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adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the last time I’m going to say this is the last Murakami book I’m reading. You do not need to make every single character obsess over classical literature, western philosophy and Beethoven, it’s painfully pretentious mere name dropping references for the sake of it. Putting the strange incest and awful female characters aside, this one really just is bad. It tries to be philosophical and deep and meaningful which seems appealing at first and until you realise it’s just chatting absolute shit. I do think perhaps with these kinds of books it sounds beautiful in Japanese but the way he talks about metaphysical concepts and breaking boundaries of logic and reason sounds like it’s written by someone who reads philosophy in their own time Interpreting as their own but not having a clue about the arguments themselves. If you want to read Murakami just read After Dark and move on
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Sexual content
Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Violence
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
get past the weird parts and its a great story
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, Rape
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
I have no idea what happened but I enjoyed it nonetheless
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Rape, Murder
Moderate: Abandonment, War
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted so much to like this book. Spirited Away is one of my all-time favourite movies and the blurb reminded me of it. I like weird and dreamlike stuff, but this book's "plot" did not feel well-executed at all. Maybe it's just me, but I felt this book raises a lot of questions that it never answers. It tries too hard to be mysterious and intriguing, but does not offer enough meaning to satisfy or keep the never-ending mysteries engaging. I have appreciated other books with dark themes (é.g. Lolita), but the themes of incest and rape felt completely gratiuitious (and off-putting) in this book. I kept asking myself "what point is he trying to make here??' How is this furthering the plot? What are the connections between all of these disparate mysteries? This book was absurd and yet tried to wax lyrical on various philosophical themes at different points in the book. But it all just felt so disconnected that it left a very flat, uninspiring impression. I managed to finish the book and I realise I'm supposed to feel something about Kafka's softened heart by the end of the book, but I'm left wondering why I was supposed to care in the first place. I don't understand why he was abandoned or who his father even was. Too much was suggested and implied and none of these suggestions made any satisfying sense. I would be open to hearing other people's interpretations of this book, but so far the reviews on here have not been very enlightening. This book's only merit is that the writing style was easy to read, I liked the Japanese setting, and the main characters are certainly intriguing or charming at times, but they don't feel like substantive, well-rounded characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Audiobook was very well done. Multiple readers. The novel itself is very philosophical without getting in the way of the story. It has a young protagonist but very adult, disturbing scenes. Highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Rape
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Incest
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Liked some parts of the book, hated others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault
While I believe there were many good things this book had to say, the gore and explicitness of everything became way too much for me to keep reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest
Moderate: Rape
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed the magical realism in this book! And Nakata’s story was so enjoyable to read (and heart wrenching). The titular protagonist, Kafka, I couldn't care less for…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Incest, Rape
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Misogyny, Transphobia, Murder