Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

8 reviews

iris_lrf's review

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

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 of

needlessly 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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Transphobia, Murder, Violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual content

Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, Incest, Misogyny, Outing, Pedophilia, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Alcohol, Murder, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Transphobia

Minor: Cursing

madamenovelist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Body horror, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Sexual violence, Rape, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Grief, Gore, and Incest

To elaborate on content warnings: Two different instances of incest, both involving an adult & a minor. One was consensual in the real world and another was rape in a shared dream. The animal cruelty is extremely gruesome and involves cats, so cat lovers should brace or skip this book altogether.

pedroelizabeth's review

dark emotional 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Incest, Abandonment, Cursing, Transphobia, Death, Sexual content, and Medical content

bibl1ophilic_niah's review

challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

Though this book ends pretty ambiguously, I’d have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the way it made me think and theorize. I enjoyed being absolutely confused about whether what I was reading was reality or a dream within the character’s story. I still have so many unanswered questions, but moments in the end tied up the story in a cute little bow as full circle moments prevailed. There’s so much to take away from the two storylines that sort of converge close to the end - and not in the ordinary way you might think - and it all has to do with the human condition and how we understand what it means to be human along with all of our thoughts, emotions, and inner processes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, War, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Violence, Murder, Blood, Death, and Rape

marilgc's review

adventurous challenging dark 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

3.5

As is to be expected with Murakami this book was very bizzare. It lost me sometimes and felt somewhat self indulgent however something about it really pulled me in and felt like a dark temptation. I found both love and resent to every character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Chronic illness, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

lara_hattingh's review

I was unaware of the brutal violence and incest. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Pedophilia, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Cursing, and Emotional abuse

rozab101's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Mental illness, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Cannibalism, Murder, Incest, and Grief

jodi_xo's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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

4.0

The book overall is very good. Nicely written and well thought out. Some of the themes within the book may be uncomfortable for some. But with that being said I definitely recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Transphobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Homophobia, Violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Blood, Gun violence, War, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Cursing