Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

La ballade de l'impossible by Haruki Murakami

42 reviews

ninaaaaa's review against another edition

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Grief

libbymoony's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

I just hate that I can’t dnf books 🤧 it was so bad I don’t even know where to start. I didn’t like anything apart from maybe Midori’s character. This book is so misogynistic I don’t think the author has ever talked to a woman in real life. Also what’s with all the weird random sex scenes that felt so awkward I literally had to squirm and visibly cringe while reading them. And why does he use the word “penis” that many times ? WHAT WAS THE REASON? Oh and also the scene with 13yr girl ??? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Suicide

marinarc's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

5.0

my all time favorite. if you need to reflect on yourself and those around you, you should definitely read this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child abuse, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Ableism

krxshan's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Sexual harassment

rebeccabattin's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

2.0

Yeah, the writing is good. It’s eloquent and captivating and descriptive. However, the plot and all the characters are written from a horribly misogynistic and sexist perspective. The three main women characters in the book are all traditional Japanese stereotypes of women and their existence is based on how they benefit the male protagonist. The book is also based largely on the mans sexual conquests which are written incredibly misogynistically. It was written a while ago yes. But so we’re a lot of books and though they are also incredibly sexist they are not held in such high esteem as this book. I am incredibly disappointed and vaguely disgusted.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Misogyny, and Mental illness

mimosakettunen's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Terminal illness

emisbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad

• 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

2.5

This review is full of spoilers and discussion of the triggering topics of this book, so please read with caution (TW: suicide, rape, mental health)

I have mixed feelings about this book. 

Toru was a pain at times. He was a typical self-loathing, tiresome man. The coming of age aspect wasn't very strong because I felt there was little character development. I struggled to picture him as anything but a sad, middle-aged man despite him being 19-20. 

There was far too much s*ic*de in this book, not that it was personally triggering to me, but it was just an overdone plot device. I felt like everyone was dying at their own hand with little explanation. We never found out why Kizuki committed, nor Nakao's sister, nor Hatsumi - though I have my assumptions as to why she did it, it was left unanswered. Naoko's death occurring made sense as her mental health was actually explored, but everything else felt like it was being used just to make Toru's life more sad without any reasoning. 

I didn't like how everyone was cheating on their partners. Nagasawa was a terrible boyfriend, I kept forgetting that Midori even had a boyfriend considering she was so attached to Toru and giving him sexual favours all the time, and Toru was torn between two girls whilst also sleeping with strangers. Why did no one actually love anyone in this book? Hatsumi seemed to be the only one who actually had respect for her partner and wasn't cheating 24/7 like everyone else. Hatsumi's ending was rushed and I wanted to know more about her. The constant disloyalty in relationships in this book makes me realise that none of them were really good people after all.

As for things I did enjoy, my favourite character was Hatsumi. Though she was rarely brought up, I loved her personality and she felt like a good person. She definitely deserved a better boyfriend. Nagasawa treated her awfully. I'm glad she stuck up for herself after so long of being pushed to the side by him. Murakami's writing style is wonderful and I enjoyed the similies and descriptions he used. The pace of the book was alright considering the chapters were so long. The characters felt very realistic.

Overall, an average book. It's unlikely that I will read it again any time soon. For anyone who wants to read this, be prepared for a slightly annoying main character. Also check the content warnings before you read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Suicide

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Sexual harassment

libbyuma's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pedophilia, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

bellaelise98's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

i liked itttttt. lost a star because the way Murakami writes women is kind of hilarious....... like he’s never met a real woman before. very music manic pixie dream girl vibes. BUT with that being said, Toru was very likable in my opinion (very kind and honest and intentional in his speech). Midori + Hatsumi were my fave characters by far. def got me interested in reading more Murakami in the future

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

dani3773's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Rape, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Abandonment