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mint7's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
3.0
The most memorable stories were: Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova, With the Beatles, and Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey. As always, Murakami's depiction of women is hard to get through sometimes. With the Beatles was my personal favorite from this collection.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
lostboylio's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
2.75
This was my first book by Murakami and I’m not sure if I want to read more by this author.
First of all the writing style was great! Once I started a story I couldn’t stop reading, I kept wondering what the meaning behind those partially disturbing stories was but it’s hard to find one to be honest. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
If I would only rate these aspects of this book i’d give it maybe a 4/5.
But that’s sadly not the case due to the fact that secondly one cannot ignore the blatant misogyny in almost every story. Like, come on, who tf starts a story with “Of all the women I’ve known, she was the ugliest.” and then proceeds to repeatedly state how ugly this woman is WHEN IT LITERALLY CONTRIBUTES NOTHING USEFUL TO THE STORY!! Every so small misogynistic comment in this could have been replaced easily with something more 21st-century-appropriate and it wouldn’t harm the story.
And because this part infuriated me quite a bit while reading I’d rate this book a 2.75/5.
A 10/10 tho for “Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova”, this story was truly amazing!
First of all the writing style was great! Once I started a story I couldn’t stop reading, I kept wondering what the meaning behind those partially disturbing stories was but it’s hard to find one to be honest. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
If I would only rate these aspects of this book i’d give it maybe a 4/5.
But that’s sadly not the case due to the fact that secondly one cannot ignore the blatant misogyny in almost every story. Like, come on, who tf starts a story with “Of all the women I’ve known, she was the ugliest.” and then proceeds to repeatedly state how ugly this woman is WHEN IT LITERALLY CONTRIBUTES NOTHING USEFUL TO THE STORY!! Every so small misogynistic comment in this could have been replaced easily with something more 21st-century-appropriate and it wouldn’t harm the story.
And because this part infuriated me quite a bit while reading I’d rate this book a 2.75/5.
A 10/10 tho for “Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova”, this story was truly amazing!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
Minor: Suicide
nekochan69's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Suicide
sunflowersarepretty's review against another edition
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Was surprised at how much sexism Murakami managed to show in this work. I was prepared to give it an adequate rating, looking past his blatantly sexist commentary, until I got to the chapter named Carnaval. He dedicated an entire chapter to the basis that a he thought a woman wasn’t to his taste. And he was self aware of this. Calling out that some people, mainly women would find it hard to read this chapter, but that he still felt the need to write it. This combined with his internalized misogyny and outward sexism made this novel, which I had looked forward to, not a pleasant time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicide
themysteriouserk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
4.25
Another delightful collection of stories from one of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami. The stories here range from the strange and silly to the stranger and deeply moving, all written in Murakami’s trademark simple, deadpan style and with his usual flourishes of magic and surreality within depictions of ordinary life. As with pretty much any collection of stories, some are better than others, but everything here is at least pretty good, and “With the Beatles,” “On a Stone Pillow,” and “Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova” are all achingly beautiful depictions of the tentative balance between joy and pain.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexism, and Suicide
zarathustraslostchild's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
Der Schreibstil ist großartig, das muss man* Murakami lassen, und einige Geschichten fand ich auch wirklich schön, insgesamt wirkte die Sammlung eher wie eine zweitklassige Geldmacherei.
Eine Geschichte, in welcher sich der Ich- Erzähler erst einmal seitenlang über die Hässlichkeit der betreffenden Frau auslässt gefolgt von einer Gedichtsammlung über Baseball?
Das hätte nicht sein müssen.
Generell wusste ich oft nicht, worauf Murakami hinaus wollte und es wurde viel "um den heißen Brei" herumgeredet, was ich stellenweise schön, zumeist aber nervig fand. Alles in allem war es nett für einen verkaterten Sonntagmorgen aber nicht wirklich Zeit, in der ich viel dazu gelernt hätte. Eines dieser Bücher, die man* liest, weglegt und sofort vergisst, da gibt es Werke, die zu lesen eine deutlich bessere Zeitnutzung darstellt.
Eine Geschichte, in welcher sich der Ich- Erzähler erst einmal seitenlang über die Hässlichkeit der betreffenden Frau auslässt gefolgt von einer Gedichtsammlung über Baseball?
Das hätte nicht sein müssen.
Generell wusste ich oft nicht, worauf Murakami hinaus wollte und es wurde viel "um den heißen Brei" herumgeredet, was ich stellenweise schön, zumeist aber nervig fand. Alles in allem war es nett für einen verkaterten Sonntagmorgen aber nicht wirklich Zeit, in der ich viel dazu gelernt hätte. Eines dieser Bücher, die man* liest, weglegt und sofort vergisst, da gibt es Werke, die zu lesen eine deutlich bessere Zeitnutzung darstellt.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Suicide
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