Reviews tagging 'Outing'

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

5 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

jo_lzr's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Murder, Rape, Violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Incest, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Sexual violence, Suicide, Misogyny, and Sexual content

zonboi's review

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Blood, War, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Sexual assault, Body horror, Death of parent, Incest, Gore, Animal cruelty, and Rape

Minor: Outing, Homophobia, Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Misogyny

louiseimaquarium's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

I liked this one so much? It's sweet, dark and surreal at times, but every character besides Kafka himself was incredibly interesting to read about. Some parts were disturbing like

when he literally sleeps with his mother and rapes his sister

but I loved Nakata, Oshima, and especially Hoshino. Though I feel like the ending solved not all the mysteries that I was expecting to be solved by then. But I honestly did not feel bored once, and even if I did, seconds later there would be fish falling from the sky. Or someone talking to a cat. Just the usual. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Rape, Child death, Murder, and Sexual content

Moderate: Abandonment, Transphobia, and Outing

annacinnamonbun's review

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Dysphoria, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Violence, Death of parent, Outing, Rape, Transphobia, Animal death, Death, Incest, and Sexual content