Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki And His Years Of Pilgrimage A Novel

What a rare occurrence! A book written by Murakami that I did not find thoroughly silly. In truth, this work evades Murakami's usual pitfalls. It is not overly sexual. I don't mind such books, in fact, I love them. I simply take an issue with the way Murakami tends to write sex scenes and love dynamics. They are usually awkward, stunted, and ridicules. I also like that this book is not excessively long, which, thank god! And, finally, this work feels more grounded than some of his other works. I have nothing against magical realism, but it is clear to me that Murakami sometimes gets lost in his own stories. I like that he seemingly limited himself for this one, and in turn, managed to write a more cohesive and thematically rich story.

I have a troubled relationship with Murakami. There were so many aspects of this book that I really liked. I found the overall story to be very charming and very real. It felt much more "slice of life" compared to some of his other books I have read. But the very clear Murakami themes crept in and kind of tarnished my feelings about the book. Namely, the strange paranormal, supernatural themes that he's known for and can do very well! In Kafka and Wind up Bird, this had it's place and was done well because it just pushed the reader to think about the story in reference to these symbolic, supernatural events. But I just didn't feel like it has a place in this story. In fact, I felt that it was so jarringly out of place, that I couldn't get over it.

The book started out with a premise I could understand; namely, good friends turned strangers, and the coping one has to go through to put things into perspective. I felt like this book took a sudden turn after the first half or so, and turned into something less identifiable and interesting. The main character becomes fixated, almost whiny in places. His inability to move forward grates on my nerves. Side characters end up moving in and out of focus, with no resolution. I don't really know if Tsukuru finds the peace of mind he was seeking throughout the entire book, and maybe that was my biggest gripe. Your mileage may vary.

I'm still chewing on this and can't possibly write a review yet. The ending is going to take some cogitatin'

Compared to 1Q84 this was a novella! I don't think I understand why the 4's in the book are colorless, instead of the 5's.

Quick novella from Haruki Murakami. It's good, but it does feel pretty compact for him: compact story in a compact world, with compact mysteries, and a compact resolution.

I can't afford a third star. I'm on a budget this month. I'm not fully sure what bothered me about this book. It was certainly readable. And not everything can be Kafka on the Shore. The mystical element was so subtle as to approach believability (if that's a word). Something about the psychology of the characters didn't work for me, perhaps because I was born in the wrong culture. But I was fine with other books of his.

There was something unmotivated --perhaps colorless--about Tsukuru's relationship with Sara. He talked it up but that was telling and not showing. His relationship with Haida seemed warmer and we have no idea what happened to him. And what's with the extra fingers? I'd ask my cat, but we don't understand each other, yet have a beautiful relationship.