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dr_orby's review against another edition
4.25
A fantastic collection of short stories, some of which are better than others. “Honey Pie” was easily my favorite; it had all the charm of a typical Murakami piece, but the ending was something I hadn’t seen from him (yet.) “Super-Frog Saves Tokyo” was an insanely fun read, I just wish it were longer.
1. “Honey Pie” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. “Super-Frog Saves Tokyo” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Thailand” was another great read, though it lacked some information and detail that would have made the story more satisfying. I appreciate how it vignetted the characters, but I definitely would have read this story as a fully fleshed out novel.
3. “Thailand” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The others were also good, though I didn’t connect with the characters as much. “Landscape in Flatiron” is probably my fourth favorite, as I love the friendship between the characters. Next comes “All God’s Children Can Dance.” I loved the last line and its implication, but overall the character was… creepy? I wish we saw more of his delusions. “UFO in Kushiro” was nothing special to me.
4. “Landscape with Flatiron” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. “All God’s Children Can Dance” - ⭐️⭐️
6. “UFO in Kushiro” - ⭐️⭐️
1. “Honey Pie” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. “Super-Frog Saves Tokyo” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Thailand” was another great read, though it lacked some information and detail that would have made the story more satisfying. I appreciate how it vignetted the characters, but I definitely would have read this story as a fully fleshed out novel.
3. “Thailand” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The others were also good, though I didn’t connect with the characters as much. “Landscape in Flatiron” is probably my fourth favorite, as I love the friendship between the characters. Next comes “All God’s Children Can Dance.” I loved the last line and its implication, but overall the character was… creepy? I wish we saw more of his delusions. “UFO in Kushiro” was nothing special to me.
4. “Landscape with Flatiron” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. “All God’s Children Can Dance” - ⭐️⭐️
6. “UFO in Kushiro” - ⭐️⭐️
historysworstmonster's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of short stories that revolve around the devastating earthquake that killed thousands in 1995. The stories are sometimes quiet and poetic, and sometimes funny and fantastical. I enjoyed it a great deal.
ada_elisabeth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Short story collections are my absolute favorite things to read, and this one did not disappoint. This was also my first time reading anything by Murakami, and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I will definitely be reading more of his work in the future.
ufo in kushiro, 4.5/5
This is the perfect story to begin this collection with: it sets up the theme of the Kobe earthquake and also sets the stage with the mysterious, slightly eerie feelings that permeate all of the stories in this book. The story itself was intriguing and a little bit alarming, and I loved the ambiguous ending.
landscape with flatiron, 4/5
This one was a little bit forgettable, but not necessarily boring or bad. It continued the mysterious feeling of the previous story with outlandish circumstances and slightly odd characters. I'm deducting a point because it was not super memorable, but I did enjoy reading it.
all god's children can dance, 5/5
I really like the title of this one, and it was one of the more quotable stories in the collection. I really liked the premise and how the story shied away from the more obviously surreal qualities of the previous stories while still keeping the same slightly eerie feeling.
thailand, 4.5/5
I found this one a little more confusing than the others, which is odd because I feel like the meaning seemed very obvious, but I have no idea what it was trying to say. I liked the different setting that this story had and the very limited use of characters made it feel very streamlined.
super-frog saves tokyo, 5/5
Despite its weird title, this was one of my favorites (if not my favorite) in this collection. There's nothing I love more than reading about boring people living their boring lives, and this definitely checked that box. However, this was also one of the more obviously surreal, strange stories in the collection, which made it stand out from the others. And I don't know exactly why, but this one really spoke to me today.
honey pie, 5/5
This was also a favorite. I loved how it was a little more realistic and less mysterious than the others, which made it a good closer. I liked the characters in this one the best and I feel like this piece was probably the most relatable. Bonus points for the title.
I love short stories. I love how they can say as much (if not more) about the human experience than entire novels while still being short and manageable. They always make me wish I could be a good short story writer, but for now, just reading them makes me happy enough. I loved that these ones in particular had a somewhat sad/sentimental feel, which I feel like qualifies this book for ✨sad book summer✨. They also reminded me a lot of Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, which I really liked. Additionally, I loved the simplistic yet descriptive language, which, paired with the rich imagery and poignant stories made this one of my favorite books of the summer. Overall, a solid 5/5.
"I want to write about people who dream and wait for the night to end, who long for the light so they can hold the ones they love."
ufo in kushiro, 4.5/5
This is the perfect story to begin this collection with: it sets up the theme of the Kobe earthquake and also sets the stage with the mysterious, slightly eerie feelings that permeate all of the stories in this book. The story itself was intriguing and a little bit alarming, and I loved the ambiguous ending.
landscape with flatiron, 4/5
This one was a little bit forgettable, but not necessarily boring or bad. It continued the mysterious feeling of the previous story with outlandish circumstances and slightly odd characters. I'm deducting a point because it was not super memorable, but I did enjoy reading it.
all god's children can dance, 5/5
I really like the title of this one, and it was one of the more quotable stories in the collection. I really liked the premise and how the story shied away from the more obviously surreal qualities of the previous stories while still keeping the same slightly eerie feeling.
thailand, 4.5/5
I found this one a little more confusing than the others, which is odd because I feel like the meaning seemed very obvious, but I have no idea what it was trying to say. I liked the different setting that this story had and the very limited use of characters made it feel very streamlined.
super-frog saves tokyo, 5/5
Despite its weird title, this was one of my favorites (if not my favorite) in this collection. There's nothing I love more than reading about boring people living their boring lives, and this definitely checked that box. However, this was also one of the more obviously surreal, strange stories in the collection, which made it stand out from the others. And I don't know exactly why, but this one really spoke to me today.
honey pie, 5/5
This was also a favorite. I loved how it was a little more realistic and less mysterious than the others, which made it a good closer. I liked the characters in this one the best and I feel like this piece was probably the most relatable. Bonus points for the title.
I love short stories. I love how they can say as much (if not more) about the human experience than entire novels while still being short and manageable. They always make me wish I could be a good short story writer, but for now, just reading them makes me happy enough. I loved that these ones in particular had a somewhat sad/sentimental feel, which I feel like qualifies this book for ✨sad book summer✨. They also reminded me a lot of Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, which I really liked. Additionally, I loved the simplistic yet descriptive language, which, paired with the rich imagery and poignant stories made this one of my favorite books of the summer. Overall, a solid 5/5.
"I want to write about people who dream and wait for the night to end, who long for the light so they can hold the ones they love."
ndakota's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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? No
1.5
erickabdz's review against another edition
3.0
En su oído resonó la voz de Takatsuki el día en que se habían visto por primera vez en clase. «¡Hola! ¿Vamos a comer?», había dicho su cálida voz. En su rostro se dibujaba una afable sonrisa que parecía decir: «¡Va! En este mundo, a partir de ahora, todo va a ir bien, ya lo verás»
Leer a Haruki Murakami siempre es salirme de mi zona de comfort. En esta ocasión, elegí [b:Después del terremoto|17331723|Después del terremoto|Haruki Murakami|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1359990214s/17331723.jpg|6179815] porque era uno de los pocos libros que ofrecía la biblioteca de mi escuela. Me averguenza mucho decir que no estaba al tanto del terremoto que sufrió la ciudad de Kobe en 1995, hecho que dio nacimiento a esta colección de relatos. No hay que malinterpretar este dato; si bien fue la inspiración del autor, definitivamente no es el tema de los relatos.
Las historias que componen esta colección hablan del suceso a una distancia proudencial, pero siempre enfocadas en cómo esto afectó la vida de los protagonistas. Creo que me hubiera gustado aprender más del fatídico suceso, pero entiendo que tengo la obligación de enterarme en libros históricos y Murakami hace un interesante trabajo volviéndolo un suceso anecdótico en la vida de sus protagonistas.
Un par de relatos me parecieron entretenidos, pero ninguno me atrapó completamente; al contrario, varios me parecieron sumamente problemáticos. No soy una experta y no entiendo el papel de la cultura al escribir sobre mujeres, pero igualmente me veo incapaz de perdonar el papel tan sexual, incluso aunque se insista en que es metafórico, que tienen las mujeres en estas historias. Tal vez debería contextualizarme un poco más, volverme una experta crítica en literatura para comprender todas las capas que forman las historias de Murakami, pero las historias no logran llamarme tanto como para intentarlo.
Creo que puedo recomendar este libro a cualquier fan del surrealismo o amante de analizar historias; Murakami tiene un estilo muy fijo que mezcla en buenas dosis la realidad con lo fantástico, y creo que si ha tanta gente le gusta debe haber una razón para ello. Simplemente, no es el tipo de estilo que disfruto, aunque sí agradezco la oportunidad de expandir mis horizontes y seguramente lea más de Murakami en el futuro.
morniingstar's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
3.0
beelo268's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
rachelselene's review against another edition
3.0
”’It’s true,’ he said. ‘No matter how far you travel, you can never get away from yourself. It’s like your shadow. It follows you everywhere.’”
i almost feel like murakami’s style is more effective in short story format as opposed to novels, although i haven’t really read enough of his work to be a serious critic. my favorite story of this collection was, by far, the last one — “honey pie” was an emotional punch in all the right places. i also enjoyed “ufo in kushiro” and “thailand.”
i almost feel like murakami’s style is more effective in short story format as opposed to novels, although i haven’t really read enough of his work to be a serious critic. my favorite story of this collection was, by far, the last one — “honey pie” was an emotional punch in all the right places. i also enjoyed “ufo in kushiro” and “thailand.”
auroraisobessed's review against another edition
- UFO in Koshiro: feels like there is symbolism that is supposed to be deep but just feels random to me? (Bear story, drug cube?) . Written in SUCH AN EMOTIONLESS TONE?? feels like 0 effort was put in i just do not care about any of the people / events. The author somehow managed to suck all the fun / interest out of a interesting event like your wife leaving shoudl be interesting.
- I just dont like the writing style!! Nothing is going on these ppl are just yapping and like literally i dont care. Make me care?!! I thought these stories would link up atleast via name but i dont think they do.
x0pherl's review against another edition
3.0
As short stories go, these are quite good but the format just doesn't give Murakami enough room to do everything I've come to expect.