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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
few literary things are more fascinating to me than the advent of a master writer's voice and prosody. murakami writes like a river runs through him, to read his early works is to follow the river so far upstream that you lose track of what's collecting down in the bottom pools.
An unusual book, with nonsensical moments that are amusing.
Turns out this is #2 in The Rat Trilogy. Not that I think it makes a world of difference as the book was mostly plot-less.
Turns out this is #2 in The Rat Trilogy. Not that I think it makes a world of difference as the book was mostly plot-less.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Reading this right after “Hear the Wind Sing” made it more disappointing. It was an endless circle of barely connected things being mentioned with painfully long descriptions. Sure, it’s good to read this book with some good music on a late afternoon as the clouds drift by. That’s the feel it gives. But this is not a book I could actually enjoy. Character development and change as a concept were perhaps the only plot points, and even they were expanded upon lazily.
This book was also just… boring. Getting through it felt exhausting. I finished “Hear the Wind Sing” in just a few hours (I’m a slow reader) but this one took me nearly 3 weeks because I used to become so bored that I just kept it aside. The descriptions could have been controlled rather than being thrown our way every second page. It was fun when it enhanced the reading experience and the story. But most of the time, it served no purpose. It felt like I was just reading the rambling of a man who needs to keep down his beer and cigarettes for once (quite literally. Drinking and smoking as much as the protagonist and The Rat did cannot be good for the health at all!)
I did enjoy certain chapters and lines more than others. But ultimately there’s nothing I took away from this book. It was boring and disappointing.
This book was also just… boring. Getting through it felt exhausting. I finished “Hear the Wind Sing” in just a few hours (I’m a slow reader) but this one took me nearly 3 weeks because I used to become so bored that I just kept it aside. The descriptions could have been controlled rather than being thrown our way every second page. It was fun when it enhanced the reading experience and the story. But most of the time, it served no purpose. It felt like I was just reading the rambling of a man who needs to keep down his beer and cigarettes for once (quite literally. Drinking and smoking as much as the protagonist and The Rat did cannot be good for the health at all!)
I did enjoy certain chapters and lines more than others. But ultimately there’s nothing I took away from this book. It was boring and disappointing.
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“Me, I've seen 45 years, and I've only figured out one thing. That's this: if a person would just make the effort, there's something to be learned from everything. From even the most ordinary, commonplace things, there's always something you can learn. I read somewhere that they said there's even different philosophies in razors. Fact is, if it weren't for that, nobody'd survive.”
I actually read this book first in "The Rat" series, but it didn't throw me off much at all. Murakami's stories are very ephemeral. Chapters (and even whole books in this series!) can sometimes be misordered when read, but all will be fine! In fact, it made reading [i]Pinball[/i] a very interesting experience!
Anyways, I'm a huge Murakami fan, and I have yet to be disappointed. Great book!
Anyways, I'm a huge Murakami fan, and I have yet to be disappointed. Great book!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
“Setenta y ocho máquinas pinball: un cementerio de viejos sueños.”
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No