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rkaufman13's review against another edition
1.0
[This review is rated R for language.]
Okay.
My first Murakami experience was with 1Q84. My somewhat ambivalent review of THAT experience is here. Without going back and reading that word for word, what sticks out for me from 1Q was the psychic whore (although I guess she didn't take money, did she?) and the annoying ugly private investigator who shows up 2/3 of the way through the book. And just the general atmosphere of weirdness, which was great in parts and in other parts just bewildering.
Oh, this wasn't his best work, people said. Read some of his earlier stuff. they said. Okay, so I picked up Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
...And there's a fucking psychic whore and the SAME GODDAMN PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR.
I am upset, y'all. I am upset with all y'all for talking me into reading this and I am upset with myself for being talked into it. I'm sorry. I know Murakami is "great." But I can't deal. I can't deal with all the sexy ladies healing men through sex and I can't deal with all the women, even the "strong" women, being super sexy and thinking about being raped all the time, and I can't deal with this wack-ass brand of magical realism that just serves to make the story weirder rather than, you know, tell us something useful about the characters or advance the plot.
I realize this may be my personal failing but I am over Murakami.
Okay.
My first Murakami experience was with 1Q84. My somewhat ambivalent review of THAT experience is here. Without going back and reading that word for word, what sticks out for me from 1Q was the psychic whore (although I guess she didn't take money, did she?) and the annoying ugly private investigator who shows up 2/3 of the way through the book. And just the general atmosphere of weirdness, which was great in parts and in other parts just bewildering.
Oh, this wasn't his best work, people said. Read some of his earlier stuff. they said. Okay, so I picked up Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
...And there's a fucking psychic whore and the SAME GODDAMN PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR.
I am upset, y'all. I am upset with all y'all for talking me into reading this and I am upset with myself for being talked into it. I'm sorry. I know Murakami is "great." But I can't deal. I can't deal with all the sexy ladies healing men through sex and I can't deal with all the women, even the "strong" women, being super sexy and thinking about being raped all the time, and I can't deal with this wack-ass brand of magical realism that just serves to make the story weirder rather than, you know, tell us something useful about the characters or advance the plot.
I realize this may be my personal failing but I am over Murakami.
sydknee3000's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
matthwecam's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lievedwh's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
bantwalkers's review against another edition
3.0
I like a lot of things about this book. Its strangeness. Its search for a real truth and a real reality. Its brutalness. But it's also a hard book to wrap one's head around. Where is it going? What does it mean? And sometimes it meanders almost cruelly to nowhere.
However, the characters are strong, and amidst the strangeness there are a few good mysteries that kept me rapt.
And it does try to address more important things than, say, a Dan Brown novel. I just think it was a little too frustrating for most readers. Me included.
However, the characters are strong, and amidst the strangeness there are a few good mysteries that kept me rapt.
And it does try to address more important things than, say, a Dan Brown novel. I just think it was a little too frustrating for most readers. Me included.
dcunitz's review against another edition
4.0
"If I'm pessimistic, then the adults in this world who are not pessimistic are a bunch of idiots."
tonycarr72's review against another edition
3.0
Yeah....weird and not sure if i liked it or if i think it is so-so,.....
jaysteady's review against another edition
3.0
So an overall good reading experience, but I came out of this story with a lot less clarity about what was happening than I'd normally like to.
I enjoyed Haruki's beautiful writing style, I found it engrossing and penetrating. The atmosphere of the Tokyo suburb lingered during my time away from the novel and evoked a lot of emotion from me.
I admit that before this reading experience I would become disinterested in a book after finding out that they included magical realism, but I will no longer do that. This book has been a doorway for me to a different form of fiction.
With that being said, I would personally prefer a bit more of a concrete plot for me to five it a four or five star. (Three stars for me is a "liked it" rating.)
I enjoyed Haruki's beautiful writing style, I found it engrossing and penetrating. The atmosphere of the Tokyo suburb lingered during my time away from the novel and evoked a lot of emotion from me.
I admit that before this reading experience I would become disinterested in a book after finding out that they included magical realism, but I will no longer do that. This book has been a doorway for me to a different form of fiction.
With that being said, I would personally prefer a bit more of a concrete plot for me to five it a four or five star. (Three stars for me is a "liked it" rating.)
sjw203's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5