Taschenbuch, 764 pages
German language
Published Dec. 6, 2000 by btb.
Japan’s most highly regarded novelist now vaults into the first ranks of international fiction writers with this heroically imaginative novel, which is at once a detective story, an account of a disintegrating marriage, and an excavation of the buried secrets of World War II. ([source][1])
Enjoyed this inexplicably... I think there's something about his magic that is just right for this world.
This was an experience unlike any other. Murakami writes hypnotically, describing an average experience so well that you become lulled into its reality. Then things get strange and you're so steeped in the book that you feel the bizarre world envelope you. It's powerful storytelling.
There were times when one of many subplots would get really involved and it was hard to see how it was relevant. In the end, all things come together.
I'll definitely be reading more of Murakami's work.
I'm really feeling conflicted about my rating. In some ways I kind of hated this book, but in other ways I thought it was good. The main problem was all the little side stories and vignettes felt very separate from the main story, almost like Murakami had a bunch of short stories and he kind of built a novel out of them. (Similar to how I felt about Cloud Atlas). Somehow the separate vignettes never did meld; they felt superfluous, like the main plot didn't really gain much from the telling of some of these stories. At the same time, some of those superfluous stories, especially the war stories, were the ones that were the most interesting to me, perhaps because they felt the most "real" as I'm not big on the whole "magical realism" thing to begin with. This book isn't the usual type of book I like to …
I'm really feeling conflicted about my rating. In some ways I kind of hated this book, but in other ways I thought it was good. The main problem was all the little side stories and vignettes felt very separate from the main story, almost like Murakami had a bunch of short stories and he kind of built a novel out of them. (Similar to how I felt about Cloud Atlas). Somehow the separate vignettes never did meld; they felt superfluous, like the main plot didn't really gain much from the telling of some of these stories. At the same time, some of those superfluous stories, especially the war stories, were the ones that were the most interesting to me, perhaps because they felt the most "real" as I'm not big on the whole "magical realism" thing to begin with. This book isn't the usual type of book I like to read but I thought I'd expand my horizons and give it a chance based on the excellent reviews most people give it. That said, I was intrigued by Murakami's ideas about reality, dreams, fantasy, the thin veil separating what we consider reality from what we consider "other", how dreams can bleed into the day and alter and change things in subtle and not so subtle ways. I also liked the idea that events from the past reverberate through time, leaving a permanent scar that can taint the countenance of the present. I wasn't too hotsy on the hodgepodge way the book dealt with the characters, how some of the stories were never resolved or some of the characters just sort of disappeared.
I'll have to let this one settle for a while.
It's possible that this book was merely over-hyped to me by friends and was thus bound to disappoint. Either way, my overall impression was of a narrative with amazing build-up and either entirely absent or else completely indecipherable release.
I was enjoying this book until I got to the horribly gruesome scene that I wish I had never read. I am angry at this author for putting those pictures in my head and angry at the friend who gave me this book as a gift. Yes, it is "good," but I really don't need more images of human suffering floating around in my mind, I've got enough, thanks.
