Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

6 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.

pennergy's review against another edition

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? Yes

3.75

For me, this book evokes a mix of nostalgia for stories I read in my youth, curiosity about mysteries in the plot, and distaste for the taboo relationships between some characters. It's not difficult to read, but the story challenges the reader.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Murder, Rape, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Abandonment, Violence, and Death

Minor: Blood, Self harm, Transphobia, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, and Homophobia

cutepatzie's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

It's a very interesting book and concept. Definitely something fresh. It's amazing how it's like reading to book but is one cohesive story. Amazing how the autor makes such an amazing story that makes you want to read more to find out every detail of what is happening. This story is for people to not read it sounds like maniac speach. But still such a good book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Incest, Murder, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Death, Dementia, Gore, Medical content, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, War, Vomit, Alcohol, Animal death, Chronic illness, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, and Transphobia

Moderate: Bullying

pjstudies's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

for starters, haruki murakami should not be allowed within a 3km radius of cats. or women. i won't even bother going into detail, but this entire story is a brainfuck. that being said, i actually enjoyed reading it, even if i wanted to throw up on multiple occasions due to either the description of female characters, or the cats. i will not elaborate on the cats, but you have been warned. i really want to give this a lower rating, but i think the book was laced with crack because 4 stars is the lowest i'm going. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual content

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: War, Alcohol, and Ableism

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