Opinions on Books by Haruki Murakami

PsYkOoOoO · 05-20-2012, 07:00 AM

Hello everybody,

Sometimes, when a friend recommend a book to you, you ask them what the book is about. They describe it, and for every single book by the author, you always get the feeling that you will hate his works. That's the case for me with Haruki Murakami, although I don't know if anybody agrees. I've never read any of his books, yes, but I have a feeling that I will dislike it, or not be able to finish it (as I often do with books I do not like). Maybe it's the description by friends, but his books seem to involve a fair amount of REALLY WEIRD **** happening. We aren't even talking about weird things from a science fiction and fantasy point of view. It's that uniquely weird Japanese oddity that sounded the alarm in my head.

A friend described to me how, in his latest novel, little people crawled out of a person's mouth and killed a German Shepherd. Wait, what? Immediately, at the back of my head, I knew I'm not going to like his works. That is different from hating the Twilight books without reading them, however. One is bad writing, the other is simply not my cup of tea based on what I've heard. It's probably unfair, but I'm not going to spend money/time on something which I not going to like.

So, what are your thoughts on Murakami books? Are there any books that you guys will never read despite the acclaim?

Boro · 05-20-2012, 10:42 AM

I've read a handful of his short stories, and they weren't really my cup of tea, so I've never had a real interest in reading his books. That bit with people crawling out of someone's mouth and killing a dog doesn't really surprise me. I haven't read enough of his work to say that it's classic Murakami, but equally weird things happen in what I have read.

Justin · 05-23-2012, 02:18 AM

Love him to death. Though I've heard nothing but negative things about "1Q84". My favorite of his is without a doubt "Kafka on the Shore"--for me, that solidified his status as one of the great living, working authors.

05-20-2012, 07:00 AM	#1
PsYkOoOoO Exceptionally Normal Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Singapore. Posts: 22,420	Opinions on Books by Haruki Murakami Hello everybody, Sometimes, when a friend recommend a book to you, you ask them what the book is about. They describe it, and for every single book by the author, you always get the feeling that you will hate his works. That's the case for me with Haruki Murakami, although I don't know if anybody agrees. I've never read any of his books, yes, but I have a feeling that I will dislike it, or not be able to finish it (as I often do with books I do not like). Maybe it's the description by friends, but his books seem to involve a fair amount of REALLY WEIRD **** happening. We aren't even talking about weird things from a science fiction and fantasy point of view. It's that uniquely weird Japanese oddity that sounded the alarm in my head. A friend described to me how, in his latest novel, little people crawled out of a person's mouth and killed a German Shepherd. Wait, what? Immediately, at the back of my head, I knew I'm not going to like his works. That is different from hating the Twilight books without reading them, however. One is bad writing, the other is simply not my cup of tea based on what I've heard. It's probably unfair, but I'm not going to spend money/time on something which I not going to like. So, what are your thoughts on Murakami books? Are there any books that you guys will never read despite the acclaim? __________________ W.

05-20-2012, 10:42 AM	#2
Boro Not a Robot, but a Ghost Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Serenity Posts: 9,366	I've read a handful of his short stories, and they weren't really my cup of tea, so I've never had a real interest in reading his books. That bit with people crawling out of someone's mouth and killing a dog doesn't really surprise me. I haven't read enough of his work to say that it's classic Murakami, but equally weird things happen in what I have read.

05-23-2012, 02:18 AM	#3
Justin Executive Producer Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 11,896	Love him to death. Though I've heard nothing but negative things about "1Q84". My favorite of his is without a doubt "Kafka on the Shore"--for me, that solidified his status as one of the great living, working authors.