Reviews

After the Quake by Haruki Murakami

indigolenom's review against another edition

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3.0

Considero a Murakami uno de mis autores favoritos de la vida. No sólo por su forma de escribir, que es descriptiva pero no en exceso y tan digerible que puedes leer el libro de corrido, saltarte palabras y aún así entender la historia. Siempre me han encantado los personajes que desarrolla y ese toque de realismo magico que siempre tiene en sus libros, esos momentos en los que no sabes que esta pasando porque primero estas en una historia "real" y de repente aparece un rana de dos metros que habla.

Habiendo dicho todo esto, este libro no fue lo que esperé. El título llama mucho la atención, sabía que trataría sobre historias cortas con distintos personajes, los cuales de una manera u otra se vieron afectados por el terremoto de Kobe en 1995.

Hay algunas historias que no llegan a nada en realidad (UFO in Kushiro, landscape with flatiron) y son muy desabridas en cuanto a personajes y trama. Peeeeero hay otras (Thailand y Super-Frog Saves Tokyo) que me regresan a toda la vibra mágica y surrealista que caracteriza a Murakami, lo que me hace acordarme de porqué amo sus libros.

Me gustó pero hubiera preferido que esa vibra se mantuviera en todas las historias (y algo que odio de Murakami es que sieeempre quiere meter sexo o incesto en algún lado y ps como que no) que casualmente fueron las que no me gustaron.

Una buena lectura pero no lo mejor de Murakami.

novelette's review against another edition

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1.0

Maybe I just don't understand his underlying messages, but I thought that the stories were bland and disinteresting

michiamanoari's review against another edition

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mysterious

4.0

cecinestpasnicc's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

mindgunk's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

jessi_2000's review against another edition

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3.0

“The whole terrible fight occured in the area of imagination. That is the precise location of our battlefield. It is there, that we experience our victories and defeats.”

joseph_lemon's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective relaxing fast-paced

3.75

maddieoggero's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

honnari_hannya's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 Stars

I generally prefer Murakami's weird novels to his realistic works, simply because I think the latter move far too slow. Which is probably the point because so many of his characters experience and struggle with ennui to varying degrees, but that doesn't rescue many of his novels from feeling underdeveloped.

However, I think many of the gripes I have about his full length realistic novels work extremely well in this collection. The brevity of these six stories successfully carried those themes of emptiness, aimlessness and claustrophobia without dragging on for 200 pages too long. And if you find a character insufferable to the nth degree, you have the satisfaction of knowing that their story is going to end soon and you'll never have to think of them again.

A lighter read than his other realistic novels, with fewer elements that could be deemed problematic. Recommended for fans of contemporary fiction looking for a starter-Murakami book hesitant to get into his weird magical realism novels (though that's where all the good shit is).

noahpech's review against another edition

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The audiobook wasn't for me. I don't enjoy when the male narrator has to do women's voices.