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Reviews tagging 'Sexism'
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
15 reviews
federica123's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Sexism, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Violence, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
ran_sophia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I read the book a second time, and although I enjoyed it the first time, I enjoyed it a little more now. The main reason was that I wasn't confused at the beginning and knew the motives, the world of the book, and overall it made sense to me from the beginning. I found the writing and storytelling style to be very enjoyable. I also really liked the story and it was very nicely laid out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Violence, Animal death, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement
Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, Alcohol, Car accident, and Death
malakessmat's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Fatphobia
lea333's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Misogyny, Animal death, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol
lea_liest's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, and Fatphobia
avocadotoastbee's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
"Unclose your mind. You are not a prisoner. You are a bird in flight, searching the skies for dreams."
Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami is mind-bending!
The description of the plot might dull the reading experience, since the novel is mainly plot-driven.
But here's some background information:
We follow an unnamed narrator into two different worlds - the Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World. The storylines alternate in chapters.
In the Hard-Boiled Wonderland, the narrator is a 35-year-old man who works as a Calcutec, a human computer/encoder that processes sensitive data. In this world, two organizations, the System and the Factory, fight over the data. The system employs Calcutecs, while the factory, which wants to sell data illegally, employs Semiotecs.
The narrator receives a new assignment and the story takes its course.
Meanwhile, The End of the World takes place in a minimalist setting - a town (also unnamed) surrounded by a huge wall with beasts, or rather unicorns, running around. All the people there have neither minds nor shadows and work only for the sake of working. The narrator is new in the town and is assigned the job of "Dreamreader".
In the first half of the novel, it is unclear whether the two stories take place simultaneously or consecutively. However, there are certain themes that appear in both stories that somehow connect them: Unicorns, skulls and paper clips.
Chapter 26 explains in detail the connection between the two worlds.
This made me root for the narrator to escape his fate in both worlds. Therefore, I was disappointed with the ending.
Nonetheless, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World is a prime example of Murakami's magical realism. The novel explores ideas such as consciousness, unrequited love, the feeling of being trapped, and forgiveness. His signature writing style is evident. There are allusions to jazz, certain books and movies, and, of course, (unfortunately) misogyny.
If you like other novels by Haruki Murakami, I'm sure you'll enjoy this book as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Body shaming
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Confinement
librophil's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism
manel_'s review against another edition
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
brookeharbula's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
gr3yfoxhound's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
It is a unique premise this books establishes from the very beginning. But it's lack of developement of a world with rulesets unexplained paired with a main character that is hard to like make this a challenging read. It feels as if the book stopps completely and crawls forward to the end. What keeps the reader going ia the mystery of a the world. You want so see how Murakami makes the final chapter of this story into a crescendo of relieve.
<Spoiler> Once you're close to the end you just wish for it to be finally over, once it is over you`ll be unsatisfied with what you got. There is no crescendo, just an ending. </Spoiler>
<Spoiler> Once you're close to the end you just wish for it to be finally over, once it is over you`ll be unsatisfied with what you got. There is no crescendo, just an ending. </Spoiler>
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism