itzami's Reviews (110)


I've tried to read other Murakami novels before but this was the first one I've finished.
I was left disappointed; the story, for me, was lackluster, and I never felt like I was reading an actual story that walked toward something.
Overall, very meh... Maybe Murakami stories just aren't made for me...

Thanks, I hated it!

One of the dullest books around. I know it's old and I know all the others eventually borrowed from it but it just goes on and on and on and on and on without really saying anything.

I just couldn't finish this book. I read/listened to about 30% of it and it all felt the same!

The narration of Evelyn’s life was refreshing and I felt like the characters were, somewhat, human.
The major plot point, however, didn’t cut it for me and felt out of place. Also, I didn’t feel connected to Monique whatsoever so that meant that her paragraphs/chapters were a real miss for me.
I can’t speak for how well the relationships were made in the book but I really appreciated how the characters interacted and what was described about them.

I knew nothing about the book beforehand and still felt disappointed with it. It’s repetitive, preachy and extremely bland.
The best part of it was listening to the audiobook with Jeremy Irons

I've listened to the audiobook narrated by Dan Steves, and, honestly, it was amazing.
While the plot feels a bit thin in some places, the characters' interactions make up for it.

I would like to give it 5 stars but the story felt rushed once I got to the middle of the book.

This is my first Orwell and possibly won’t be the last.
His writing is entertaining and his topics extremely pertinent and it’s easy to do the correlation with our own lives.
I suggest at least giving it a chance