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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
My main thoughts about this book: I love K. What a lovely, generous, contented man.
When I first launched into this book I admit to a bit of an eye roll: fabulous, a woman whose defining characteristics are that she wears carefully careless clothing and is aspiring to be a writer. What a cliche. In truth, she was a cliche. Sumire is the girl you've read about in a thousand teen fiction books. She was undeservingly steeped in mystery and romantic entanglements that were very implausible. Usually implausibility doesn't bother me in Murakami but in this book it did.
I was disappointed in the Sumire/K storyline and thought that the time in Greece, the return of Sumire and the character of Miu were all so quirky that they could only be saved by the sort of depth that this short book did not give them.
When I first launched into this book I admit to a bit of an eye roll: fabulous, a woman whose defining characteristics are that she wears carefully careless clothing and is aspiring to be a writer. What a cliche. In truth, she was a cliche. Sumire is the girl you've read about in a thousand teen fiction books. She was undeservingly steeped in mystery and romantic entanglements that were very implausible. Usually implausibility doesn't bother me in Murakami but in this book it did.
I was disappointed in the Sumire/K storyline and thought that the time in Greece, the return of Sumire and the character of Miu were all so quirky that they could only be saved by the sort of depth that this short book did not give them.
Definitely recommended -- Murakmai is always confusing, yet amazing.
slow-paced
I love Murakami and I love that he wrote a lil something for the lesbians. This is one of my fave books by him so far cause the magical realism is just sooooo good like ugh I love how he bridges worlds
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
sad
tense
medium-paced
I fear this being the first book I’ve read from Murakami has stained my opinion on him. I enjoy his prose & don’t feel like my time was entirely wasted. But I am so angry with how poorly he wrote these women. It was clearly from the POV of a man trying to imagine the POV of a woman. In some aspects, I admire the honesty of expression since it is quite literally a story of a man telling us the story of a woman. But even the moments that come directly from Sumire do not differ at all, and there’s several times he lacked the ability to actually convey believable thoughts of a woman. But mostly I am mad at the reduction he gives Miu. I fail to see the benefit or poignancy of creating such a weak concept of a “strong” and “accomplished” woman, adding up the entirety of her life to a moment that was really devastating. Especially as a woman, I do not appreciate being forced to accept that an experience like that is unsurmountable.
Overall, I enjoy his prose and will be reading more works of his in the future. But only when I come across second hand copies. I need to find out if he actually doesn’t care about women enough to understand them well, even if just for the selfish purpose of improving his own characters. But I am truly enraged enough by what he did to Miu and what it implies for women as a whole, since so many of us have similar stories to share.
Overall, I enjoy his prose and will be reading more works of his in the future. But only when I come across second hand copies. I need to find out if he actually doesn’t care about women enough to understand them well, even if just for the selfish purpose of improving his own characters. But I am truly enraged enough by what he did to Miu and what it implies for women as a whole, since so many of us have similar stories to share.
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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:
Yes
2.25/2.5
la vie de ma mère le mec a jamais parlé à une femme de sa vie + une lesbophobie chiante c'est trop grave parce qu'il y avait des passages intéressants que j'ai franchement appréciés et la seconde d'après je poussais de gros soupirs et je levais les yeux au ciel ???? comment ça "elle sentit ses seins durcir" mon reuf
la vie de ma mère le mec a jamais parlé à une femme de sa vie + une lesbophobie chiante c'est trop grave parce qu'il y avait des passages intéressants que j'ai franchement appréciés et la seconde d'après je poussais de gros soupirs et je levais les yeux au ciel ???? comment ça "elle sentit ses seins durcir" mon reuf
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-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
mysterious
fast-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