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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Although I have read several Murakami books and found them excellent I could not get into this one
Repetitive to the point of boredom
Could not finish
Repetitive to the point of boredom
Could not finish
I had trouble with this one for some reason, maybe because I’m getting a little tired of the pattern of Murakami’s books. Reading through, it’s almost like you already have a mental checklist of stuff to cross off:
* mysterious pit, which characters inevitably crawl down into
* old 60’s-80’s music, jazz, and classical music
* super graphical sexual depictions, happening more times than the characters eat meals, just for the hell of it
* random 13 year old schoolgirl just coming of age
* weird stuff happening between being awake and asleep (and the natural and supernatural)
* obsession with women’s clothing
* a character having a crazy fascination with their penis, or breasts and vagina. Adds zero to the story and is distracting.
Had a really hard time with this one and had to force myself through it. Still feels really unresolved. I thought I’d like it, since I’ve been intrigued by Mozart’s Don Giovanni after having seen part of the opera in the movie Amadeus. It’s sort of incidental ideas for the story to attach itself to, in a world where Idea and Metaphor literally come to life.
* mysterious pit, which characters inevitably crawl down into
* old 60’s-80’s music, jazz, and classical music
* super graphical sexual depictions, happening more times than the characters eat meals, just for the hell of it
* random 13 year old schoolgirl just coming of age
* weird stuff happening between being awake and asleep (and the natural and supernatural)
* obsession with women’s clothing
* a character having a crazy fascination with their penis, or breasts and vagina. Adds zero to the story and is distracting.
Had a really hard time with this one and had to force myself through it. Still feels really unresolved. I thought I’d like it, since I’ve been intrigued by Mozart’s Don Giovanni after having seen part of the opera in the movie Amadeus. It’s sort of incidental ideas for the story to attach itself to, in a world where Idea and Metaphor literally come to life.
Well, Killing Commendatore is not an easy book. As usual for Murakami, it is not clear what the main storyline is and what is an allegory. It is about an idea, a painter, lonely girl or creepy billionaire? This is also why this book is a unique piece of art - everybody will take away a little bit different message. For me, it was a really creepy story about sociopath on the borderline of breaking and which is true for almost all the main characters in the book. I can only very much recommend to read Murakami. You will often discover more about than about characters in the story.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Feels like the spiritual successor of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
Honestly, I’m probably going to end up thinking of them as two parts of the same work.
But, also, it feels like a greatest hits of every one of his books. Even for an author that you can count on having reoccurring themes and elements, this one seemed to be very specifically referential to his other works.
So, yeah, I loved it.
Honestly, I’m probably going to end up thinking of them as two parts of the same work.
But, also, it feels like a greatest hits of every one of his books. Even for an author that you can count on having reoccurring themes and elements, this one seemed to be very specifically referential to his other works.
So, yeah, I loved it.
A reflection on knowledge and belief, on art and music, on parents and children, on memory and future, on presence and absence. A slow burn for the first 2/3rds or so, leading to a crescendo typical of Murakami's style but still fresh and enjoyable.
I love Murakami and would follow him almost anywhere, but this novel was a disappointment. Even more repetitive than his previous works, this could have easily been cut in half word-count-wise and still retained the entire narrative; it is that guilty of bloat. There are some genuinely creepy moments throughout, but dispelled into mundanity too quickly. In the end, I just don’t know what it all adds up to, nor do I really care.
But most egregiously of all, Murakami only sees his female characters as locomotive machines for their breasts. Even the 13-year-old girl who poses (chastely) for the narrator to paint her portrait is overwhelmingly obsessed with her developing bosoms, which of course the narrator must also comment on. I like boobs as much as any cisgender heterosexual male (as in, a lot), but I could not stop rolling my eyes when they’re mentioned over and over and over again, to the extent that they become the defining trait of every female character in the book. Come on, Murakami, do better.
But most egregiously of all, Murakami only sees his female characters as locomotive machines for their breasts. Even the 13-year-old girl who poses (chastely) for the narrator to paint her portrait is overwhelmingly obsessed with her developing bosoms, which of course the narrator must also comment on. I like boobs as much as any cisgender heterosexual male (as in, a lot), but I could not stop rolling my eyes when they’re mentioned over and over and over again, to the extent that they become the defining trait of every female character in the book. Come on, Murakami, do better.
Another bizarre novel by Murakami.
What I loved:
This was not the most compelling of Murakami's novels that I've read, but it was still enjoyable. It was pretty tame reality-wise until the end.
What I learned:
Learning was not particularly my goal. I think there are layers of metaphor wrapped in Murakami's novels, but mostly I just enjoy reading them.
A favorite passage:
“There are plenty of things in history that are best left in the shadows. Accurate knowledge does not improve people’s lives. The objective does not necessarily surpass the subjective, you know. Reality does not necessarily extinguish fantasy.”
What I loved:
This was not the most compelling of Murakami's novels that I've read, but it was still enjoyable. It was pretty tame reality-wise until the end.
What I learned:
Learning was not particularly my goal. I think there are layers of metaphor wrapped in Murakami's novels, but mostly I just enjoy reading them.
A favorite passage:
“There are plenty of things in history that are best left in the shadows. Accurate knowledge does not improve people’s lives. The objective does not necessarily surpass the subjective, you know. Reality does not necessarily extinguish fantasy.”
dark
mysterious
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:
Complicated
This was bad. A whole lot of nothing.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot