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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i promise myself a sweet treat every time i finish a murakami book because respectfully, what the fuck???
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I can't write a detailed review, because it's one I'm going to have to read at least two more times...but let that be review enough: buy it and read it. Magnificently worth the time.
It had been about a decade since I first read Wind Up Bird, and I remember being both struck by it and slightly deflated by it. And I still think it has some of Murakami's most striking scenes, and at least two truly unforgettable ones (one in Mongolia, the other in a well), but I also find myself feeling a bit empty at the end of this reading.
I think Murakami has some of his most interesting ideas here. The power of collective trauma and violence, the destructiveness of systemic control or organizational inhumanity. While all of this is great and could be the fulcrum of a great novel, I think the novel actually exists somewhere on the periphery of this. Our narrator and his troubles are quite...blah. I find it much less interesting than I did ten years ago. And maybe it's because I was a bit of a hollowed out man at the time, I suppose.
I think this novel is quite a bit better than Murakami's earlier novels, but I think my patience is wearing a bit thin for his quirks and kinks. It's something that I use to waive away when people would criticize Murakami in this way, but now I find myself actually agreeing with the critiques now. That most of his books have very strong similarities, especially with regard to the narrator and the femme fatales who surround him. Also, I never realized how horny a writer Murakami is, but reading his books all in a row, from his earliest and approaching the present, makes me realizze how often he seualizes characters. Too often, the characters are teenaged girls. And you can put some of this on cultural differences, but sexualizing a 15 year old is just creepy. Maybe it's not in Japan, but it is to me.
Anyrate, this book worked better for me when it was the first and only Murakami I had ever read. After reading seven or eight of his novels in the previous ten months, I find my enjoyment of him as a writer crumbling to the point that I may not even like him anymore. And this is someone I thought of as one of my favorite writers!
So it goes. I'm already halfway through Sputnik Sweetheart and my enthusiasm for this project has really started to die.
Even so, it's interesting how a novel changes you and then you go on changing while it remains static. Though when you return, it feels different, for better or worse.
I think Murakami has some of his most interesting ideas here. The power of collective trauma and violence, the destructiveness of systemic control or organizational inhumanity. While all of this is great and could be the fulcrum of a great novel, I think the novel actually exists somewhere on the periphery of this. Our narrator and his troubles are quite...blah. I find it much less interesting than I did ten years ago. And maybe it's because I was a bit of a hollowed out man at the time, I suppose.
I think this novel is quite a bit better than Murakami's earlier novels, but I think my patience is wearing a bit thin for his quirks and kinks. It's something that I use to waive away when people would criticize Murakami in this way, but now I find myself actually agreeing with the critiques now. That most of his books have very strong similarities, especially with regard to the narrator and the femme fatales who surround him. Also, I never realized how horny a writer Murakami is, but reading his books all in a row, from his earliest and approaching the present, makes me realizze how often he seualizes characters. Too often, the characters are teenaged girls. And you can put some of this on cultural differences, but sexualizing a 15 year old is just creepy. Maybe it's not in Japan, but it is to me.
Anyrate, this book worked better for me when it was the first and only Murakami I had ever read. After reading seven or eight of his novels in the previous ten months, I find my enjoyment of him as a writer crumbling to the point that I may not even like him anymore. And this is someone I thought of as one of my favorite writers!
So it goes. I'm already halfway through Sputnik Sweetheart and my enthusiasm for this project has really started to die.
Even so, it's interesting how a novel changes you and then you go on changing while it remains static. Though when you return, it feels different, for better or worse.
Jazz as a book. Cats, birds, and Mongolian military adventures.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced