Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Norwegian Wood

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

122 reviews

paulinalto's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

0.25

Let me start with this – I LOVE literary fiction. I adore witty, well-crafted prose, and some of the writing in this book was truly beautiful. I understand why people appreciate it. However, I could not get past how Murakami describes women. You'd encounter a beautiful paragraph only for it to be spoiled by Murakami's focus on a woman's breasts.

There was an entire chapter involving pedophilia, where the child was disturbingly portrayed as "at fault."

The descriptions of sex made me feel uncomfortable.

Murakami invented the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and all his female characters fit this mold—each one "so not like the other girls." There were numerous instances where his attempts to describe female experiences were completely off-base, clichéd, and cringeworthy.

I understand that some readers are willing to overlook the misogyny and sexism, perhaps because of the book’s beautiful prose or because it was published decades ago, but I cannot. I don't think I've ever disliked a book this intensely. I feel like I need a shower to wash it off. In the process of reading this, I sold the other two Murakami books I had on my shelf.

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abeljquintero's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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abril6's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

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meg_reads83's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad

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

3.75

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reading_crow's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

4.0

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annahollamby's review against another edition

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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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fiona_sch's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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emmaanoble's review against another edition

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reflective sad 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? Yes

3.25

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nesilla's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

2.5

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soyboysimon's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

I think Murakami might be my favorite author. I read Kafka on the Shore about a year ago and had conflicting emotions. The misogyny was shocking and horrifying, but I can't stop thinking about it. So i decided so give him another try.

This one is much less bad. The misogyny is still there, but it feels more like its on purpose because of the nature of the main character. And its not like every woman he meets is just a pair of breasts with legs this time. Because I was expecting it, it was less of a problem for me.

It sure doesn't sound like I'm describing a good book, does it? Let me tell you what this book got right! Unlike his other works, there is no magic in this book. The writing is whats magical about it. It has that japanese way of storytelling, much like a Studio Ghibli movie, where you're following a character through their daily life, living the slow moments with them.

The main character grapples with the dilemma of loving more than one person at a time and having to choose and wondering if he's making the right choice. And you really feel his love for both women and get to see such tender but different moments between them and could see him being happy either way. And its told from the perspective of him looking back on his life and wondering if theres anything he could have done differently.

Its reflective, its charming, its mundane. This books makes me want to live.

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