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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fun light book to read made me laugh a bit but ofc murakami had to ruin it with some of the most disgusting descriptions i have ever read
A three star in comparison with other Murakami works, a 5-star in comparison with many of others' works.
Really enjoyed this but haruki goonakami comes out as his worst self…
“The kind of awesome rock hard erection I’d never experienced before”
Outside the goons however, really interesting book I really enjoyed the dynamic between the three main characters but I do kind of feel that the narrator was there so Murakami could almost write as himself without putting himself in the women’s shoes (and so he can also goon). Not to say that the dynamic between him and Sumire wasn’t interesting but I still kinda see the narrator as almost like a gateway or a portal into Sumire’s and Miu’s relationship but I think I might’ve preferred if it was told from the perspective of Sumire. At least until the supernatural stuff starts.
So far, after reading three Murakami books, this is probably my least favourite of his so far and that’s mainly due to how egregious some of the goons were. From what I remember of Kafka, the sexual content was generally confined to certain sections and while it has been years since reading it, I felt that it was something I could overlook. With Norwegian wood, I didn’t mind it outside of maybe one or two really weird scenes and since it was about a relationship and I think it felt somewhat natural even if the way Murakami writes about women isn’t great. But with this book some of the things written can just take you out of it completely. You see the quote at the start of the review. Lines like these just come out of the blue and it just became too distracting at some points.
Otherwise though, I’d still recommend it if you like Murakami but if you don’t already enjoy him and can’t overlook his random objectification of women (even if I think the women here are really well written), just don’t read it.
“The kind of awesome rock hard erection I’d never experienced before”
Outside the goons however, really interesting book I really enjoyed the dynamic between the three main characters but I do kind of feel that the narrator was there so Murakami could almost write as himself without putting himself in the women’s shoes (and so he can also goon). Not to say that the dynamic between him and Sumire wasn’t interesting but I still kinda see the narrator as almost like a gateway or a portal into Sumire’s and Miu’s relationship but I think I might’ve preferred if it was told from the perspective of Sumire. At least until the supernatural stuff starts.
So far, after reading three Murakami books, this is probably my least favourite of his so far and that’s mainly due to how egregious some of the goons were. From what I remember of Kafka, the sexual content was generally confined to certain sections and while it has been years since reading it, I felt that it was something I could overlook. With Norwegian wood, I didn’t mind it outside of maybe one or two really weird scenes and since it was about a relationship and I think it felt somewhat natural even if the way Murakami writes about women isn’t great. But with this book some of the things written can just take you out of it completely. You see the quote at the start of the review. Lines like these just come out of the blue and it just became too distracting at some points.
Otherwise though, I’d still recommend it if you like Murakami but if you don’t already enjoy him and can’t overlook his random objectification of women (even if I think the women here are really well written), just don’t read it.
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
recently i’ve been struggling to come to terms with the idea of loss and change. i’m a senior in high school which means this is my last year basking in this false sense of reality before the real world ensues and im forced to become an adult. as this approaches me, i’ve thought a lot about how i will lose some people i currently know and how that’s going to hurt me so much, which is one of the themes in this book. it’s crazy how stories can find you when you need them, but least expect them. murakami writes from K’s pov, “So that’s how we live our lives. No matter how deep and fatal the loss, no matter how important the thing that’s stolen from us—that’s snatched right out of our hands—even if we are left completely changed, with only the outer layer of skin from before, we continue to play out our lives this way, in silence. We draw ever nearer to the end of our allotted span of time, biding it farewell as it trails off behind.” this is a quote towards the end of the book but i feel like it highlights one of the overall themes of loss and how we live after. i often feel like i will just be floating through my life after i lose certain people, in an abyss of solitude. i learned that even if that becomes my reality, we adjust and learn how to live without, which i’ve already done after experiencing loss in other ways, but didn’t realize until now. i love books that help me think and how life imitates art. murakami has a certain fluidity in his writing and creates very distinct voices for his characters. i love the sense of fantasy in this book that lets the reader wonder what happens to Sumire and why it happened. there is so much longing and love in this story and i feel like this is a great murakami to start out with to get into his prose and storytelling. i wish i could grasp this story a little bit better. i do understand what happened to Miu, yet the metaphor was so fantastical that it was almost confusing as a reader to follow what happened. i also don’t believe that Sumire killed her, and i think the phone call at the end of the story was real but i don’t think K ever found Sumire. that’s just my take on it. i feel like sumire transcendence was also k’s transcendence. and they evolved through one another. sumire was k’s life line and i really loved their platonic relationship.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Longing for others and yourself and something different.
mysterious
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:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes