Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Sotto il sole di mezzanotte by Keigo Higashino

7 reviews

mirrorofneptune's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

A very long, well-thought-out mystery spanning decades. Less a question of who is the perpetrator and more about their motives and means, and whether they’ll eventually be found out. The author explains a lot of the mystery but also leaves some details up to readers to notice and interpret, which I enjoyed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content

Minor: Murder

daepyonimst's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, and Rape

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Pedophilia

Minor: Infidelity, Abortion, and Domestic abuse

angelie_jelly's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual content

asianfiles's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Murder, and Sexual content

aisclaradm's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

A slow-moving, dense read, with some of the most fascinating characters I've ever read. A dozen different characters' stories intertwine, weaving a complex story that leaves hints and clues throughout the book. The ending is phenomenal, and the story is intensely dark.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual violence

Minor: Abortion and Addiction

chrisljm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This is probably the best mystery (and Keigo Higashino) novel I’ve read so far. 

Journey Under the Midnight Sun is told through multiple POVs and so you get to unveil the mystery alongside different characters. The interchanging POVs and large cast was a bit hard to keep up with, but the storytelling was incredible. Despite the story taking place over a span of 20 years, with Higashino taking you alongside the cultural and technological developments of 70/80s Japan, it never felt like a drag. Every event that happens plays a part in the overall story, and it felt so great seeing it all piece together. The story/characters are fucked up, but the end of every chapter had a way of enticing me to continue. The book was gripping from start to finish. 

The only thing keeping me from giving this 5 stars is that you can definitely tell the female characters are written by a man. And despite how much I enjoyed the story, I completely understand the criticisms of Higashino’s use of sexual assault as a plot point. And if I’m being honest, I was truly enjoying the book until I got to the sexual assault parts, where I then had to pause and accept the fact that this is where Higashino was now taking the story and overlook my issues with that in order to keep enjoying the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abortion

elevatot's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

6/4/2021 - just finished the audiobook version read by David Shih.

Neglected to give this book a star rating because I haven't yet parsed through everything I want to process. That said, I'm inclined to give it at least 4.75/5 stars for enjoyment. Time will tell whether that rating will stand the tests of time, or I need to recalibrate my standards. (I've only just reentered the literary realm, the tropes of legal procedurals past, my sole guides.)

• Audio - I hope he narrates all the Japanese novels I listen to. I feel like a snob, but I really appreciate his pronunciation of all the characters and places. If you're not too familiar with Japanese it might be a bit difficult to keep details straight via audio alone. 

2022.09.09 - 4/5 for enjoyment
Is depicting the current state of things w/o negative consequences endorsing it? Is it enough to accurately characterize an issue w/o condemning it as such? Do victims need to be portrayed as more than victims?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Rape, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Bullying, Abortion, Car accident, Miscarriage, Blood, Pregnancy, and Trafficking