A review by jentang
Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami

3.25

while murakami is undeniably a good writer, this collection of short stories left me feeling irritated above all else. this book is filled with the typical kinds of murakami characters: lonely, bland, repetitive male protagonists and the tragic, unusual-looking women whose breasts are never safe from being mentioned and who never stick around long enough to bless readers with a feminine presence. sure, there was humor, nice imagery, and some philosophical lines every once in a while, but there was nothing really mind-blowing considering the only people really given the time of day in this book are, once again, lonely men with stagnant lives - there isn't exactly anything moving about such content. i do have to say that i am still a big fan of murakami's magical realism, however, as i found myself enjoying both "kino" and "samsa in love", which were the stories in the collection that were less traditionally fiction. although my displeasure with the prominent male gaze in this book may come off across as me despising it, that isn't the case; rather, i think it's an average book not without its flaws, but still one easy to get through and not horribly unengaging.