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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
This book is like stepping into a dream you don’t fully understand but can’t stop thinking about. It’s a story of fate, identity, and the strange ways our lives connect. It blends magical realism, deep emotions, and mysteries that don’t always have answers, but that’s part of the beauty. This book made me reflect on the idea of destiny and what it means to find yourself in a world that often feels beyond our control. It’s a weird, wonderful journey that I won’t forget anytime soon.
A beautiful book. Some themes were questionable and made me a bit uncomfortable but I fell in love with Murakami's writing style. Simple yet poignant.
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Heeeeerlijk boek. Echt ouderwets meegenomen door het verhaal, dat maar blijft boeien en boeien... Vooral Nakata en zijn latere reisgenoot Hoshino zij mij dierbaar geworden. Net als Oshima overigens:
"But what disgusts me even more are people who have no imagination, the kind T. S. Eliot calls hollow men, people who fill up that lack of imagination with heartless bits of straw, not even aware of what they're doing. Callous people, who throw a lot of empty words at you, trying to force you to do what you don't want to.... Narrow minds devoid of imagination. Intolerance, theories cut off from reality, empty terminology, usurped ideals, inflexible systems, those are the things that really frighten me. What I absolutely fear and loath."
Met gemengde gevoelens dit boek (januari 2008) dichtgeslagen: spijtig omdat het uit is, maar opgewekt weer een schrijver te hebben ontdekt, waar ik nog niet alle boeken van heb gelezen, zodat ik nog e.e.a. te genieten in het vooruitzicht heb.
First Vintage International, open market-edition, october 2005
(= Amerikaans en daarom betalen ze in Japan met dollars ...)
"But what disgusts me even more are people who have no imagination, the kind T. S. Eliot calls hollow men, people who fill up that lack of imagination with heartless bits of straw, not even aware of what they're doing. Callous people, who throw a lot of empty words at you, trying to force you to do what you don't want to.... Narrow minds devoid of imagination. Intolerance, theories cut off from reality, empty terminology, usurped ideals, inflexible systems, those are the things that really frighten me. What I absolutely fear and loath."
Met gemengde gevoelens dit boek (januari 2008) dichtgeslagen: spijtig omdat het uit is, maar opgewekt weer een schrijver te hebben ontdekt, waar ik nog niet alle boeken van heb gelezen, zodat ik nog e.e.a. te genieten in het vooruitzicht heb.
First Vintage International, open market-edition, october 2005
(= Amerikaans en daarom betalen ze in Japan met dollars ...)
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
If I read this book several years ago, I might not finish it. It's too vulgar for me. Like, you can't let the story goes without concerning (or thinking and imagining) stuff you just read.
It's hard to follow in some point, mostly on the metaphysical part and the unknown world. But I guess that's how Murakami works and got his awards. If it wasn't his work, I might go to a lower rate.
This book provides a bunch of information and knowledge you may not gain in reading another book in those subject, such as music, holocaust, history, philosophy, etc. It's a rich book you may not realize you learn something new. But again, the last part was so plain and boring. Like we already knew what would happen to the characters we don't need him to explain it to us.
It's hard to follow in some point, mostly on the metaphysical part and the unknown world. But I guess that's how Murakami works and got his awards. If it wasn't his work, I might go to a lower rate.
This book provides a bunch of information and knowledge you may not gain in reading another book in those subject, such as music, holocaust, history, philosophy, etc. It's a rich book you may not realize you learn something new. But again, the last part was so plain and boring. Like we already knew what would happen to the characters we don't need him to explain it to us.
Started in Melbourne when visiting Grace in December 2024. Enjoyed but didn't keep going in 2025. Wanting to restart during June 2025 month long visit to Hong Kong.