Reviews

Dance dance dance by Haruki Murakami

madelamemacchiato's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

figgy24_20's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Definitely not the best murakami. Many times it felt unpolished, as if it were the draft version. 

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travelling_bookworm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 “As time goes on, you'll understand. What lasts, lasts; what doesn't, doesn't. Time solves most things. And what time can't solve, you have to solve yourself.”

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Another addition to my TBR list almost exactly a decade ago, I seem to have forgotten that Dance Dance Dance is the sequel to A Wild Sheep Chase. Now, it has also been an alarmingly long long time since I read that one, so the events in this book were even stranger and more dreamlike than a classic Murakami. The characters, the places all seemed faintly familiar, like staring through a thick mist. Just another layer on top of the Murakami dreamscape, I suppose.

This book, like many other Haruki Murakami stories, is cynical, mysterious and tense with a wry sense of humor and a poetic, chilling depth to its narration. However, what put it over some of the other books for me was that I listened to it as an audiobook ( a first for me for Murakami’s books). It was just perfectly done. Excellent narration that not only complimented the story itself, but made it even stronger.

My biggest and perhaps only problem with this book is how the main character talks about Yuki, a 13 year old girl. In fact, all women in this book are overly sexualised and seen through the most tedious male-gaze perspective possible. However, I find that Murakami’s early works all have this underlying problem which does get better over time (although there is still room for improvement). It does get distracting and distasteful at times, but I will overlook it in the grand context of the book, in contrast to its great narrative moments. 

usnebojemesa's review against another edition

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5.0

never ceases to amaze me, even though I am finding some worrysome things in it, but alas
my 10th anniversary with one of my favorite books

wojdeg's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

unaan's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

drinkwater's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

anamslopes_'s review against another edition

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

4.0

hardrockhope's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

althya's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75