Reviews with content warning for Rape - Kafka on the Shore

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

557 reviews

burnsys_books_811's review against another edition

1.5

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

xaurarose's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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

lea333's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

mariekeroos's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous mysterious 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: No

Content Warnings

paradicsomleves's review against another edition

3.5

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

coralena's review against another edition

2.0

mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

dayoldtea23's review against another edition

5.0

challenging reflective

Content Warnings

_danichuu's review against another edition

2.5

I really wanted to enjoy this. I thought the main through line of trying to escape fate but still ending up succumbing to it was interesting. But every Kafka chapter felt like a slog because I had to hear about this 15 year old’s genitalia in every section. Even when there was nothing sexual happening. It happened so much that I was just exhausted by the end of this.

I know that’s Murakami’s shtick but it just felt so excessive in this book. I’ve read one of his other novels and a short story and they both obviously include sex as a random topic but it didn’t feel like it happened enough for me to be dreading the next one.

Also didn’t love listening to someone describe in detail a man murdering cats. And I know the whole story was this Oedipal situation. But you’d think once you convince yourself a woman is your mother you wouldn’t want to have sex with her so many times???
Like I though he was gonna do it once on accident and stop. But no. Mans was allll about it.
Not even going to go into his assaulting his sister. Even if it was in a dream it still felt so gross and like it was just tossed in at the end to wrap up the prophecy.

This was just not the book for me. If this book had been all about Nakata I would have loved it. His chapters are the only thing that got me through.
But Kafka really made me want to stop reading this so many times.

Content Warnings

cheriepie's review against another edition

2.0

dark reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: No

A contender for "most frustrating book I've read this year." Incredibly well-written with prose I am taken with and surrealism that I think is fantastic. Each chapter with Nakata is a breath of fresh air. Each Kafka chapter feels like a slog, with "I'm 15 and this is deep" level ideas.

The idea of "fighting fate" but succumbing to it anyway is a through line of this book. As it starts, Kafka is running away to fight his Oedipal fate, which positions him as someone who's at the very least willing to try fighting it. This doesn't carry through the rest of the book -- I don't think Kafka tries ONCE to avoid the parts of the quasi-prophecy beyond running away. And I don't think that dissonance between what Kafka says and what he does is the point.

Content Warnings

charbee1's review against another edition

1.0

dark mysterious 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

Wow I think this was the weirdest book I’ve ever read and I hated it. I am shocked it has such a high score on Goodreads. I was both so bored and so confused the entire time I read this. I think it was trying to do something really profound and maybe if I had read it in a literary class or something I would’ve enjoyed it but it really was just so weird and gross and most of it about the main character having detailed sex with his mom or sister. I have never given a book a one star review but this book was not it.

I will say I was impressed with the trans representation in this book, especially for a book from 2002. I don’t think he was represented perfectly by any means, but again, for 2002 it was a lot more than was in any other books and it’s even more representation than what exists in books from 2023

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