murakami
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Review of Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami
Murakami is not an authority on writing. Rather, he is an expert on music. See his other nonfiction book for proof. He is untrained in the craft of writing, as he admits in the opening pages. He also does not play an instrument. What does that tell you? Established rules…
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Review of Murakami T: The T-Shirts I Love by Haruki Murakami
I began by pretending this was a short novel about a t-shirt and vinyl-record-obsessed old guy, who happened to also be an obscenely successful novelist and it worked for the most part in the sense that I enjoyed reading these table scraps of autobiographical reminiscences from the most influential Japanese…
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Review of First Person Singular: Stories by Haruki Murakami
Not a good entry point for new readers. Along with his last collection, Men Without Women, in a lot of ways, it feels like Murakami is riding his own coattails. To sum up my thoughts: This collection doesn’t enhance Murakami’s reputation, neither does it compare to his first 3 great…
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Review of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
A fascinating look at characters and the brutalities of war and violence that seep into our lives. Murakami’s characters aren’t necessarily deep, but they feel like real people. The women are mediums, he claims, allowing the male protagonist to experience new concepts. They take some getting used to.The whole book…
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Review of Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami
I have trouble motivating myself to write about the works of Haruki Murakami. The fact of the matter is, I have read all of his work in English, I love it, I know it has flaws, and I don’t care. He has a legion of followers, rivaling Neil Gaiman, but…
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Review of Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami
Beginning a series of reviews I will do for Murakami, though I’m arriving late to the party, what with the plethora of reviews out there. I’ve been a fan since high school and through college. His short stories have a very different feel than his novels in my opinion. With…
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Review of Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami,
What is one to make of Murakami’s short stories? His translator has stated that his reputation was made by his stories in Japan – apart from his super-successful novels. A brief survey of his total story output reveals that he is not interested in traditional story forms. Though many of…
L. S. Popovich 