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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is hard to rate. I didn't like the overall story as much as I've enjoyed other novels by Murakami, but I did enjoy reading overall. The narrative had a dreamy, slow quality to it that actually worked this time (unlike 1Q84). There were some lovely ideas and passages that helped pull me through parts of the story that I didn't enjoy as much.
On a more personal note, I feel like it's kind of unusual to find a book where an adult character has lost a sibling, and I appreciated the way that the relationship was portrayed. The way Murakami described the missingness, the way of remembering certain interactions so clearly many years later and the pausing in time of age and face of the missing sibling - I haven't found that in many novels and it was a surprise to find this aspect in the story and it connected with me.
Some quotes I highlighted:
"What kind of a person lived in a place like that? In spare moments I tried to imagine. Did this person really live all by himself on this out-of-the-way mountaintop...He must be living a life free of worries. But viewed from his perspective, looking at me from his side of the valley, I might appear to also be living a life of ease and leisure. From a distance, most things look beautiful." - pg. 61
"Franz Kafka was quite fond of slopes...he was drawn to all sorts of slope. He loved to gaze a homes built on the middle of a slope..." - pg. 324
"The truth is a symbol, and symbols are the truth. It is best to grasp symbols the way they are. There's no logic or facts, no pig's belly button or ant's balls. When people try to use a method other than the truth to follow along the path of understanding, it is like trying to use a sieve to hold water." - pg. 324
"Now that I thought about it, Komi was now twenty-four years younger than me. Since she'd died, every year the age gap only increased between us." - pg. 350
"To turn out a true portrait, I had to discover the story that must be painted." - pg. 369
"What would be the meaning of a world that did not change when an Idea was extinguished? Can an Idea be so insignificant?" - pg. 575
"He took that which he had been unable to accomplish in reality and gave it another form. What we might call 'camouflaged expression.' Not of what had in face happened, but of what should have happened." - pg. 578
"We all live our lives carrying secrets we cannot disclose." - pg. 713
On a more personal note, I feel like it's kind of unusual to find a book where an adult character has lost a sibling, and I appreciated the way that the relationship was portrayed. The way Murakami described the missingness, the way of remembering certain interactions so clearly many years later and the pausing in time of age and face of the missing sibling - I haven't found that in many novels and it was a surprise to find this aspect in the story and it connected with me.
Some quotes I highlighted:
"What kind of a person lived in a place like that? In spare moments I tried to imagine. Did this person really live all by himself on this out-of-the-way mountaintop...He must be living a life free of worries. But viewed from his perspective, looking at me from his side of the valley, I might appear to also be living a life of ease and leisure. From a distance, most things look beautiful." - pg. 61
"Franz Kafka was quite fond of slopes...he was drawn to all sorts of slope. He loved to gaze a homes built on the middle of a slope..." - pg. 324
"The truth is a symbol, and symbols are the truth. It is best to grasp symbols the way they are. There's no logic or facts, no pig's belly button or ant's balls. When people try to use a method other than the truth to follow along the path of understanding, it is like trying to use a sieve to hold water." - pg. 324
"Now that I thought about it, Komi was now twenty-four years younger than me. Since she'd died, every year the age gap only increased between us." - pg. 350
"To turn out a true portrait, I had to discover the story that must be painted." - pg. 369
"What would be the meaning of a world that did not change when an Idea was extinguished? Can an Idea be so insignificant?" - pg. 575
"He took that which he had been unable to accomplish in reality and gave it another form. What we might call 'camouflaged expression.' Not of what had in face happened, but of what should have happened." - pg. 578
"We all live our lives carrying secrets we cannot disclose." - pg. 713
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
heeeere we go! we go! sangsang sogui naui seom! ttara ttara jureul seo! junbidwaettdamyeon up up up up up!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
Come si può intuire dalla mia libreria, io sono un'avida lettrice di Murakami, per questo motivo, quando ho iniziato 'L'assassinio del Commendatore', le mie aspettative erano molto alte. Un po' a malincuore devo ammettere, tuttavia, che questo romanzo non mi ha entusiasmata particolarmente.
L'essenza di Murakami è certamente presente, tutti quegli elementi che fanno di ogni sua narrazione un viaggio, più che un libro; eppure, dopo la classica partenza che rapisce il lettore, l'impressione è che la narrazione s'impantani in una serie infinita di riflessioni che tornano sempre allo stesso punto, e spesso le pagine non ne vogliono sapere di scorrere fluide.
Nel complesso, la storia è interessante - un coinvolgente percorso nella mente e nelle sensazioni di un pittore, nel suo rapporto con i quadri e gli elementi che si nascondono nelle profondità di una tela bianca - e resta la voglia di arrivare alla fine, nonostante i capitoli centrali diano la sensazione di attraversare insidiose sabbie mobili letterarie.
L'essenza di Murakami è certamente presente, tutti quegli elementi che fanno di ogni sua narrazione un viaggio, più che un libro; eppure, dopo la classica partenza che rapisce il lettore, l'impressione è che la narrazione s'impantani in una serie infinita di riflessioni che tornano sempre allo stesso punto, e spesso le pagine non ne vogliono sapere di scorrere fluide.
Nel complesso, la storia è interessante - un coinvolgente percorso nella mente e nelle sensazioni di un pittore, nel suo rapporto con i quadri e gli elementi che si nascondono nelle profondità di una tela bianca - e resta la voglia di arrivare alla fine, nonostante i capitoli centrali diano la sensazione di attraversare insidiose sabbie mobili letterarie.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
ending felt rushed for such a prolonged build up. Captivating story nonetheless. A lot of murakamis ideas surrounding being an artist really resonated with me.
The best Murakami book I've read since reading my favourite, Norwegian Wood, in 2019. My only gripe with this book is that it can be incredibly slow paced at times. Other than that, Murakami's classic blend of cool contemporary fiction and magical realism is here, and its a joy to read. Little 2ft tall men appear out of paintings, people sit in holes in the ground for indiscernible reasons, and somehow it's all linked to war (specifically the Second World War). Through a series of sometimes bizarre, funny, frightening, heartwarming, and bewildering events our unnamed protagonist learns about the life of a legendary Japanese painter and why he made a decision to change his style of painting and his life as a whole after an experience in Vienna during the height of WWII. Meanwhile the protagonist goes on a journey of self-actualization triggered by a request to paint a portait of the mysterious Mr. Menshiki, who lives in the white mansion across the valley.
A must read for any Murakami fan
9.4/10
A must read for any Murakami fan
9.4/10