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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
This was a pretty relaxing book to read. Murakami has a general structure of a gradual buildup of small mysteries or coincidences that culminate in a character's descent into the otherworld, and this book was no different. Instead of being annoyed that the book followed this pattern, I found it comforting--am I becoming a lazy reader?
The main character is a painter who separates from his wife and retreats to a mountain home to paint. The amount of uninterrupted free time the main character had was staggering, enough to cause me envy, despite the fact that I do have lots of free time (just constrained by a small child, which hampers my imagination). Like other Murakami books, there was lots of mention of classical music, pasta, fancy cars, and breasts. There was also some weird sex scenes--weird both in their contexts and their level of detachment. Despite the mention of breasts with every female character, I found myself enjoying the almost clinical recounting of strange occurrences. I loved how the details of the main character's daily life contrasted with his discoveries. His journey to the otherworld was really a spiritual journey where he confronted his own fears and desires.
The main character is a painter who separates from his wife and retreats to a mountain home to paint. The amount of uninterrupted free time the main character had was staggering, enough to cause me envy, despite the fact that I do have lots of free time (just constrained by a small child, which hampers my imagination). Like other Murakami books, there was lots of mention of classical music, pasta, fancy cars, and breasts. There was also some weird sex scenes--weird both in their contexts and their level of detachment. Despite the mention of breasts with every female character, I found myself enjoying the almost clinical recounting of strange occurrences. I loved how the details of the main character's daily life contrasted with his discoveries. His journey to the otherworld was really a spiritual journey where he confronted his own fears and desires.
You're getting a firm 3.5 and I'll be back to discuss why.
Would have been 4 stars if only I enjoyed the last 4th of the book.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
ouin non je pense que Murakami n'est pas pour moi :/
I'm super disappointed by this - 2*
I've been on a bit of a Murakami buzz after reading [b:The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle|11275|The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle|Haruki Murakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327872639l/11275._SY75_.jpg|2531376], [b:The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories|36349572|The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories|Jay Rubin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518335097l/36349572._SY75_.jpg|58031212] and [b:1Q84|10357575|1Q84|Haruki Murakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483103331l/10357575._SX50_.jpg|18160093] (BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR!) so I was hoping to continue my Murakami journey.
I don't know why I really dislike this.
Yes, I do know this. I hate the protagonist. I can't stand him and everything about him. I mean the males in Murakami's books are not the greatest anyway (even though I love/hate Tengo from 1Q84. They either don't have a relationship and hate being tied down or realise their wife is cheating on them and they don't notice. THIS HAS HAPPENED TWICE NOW!
I also don't have a wide interest in art and so was struggling to follow this as well. The protagonist was just a douche to be fair and I hated his whole mindset.
I was also disappointed by the magic realism that Murakami normally nails so well.
His portrayal of women isn't the best anyway but Murakami normally makes me look past this with an intriguing plot. THIS was not it.
I'm going to have a break from Murakami because this was just soooo disappointing.
I've been on a bit of a Murakami buzz after reading [b:The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle|11275|The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle|Haruki Murakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327872639l/11275._SY75_.jpg|2531376], [b:The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories|36349572|The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories|Jay Rubin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518335097l/36349572._SY75_.jpg|58031212] and [b:1Q84|10357575|1Q84|Haruki Murakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483103331l/10357575._SX50_.jpg|18160093] (BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR!) so I was hoping to continue my Murakami journey.
I don't know why I really dislike this.
Yes, I do know this. I hate the protagonist. I can't stand him and everything about him. I mean the males in Murakami's books are not the greatest anyway (even though I love/hate Tengo from 1Q84. They either don't have a relationship and hate being tied down or realise their wife is cheating on them and they don't notice. THIS HAS HAPPENED TWICE NOW!
I also don't have a wide interest in art and so was struggling to follow this as well. The protagonist was just a douche to be fair and I hated his whole mindset.
I was also disappointed by the magic realism that Murakami normally nails so well.
His portrayal of women isn't the best anyway but Murakami normally makes me look past this with an intriguing plot. THIS was not it.
I'm going to have a break from Murakami because this was just soooo disappointing.
mysterious
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:
No
a strange ghost story.
It absolutely pains me to give anything Murakami two stars, because I have long been a huge fan of this man's work. But this book was incredibly disappointing to me and frankly made me angry. First of all, nothing makes sense. I mean, reading Murakami doesnt generally make sense in the traditional, linear sense, because he is absolutely the kind of writer who does not think in straight lines. But this, this did not hold together. This had no tangible plot, no conclusion, no... anything to which one could grab hold and understand where the author wanted to take his reader. There were several entertaining, strange - always a Murakami guarantee- and interesting passages and ideas in here, but it felt more like the author was playing with concepts in a first draft rather than actually writing a novel that anyone was supposed to be able to follow.
And really, Murakami's inability to write about women is unforgivable. After this long, after writing this many books, I cannot fathom this man's inability to understand or write about women. Somehow he seems to think if he writes enough about their boobs, or their self-obsession with their own boobs (I dont understand this at all, this is not a thing for most women, unless somehow I have missed an entire subculture my own sex has about their own boobs -maybe he's just projecting how he thinks teenage boys feel about penises? I have no idea. Cant understand it), or writes enough painfully awkward and poorly described sex scenes that are devoid of any tangible emotion, he is by proxy writing about women. I feel embarrassed by him, on behalf of his female characters. And frankly offended. Ugh.
A real disappointment from what I was expecting. What a bummer.
And really, Murakami's inability to write about women is unforgivable. After this long, after writing this many books, I cannot fathom this man's inability to understand or write about women. Somehow he seems to think if he writes enough about their boobs, or their self-obsession with their own boobs (I dont understand this at all, this is not a thing for most women, unless somehow I have missed an entire subculture my own sex has about their own boobs -maybe he's just projecting how he thinks teenage boys feel about penises? I have no idea. Cant understand it), or writes enough painfully awkward and poorly described sex scenes that are devoid of any tangible emotion, he is by proxy writing about women. I feel embarrassed by him, on behalf of his female characters. And frankly offended. Ugh.
A real disappointment from what I was expecting. What a bummer.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated