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A review by rkaufman13
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
1.0
[This review is rated R for language.]
Okay.
My first Murakami experience was with 1Q84. My somewhat ambivalent review of THAT experience is here. Without going back and reading that word for word, what sticks out for me from 1Q was the psychic whore (although I guess she didn't take money, did she?) and the annoying ugly private investigator who shows up 2/3 of the way through the book. And just the general atmosphere of weirdness, which was great in parts and in other parts just bewildering.
Oh, this wasn't his best work, people said. Read some of his earlier stuff. they said. Okay, so I picked up Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
...And there's a fucking psychic whore and the SAME GODDAMN PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR.
I am upset, y'all. I am upset with all y'all for talking me into reading this and I am upset with myself for being talked into it. I'm sorry. I know Murakami is "great." But I can't deal. I can't deal with all the sexy ladies healing men through sex and I can't deal with all the women, even the "strong" women, being super sexy and thinking about being raped all the time, and I can't deal with this wack-ass brand of magical realism that just serves to make the story weirder rather than, you know, tell us something useful about the characters or advance the plot.
I realize this may be my personal failing but I am over Murakami.
Okay.
My first Murakami experience was with 1Q84. My somewhat ambivalent review of THAT experience is here. Without going back and reading that word for word, what sticks out for me from 1Q was the psychic whore (although I guess she didn't take money, did she?) and the annoying ugly private investigator who shows up 2/3 of the way through the book. And just the general atmosphere of weirdness, which was great in parts and in other parts just bewildering.
Oh, this wasn't his best work, people said. Read some of his earlier stuff. they said. Okay, so I picked up Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
...And there's a fucking psychic whore and the SAME GODDAMN PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR.
I am upset, y'all. I am upset with all y'all for talking me into reading this and I am upset with myself for being talked into it. I'm sorry. I know Murakami is "great." But I can't deal. I can't deal with all the sexy ladies healing men through sex and I can't deal with all the women, even the "strong" women, being super sexy and thinking about being raped all the time, and I can't deal with this wack-ass brand of magical realism that just serves to make the story weirder rather than, you know, tell us something useful about the characters or advance the plot.
I realize this may be my personal failing but I am over Murakami.