Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami

6 reviews

federica123's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

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ran_sophia's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I read the book a second time, and although I enjoyed it the first time, I enjoyed it a little more now. The main reason was that I wasn't confused at the beginning and knew the motives, the world of the book, and overall it made sense to me from the beginning. I found the writing and storytelling style to be very enjoyable. I also really liked the story and it was very nicely laid out.

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lea333's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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zorc_'s review

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adventurous 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? No

3.75

My enjoyment of the book fluctuated, from highs with meeting fun new characters and developing ones I thought I had figured out, to lows with extremely long expositional monologues (thankfully, these are limited in number). The main character gives off the vibes of an alcoholic unaware of his own problem, but it never poses much of an issue, so maybe Murakami is also unaware of the character’s problem.

The ending doesn’t explicitly state what happens to the main character, but the pieces are in place for things to turn out pretty happily.

It’s got a lot of Murakami’s hallmarks, but no graphic sex.

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left3000's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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seawarrior's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

While I'm certain there are intellectual components to this novel that I missed, I really enjoyed reading it. The plot was weird, mysterious and varied enough to consistently hold my attention even though I never fully understood what was going on, which normally makes me feel agitated. The characters aren't the most compelling, but the worlds they inhabit are wholly original yet strangely nostalgic and lead the book along. Their experiences and thought processes within these worlds allow for musings on consciousness, fulfillment, and the weight of our minds, expanding into a odd story that relates to us all.

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