Finished this book a couple hours ago and felt like writing a review to share my thoughts. There will be some spoilers, but I tried to make them vague.As a preface, I haven't read many books, so my opinion may be basic and not too deep. I picked this one in particular because I wanted to both learn something for my own writing and I was interested in Murakami as an author, I heard good things about him. I run quests (a form of interactive fiction) over on /qst/ and wanted inspiration and something to learn from for slice of life stories, both in dialogue and plot construction. I've achieved this goal, in part.This review won't touch upon all aspects in a structured manner, but is just a collection of thoughts that spawned while I read or shortly afterwards.In terms of the main plot and flow, I think the author does a good job keeping up the tension and suspense of the story. When I read it, I was always looking forward to the next revelation. The gradual peeling of the mystery behind the events of Tsukuru's past was entertaining, from dialogue with Ao, to Aka, to Kuro. The junction parts, where his journey to them is described, didn't feel too long, they provided a kind of breathing space, but also a track which gradually built up tension.The plot/theme itself was entertaining. I enjoy themes of characters burdened with the past facing and resolving it, they usually make for pleasant, straightforward stories. At the same time, I felt like it had questionable parts. In particular, the parts with Haida and the story his father told him felt kind of... pointless? If I had to assign meaning to them, I'd say they represent moving on and then abandonment (again), but I'm not sure. I thought about this part of the plot for some time, but couldn't figure out its purpose definitely. I'm not the kind of person to deeply analyse something, interpret vague chapters with hidden meanings, I was never good at it and I'm not interested in that, so I may very well be missing something here.In general, though, this can be said about a lot of the elements. When I was thinking of what to compare this book with, I would say I imagine a bundle of "things". The things may be good or bad by themselves. Here, I am talking about the things that are plot parts like Haida's chapters, the conversations, the periods between them, descriptions that add context: Aka's office, Helsinki, pottery -- but also about the more technical stuff like writing, pace, character presentation, dialogue. So I liked some of these things, others I didn't (I will explain which ones a bit later) but they're in one bundle, and they fit together nicely, but the bundle itself is average, if you look at it as a whole. I realise this may be said about a lot of stories, but it's the best I can explain how I feel about this book.(cont.)
The dialogue that propels the plot forward -- since it's through conversations with the old group that the mystery is revealed -- I didn't particularly like. Like I said in the beginning, I was hoping for good, flowing dialogue, but what I got was kind of... sterile? I don't like overly informal speech ridden with slang, colloquialisms, or cursing, but in this book, it felt like it lacked the human element, even during episodes of emotion. There are some more informal phrases sprinkled in, e.g. "May the force be with you", but they feel tacked-on and kinda pointless.At the same time, I can appreciate the honesty characters display. While their words lack significant emotion, they lay their feelings bare and don't conceal secrets. Sounds like an oxymoron, but it's true. This makes it easy to get to the point of the dialogue without meandering too much, and contributes to the pace of the story. Like I said, I may not like this "thing" in particular, but it fits nicely in the bundle.The same I can say about the prose. I don't know whether the translation reflects the original language's feel, but it felt simple, easy to read, yet also with a measure of beauty to it. It is also fast, conductive to the pace. Another part that fits in the bundle and contributes to the whole.Continuing a bit with more particular parts, I have mixed feelings about descriptions of physicality, sex, hardening penis mentions and cumming etc. The novel leaned into this heavily, and I can't say it was out of place, but it felt odd to read so much of it for some reason. Maybe I'm just not used to it.The characters themselves, while their speech doesn't feel distinct, are memorable and interesting to encounter when compared to how they were 16 years ago, or to observe around Tsukuru.Besides Haida's entire chapter, I also couldn't figure out the significance/purpose of the six finger defect which was mentioned several times and tied into the Midorikawa story, and the blending between reality and visions in some parts.I also didn't understand the significance of Sara's character. Tsukuru obsesses over her, completely in love, to the point of saying "he'll die if she rejects him", Eri says he should hold onto her no matter what, but... she seems like the most bland character in the story. She acts like the catalyst for Tsukuru's travels, but as a person, she is completely unexceptional, without any outstanding qualities. Again, maybe I'm missing something, but it felt like she was the most undeservedly focused on character in the story.I don't usually like unresolved plot points, but surprisingly didn't mind the open ending and never learning about Shiro's murderer or reason for moving.Overall, it was an enjoyable read. Like I said, it's got its bad parts and good parts, but together they are just fine.6/10 from me.What did anons think of the book?
i've actually never read a Murakami book... i've heard mixed things about them though which your review seems to reflect
>>25430094I've not read the one OP talks about, but they're not great. They're fun once or twice, but his prose is dull and colorless, if you'll excuse the pun, and his characters are extremely one-dimensional. His books are always fundamentally about the same thing, so it's important you choose the correct one or two novels by him before forgetting him forever. My first was Norwegian Wood (decent enough), then Kafka in the Woods, which I struggled to finish because it became immediately clear just how little range he has, and how boring he can make a world with /magic/ in it appear. The last third/quarter of the book was substantially better, even sort of tolerable. Prepare for everything to comprise tropes and anime archetypes. I really do mean anime.Sorry OP for talking past you so, but your points are similar to mine, except for my deep distaste for his grossly pedestrian prose without a single interesting metaphor.
>>25430106i guess it's one of those 'holy shit, two cakes' situations where if you enjoy him then you just want as much as you can get. I mean I feel that way about the Rejection author, I will read everything he puts out.
>>25430106>Sorry OP for talking past you so, but your points are similar to mine, except for my deep distaste for his grossly pedestrian prose without a single interesting metaphor.It is completely fine, no need to apologize. Regarding prose, it may be that I don't have much experience with good books, like I said in the beginning, and don't have much to compare to. Your assessment of Murakami's works was enlightening. I don't know if I'll read any more of his novels to confirm what you said, but I think for now I'll look into other authors.Would you happen to have some recommendations? I'm aware of rec charts on the wiki, but they don't explain much about what kind of books they feature. I see you mentioning anime with disdain, but I actually enjoy romance slop lol. I'm looking for slice-of-life with good dialogue, not necessarily romantic, and not too much drama, set in Japan. I enjoy works that feature talking about everything and nothing, just banter/everyday stuff. I haven't encountered many that do it right.
