A review by angorarabbit
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami

challenging dark mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

First my thoughts on Murakami and his representation of females, female sexuality in particular.  I have alway’s felt that Murakami’s spicy scenes are cringe. The last book I read (Norwegian Wood) particularly so. But I love his writing so I decided to try this one, planning on skipping any spiciness. Perhaps he has grown, perhaps he does not feel the need to have spiciness in order to sell novels, perhaps he was having flagging sales due to  cringyness. I was impressed by this novel’s depiction of a female character who expresses to the main male character that she does not enjoy sex, then they cuddle and the male character respects the woman’s wishes even at the cost of physical pain for himself, with no recriminations. Just that alone took the book from 4 to 5 stars for me. 
 
A few months ago I watched a BookTube channel whose opinions I respect. They originally had praised Murakami’s work but on further reflection had deemed him misogynistic and would no longer recommend his books. While I do think Murakami’s female characters are weakly written, I’m not sure that I would go so far as to say he himself is misogynistic. It also got me thinking just how well written are male characters in some of my favourite female authors. 
 
Sometime I think it is easier to put myself in the shoes of another ethnic group than in the shoes of another gender. 
 
Any book that makes me think is worth the reading. This book not only did that but was also beautifully written. Written in the first person, the mmc’s character is deeply explored. Other characters are seen only through his eyes. The little pops of western culture (particularly US) are fun as is the exploration of Japanese working life. Like most of his novels that I have read this has a strong element of magical realism. This may make some readers become frustrated with a perceived lack of plot or a firm ending. For myself I enjoyed it immensely. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings