Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

4 reviews

chrlt's review

reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Death, Pregnancy, Body horror, Toxic relationship, and Cannibalism

nialiversuch's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Medical content, Mental illness, Abandonment, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Bullying, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

yuyuv's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism

Moderate: Incest, Infertility, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcohol, Body horror, Homophobia, Eating disorder, Lesbophobia, Gore, Death, Dysphoria, and Acephobia/Arophobia

kymzii's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

Body Horror and Culture Shock
This is a collection of short stories that deal (somewhat metaphorically) with issues surrounding culture, food and lifestyle. However, it is the way Murata approaches these subjects that lift these stories out of banality i.e.

one story involves cannibalism and fertility rituals and another involves using dead human bodies as clothes and furniture.

Her tone is cool and removed and her characters seem a little closed off even when they are baring their souls. My one criticism is that some of her stories go nowhere and the collection would have been better without them e.g. the story where

a woman things she is a building (I'm still not sure what actually happened) or another when a woman is describing how she has a different personality with different friend groups (it just didn't go any where and her husband gets needlessly upset about the whole thing).

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Cannibalism

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Stalking, Grief, Gore, Excrement, Toxic friendship, Infertility, Eating disorder, and Cancer