Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

81 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Rape, Incest, Transphobia, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual violence, and Violence

mx_sunshine's review

dark 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

4.5

A slowly unraveling mystery that remains engaging throughout the length of the book. 
I was impressed how the surrealistic story was kept grounded by the realistic characters. 
My favourite characters were Oshima and Nakata. I loved reading about the interviews conducted by the US in relation to the Rice Bowl Hill Incident. I loved Nakata and Hoshino’s friendship and all of the conversations with cats. I loved the descriptions of the Komura Memorial Library.
I honestly wouldn’t have given this book a chance if I was given a summary of events. I would’ve been put off by many of the situations. I would’ve felt guilty at the idea of enjoying literature that depicted such disturbing scenarios. But I found it difficult to assign responsibility to any of the characters. The power balance between characters was constantly changing. Not sure I’d be open to recommending this due to the content, but I’ll definitely be reading more of Murakami’s work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Incest, Animal cruelty, Rape, Death of parent, and Pedophilia

vbarsi's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

This book reminded me of a mix of Moonrise Kingdom, meets Everything, Everywhere all at once, meets The Boy and the Heron 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Animal death, Death, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Blood, Pedophilia, and Incest

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Death of parent

shebert's review

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Misogyny, Death, Incest, Murder, and Pedophilia

sebas83bi's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual violence, Gore, Sexual content, and Blood

nolwenn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Incest, Death, Adult/minor relationship, and Death of parent

lukests's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual assault, Rape, Abandonment, Death of parent, Animal death, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Pedophilia, Mental illness, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Transphobia and Ableism

artemisia5's review

challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Incest, Rape, and Death

mirandyli's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

A trippy combo of Catcher in the Rye and Oedipus Rex. Slow moving at times. Not sure what the takeaway was supposed to be.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Murder, Death, Sexual assault, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Transphobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, and Grief

sylvermist's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Blood, Death, Incest, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death of parent

Moderate: War