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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
3.5 An easy read but felt like I was reading a Murakami only in bits.
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While I do get that the book wants to convey that feeling of feeling empty, where you can never feel fulfilled and don't have any desire, it shows such feelings in a overused way. Desire = sex and lust, the only part of the book I enjoyed is the last 5 pages where he accepts everything about himself, the other 180 pages was boring.
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
im so conflicted. at one point i was sure to give this book a two stars. murakami impacted me with his writing with norweigan wood, but his way of writing women drags the whole experience down. in norweigan wood i hadn’t noticed it because i’m blind asf, but here? damn. this book is at the same time better and worse than norweigan wood. hajime was irritable and honestly the plot was kinda of meh. i really really really dislike how he portrays women, but damn can this man write. sometimes. “for a moment or two, my sense of self really did a break down, it’s very outline melting away into a thick, syrupy goo.”? yes bitch. the whole chain of alternate realities to prove reality is real? yes please. the way he incorporates and brings actual meaning to “south of the border, west of the sun”? yes yes yes. mysoginistic writing? objectifying women all throughout? not so much. the main character is an asshole.
I have a lot of complaints about this book, but I won't lie, it had a certain compelling aspect to it that kept drawing me back in, no matter how frustrated I became. Perhaps this was because I listened to this on audiobook with my roommate and could easily poke fun at the flat, insufferable characters and uncomfortable (extremely unsexy) sex descriptions. Seriously, this book makes me wonder if Murakami has ever met a real human woman in his life. Shimamoto is the ultimate MPDG who's so ~uwu mysterious~ you finish the novel not knowing a single important detail about her EXCEPT that she was beautiful and mysterious. Like...okay. I felt so bad for Yukiko, the only tolerable character who spends the entirety of the novel being cheated on by her pathetic, dickbag husband, who would rather lust over his 12-year-old wet dream, Shimamoto. The ending made up for a lot of the mediocre middle because Hajime is actually forced to recognize that yeah, he actually is a huge, selfish piece of garbage.
The writing style is tolerable and readable. He has a certain roundabout way of storytelling that never quite reveals where the plot is going, which I found interesting though it left a lot of loose ends. In fact, the simple, understated style made me feel like I was missing something much deeper, and that Murakami was actually just working towards a much bigger picture. Ultimately though, this was only half-fulfilled. Though I thoroughly enjoyed jointly-reading this novel with my roommate, it was the experience I liked, not so much the actual novel. I'm still interested to try his other works, but I have a hard time believing this is THE Haruki Murakami so many people rave about.
The writing style is tolerable and readable. He has a certain roundabout way of storytelling that never quite reveals where the plot is going, which I found interesting though it left a lot of loose ends. In fact, the simple, understated style made me feel like I was missing something much deeper, and that Murakami was actually just working towards a much bigger picture. Ultimately though, this was only half-fulfilled. Though I thoroughly enjoyed jointly-reading this novel with my roommate, it was the experience I liked, not so much the actual novel. I'm still interested to try his other works, but I have a hard time believing this is THE Haruki Murakami so many people rave about.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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
a beautiful reflection on the pointlessness of living and the struggle to find joy in a routine life - especially when faced with the promise of a fantastical adventure. one must imagine Sisyphus happy masked with intriguing symbolism
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
At first I thought that the translation must not be very good—too many English colloquialisms—and the conclusions of the narrator too simplistic. But a little over half-way through, the story took a turn for the dark that contextualized everything that came before as foreshadowing. Hajime's morality-lite catches up with him, and we are left with a fascinating commentary on love, commitment and plain old everyday life.
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes