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A review by i_llumi
女のいない男たち by Haruki Murakami
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
this is basically a bunch of stories written from the perspective of betas and sigmas who were either cheated on or cheaters ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'm,,, unsure on how to feel about this book. this was my first ever Murakami, and I definitely understand his fame now - his writing is truly unique and has that bizarre, weird vibe that I've frankly only ever seen from Japanese authors lmao
one of the things I enjoyed the most was the wording shifts from one character to the other. some wrote in formal, almost pretentious styles while others wrote as if this was their diary. it strangely connects the reader to the character, and it's lowkey fascinating.
given my extremely inconsistent reading schedule, I read these stories in a span of 3 long, long months and during that time, passages from them never really left my brain. there's something so uncanny about the writing, the world and the atmosphere that the author creates that although hard to pinpoint what is is, it just exists and permeates the entire 300 pages.
welp. I'd love to come back to this once I get older and have my share of ~relationships~ so I can understand some of the mysteries and questions I have leftover after reading this strange piece of literature.
here's my ranking and take/mini-review of each story (a bit spoilery):
1. kino
i feel like this is the only story I understood most of the metaphors, which by itself is already a feat for my pea sized brain. the ending scene is SO GOOD and I was intrigued throughout the entire thing.
2. scherazade
by far the most fun. mostly because a lot of the story was narrated by a woman (scherazade). her sudden "you know im convinced that i was an eel in my past life" talk lives rent-free in my head. once again, a plot only japanese men could come up with.
3. an independent organ
oof. this one was Sadge. mans was girlbossed
4. drive my car
probably one of the more wholesome ones. the whole thing with kafuku being an actor was quite interesting.
5. men without women
for the story that named the book, if was a bit too short no?
this was rather.. funny? to read? the character is like "omg do you think the woman i dated when i was 14 k*lled herself because of my pEniS???" like bro wake up
I do think this was the perfect closing to the collection though. basically saying that men dont know shit about women and that they spend all their time self-pitying and moping around instead of having you know. empathy.
6. yesterday
if it weren't for the BEATLES IN KANSAI DIALECT this would've been a 3/5 but tbh I think this is the most normal of the 6 stories and 100% the sanest mc of all. see, this is the thing about weird shit: who else would write an entire story about some dude who fakes his accent lmfao
I'm,,, unsure on how to feel about this book. this was my first ever Murakami, and I definitely understand his fame now - his writing is truly unique and has that bizarre, weird vibe that I've frankly only ever seen from Japanese authors lmao
one of the things I enjoyed the most was the wording shifts from one character to the other. some wrote in formal, almost pretentious styles while others wrote as if this was their diary. it strangely connects the reader to the character, and it's lowkey fascinating.
given my extremely inconsistent reading schedule, I read these stories in a span of 3 long, long months and during that time, passages from them never really left my brain. there's something so uncanny about the writing, the world and the atmosphere that the author creates that although hard to pinpoint what is is, it just exists and permeates the entire 300 pages.
welp. I'd love to come back to this once I get older and have my share of ~relationships~ so I can understand some of the mysteries and questions I have leftover after reading this strange piece of literature.
here's my ranking and take/mini-review of each story (a bit spoilery):
1. kino
i feel like this is the only story I understood most of the metaphors, which by itself is already a feat for my pea sized brain. the ending scene is SO GOOD and I was intrigued throughout the entire thing.
2. scherazade
by far the most fun. mostly because a lot of the story was narrated by a woman (scherazade). her sudden "you know im convinced that i was an eel in my past life" talk lives rent-free in my head. once again, a plot only japanese men could come up with.
3. an independent organ
oof. this one was Sadge. mans was girlbossed
4. drive my car
probably one of the more wholesome ones. the whole thing with kafuku being an actor was quite interesting.
5. men without women
for the story that named the book, if was a bit too short no?
this was rather.. funny? to read? the character is like "omg do you think the woman i dated when i was 14 k*lled herself because of my pEniS???" like bro wake up
I do think this was the perfect closing to the collection though. basically saying that men dont know shit about women and that they spend all their time self-pitying and moping around instead of having you know. empathy.
6. yesterday
if it weren't for the BEATLES IN KANSAI DIALECT this would've been a 3/5 but tbh I think this is the most normal of the 6 stories and 100% the sanest mc of all. see, this is the thing about weird shit: who else would write an entire story about some dude who fakes his accent lmfao
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Death, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse