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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
It's not a brilliant story, but it's a very captivating and visual read with an excellent flow to it. A languorous relatability with the characters, and their self-aware caprice made every compact and concise chapter a pleasure to read.
Kind of had to force myself to finish this one. I gave it a shot two and a half years ago, and gave up after 6%. At least I finished it this time.
Not quite as engaging as his works usually are for me but still a great, quirky, unusual ride.
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The most interesting parts about this book is the insight into how... lackadaisical English-Japanese translators could be in the 70s and the believably written pinball-obsession of the MC.
Murakami has a problem writing women as more than reflections of lust, or momentary escapes into sex, or aliens with non-human behaviour . Sometimes he just straight up writes misogynist trash. The nihilism with which women are written in this book - one where you can't tell if anyone, author or the characters, really care for them - makes it hard to say if this is the case here, but they definitely deserved better. I mostly felt pity for them when I finished the book.
Murakami has a problem writing women as more than reflections of lust, or momentary escapes into sex, or aliens with non-human behaviour . Sometimes he just straight up writes misogynist trash. The nihilism with which women are written in this book - one where you can't tell if anyone, author or the characters, really care for them - makes it hard to say if this is the case here, but they definitely deserved better. I mostly felt pity for them when I finished the book.
Doesn't have the same sincronicity and flow that murakami's later works have - something he has obviously perfected over the course of his career. It was a little disjointed and stilted for my liking.
(I read a PDF of which I found online)
(I read a PDF of which I found online)
Of the Rat Trilogy, this was easily the weakest volume.
Within the book was a quote that seemed to sum up the experience of reading this novel with great accuracy, "So why was I racing through the darkness? To keep a date with fifty pinball machines. It was idiotic. A dream. A dream without substance."
As in a typical Murakami novel, Pinball features a protagonist who is going through the motions, even as events around him seem to go haywire. This particular unnamed narrator also happens to be dealing with regret and a specific form of restlessness stemming from a disconnected and unsatisfying life.
We follow this character, juxtapose to the Rat, but each of their journeys are remarkably inconsequential, and ultimately forgettable. Perhaps most annoying is the detached arrogance that each character seems to embody, which made the whole process of reading this even more taxing.
This is easily the lowest rating I have ever given Murakami. Some better recommendations of his earlier work would have be Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, A Wild Sheep Chase (the third volume of the Rat Trilogy), or even the outrageously popular Norwegian Wood.
Within the book was a quote that seemed to sum up the experience of reading this novel with great accuracy, "So why was I racing through the darkness? To keep a date with fifty pinball machines. It was idiotic. A dream. A dream without substance."
As in a typical Murakami novel, Pinball features a protagonist who is going through the motions, even as events around him seem to go haywire. This particular unnamed narrator also happens to be dealing with regret and a specific form of restlessness stemming from a disconnected and unsatisfying life.
We follow this character, juxtapose to the Rat, but each of their journeys are remarkably inconsequential, and ultimately forgettable. Perhaps most annoying is the detached arrogance that each character seems to embody, which made the whole process of reading this even more taxing.
This is easily the lowest rating I have ever given Murakami. Some better recommendations of his earlier work would have be Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, A Wild Sheep Chase (the third volume of the Rat Trilogy), or even the outrageously popular Norwegian Wood.
3 stars because it's the worst Murakami book I've read so far, but it's still a Murakami book, which means it's pretty good overall.
This novel has no substantial plot, but it's not like it really needs it anyway.
People really did smoke a lot in the '70s.
This novel has no substantial plot, but it's not like it really needs it anyway.
People really did smoke a lot in the '70s.