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antidietleah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, and Infidelity
Minor: Physical abuse and Suicide
nekoshka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I’ve heard a lot of wonderful things about his writing (except for the misogyny), but this collection of stories left me more disgusted than anything else. Maybe I’m too asexual for this book.
Yesterday was nice though.
Graphic: Eating disorder and Infidelity
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicide
nagaakil's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Infidelity, and War
lovelylilelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, and Grief
seraphimgt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.75
I really liked the Drive My Car film and, aside from the whole
Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual content
margozaldivar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Eating disorder, Infidelity, and Suicide
i_llumi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I'm,,, unsure on how to feel about this book. this was my first ever Murakami, and I definitely understand his fame now - his writing is truly unique and has that bizarre, weird vibe that I've frankly only ever seen from Japanese authors lmao
one of the things I enjoyed the most was the wording shifts from one character to the other. some wrote in formal, almost pretentious styles while others wrote as if this was their diary. it strangely connects the reader to the character, and it's lowkey fascinating.
given my extremely inconsistent reading schedule, I read these stories in a span of 3 long, long months and during that time, passages from them never really left my brain. there's something so uncanny about the writing, the world and the atmosphere that the author creates that although hard to pinpoint what is is, it just exists and permeates the entire 300 pages.
welp. I'd love to come back to this once I get older and have my share of ~relationships~ so I can understand some of the mysteries and questions I have leftover after reading this strange piece of literature.
here's my ranking and take/mini-review of each story (a bit spoilery):
1. kino
i feel like this is the only story I understood most of the metaphors, which by itself is already a feat for my pea sized brain. the ending scene is SO GOOD and I was intrigued throughout the entire thing.
2. scherazade
by far the most fun. mostly because a lot of the story was narrated by a woman (scherazade). her sudden "you know im convinced that i was an eel in my past life" talk lives rent-free in my head. once again, a plot only japanese men could come up with.
3. an independent organ
oof. this one was Sadge. mans was girlbossed
4. drive my car
probably one of the more wholesome ones. the whole thing with kafuku being an actor was quite interesting.
5. men without women
for the story that named the book, if was a bit too short no?
this was rather.. funny? to read? the character is like "omg do you think the woman i dated when i was 14 k*lled herself because of my pEniS???" like bro wake up
I do think this was the perfect closing to the collection though. basically saying that men dont know shit about women and that they spend all their time self-pitying and moping around instead of having you know. empathy.
6. yesterday
if it weren't for the BEATLES IN KANSAI DIALECT this would've been a 3/5 but tbh I think this is the most normal of the 6 stories and 100% the sanest mc of all. see, this is the thing about weird shit: who else would write an entire story about some dude who fakes his accent lmfao
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Grief
audc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
A lot of mention of songs (appreciated that).
There’s an amount of stuff written that I don’t understand what the author was trying to get across or whether they really are ignorant (;misogynistic).
“That really turned me on…Maybe it was because I was so turned on that my period started almost immediately after that.”
Unfortunately, the relationships that are explored between men and women is sexual (often with infidelity on the woman’s part) and the way women described often relates to whether they’re conventionally attractive or unattractive.
Very simple, nail-on-the-head descriptions. Perhaps, that’s possibly why many of the stories just blend together monotonously.
I had a lot of questions about what a book titled “Men Without Women” would be about.
At first; When would a man not have multiple women in his life? What sort of impact did these women have one these men’s lives?,
And later; Does a relationship with a woman/women only count through a consensual agreement? What about friendships?
“…losing one woman means losing all women.”
Favorites: (Drive My Car) , (An Independent Organ) , and (Samsa in Love) I just liked the premise of the story.
The last story (Men Without Women) was an okay ending.
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Bullying and Emotional abuse
eve81's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer
pamparmi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Suicide