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adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Transphobia, Outing, Dysphoria
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, Violence, Abandonment
adventurous
reflective
fast-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
I fell in love with this book in the first half and it slowly lost its weight through the second half. Still an amazing read and a wonderful book that left me bereft when it was complete. I thought it would be a 5 star novel but it just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. There are themes of rape and incest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Incest, Rape, Murder
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Incest
adventurous
mysterious
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: Animal death, Gore
Moderate: Incest, Rape, Sexual content, Murder
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Incest
Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Abandonment, War
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have a lot of thoughts about this.
firstly, to state the obvious: I really really do not like how Murakami writes women. I’ve read two other books by him and didn’t love the way he wrote his female characters but this book in particular had me really annoyed with the female characters. They exist purely to be sexual objects for the male characters. Even the trans man character had his genitals referenced a lot. Women who express self autonomy become kind of a joke in the book, as seen with the two feminists who visit the library and are mocked by Oshina.
Next: the incest plot lines?? Why Kafka had to sleep with his mother and ‘sister’ was already a weird and icky plotline but then the rape scene of Sakura really was so ew.
With all that said (any wow is that a lot to say) - I did still enjoy the book. I really loved Nakata’s character and plot line, his chapters were my favorite to read and the magical realism was beautiful written.
Overall, I like Murakami as a writer, I enjoy his prose, the details he used to describe ordinary things, and how easy it is to get sucked into the world he builds. I just wish he would stop writing women! I’m fine with male authors just not writing women if they can’t make them as complex, self serving and autonomous as their male characters.
The book was a really interesting, dream like journey. It’s confusing, philosophical, wistful and has a lot of heart. It’s a good read - as long as you can get over the incest!
Next: the incest plot lines?? Why Kafka had to sleep with his mother and ‘sister’ was already a weird and icky plotline but then the rape scene of Sakura really was so ew.
With all that said (any wow is that a lot to say) - I did still enjoy the book. I really loved Nakata’s character and plot line, his chapters were my favorite to read and the magical realism was beautiful written.
Overall, I like Murakami as a writer, I enjoy his prose, the details he used to describe ordinary things, and how easy it is to get sucked into the world he builds. I just wish he would stop writing women! I’m fine with male authors just not writing women if they can’t make them as complex, self serving and autonomous as their male characters.
The book was a really interesting, dream like journey. It’s confusing, philosophical, wistful and has a lot of heart. It’s a good read - as long as you can get over the incest!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape
adventurous
mysterious
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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape
Moderate: Transphobia
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
one of the weirdest books i’ve ever read and i’m here for it.
after the first two chapters, i put the book down for two days to decide if i was going to continue because two narratives seemed too confusing. once i got over my fear, every page surprised me. a great plot-driven book. definitely would recommend.
after the first two chapters, i put the book down for two days to decide if i was going to continue because two narratives seemed too confusing. once i got over my fear, every page surprised me. a great plot-driven book. definitely would recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment
Minor: Transphobia