Scan barcode
A review by honnari_hannya
After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
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).
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).