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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
I began reading Killing Commendatore over four months ago when I decided once and for all I was recommitting to my old love for reading. I had read Kafka on the Shore inf February and was still dizzy for how different and intoxicating that novel felt in comparison to others I had read. I was really excited to dive more into the magic-realism/ surrealism genre and all the praise I heard about Murakami made me eager to read more.
For me, this book actually started off really engaging and, from the prologue, I was already in love with it!
I thought it had a really fascinating premise— an introverted artist moves into the home of acclaimed painter Tomohiko Amada after his marriage falls apart looking for an escape and a chance to finally paint what he wants. While living there, he meets a mysterious, wealthy man with shining white hair who commissions him to paint his portrait. From the moment the protagonist meets this man, Menshiki, it is clear something is off about him and that his intentions may be murky. And even more, the protagonist finds a painting called Killing Commendatore that was tightly bound and hidden in the attic, a masterful Japanese-style work by Tomohiko Amada that he may have had good reasons for concealing. In his classic style, Murakami begins to unravel a mystical plot in which paintings come to life and a stone chamber in the forest is a passageway to another world.
Like I said, in the early stages I was really into this book. I felt like it had rhythmic pacing with a good balance of detail and plot twists that kept you on your toes wondering what would happen next.
Unfortunately, the book started to drag toward the middle when it seemed I was no closer to understanding what anything meant 300 pages in. I couldn’t help but think — and now that I’m reading other people’s reviews, I see it’s a common feeling— that a lot could have been cut out. There was a lot of pointless dialogue, mundane routines, and descriptions of people and places, etc. that could have been gotten rid of altogether. And it seemed like there were too many different characters and plot points introduced that Murakami couldn’t figure out how to draw together. It felt like a waste because there were so many interesting points— like the Man with the White Subaru and the strange woman he was watching, the origin of the stone pit, Menshiki’s real intentions, why the Commendatore even came to life— that just weren’t expanded on or resolved in a meaningful way. I just wondered what those ideas had to do with anything.
The book was way too long without any real action at the climax. Murakami tried to pack in a whole magical journey for the protagonist at the end that 1.) didn’t really make sense, 2.) seemed illy placed in the progression of the story, 3) was extremely boring and 4.) seemed to have no significance at the end??
By the time it got to the last 200 pages, I lost all my enchantment with the book (probably clear from the fact it took me 4 months to finish). I just thought the ending was too long-winded and too abrupt at the same time, and the outcome was completely unsatisfying. It wasn't even the kind of loose ends that leave you intrigued and pondering the meaning afterward. It was just like oh.. okay, you’re going to end this all in the most boring way possible. I felt really sad to give it 2 stars because I really loved it at first but as a whole, it ended up disappointing.
For me, this book actually started off really engaging and, from the prologue, I was already in love with it!
I thought it had a really fascinating premise— an introverted artist moves into the home of acclaimed painter Tomohiko Amada after his marriage falls apart looking for an escape and a chance to finally paint what he wants. While living there, he meets a mysterious, wealthy man with shining white hair who commissions him to paint his portrait. From the moment the protagonist meets this man, Menshiki, it is clear something is off about him and that his intentions may be murky. And even more, the protagonist finds a painting called Killing Commendatore that was tightly bound and hidden in the attic, a masterful Japanese-style work by Tomohiko Amada that he may have had good reasons for concealing. In his classic style, Murakami begins to unravel a mystical plot in which paintings come to life and a stone chamber in the forest is a passageway to another world.
Like I said, in the early stages I was really into this book. I felt like it had rhythmic pacing with a good balance of detail and plot twists that kept you on your toes wondering what would happen next.
Unfortunately, the book started to drag toward the middle when it seemed I was no closer to understanding what anything meant 300 pages in. I couldn’t help but think — and now that I’m reading other people’s reviews, I see it’s a common feeling— that a lot could have been cut out. There was a lot of pointless dialogue, mundane routines, and descriptions of people and places, etc. that could have been gotten rid of altogether. And it seemed like there were too many different characters and plot points introduced that Murakami couldn’t figure out how to draw together. It felt like a waste because there were so many interesting points— like the Man with the White Subaru and the strange woman he was watching, the origin of the stone pit, Menshiki’s real intentions, why the Commendatore even came to life— that just weren’t expanded on or resolved in a meaningful way. I just wondered what those ideas had to do with anything.
The book was way too long without any real action at the climax. Murakami tried to pack in a whole magical journey for the protagonist at the end that 1.) didn’t really make sense, 2.) seemed illy placed in the progression of the story, 3) was extremely boring and 4.) seemed to have no significance at the end??
Spoiler
Especially after we say Mariye’s POV, the trip to the underworld of Metaphors and Ideas bit didn’t make any sense. He didn’t even save her because she was just camping in Menshiki’s basement the whole time so um...By the time it got to the last 200 pages, I lost all my enchantment with the book (probably clear from the fact it took me 4 months to finish). I just thought the ending was too long-winded and too abrupt at the same time, and the outcome was completely unsatisfying. It wasn't even the kind of loose ends that leave you intrigued and pondering the meaning afterward. It was just like oh.. okay, you’re going to end this all in the most boring way possible. I felt really sad to give it 2 stars because I really loved it at first but as a whole, it ended up disappointing.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
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
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love long books even if only because I can't finish them quickly and I have to stick with the characters for a long time. It's another kind of immersion that's only possible with time (a fermenting kind?). Nothing much happened in terms of plot considering the length of the book. But reading Murakami's always about the writing for me. The plodding pace and frequent description of daily life were always meditative, the quietly, barely looming suspense added light spices, the strange incidents were lusciously puzzling. I also like how he wrote painting and portrait as a medium that denudes and immortalizes souls. Like,, what a celebration of a personhood. I got a bit obsessed with portraits (and biography in tandem) around this time because of this book and Funny Weather. It's quite enjoyable tho I'd rather recommend any non-fans to just skip this and pick up his other books wgwg.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
I liked this book, I was invested in the story and found the characters Compelling. The following is a post I made on the r/books subreddit and it was downvoted to oblivion.
DISCLAIMER: I am a 27 years old North African Man!
I just finished reading Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami. So I did what I always do after reading a book, search Reddit for some good discussions about said book. For Killing Commendatore almost every post was about how terrible the way Murakami described women was.
There was a disturbing part where the main character was describing his dead little sister and mentioned the way he noticed her breasts growing. Almost everyone seems to find this part "poor" or "uncomfortable".
Murakami has a reputation for poorly portraying women in his books in general, where he has this weird habit of focusing on their breasts. I personally read literature to get the perspective of other people, namely people how I think are brilliant. I like to see how they feel about stuff, how they think and how they put all these things together. I don't care one bit about the "rightness" of their feelings or whether they align with my own. All I want to get from my reading experience is perspective.
So when an author describes women poorly (subjectively speaking), that is a part of the perspective of that author. Naturally, you can argue that this perspective sucks and you don't like it, which is completely fair, but I think you shouldn't read literature looking for things that align with what you'd like. The most brilliant books are the ones that offer a very different idea about the world than the one we had. If everyone wanted to read only books that offer mainstream perspective no one would have liked Lolita (unless you suck as a human being of course).
I am not saying, you should like the way Murakami describes women. I am just saying if you choose to move past that part you'd be rewarded (well not always because some of his books are actually disappointing, looking at you Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki !) because Murakami is an extremely unique writer and his perspective is Golden.
DISCLAIMER: I am a 27 years old North African Man!
I just finished reading Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami. So I did what I always do after reading a book, search Reddit for some good discussions about said book. For Killing Commendatore almost every post was about how terrible the way Murakami described women was.
There was a disturbing part where the main character was describing his dead little sister and mentioned the way he noticed her breasts growing. Almost everyone seems to find this part "poor" or "uncomfortable".
Murakami has a reputation for poorly portraying women in his books in general, where he has this weird habit of focusing on their breasts. I personally read literature to get the perspective of other people, namely people how I think are brilliant. I like to see how they feel about stuff, how they think and how they put all these things together. I don't care one bit about the "rightness" of their feelings or whether they align with my own. All I want to get from my reading experience is perspective.
So when an author describes women poorly (subjectively speaking), that is a part of the perspective of that author. Naturally, you can argue that this perspective sucks and you don't like it, which is completely fair, but I think you shouldn't read literature looking for things that align with what you'd like. The most brilliant books are the ones that offer a very different idea about the world than the one we had. If everyone wanted to read only books that offer mainstream perspective no one would have liked Lolita (unless you suck as a human being of course).
I am not saying, you should like the way Murakami describes women. I am just saying if you choose to move past that part you'd be rewarded (well not always because some of his books are actually disappointing, looking at you Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki !) because Murakami is an extremely unique writer and his perspective is Golden.
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes