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adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really want to like Murakami… I very much enjoy the absurdist magical realism throughout the book, yet I find myself running into the same concerns as I did in Norwegian Wood (the main difference being I enjoyed the premise of this book much more). Every female character is heavily sexualized without fail; the intimate scenes are seldom consensual (and hardly legal) and Murakami unfortunately relies on them as the driving force behind the plot.
I had a lot of hope going into the ~250 pg mark that this book would be significantly better than it’s predecessor, but in the last couple hundred pages the plot descended into the same poor habits and insufficient character building.
I had a lot of hope going into the ~250 pg mark that this book would be significantly better than it’s predecessor, but in the last couple hundred pages the plot descended into the same poor habits and insufficient character building.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape, Sexual violence
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Incest, Violence, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Rape
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, Rape, Sexual content
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is one of the worst best books you will ever read. Murakami will sprout some of the most deep, poetic words imaginable, but it will be right after the fifteen-year-old protagonist fucks the ghost of his still-alive maybe-mother . It is a perfect example of the magic realism genre, and by that I mean it makes absolutely zero sense. The ending, too, is ridiculously vague. I suppose I should be glad there's a chance she wasn't his mother, but potentially incestuous vampirism sure is something I hadn't considered before. Also, what the fuck was that worm thing about?
I haven't read anything else by Murakami (and I don't intend to), but according to others, a gripping style, adamant homo/transphobia, and obsessive Freudianism are all staples of his works. And this book is no different: a modern (at the time) retelling of Oedipus Rex where the protagonist is newly fifteen, fully aware of the prophecy, and - I cannot stress this enough - actively choosing to pursue it. It's technically not pedophilia because Japanese laws are different than in the west, but still. Come on. What the hell. Oh, and his sister's in the prophecy too. I'll let you guess which part. You think this review is running a little long? You haven't even SEEN the number of content warnings I'm going to slap on this bad boy.
All that said, even with one protagonist whose only character traits are "Oedipus complex" and "teenage boy," another who is just a walking autism stereotype (I mean, a child in a man's body? Come on), and a whole cast of chronically horny sociopaths, it SOMEHOW manages to be a page-turner. Truly one of the few books that you wish with all your heart you could put down, but are forced by some external power to continue reading until your sanity finally breaks. Because trust me, it will break. For me it happened around chapter five.
So yeah, if multitudes ofneedlessly graphic incest, VERY borderline pedophilia, pointless vagueness, childhood trauma, a trans man literally calling himself a woman of his own accord, gore, violence towards animals, AND MORE are all things you can stand, sure. Go ahead. But don't say I didn't warn you.
All that said, even with one protagonist whose only character traits are "Oedipus complex" and "teenage boy," another who is just a walking autism stereotype (I mean, a child in a man's body? Come on), and a whole cast of chronically horny sociopaths, it SOMEHOW manages to be a page-turner. Truly one of the few books that you wish with all your heart you could put down, but are forced by some external power to continue reading until your sanity finally breaks. Because trust me, it will break. For me it happened around chapter five.
So yeah, if multitudes of
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Cursing
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture
Moderate: War
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Murakami is a wierd dude who only write women to give sex partners to his male characters. The story is sometimes tedious but in general interesting, minus the moments when something ludicrously illegal and amoral happens and everyone is okay with it. This makes the message of the book very muddy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent
Moderate: Sexism, Transphobia
Women are useless and a transperson is used as a plot device ?
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Would have been a lot more enjoyable without the sexism. The way that Murakami thinks about women genuinely troubles me. He talks so lightly about serious topics like rape that shows you what he really thinks about them. The writing was enjoyable, the story was exciting and fast paced. I feel a little conflicted about the characters, some I love and some I absolutely despise. Would have been a better read without all of the sex scenes. We really don't need that much detail, its almost an obsessive amount of talk about d*ck. And ugh why is his first description of every woman how big her breasts are?!? There are also a couple of chapters that get very graphic. If you don't like gore maybe skip it, i sobbed over the amout of animal torture. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. Do i regret it? No. Will I be reading more Murakami? Also no
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, Murder, War
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Murder
Moderate: Rape
I hate this book. I think honestly that Murakami is just not for me. While interesting in it's surrealist elements, there is far too much description of the 15y/o mc's penis to be an enjoyable read. I also don't like the aloof way a lot of really serious topics are handled in this book, as though they mean nothing. It's just a grossly uncomfortable read and I don't feel as though anything was gained from reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Incest, Rape, Grief, Murder