Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

117 reviews

meg_reads83's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Rape, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, and Misogyny

annahollamby's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

1.0

boring and incredibly unlikeable. found myself wondering so many times if the author has ever actually met and interacted with a real woman before. like genuinely. the way he talks about women and sex is gross and pathetic. yet more complex female storiess and characters lost to the male gaze and the manic pixie dream girl trope. also sincerely What The Fuck (r.e. the supposed lesbian character realising she's a lesbian because of a 13 year old 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 only for her lesbianism to be cured in the end by (you guessed it!) a penis... Fucking Gross. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Grief, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Body shaming, Lesbophobia, Suicide, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, and Emotional abuse

letter_planet's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death of parent

skaiaa's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.75

It was good, but defs different to what I expected! Another review I read about the 'sickness' (eventually leading them to commit suicide) being passed on from Kizuki to Naoko, then finally to Toru (main character), and he calls out to Midori for help but its too late is such an interesting theory! Also, sooo much sex I was not expecting that (idk just the vibe I got from how I've heard  norwegian wood being talked about and how popular it is)./

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

vinicoelho's review

emotional reflective sad

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

3.75

The only other Murakami I have read is Kafka on the Shore so that is my frame of reference for this book. As in Kafka on the Shore I can appreciate Murakami's beautiful writing style and the way he can conjure an image or describe feelings in a tactile way. I would say this book is more approachable than Kafka on the Shore since it sheds the magical realism element and focuses on the increasingly complex relationships between the characters. Aside from the protagonist, characters can feel a touch two dimensional at times, defined only by their relationship to Watanabe but I think this reflects how we see people in our own lives sometimes, the only perspective we have is our own. The story certainly shows its age both in the comments made by some characters and the way the female characters are sometimes portrayed, Toru finds himself in a love triangle between the archetypical manic pixie dream girl Midori and the depressed-but-in-a-hot-way Naoko. The book really took a nosedive towards the end

where after a beautiful conversation and 'funeral' ceremony between Toru and Reiko, the wise, older sister/aunt figure to him and Naoko (the only relationship spared from Toru's sad and tortured horny tendencies) have a raucous night of vividly described sex

and felt like it ended on an abrupt note - a tired cliche.

Overall this was an enjoyable read and I did find myself engrossed in the characters and their stories and how they interacted with each other, I just wish it was spared of Murakami's usual old man horniness

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual content

tengoku088's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Probably the best book I ever read.  It's sweet at times, sad at others, it is written wonderfully, the pages flow like nothing. A must read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

pepelu's review

emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Grief, Medical content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

gfiore11's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a book that sticks with you as you reflect on what just happened. Rife with possibile interpretation, I could easily read this again and experience a different book. Absurd is some ways, but not magical like some of Murakami’s other books. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

theperfectblues's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Medical trauma, Ableism, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

sammm_888's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt