Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

18 reviews

bigolarlocat's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

At face value this is an exceptionally well written book with a plot that lulls in spots and diverges in increasingly bizarre ways, but is ultimately kept interesting by the overarching mystery and the intrigue of its characters. As is ever the case, there is unc mfortable amounts of sexism and misogyny from both our narrator and murukami, as he introduces and incorporates women into the book. Not every thread of this expansive narrative is drawn together in a satisfying, clear cut conclusion, and as with other works by murukami, this is typically by design.

I've read some other of his works and what I've found is that the themes of the book precede the narrative. What matters in this book are the themes of fate vs rebirth, light vs dark etc. and how our characters grapple with them.

In finishing the book I was initially left somewhat disappointed in the lack of a conclusive plot, however I find the excitement of his novels come from how you, as the reader, deconstruct the plot based on your interpretation of his themes. You are always left guessing because there are never clear answers and the freedom to organise a plot by feeling like your solving a mystery is an experience that is rare and ultimately rewarding.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexism, War, Trafficking, and Suicide attempt

emeraldzak's review against another edition

Reads like incel fiction with a strange outlook on every woman so far - sexualized and/or stiff and inhuman. The male gaze is in full force here.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Trafficking

gxceli's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

1.75

You either love it or hate it, I spent 540 pages hating it but hate-reading until the end so I could say I finished it, but the last however so many pages I enjoyed. And when I say hating it, I mean it. I almost put the book down so SO many times. Not to mention, it gets very gory at times - if you're not into that I recommend either entirely skipping the war retelling scenes or not picking up the book.

You have to be able to look past the male gaze-iness (and boy, is it strong) and be able to accept that the plot has little to no consistency, despite the writing itself being pretty redundant a lot of the time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Body horror, Gore, Violence, Sexual content, and War

Moderate: Suicide attempt

kaitlyn_avecado's review against another edition

slow-paced

1.5

I just...So many people said this book was 10 out of 10. I've read one other of his books, but after reading this.....I'm never reading Murakami again. I hate how his books focus on an uninteresting, unemployed male character who never seems to care about anything happening around him. Murakami's portrayal of female characters is the kicker for me. He only writes about eccentric women who float about the protagonist and have sex with him. It feels like he adds trauma to the female characters to make them "deeper/more interesting". I slogged through this book hoping it would get better. Finally, some plot unfolds in the last 50 pages. Not worth it. SKIP

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Gore, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Torture

Moderate: War

Minor: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, and Infidelity

sas_lk's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I think this is now my second favourite Murakami book. I appreciate what he did with it, though sometimes I felt like some parts were just too long or unnecessary.
He has this way of blending realities and making you question what reality truly is. That's what I love so much about his books. He makes you so aware of how the world around us is always moving, and that maybe it isn't always linear. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Vomit and Abortion

Minor: Death and Infidelity

shannanigans's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Torture, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, War, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, Body horror, Rape, Self harm, and Violence

jacob_dion's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Torture, War, and Death

Moderate: Abortion, Violence, Cursing, Car accident, Incest, Rape, and Vomit

hello_lovely13's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, War, Suicide attempt, and Torture

Moderate: Infidelity, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Rape, Sexual assault, and Car accident

Minor: Incest and Suicide

toves's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.5

As someone in-between jobs & on a wild goose chase for an indefinable something that is trapped somewhere in an incomprehensible psychic labyrinth--this book really resonated with me. Sometimes you have to go down into the deepest well you can find and just sit there.

This is my second time reading this book--I read it in high school and remembered it being 'dreamlike and chill'. Was very surprised at the level of graphic content. You'd think I would have remembered That One Part in Lt. Mamiya's Long Story, at the very least! Wow!

Thanks to this book I: cooked pasta while listening to the overture to 'The Thieving Magpie' (& I agree with Mr. Wind-up Bird; it's a good time), took photos of my ears, now refer to the ducks at my local park as 'the duck people'. I still want to: write a description of the alley behind my house, spend a day at the mall staring at people's faces.

LISTEN, TLDR: IS THE CAT OK?:

Yes!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Sexual assault, War, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Physical abuse

lydiabroadley's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

So amazingly written and mesmerising. The stories and intricacies are so interesting and kept me hooked on the all the strange and fascinating characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Gore

Moderate: Abortion, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, and Sexual assault