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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
...и только один вопрос занимал меня - дадут ли Мураками Нобелевскую премию в области литературы, или пока он не облегчится на какой-нибудь преступный для всей рукопожатной общественности режим, никакой премии не будет? Впрочем, любить его можно и без премии.
Последнее время я люблю его на расстоянии - как-то дома он не очень к месту, но я стараюсь не пропускать новинок. Хотя, как и большинство современных писателей, не обходится и без продакт-плейсмента, а герой (это ж совершенно понятно) обязательно будет пить виски, обжаривать рыбью кожу и слушать либо оперу, либо Боба Дилана. Сколько в герое автора?
В целом - прекрасный меланхолический сюжет (кстати, забавное кольцо вышло, с основной линией слабо связанное, я даже перечитал потом пролог) с изрядной долей не особо внятной мистики, дающей полное ощущение сонного паралича и чудовищ, им порождённых (говорят, что азиатская литературная культура в принципе подвержена влиянию сонных параличей - и это не хорошо, и не плохо, это, хм, самобытно).
Последнее время я люблю его на расстоянии - как-то дома он не очень к месту, но я стараюсь не пропускать новинок. Хотя, как и большинство современных писателей, не обходится и без продакт-плейсмента, а герой (это ж совершенно понятно) обязательно будет пить виски, обжаривать рыбью кожу и слушать либо оперу, либо Боба Дилана. Сколько в герое автора?
В целом - прекрасный меланхолический сюжет (кстати, забавное кольцо вышло, с основной линией слабо связанное, я даже перечитал потом пролог) с изрядной долей не особо внятной мистики, дающей полное ощущение сонного паралича и чудовищ, им порождённых (говорят, что азиатская литературная культура в принципе подвержена влиянию сонных параличей - и это не хорошо, и не плохо, это, хм, самобытно).
Sometimes it seems like Murakami creates situations his characters can't escape from, so he creates a quick deus ex machina (in the form of the "underworld" here) to allow him to move on with the plot. But he writes in a way that makes me think there is more to these trap doors than convenience, even if I can't figure out what.
Once again Murakami proves himself as a master of his craft, he is able to weave the most bizarre stories and characters into pieces of art and love and self-reflection. He is able to craft stories that feel like they’ve taken a lifetime but at the same time, do not feel like they have lasted long enough once you have finished reading them.
The way he writes enchants the reader into the story and the characters, getting fully involved in the psyche of all involved, the protagonist the antagonist and all of the pieces in between. He has a way of writing about the supernatural that truly feels as though it is something that could happen in the real world, but at the same time feels so incredibly bizarre.
The mismatch of characters work excellently together. The mystery of Amada and the mysterious painting of the Commendatore. The supernatural elements that make no physical sense. The relationships between all of the characters feel real and they all feel justified in each action they take as the story progresses.
Murakami has a way of making everything make sense at the conclusion of the story, without truly resolving everything that happens as the story evolves. We truly have no idea why the protagonists wife leaves him and then comes back to him at the end, we just understand that he needed to take that journey in his life in order to understand and accept his life fully.
The way he writes enchants the reader into the story and the characters, getting fully involved in the psyche of all involved, the protagonist the antagonist and all of the pieces in between. He has a way of writing about the supernatural that truly feels as though it is something that could happen in the real world, but at the same time feels so incredibly bizarre.
The mismatch of characters work excellently together. The mystery of Amada and the mysterious painting of the Commendatore. The supernatural elements that make no physical sense. The relationships between all of the characters feel real and they all feel justified in each action they take as the story progresses.
Murakami has a way of making everything make sense at the conclusion of the story, without truly resolving everything that happens as the story evolves. We truly have no idea why the protagonists wife leaves him and then comes back to him at the end, we just understand that he needed to take that journey in his life in order to understand and accept his life fully.
The worst of the Murakami novels I have read. As his novels progress and each contains similar elements, it seems more and more as if he has lost his skill as a compelling storyteller.
I picked this book up when I went to Japan in November 2019 and was so excited. Thrilled. I love Murakami and this book was set near where I spent my favourite part of the trip (i.e. Hakone and Odawara, and generally around Fuji), what's not to love?
I wanted to love this book. I love Murakami's style, I loved reading descriptions of places I'd just visited and was now missing, and I love the "journey is more important than the destination" quality of his mysterious magic realism plots.
But oh boy. This dragged on. And on. And on. I think it would have worked with significant editing but, as it is, it doesn't hold a candle to other (wonderful) long novels of his like Wind Up Bird or 1Q84.
I wanted to love this book. I love Murakami's style, I loved reading descriptions of places I'd just visited and was now missing, and I love the "journey is more important than the destination" quality of his mysterious magic realism plots.
But oh boy. This dragged on. And on. And on. I think it would have worked with significant editing but, as it is, it doesn't hold a candle to other (wonderful) long novels of his like Wind Up Bird or 1Q84.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoy Murakami, but find him hard work (possibly as a result of the translation rather than the original writing) and the female characters are comically awful at times.
I think nothing would have been lost if we just didn't mention the aunt or child's breasts at any time. It was pretty irrelevant to the story, and was pretty uncomfortable coming from a male writer. I think a female author would have probably left them out, or at least would have written female voices in a more realistic way.
The length is also questionable. I kept stopping reading to go read something else instead and coming back to it. I don't mind slow paced, and in fact the artist holed up in the country cottage gave some nice cosy vibes, and I loved reading about the everyday parts of life. However, this was truly glacial. Could have cut a hundred pages and still had the story intact, I think.
This is one of his weaker ones, but still very good. And definitely matches the level of weirdness I have come to expect.
I think nothing would have been lost if we just didn't mention the aunt or child's breasts at any time. It was pretty irrelevant to the story, and was pretty uncomfortable coming from a male writer. I think a female author would have probably left them out, or at least would have written female voices in a more realistic way.
The length is also questionable. I kept stopping reading to go read something else instead and coming back to it. I don't mind slow paced, and in fact the artist holed up in the country cottage gave some nice cosy vibes, and I loved reading about the everyday parts of life. However, this was truly glacial. Could have cut a hundred pages and still had the story intact, I think.
This is one of his weaker ones, but still very good. And definitely matches the level of weirdness I have come to expect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Suicide, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I mostly liked this book. The pacing was slow, so it took a long time to get through it, but even during the most tedious sections there was a tense-ness to the novel that kept pulling me through. I really wanted to know how we get to the point in the prologue. The narrator was also a fascinating head to be in. I was intrigued by even the most mundane moments in his life.
But that said, there were some very specific things that really bothered me about this. For some reason, none of the female characters are named until about 40% of the way into the book. It's just "my wife/ex-wife" or "his daughter." And even when they start getting names (I'm really curious if this was accidental or meant to symbolize a change in the narrator), there's still the MC's girlfriend, who's purpose in the story I can't figure out.
There's also Mariye. I really think her side of the story could have been so interesting.I wish we'd gotten some level of exploration over how this pre-teen girl really feels about a middle-aged man taking inappropriate interest in her! But instead, we just get so much time spent on her fretting over how large her boobs are. Which I understand is meant to be a stand-in for adulthood, but there are so many reasons why I hate that as a symbol.
Outside of those things, though, I loved the themes. The meaning of art and the violence in interpreting symbols and so, so many things like that I wish I had the words to articulate. A part of me thinks I would have liked this more if it had started further into the storycloser to when the MC goes into the other world , but I found I enjoyed the beginning as well. It's wonderfully written, and strange and complex. Certainly a book I'm happy to have read.
But that said, there were some very specific things that really bothered me about this. For some reason, none of the female characters are named until about 40% of the way into the book. It's just "my wife/ex-wife" or "his daughter." And even when they start getting names (I'm really curious if this was accidental or meant to symbolize a change in the narrator), there's still the MC's girlfriend, who's purpose in the story I can't figure out.
There's also Mariye. I really think her side of the story could have been so interesting.
Outside of those things, though, I loved the themes. The meaning of art and the violence in interpreting symbols and so, so many things like that I wish I had the words to articulate. A part of me thinks I would have liked this more if it had started further into the story
adventurous
dark
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I REALLY wanted to love this book, and I did for the first 500~ pages. Admittedly, this is my first venture into Murakami, and I had seen reviews claiming this was his weakest book beforehand.
The plot moves at a glacially slow pace, but I was completely fine with that. A modern painter existing in a famous old painter's house and the descriptions of the narrator's day to day life provided a nice cozy feeling. The oddities that begin to occur were fun to piece together, and the metaphors therein were thought provoking. There is a LOT of repetition, which I didn't mind too much (honestly, the book could've cut 200~ pages from editing down the repetition alone.)
What dropped the book from a 5 to a 3 was the rushed climax leading into a completely unsatisfying end.The resolution with his wife Yuzu was sort of unbuyable for me, but I appreciated the attempt for a comparison of Menshiki to the narrator. The journey was far more enjoyable than the height of the conflict, though, and I weighed that in for my rating.
And yeah, there's criticism of the guy's ability to write women characters. Those criticisms are validated in this book, bordering on icky levels. Some constant, repeated (nearly meme-worthy) mentions of breasts (including those of a child) left me rolling my eyes at best, and feeling gross at worst.
I've heard a lot of good things about Murakami's earlier works. I'm excited to get into those, because with Killing Commendatore as a starting point, surely it can only go uphill from here.
The plot moves at a glacially slow pace, but I was completely fine with that. A modern painter existing in a famous old painter's house and the descriptions of the narrator's day to day life provided a nice cozy feeling. The oddities that begin to occur were fun to piece together, and the metaphors therein were thought provoking. There is a LOT of repetition, which I didn't mind too much (honestly, the book could've cut 200~ pages from editing down the repetition alone.)
What dropped the book from a 5 to a 3 was the rushed climax leading into a completely unsatisfying end.
And yeah, there's criticism of the guy's ability to write women characters. Those criticisms are validated in this book, bordering on icky levels. Some constant, repeated (nearly meme-worthy) mentions of breasts (including those of a child) left me rolling my eyes at best, and feeling gross at worst.
I've heard a lot of good things about Murakami's earlier works. I'm excited to get into those, because with Killing Commendatore as a starting point, surely it can only go uphill from here.