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caelangm's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Incest
Moderate: Child death
nenaveenstra's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This was an interesting read. The entirety of this book takes place during one night, in one apartment in Tokyo. The main characters have a seemingly endless conversation with each other, filling in the blanks of each others' memories about an event that happened a year ago.
The suspension in this book relies entirely on omission. The plot twists - or reveils, rather - are only shocking because the narrators are unreliable. That's not something everyone likes, but I was okay with it.
This book very much reminded me of thriller films from the zeroes, which is the same era this book was written in. A major contributing factor to this, was the fact that these characters exchange thoughts and ideas with each other and present them as fact, thus 'discovering the truth' in a completely unreliable way. The book does not address this. I appreciate the nostalgic vibe this gives off, but if this book were newer I probably wouldn't have liked this very much.
Please check the content warnings before you go into this. This book isn't very gory or anything but I was very disturbed by the discussions of incest. These people entered a romantic relationship with each other while they thought they were siblings (later turned out to be cousins).
The spoiler mentioned above is the main reason I'm giving this book a lower rating.
The suspension in this book relies entirely on omission. The plot twists - or reveils, rather - are only shocking because the narrators are unreliable. That's not something everyone likes, but I was okay with it.
This book very much reminded me of thriller films from the zeroes, which is the same era this book was written in. A major contributing factor to this, was the fact that these characters exchange thoughts and ideas with each other and present them as fact, thus 'discovering the truth' in a completely unreliable way. The book does not address this. I appreciate the nostalgic vibe this gives off, but if this book were newer I probably wouldn't have liked this very much.
Please check the content warnings before you go into this. This book isn't very gory or anything but I was very disturbed by
The spoiler mentioned above is the main reason I'm giving this book a lower rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Incest, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Suicide
See spoiler text in review above for more info about the incest part of this book.shutupiamreading's review
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Suicide
Moderate: Murder
beth_waller97's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’m not really sure what to rate this, or how to feel about it, but I know it was good. It feels unfinished, which I guess is how it’s meant to feel. Genuinely a really good read, just not what I expected it to be - and that’s okay. I feel like I took more from it BECAUSE it’s not what you expect it to be. It’s much deeper than that, and also much stranger. I’m going to sit on this for a while and mull it over, and I think I’ll probably do a re-read just to try and get my thoughts in order.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Death
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