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A review by lostboylio
First Person Singular: Stories by Haruki Murakami
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
This was my first book by Murakami and I’m not sure if I want to read more by this author.
First of all the writing style was great! Once I started a story I couldn’t stop reading, I kept wondering what the meaning behind those partially disturbing stories was but it’s hard to find one to be honest. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
If I would only rate these aspects of this book i’d give it maybe a 4/5.
But that’s sadly not the case due to the fact that secondly one cannot ignore the blatant misogyny in almost every story. Like, come on, who tf starts a story with “Of all the women I’ve known, she was the ugliest.” and then proceeds to repeatedly state how ugly this woman is WHEN IT LITERALLY CONTRIBUTES NOTHING USEFUL TO THE STORY!! Every so small misogynistic comment in this could have been replaced easily with something more 21st-century-appropriate and it wouldn’t harm the story.
And because this part infuriated me quite a bit while reading I’d rate this book a 2.75/5.
A 10/10 tho for “Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova”, this story was truly amazing!
First of all the writing style was great! Once I started a story I couldn’t stop reading, I kept wondering what the meaning behind those partially disturbing stories was but it’s hard to find one to be honest. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
If I would only rate these aspects of this book i’d give it maybe a 4/5.
But that’s sadly not the case due to the fact that secondly one cannot ignore the blatant misogyny in almost every story. Like, come on, who tf starts a story with “Of all the women I’ve known, she was the ugliest.” and then proceeds to repeatedly state how ugly this woman is WHEN IT LITERALLY CONTRIBUTES NOTHING USEFUL TO THE STORY!! Every so small misogynistic comment in this could have been replaced easily with something more 21st-century-appropriate and it wouldn’t harm the story.
And because this part infuriated me quite a bit while reading I’d rate this book a 2.75/5.
A 10/10 tho for “Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova”, this story was truly amazing!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
Minor: Suicide