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kirsten_hylton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
ivesrossi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
lexnowling58's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
chanelchapters's review against another edition
2.0
I should start by saying, that generally, I actually prefer short stories as they tend to have a great flow, absorb you easily and finish before they become tedious or boring and generally leave you satisfied. These short stories weren't even stories for me, rather they were more like an finished paragraph about a person. I never got invested in any of the characters, none of them are really memorable at all and I'm not really clear on how the earthquake really affected any of their lives.
Although I kind of liked the moments of human banality it just didn't translate into anything interesting for me. As short as the stories were it wouldn't have bothered me if I never finished any of them, as nothing really happened in the 'end' anyway, I think the reason I didn't click with the characters or the themes is because the actual 'story structure' failed for me and didn't leave me with the satisfaction you get from 'reading a story'.
The writing was extremely simple, the structure and words could have been written by a kid under 12. That being said the writing made the stories really easy to read and allowed the people to be the focus.
However, the Super-Frog story? What was the point of that one?
Although I kind of liked the moments of human banality it just didn't translate into anything interesting for me. As short as the stories were it wouldn't have bothered me if I never finished any of them, as nothing really happened in the 'end' anyway, I think the reason I didn't click with the characters or the themes is because the actual 'story structure' failed for me and didn't leave me with the satisfaction you get from 'reading a story'.
The writing was extremely simple, the structure and words could have been written by a kid under 12. That being said the writing made the stories really easy to read and allowed the people to be the focus.
However, the Super-Frog story? What was the point of that one?
awwgustt's review against another edition
Maybe I just don’t get it, but I hated it. It was bland and in poor taste. The way he writes women makes me extremely uncomfortable. Idk how he’s so popular.
manadabomb's review against another edition
4.0
Another great book from Murakami. This one is a collection of short stories with ties to the earthquake at Kobe.
kalin_grace's review against another edition
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
sunskyleia's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Loves the last short Story!!
paola_mobileread's review against another edition
3.0
I've got the feeling this is one of those books that will grow on me, and will linger on for quite a while. The main theme seems to be a transition from the despairing emptiness of the main characters in the first two stories to the outpouring of feeling and love in the last story, with some transition in between. More in general, to me they all deal with the meaning of life: some of the characters are still wondering about it, some have found a disappointing answer, some have hope.
Engaging read.
Engaging read.