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wiktoria_bojda's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Misogyny
mint7's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The most memorable stories were: Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova, With the Beatles, and Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey. As always, Murakami's depiction of women is hard to get through sometimes. With the Beatles was my personal favorite from this collection.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
jessica_luvs's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Addiction, Rape, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicidal thoughts
73mona's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
2.5
I've previously read an earlier collection of Marukamis short stories, called 'Passion'. I enjoyed it very much, but this book was quite a mix of enticing stories and straight up boring ramble. I'm very disappointed and hope his other collections and novels are more my taste.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
agateg's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
“No matter how vivid memories may be, they can’t win out against the power of time.”
The eight masterful stories in this new collection are all told in the first person by a classic Murakami narrator: a lonely man. Some of them are nostalgic looks back at youth. Others are set in adulthood and the stunning title story. Occasionally, a narrator who may or may not be Haruki himself is present. Is it a memoir or fiction? The reader decides. The stories touch beautifully on love and loss, childhood and death with a signature Murakami twist.
I honestly don't know my thoughts on this short story collection. Some of the stories were interesting, some bored me. The writing style was exciting and moderately fun to read but the way he sometimes writes about women was a bit too much for me, I couldn't enjoy some of it because of how objectified it felt. I did thoroughly enjoy the second to last short story, which was told from a woman's perspective. I don't know if I'll be checking out more of his work. Only time will tell. The cover is beautifully designed though!
The eight masterful stories in this new collection are all told in the first person by a classic Murakami narrator: a lonely man. Some of them are nostalgic looks back at youth. Others are set in adulthood and the stunning title story. Occasionally, a narrator who may or may not be Haruki himself is present. Is it a memoir or fiction? The reader decides. The stories touch beautifully on love and loss, childhood and death with a signature Murakami twist.
I honestly don't know my thoughts on this short story collection. Some of the stories were interesting, some bored me. The writing style was exciting and moderately fun to read but the way he sometimes writes about women was a bit too much for me, I couldn't enjoy some of it because of how objectified it felt. I did thoroughly enjoy the second to last short story, which was told from a woman's perspective. I don't know if I'll be checking out more of his work. Only time will tell. The cover is beautifully designed though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Suicide
Moderate: Misogyny and Dementia
lostboylio's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
This was my first book by Murakami and I’m not sure if I want to read more by this author.
First of all the writing style was great! Once I started a story I couldn’t stop reading, I kept wondering what the meaning behind those partially disturbing stories was but it’s hard to find one to be honest. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
If I would only rate these aspects of this book i’d give it maybe a 4/5.
But that’s sadly not the case due to the fact that secondly one cannot ignore the blatant misogyny in almost every story. Like, come on, who tf starts a story with “Of all the women I’ve known, she was the ugliest.” and then proceeds to repeatedly state how ugly this woman is WHEN IT LITERALLY CONTRIBUTES NOTHING USEFUL TO THE STORY!! Every so small misogynistic comment in this could have been replaced easily with something more 21st-century-appropriate and it wouldn’t harm the story.
And because this part infuriated me quite a bit while reading I’d rate this book a 2.75/5.
A 10/10 tho for “Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova”, this story was truly amazing!
First of all the writing style was great! Once I started a story I couldn’t stop reading, I kept wondering what the meaning behind those partially disturbing stories was but it’s hard to find one to be honest. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
If I would only rate these aspects of this book i’d give it maybe a 4/5.
But that’s sadly not the case due to the fact that secondly one cannot ignore the blatant misogyny in almost every story. Like, come on, who tf starts a story with “Of all the women I’ve known, she was the ugliest.” and then proceeds to repeatedly state how ugly this woman is WHEN IT LITERALLY CONTRIBUTES NOTHING USEFUL TO THE STORY!! Every so small misogynistic comment in this could have been replaced easily with something more 21st-century-appropriate and it wouldn’t harm the story.
And because this part infuriated me quite a bit while reading I’d rate this book a 2.75/5.
A 10/10 tho for “Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova”, this story was truly amazing!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
Minor: Suicide
charlywarlywoo's review against another edition
I’d heard lots about Murakami and had always looked forward to reading one of his books but upon getting half way through this one I actually couldn’t believe how one dimensional and misogynistic his characters are. It felt like the women were personality-less objects whose only goal was to slightly advance the story. I think I’ll pass on any of his other novels. This one has left a sour taste in my mouth. Thanks but no thanks.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
franzi_'s review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Death of parent, Dementia, and Car accident
belladonnashrike's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
2.75
murakami’s (and his translators!) a really great writer, but some of these stories left something to be desired. perhaps I wasn’t the target audience but even though I thoroughly enjoy his writing (aside from the blatant misogyny), most of the stories themselves were just.. boring. I really liked Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey & On a Stone Pillow - those were really great; I wish the other stories were like those two.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Cancer
sunflowersarepretty's review against another edition
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Was surprised at how much sexism Murakami managed to show in this work. I was prepared to give it an adequate rating, looking past his blatantly sexist commentary, until I got to the chapter named Carnaval. He dedicated an entire chapter to the basis that a he thought a woman wasn’t to his taste. And he was self aware of this. Calling out that some people, mainly women would find it hard to read this chapter, but that he still felt the need to write it. This combined with his internalized misogyny and outward sexism made this novel, which I had looked forward to, not a pleasant time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicide