Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Kafka on the Shore

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

60 reviews

ericispublius's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A lot of mysteries in this piece, unraveled slowly unto the end — we walked away with some unanswered. Murakami knits a world that rhymes with ours, but is eerily different. He taps into Japanese folklore in a way that is easy to pick up for the novice

Content Warnings

cephon's review against another edition

Go to review page

Loveable characters? No

1.5

You can tell Murakami respects Oshima's identity as a trans man because if he didn't, the extent of his character would be about having sex with Kafka like with all the female characters.

Content Warnings

i_webb's review against another edition

Go to review page

1.0

Unbelievably bad. Took 2 separate holds in Libby to finish and ended zooming at 2.25x speed. Writing style was so boring. Worst worst worst. Love yourself and do not read ❤️

Content Warnings

lio_ramon_dolor's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

anamelon's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

0.25

One of those books where if there was an accidental fire in a library and this was the only book that was burnt, the library would actually become better.

This book was mostly a bunch of nonsensical drivel built up to look like a well put together castle meant to give you the impression that it is actually grand and outstanding.

Reading this was a huge waste of time. The writing itself was mediocre with no nuance or any type of impressive prose.
The only mildly interesting plot points were the initial interviews of the children fainting and following Nakata's journey and his dynamic with Hoshino, though even that turned quite insipid towards the end.
I can definitely see why Murakami is said to be the Colleen Hoover of Japan. Bad pacing, bad storytelling, flat characters, no real character to the story itself just an air of pretentiousness to the story made to make you think "this is so intellectual I could never understand it".
I always try finding any type of positivity from books I read, even those I hate with a passion like Prince Harry's "Spare" which was so bad to the point of hilarity, at least. I can't even say that for this book, just relies on a bunch of shock value one after the other to make it memorable in some way because God knows its writing isn't enough to be remarkable. Only time I've read Murakami and I wish for anyone else to spare themselves and not make the same mistake

Content Warnings

shebert's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

I did not like this book. It did not sit well with me. I don't care that certain scenes are meant to be metaphors - they are gross.

Content Warnings

alec_i's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

5.0

Reading this book was like taking a step back from an image and watching the blur form something beautiful. For me, this book offered a smooth medicine for trauma and reflection on how to cope with difficult things, especially the challenge of how we grow from our own resultant character flaws. As a trans guy, I personally don’t mind the portrayal of a transmasc character and the truth there felt real. The misogynistic tones in this book, however, are destructive flaws that hurt the narrative.

Content Warnings