A review by humblebee20
After the Quake by Haruki Murakami

3.0

This collection of short stories was, alright. Ive heard people sing praises about Murakami, and wanted to give his fiction a try. I really enjoyed Underground, but this collection didn't quite scratch the itch I was hoping for. I enjoy his writing style and the ability to make the mundane more extraordinary, but the earthquake that joins these stories didn't hold the weight it could have and just felt like an excuse to put them in the same book. The stories and cute and quaint, but perhaps more enjoyable if they were just stories. Maybe the earthquake taking a backseat was the point, but some stories barely mention Kobe, much less the earthquake and its effects. Cute stories, but also maybe not the best Murakami fiction to start with.