Men Without Women
Ratings88
Average rating3.8
An interesting (and sometimes weird) collection of stories! More of a 3.5/5, but rounded up to 4/5 here.
Men without women is a collection of stories about men who have in one way or another lost an important woman in their lives, not what I believed the book would be about - A world without women at all.
Which author do you read if you want a story high with emotion and ends abruptly?
Say it with me - Mura effing kami.
A 40 page short story without a definitive ending? wew
His work HAS to be enjoyed through novels. Short stories are great BUT in my opinion, you need to be engrossed in a story for a while to care about the characters, and 40 pages doesn't do it for me.
It's been a long time since I've read any Murakami, but I always enjoy him, and the various translators for this collection of short stories are excellent. I think “Samsa in Love” is my favorite, probably because it's the weirdest and I love Murakami most when he gets weird, but even the stories with no magical realism elements were solid reads, and I'd recommend them.
There's a common thread running through what little Murakami I've read; or perhaps better said, a common thread not-running: Connection. His characters all seem to go through the motions of living, but entirely in a cargo-cult way. They talk, drink, fuck, sometimes even laugh, but it's all hollow. Emotionless. There's no love of any kind, no real communication or listening or feeling. Is that the point? Is Murakami satirizing the rat race? Highlighting the uniqueness of our one life and the quickness with which we turn our back on it? That's the other thing about Murakami: I'm not really smart enough to get him.
i absolutely love how murakmi says things, but not always what he says. i believe murakami is mainly split into two sections, which are interwoven throughout his work: his more fantastical side and his more philsophical/serious side. in this collection of short stories, 'men without women', i saw this more serious side in the most beautiful light. particularly in stories like 'drive my car' and 'an independent organ' (which were my favorites).
i absolutely love murkami's writing style, but i feel that the contents (plot elements) of his stories are sometimes lacking. they are not very interesting, and while he tries to make up for this by using fantastical elements, it takes from his writing and makes it seem more child like. in this sense, i'm always grasping for something more with murakami, if the level of his plots rose to the level of his prose, then he would be one of the greatest authors of all time. i assume that because this is a short story colleciton, that the plots will be of lighter quality, so i expect more fleshed out plots within his novels. when i read 'after dark' (my third book of his), i will look for this. i truly love this 'slice of life' style writing, but when it's in every single story i just want some variation. i wish murakami tettered between 'slice of life' and 'plot focused' stories. 7.5/10.
It is mesmerising the way Murakami paints a much larger picture through this sublime collection of short stories, with a desire to understand and to discover human connections and emotions.
Read more: https://the-inkline.com/2017/09/23/review-men-without-women/
finished this on audible. LOVED kino. cats, jazz, sad men, cool sorta gangster side character, and above all, hubris. i jam w that. but GIRL that last story. gettin horny over elevator music. i was laughin a lot more than i should have. also i'm 1000% sure ppl just read murakami for the vibes bc i don't know what else is there to this guy
I really enjoy Murakami's writing, there's just something so unique about it. All these stories are essentially pointless, you're just tagging along the journeys of these characters that he builds so well. They feel real and palpable.
I especially loved ‘Samsa in love' a unique retelling of Kafka's classic, a kind of reverse metamorphosis.
I don't even know what I'm taking away from this one, but it was great and i enjoyed my time with it.
Some of the short stories were really good and some just alright. And didn't like one much at all (An independent organ). I didn't think too much of the book after just finishing but I kept coming back to some of the stories later on.
Reread scheherazade and drive my car after starting the drive by car movie.
Samsa in love was hilarious. Loved the blunt talk by the female character. The story was different from what I have read usually.
Overall I really enjoyed the book. I doubt definitely recommend it and it's a good first Murakami to try out.
The first story 'Drive My Car' has been adapted into an Oscar winning movie that I loved watching.
It's a great movie worth the watch. If you liked the book, definitely check the movie out also.