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_shilpita_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Minor: Sexual assault, Abortion, Sexual harassment, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Trafficking, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Stalking
mirrorofneptune's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content
Minor: Murder
shannonlipp's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
hoppyread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I read this one so quickly despite the length, and was genuinely interested in knowing what happened next. The writing and translation read very smoothly.
Story-wise, I was surprised that we were given basically the crimes and circumstances from the characters involved rather than following the detective as he tried to solve them. I don’t read many mystery books, so I wouldn’t know if this is typical. I was expecting a lot more of the detective, but I didn’t mind following the many side characters instead. It felt very easy to meet each new character because Higashino introduces them in such a natural way with enough information to keep them feeling unique and realistic. Sometimes with many character perspectives it gets confusing, but here it wasn’t. I also appreciated how we never got the perpetrator’s perspectives, only those of the outsiders.
I should have read content warnings, though, because I was very disturbed by the sexual violence, personally.
Overall, I found the story very compelling. I could recommend this to people as long as they check the content warnings. I’m definitely interested in checking out some of Higashino’s other books.
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Kidnapping, Rape, Trafficking, Abortion, Suicide, Stalking, Pedophilia, and Death
daepyonimst's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Pedophilia
Minor: Infidelity, Abortion, and Domestic abuse
stories_of_the_soul27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy
angelie_jelly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual content
candiemarsh's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Rape
chyneyee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Despite the confusion due to the lacking of transition stage and too many characters involved in the story, I found the writer's idea is unconventionally brilliant. It keeps pushing the readers to continuously pursue the truth with detective Sasagaki. It's just getting darker and keep readers wondering who Yosuke's murderer is. The entire story mainly focuses on the life of the young people, and the reader is wondering how their lives related to Yosuke's death. There weren't many hints can be extracted by the readers because the writer left the truth until the last page. There were so many plot twists throughout the story. It can be anything beyond our imaginations because the writer is telling another unrelated account which the reader can't connect the dots to the main plot.
Book Review: Journey Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Death, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Abortion, Suicide, and Adult/minor relationship
jhbandcats's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The book is told over a period of twenty years with each chapter moving the plot along a couple of years or so. What I especially liked was the detailed descriptions of computers and related technology as an chronological indicator. The book begins in 1973, and computers - the kind with the software on cassette tapes - and video games begin showing up several chapters later. By the end we've gotten to fancier computers we know we're in the 1990s.
If you're looking for an intelligent, absorbing, well-written tale, this book is for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Caveat: If you're not too good with multisyllabic names and your memory isn't top notch, it helps to read on a Kindle or tablet so you can keep looking up people (whom you should certainly know already!)
Graphic: Violence, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Suicide, and Sexual assault