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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
I found very little to like in this collection of short stories, which was my introduction to the writing of Haruki Murakami. His writing style wasn't much to my taste and I found the story's themes repetitive (why did almost all of them center around affairs??) The only reason I persevered with the book at all after the third story was that a friend had asked me to read it for my opinion. As a general rule I attempt to finish books before forming too much of an opinion on them, but I was sorely tempted to break that rule for this one.
The only story I enjoyed to some extent was 'Kino' because it was less gross than the others and I liked the imagery of the bar's quiet atmosphere. Some of the stories didn't feel like short stories at all, but rather like full-length stories that had been cut off at the knees (see 'Samsa in Love', which utterly baffled me until I discovered that it was a reversion of Kafka's 'Metamorphosis'- a book I have not read and thus at the time could make no connection to. I would have been very annoyed at such an abrupt ending to such a confusing story if I had not been so glad that it had ended.)
Overall, this was a poor first impression of Murakami. I did consider that his other works may be better, but after my friend informed me that this was a faithful depiction of his writing, I resolved to simply give up on this particular author and leave his books to those that do enjoy them.
The only story I enjoyed to some extent was 'Kino' because it was less gross than the others and I liked the imagery of the bar's quiet atmosphere. Some of the stories didn't feel like short stories at all, but rather like full-length stories that had been cut off at the knees (see 'Samsa in Love', which utterly baffled me until I discovered that it was a reversion of Kafka's 'Metamorphosis'- a book I have not read and thus at the time could make no connection to. I would have been very annoyed at such an abrupt ending to such a confusing story if I had not been so glad that it had ended.)
Overall, this was a poor first impression of Murakami. I did consider that his other works may be better, but after my friend informed me that this was a faithful depiction of his writing, I resolved to simply give up on this particular author and leave his books to those that do enjoy them.
reflective
fast-paced
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
Since I gave a second chance to Rooney, why can't I give a second chance to Murakami? I thought to myself as I found this collection of short stories on a shelf at the Casual Poet Library.
Alas, I didn't even make it until page 20 before ticking off a full Murakami bingo card. A single male living alone after a bad breakup? Check. Loves listening to American jazz? Check. Oddly detailed recountings of sexual relationships? Check. The rest of the book followed suit: magical realism, matter-of-fact descriptions of the narrator's penis, a girl who vanishes from the narrator's life, check, check, check.
It's the first story, Drive My Car (adapted into a film that won Best International Film at the Oscars) that is a strong start, with its exploration of relationships and processing of grief, twinning the practice of acting and the notion of blind spots in driving to the narrator's relationships with his wife and her lover. It is Murakami at his understated best.
However, it's all downhill from there. The whole collection focuses on, well, men who lose and learn (or not) to live without women. They yearn and they reflect. Sometimes, they border on the offensive, like how in An Independent Organ, one's lovesickness is likened to starvation of concentration camp survivors, and that women have an organ that allows them to lie, unlike men. If there was intentionality in the bizarreness, it is unclear to what ends it serves.
The eponymous last story literally takes us through the narrator's fond recollections of a deceased past flame. Handled properly, it would be poignant, but even as the shortest story, it plods along. Maybe once upon a time I would have found this collection worthwhile, but as it stands, I cannot resonate with Murakami's writing any longer.
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
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
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This short story collection hits all the Murakami beats: dream-like weirdness, lonely men who are on the autism and asexual spectrum and are desperately trying to figure out how other people, mostly women, work, incomprehensible women with mysterious backstories, and a retelling of [b:The Metamorphosis|485894|The Metamorphosis|Franz Kafka|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1646444605l/485894._SY75_.jpg|2373750], in a reverse apocalyptic world as an allegory of what it is to be a man. Wonderful.
Kino and Samsa in Love are my favorite stories in this collection, but I like his novels better!