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User
Reviews 21
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Soundoffs 20
News Articles 31
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Album Edits 17
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Last Active 01-30-22 11:30 pm
Joined 03-11-10
Review Comments 4,397
| Any Murakami fans?
Since summer of 2015, I've started working my way through the novels of Haruki Murakami. I "think" I really enjoy his books. Sometimes I have to struggle through them, but I'm always entertained by his crazy blend of extreme realism/analysis of the psyche and his whimsical fantastical side. Have any of you guys read his stuff? None of my reader friends have really read anything by him so I find myself not talking about one of my newly discovered favorite authors. List is the books I've read from him in order and digz. | | 1 |  | Sorority Noise
Joy, Departed
1Q84 - This was the first novel I read from him and it was such a weird journey. Parts of it, I thought, were flawless; parts were boring as hell, but all of it was weird, unique, and nothing like I've read before. It made me excited to read his other works if only to really figure out how he was able to keep me moving through 1000+ pages of a mess of a novel, but yet somehow make it profoundly thought provoking. | | 2 |  | Kanye West
The Life of Pablo
Colorless Tsukuru and His Years of Pilgrimage - This story hit pretty close to him as the protagonists main fear is a fear that I struggle with. However, the lack of resolution (as I've come to learn Murakami is famous for) kind of threw me for a loop and certainly left me wanting. | | 3 |  | Anchor & Braille
Songs for the Late Night Drive Home
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Considered his "masterwork," this one was extremely interesting to me. I enjoyed most of it, but there were a few chapters that I felt really, really, dragged. I learned from this novel about how masterful of a tone-setter Murakami truly is. The entire book had a foreboding and eerie sense to it, even when things were seemingly okay. | | 4 |  | Beach Slang
The Things We Do to Find People Who Feel
Kafka on the Shore - I'm a little under halfway through this novel right now, and if it keeps on pace like it is, I believe it could definitely be my favorite work of his. While there is still a sense of disconnectedness and randomness to plot points, I definitely feel like this is the most "focused" novel so far that I've read from Murakami while, despite the seemingly random circumstances, he's able to really draw you into the moment and the reality of the world as he writes it. | |
heyadam
03.03.16 | Also, whats the next novel of his I should pick up? | ZippaThaRippa
03.03.16 | Describe the story of 3 to me without giving away too many important plot details. | YakNips
03.03.16 | just finished 4 it was incredible | Piglet
03.03.16 | Yeah only read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle; has some great parts and like you say, there's that eerie feeling to it... But at the end of the day, couldn't get into it. | heyadam
03.03.16 | Dude goes looking for a missing cat and finds out that his search ends up being for something way more intense. Bunch of crazy characters and a few different plot-lines that have historical elements, a lot of psyche analysis, and dream-like sequences. | ZippaThaRippa
03.03.16 | Okay yeah that sounds interesting | heyadam
03.03.16 | If anything it's unique. He's such an intriguing writer, sometimes frustrating (although that can be because of translational issues), but definitely a mad genius imo. | heyadam
03.03.16 | Also, I'll wanna shoutbox you Yak after I finish it. I wanna hear your thoughts! | tigersbrokefree
03.03.16 | Ironic... I've been reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. It's my first foray into Murakami. I was kind of scratching my head at the beginning, because it was dragging, but I had to know what happened next.
So the lack of resolution thing sounds fun :D | Piglet
03.03.16 | I think there is something lost in translation, not to mention in The Wind-Up Bird some 25,000 words were omitted | heyadam
03.03.16 | I think that Wind-Up Bird is a great introduction into his writing. And that's EXACTLY my frustration/intrigue with Murakami. Some parts drag, but it's still a page-turner. I don't get it haha. If you wanna talk about it when you finish it I'd definitely like to hear your thoughts. | zakalwe
03.03.16 | Loved The Wind Up Bird Chronicle when I read it as a student, it was so refreshing. I wonder what I'd think if I read it now? Probabaly a bunch of arse. | Sniff
03.03.16 | I liked the first part of 1Q84 but the other two parts were just bad and uninspired so I gave up on this guy. Did I make a mistake? | Cryptkeeper
03.03.16 | Good anime yes | Sinternet
03.03.16 | Absolutely love Murakami, about halfway through his stuff myself. It's kinda the cliche choice but Norwegian Wood is my favourite so far, it's just a great amalgamation of all his themes. Also have a look at his short stories, specifically the After the Quake collection. Also check out the other Murakami, Ryu. | Yotimi
03.03.16 | Kafka was great, wild sheep chase pretty good. Reading wind-up bird now and its really good | p4p
03.03.16 | read Norwegian Wood bro, classic murakami stuff @Sinternet Norwegian Wood isnt a cliche choice, some people also pick wind up or kafka as his best | heyadam
03.04.16 | I need to read Norwegian Wood soon. I'm thinking I'm either doing Hard Boiled Wonderland or A Wild Sheep Chase next -- almost down with Kafka, which I love. | crossparallel
03.08.16 | Loved Kafka on the Shore when I read it, though it's only fragments that don't quite come together in my head now. Been planning to pick up The Wind-Up Bird chronicle. | crossparallel
03.08.16 | Can't speak of 1Q84, but Kafka on the Shore was quite easy to get into and not all that long either. Couldn't hurt to give it a try. Whatever vulgarity there was, it was more on the surreal side. | FadedSun
03.08.16 | "If anything it's unique. He's such an intriguing writer, sometimes frustrating (although that can be because of translational issues), but definitely a mad genius imo."
It's not much to do with translation issues. His books might actually read better in English. My Japanese friends all tell me his writing in Japanese is quite bad haha.
That said, you should read some of his shorter books. Try After Dark or Dance, Dance, Dance next. | Final Origin
03.08.16 | Absolutely loved The Wind-up Bird Chronicle and Norwegian Wood, very interesting and surreal reading. | heyadam
03.16.16 | I started reading After Dark but my semester at college got pretty gnarly so I shelved it for a while. I'm gonna read A Wild Sheep Chase and then finish After Dark. And that's interesting about his writing in Japanese, because I hear that a lot of Japanese readers love his writing style. | heyadam
03.16.16 | And then I definitely need to read Norwegian Wood. | Voivod
03.16.16 | Imho, his best is Norwegian Wood, but I also liked the book he wrote about his long distance running experiences. | heyadam
03.17.16 | I wanted to read that too -- I heard it was pretty insightful even for non-runners. |
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