Scan barcode
abookwormspov's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Self harm, Drug use, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Animal death, Chronic illness, Classism, and Sexual content
lovelylilelle's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
the misogyny was rife in this
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Eating disorder, and Suicide
keqingtan's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Murakami spins oddly specific scenarios into fables of human nature. Within each story, he suspends characters between growth and stillness, the past and the present. The result is an anthology that depicts grief, loneliness, disconnect, hatred, and love, but magnified.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Misogyny
i_llumi's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
this is basically a bunch of stories written from the perspective of betas and sigmas who were either cheated on or cheaters ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'm,,, unsure on how to feel about this book. this was my first ever Murakami, and I definitely understand his fame now - his writing is truly unique and has that bizarre, weird vibe that I've frankly only ever seen from Japanese authors lmao
one of the things I enjoyed the most was the wording shifts from one character to the other. some wrote in formal, almost pretentious styles while others wrote as if this was their diary. it strangely connects the reader to the character, and it's lowkey fascinating.
given my extremely inconsistent reading schedule, I read these stories in a span of 3 long, long months and during that time, passages from them never really left my brain. there's something so uncanny about the writing, the world and the atmosphere that the author creates that although hard to pinpoint what is is, it just exists and permeates the entire 300 pages.
welp. I'd love to come back to this once I get older and have my share of ~relationships~ so I can understand some of the mysteries and questions I have leftover after reading this strange piece of literature.
here's my ranking and take/mini-review of each story (a bit spoilery):
1. kino
i feel like this is the only story I understood most of the metaphors, which by itself is already a feat for my pea sized brain. the ending scene is SO GOOD and I was intrigued throughout the entire thing.
2. scherazade
by far the most fun. mostly because a lot of the story was narrated by a woman (scherazade). her sudden "you know im convinced that i was an eel in my past life" talk lives rent-free in my head. once again, a plot only japanese men could come up with.
3. an independent organ
oof. this one was Sadge. mans was girlbossed
4. drive my car
probably one of the more wholesome ones. the whole thing with kafuku being an actor was quite interesting.
5. men without women
for the story that named the book, if was a bit too short no?
this was rather.. funny? to read? the character is like "omg do you think the woman i dated when i was 14 k*lled herself because of my pEniS???" like bro wake up
I do think this was the perfect closing to the collection though. basically saying that men dont know shit about women and that they spend all their time self-pitying and moping around instead of having you know. empathy.
6. yesterday
if it weren't for the BEATLES IN KANSAI DIALECT this would've been a 3/5 but tbh I think this is the most normal of the 6 stories and 100% the sanest mc of all. see, this is the thing about weird shit: who else would write an entire story about some dude who fakes his accent lmfao
I'm,,, unsure on how to feel about this book. this was my first ever Murakami, and I definitely understand his fame now - his writing is truly unique and has that bizarre, weird vibe that I've frankly only ever seen from Japanese authors lmao
one of the things I enjoyed the most was the wording shifts from one character to the other. some wrote in formal, almost pretentious styles while others wrote as if this was their diary. it strangely connects the reader to the character, and it's lowkey fascinating.
given my extremely inconsistent reading schedule, I read these stories in a span of 3 long, long months and during that time, passages from them never really left my brain. there's something so uncanny about the writing, the world and the atmosphere that the author creates that although hard to pinpoint what is is, it just exists and permeates the entire 300 pages.
welp. I'd love to come back to this once I get older and have my share of ~relationships~ so I can understand some of the mysteries and questions I have leftover after reading this strange piece of literature.
here's my ranking and take/mini-review of each story (a bit spoilery):
1. kino
i feel like this is the only story I understood most of the metaphors, which by itself is already a feat for my pea sized brain. the ending scene is SO GOOD and I was intrigued throughout the entire thing.
2. scherazade
by far the most fun. mostly because a lot of the story was narrated by a woman (scherazade). her sudden "you know im convinced that i was an eel in my past life" talk lives rent-free in my head. once again, a plot only japanese men could come up with.
3. an independent organ
oof. this one was Sadge. mans was girlbossed
4. drive my car
probably one of the more wholesome ones. the whole thing with kafuku being an actor was quite interesting.
5. men without women
for the story that named the book, if was a bit too short no?
this was rather.. funny? to read? the character is like "omg do you think the woman i dated when i was 14 k*lled herself because of my pEniS???" like bro wake up
I do think this was the perfect closing to the collection though. basically saying that men dont know shit about women and that they spend all their time self-pitying and moping around instead of having you know. empathy.
6. yesterday
if it weren't for the BEATLES IN KANSAI DIALECT this would've been a 3/5 but tbh I think this is the most normal of the 6 stories and 100% the sanest mc of all. see, this is the thing about weird shit: who else would write an entire story about some dude who fakes his accent lmfao
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Death, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
veroer's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Eating disorder, Addiction, Death, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
eve81's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, Stalking, Abandonment, Infidelity, Death, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Cancer
pamparmi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Suicide
lena200770's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Death, and Sexual content
Minor: Cursing
sarahna's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Eating disorder, Grief, Sexual content, and Suicide
namizaela's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I love Murakami but this book...it just didn't resonate with me. Maybe it's because I'm not a man and thus can't understand them, but the way he wrote the women in this book seemed to objectify them and paint them more as symbols rather than actual people. I think this was his intention, but to me it didn't resonate all that well. Most of the stories didn't move me, and were pretty boring. A few were very interesting, such as Kino and Scheherazade. But most of the stories didn't affect me all that much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death and Infidelity
Minor: Suicide
More...