only to find out that it wasn't true, is pretty upsetting

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nessaraquel's review against another edition

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mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

3.0

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bridge_to_narnia's review against another edition

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reflective 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? Yes

3.75

This book is more like a character study with a revolving plot about being ghosted by his childhood friend many years ago. It’s a slow, lax, shuffle to an ambitious answer, but often in life we don’t truly know about what others think. The writing is smooth and easy to read, the only uncomfortable moments are the peppered in sexual imagery that were definitely not needed. Overall, I’d give this book a positive rating, though negative points for the sexual habits and lack of a concrete ending.

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krystalgaia's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

3.0

Norwegian Wood meets magical realism. The worldbuilding is top-notch (expected nothing less), yet it lacks the character studies that I always enjoy in his novels. Not his best work in my opinion, but not that bad in itself.

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maidinnah's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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

3.5

Colorless is my second Murakami novel following Norwegian Wood, which leads me to concur with other readers that the classic Murakami tropes are fully present. In Colorless, Murakami explores the magic and fragility of childhood friendships and the impact they have on one’s identity. His writing is keen, introspective, and pensive, as always. I enjoyed the surreal atmosphere, the plain prose, and the emotionally affecting message of perseverance. However, the book did fall short of me loving it because of Murakami’s poor character writing and unnecessary plot devices.

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risemini's review against another edition

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emotional reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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miorlen's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

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habby_books's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

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aexlia's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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mxpringle's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

I love the dream like state this book put me in where I questioned what events in it were real and fake. The writing and the way the characters were so fleshed our really gripped me and I haven't read a book so quickly in forever. However, as a with a lot of Murakami's writing, I did have an issue with how he portrays women and sex, and his strong emphasis on the male gaze.

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