Reviews

Tämä kirja vie sinut kädestä pitäen universumiin, jossa ajan paikan ja ruumiin rajat häilyvät eikä horisonttia pysty näkemään kuin vasta lopussa. Kirja sai toisaalta kunnon otteen vasta kolmensadan sivun kohdalla, joten pientä kärsivällisyyttä ja avoinmielisyyttä kummallisille tapahtumille ehdottomasti tarvitaan.
Laittaa aivonystyrät poraamaan betoniseiniin karttoja samalla tavoin, mitä rakastamani Ghiblin elokuvat tekevät. Jos kummallinen sumuinen sää ja vastauksettomat kysymykset eivät sytytä sydäntäsi palamaan älä lue tätä kirjaa.

ev_asive's review against another edition

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4.0

Really well-written, fantastic plot. Love the surrealist nature of the whole thing and the way Murakami poses questions of morality and identity. Would get 5 stars if he wasn’t so darn sexist.

bexlrose's review against another edition

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4.0

Weird and good. Loved some of the characters. Didn't necessarily understand all of it and not sure I can be totally bothered to try now it's over. 3.5 stars.

nadazzling's review against another edition

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5.0

كِتاب عجيب و غرائبي ، خليطٌ من الواقعية التي تنمو إلى خيال أقرب للمعجزات ، كعادة موراكامي لديه فلسفته الخاصة التي تظهر ظهورًا واضحًا في شخصيات كتبه.
كتاب عظيم

swanwords's review against another edition

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I couldn't finish this book. I have a number of complaints, chief among them is Haruki Murakami's complete and utter lack of understanding of PEOPLE. While I understand sometimes words get lost in translation, Murakami's writing skills seem to be afflicted more by his inadequate character development than translation errors.

The book is partially based on the Oedpius complex. However, it reads like a hollow story about, well... nothing. Another person in these reviews said that none of the characters in the book seem to understand that they are dealing with a 15-year-old and I couldn't agree more. The author's side characters are devoid of emotions, especially guilt.

Why wouldn't you call the police if a 15-year-old runaway shows up at your library? Why wouldn't you call the police after that 15-year-old is orphaned? Why would you molest a 15-year-old after he was just injured on the side of the road and had no one else to call? The characters in this book are senseless, like sad puppets in a boring play.

There were some moments where the book was mildly interesting and these mainly centered around the other character, Nakata. His story was engaging until he encountered an out-of-place character that kills cats (graphically). Murakami attempts to weave some sort of philosophical, fantastical meaning into this man's life but fails. The book seriously DRAGS after Nakata's turning point.

Lastly, I think it's a well-known issue the way that Murakami talks about women and the fact that his novels are held in high regard "in spite of" is disappointing. The author outwardly criticizes all of his female characters and jests about the concerns of feminists. He fabricates feminist concerns as well, such as there being no female restroom in an all-gender restroom. Murakami's implicit biases are clearly a driving force in his literature and I find that his writing is not even close to being good enough for this to be excused.

Content Warnings

mturner2's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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