From what I've read of Murakami, he's been good. But

>>8756843
Plebs don't understand Murakami, is okei.

The only acceptable Murakami is Wind Up Bird Chronicle, Sputnik Sweetheart, and Kafka on the shore.

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>>8756843

ive had my fill of murakami with kafka, wind up, south, sputnik, norweigian, and after the quake. i dont really plan on buying anything else by him.

but i do feel terrible for the shift in cover styles. they went from GOAT-tier pic-related to the absolute generic graphical shit.

>>8756895

Why 'Sputnik Sweetheart'? I've heard a lot of people make cases for your other two choices, but never 'Sputnik Sweetheart'.

>>8756943

I agree. I think you can still find the older covers in your pic related, though.

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>>8756943

such a shame.

>>8756843
If your'e making a Murakami thread then at least build it with more stable discussion topics, or else it will just become another fucking thread where everyone just posts their book preferences and call each other plebs.
I liked that book tho

>>8756943
>>8756954
>>8756957

so i found the designer. john gall. same guy for both styles which is tragic. but his work is pretty fantastic desu. i know this isnt really /lit/ but design is something that smarty smarts can get into too, im sure.

http://www.johngalldesign.com/Murakami

>>8756991
>design is something that smarty smarts can get into too, im sure.
Design is beneath me, pleb.

>>8756843
Imagine how good Murakami is if you read it in Japanese?

>>8756843
He's not bad, only sometimes boring and cringy.

>>8756843
this man, in my country he is nothing.

>>8756843
Onyl read 1q84, nice read but perfectly shit ending.
tried norwegian wood and got bored very quickly

>>8756944
I'm guessing it's a personal favorite of his, Sputnik Sweetheart is super bland and run-of-the-mill as far as Murakami goes. But hey, I'll defend 1Q84 to the death even though I'm perfectly aware of how bad it is so I can't judge.

>>8756843
i thought it was alright.
tsukuru was just a bitch

So is Murakami actually good, or is he shit like most posters on /lit/ proclaim?

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Slightly off topic OP, but has anyone here ever gone back and reread a Murakami book? I've read about five of his books and tried a few months ago to reread Windup which is my favorite or second favorite, even though I am not that big a fan of his.

I couldn't get past 15 pages before becoming very bored. I think once you know all the little weird details and weird twists there isn't much left to enjoy. Anyone else felt this?

>>8758800
He captures the feeling of vague ennui that slightly-too-smart college and high school students feel really well.

desu I think /lit/ just hates themselves then projects that on Murakami sometimes.

>>8758800
I really enjoy the vibe and tone that Wind-Up Bird created, although the story meandered into a magical surrealist plot that I struggled to make sense of. I guess if I reread it critically I'd have a better time of it (I get the feeling there is a lot of symbolism and subtext involved), but I just don't feel like it.

for anyone who actually read the book in OP:
[SPOILER]WHY THE FUCK DID THEY BLAME HIM FOR THE RAPE I STILL DON'T GET IT OR IS IT ABOUT HOW PPL WILLFULLY FORGET THEIR OWN CRIMES?[/SPOILER]
i really loved the '''ghost story''' with the piano player at the hotel thing~~

>>8758880
hahaha nice spoiler fagit

Just finished 1Q84.
I liked it. Not sure about that ending though. And I thought it got repetitive after a while.
But it was worth reading.

I really didn't like tsukuru

From what I read:

Kafka > NW > Wind-Up > Hard-Boiled > 1Q84 > Tsukuru

>>8758810
About to reread Dance, Dance, Dance after reading the rat series. I'm afraid this will happen but I'll see how it pans out.

>>8757366
"she was like a 3D painting in the forest of his mind" is a dumbass thing to say in any language

>>8756843
Thisu man, in my couwntly, he is nozzing.

>>8758880
Shiro accused Tsukuru. They couldn't hang out with Tsukuru and Shiro at the same time, because they knew Shiro would've gone into an even bigger fit and gotten sicker. They thought it was unlikely that Tsukuru did it, but that he was the "strongest of their group" and that he could handle being dropped without being told a reason. They were wrong, and the entire plan was bullshit but yeah, that's what happened.

>>8756943
These are hit or miss. The white U.K. Vintage versions are truly GOAT-tier. Check em out.

>>8760557
Pretty accurate description. Tsukuru may have been strong, but he still went through that whole time in his life where he was near death, because of them.

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Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World > Dance Dance Dance > The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle > Norwegian Wood > Kafka on the Shore > Sputnik Sweetheart > A Wild Sheep Chase > South of the Border, West of the Sun > Pinball, 1973 > Hear the Wind Sing > After Dark > 1Q84 > Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage


The Elephant Vanishes > Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman > after the quake > Men Without Women > The Strange Library

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running > Underground

>>8758810
I tried to reread Kafka. Made it past 300 pages before dropping it. Loved it the first time but it didn't age well.

>>8756944

It's a meh book as far as quality goes but the protagonist is /lit/ personified.

>>8758800
He is not a great writer by any means. Generally competent, which is enough. He has a proclivity for similes that are so bad it's inexcusable, but generally his style is neither good nor too bad. Competent prose that doesn't get in the way of the story. I read Japanese to extent and I have read some of his short stories in Japanese. The bad writing that pops up is not a fault of translation.

He is a very good storyteller though and something about his stories and the world he creates is always incredibly immersive and affecting.

I thought "Tsukuru Tazaki" was pretty good myself. Tsukuru's meeting with Kuro in Finland actually had my heart beating faster which is not something I can say happens all the time, even with books I think are better.

1Q84 is pretty so so to cringe and overly long. After Dark is kind of neat but it can easily be skipped. Kind of reads more like someone trying to be Murakami than actually him.

Otherwise you can't really go wrong. Wind Up Bird is his magnum opus for sure.

>>8758800
my favorite work by him is Nowergian Wood

After Dark was really weak and i won't recommend it to anyone new to Murakami (but it has 2 or 3 passages i remember very well and really liked it)

Tsukuru its a good book with flaws, but i still like it and sometimes i pick this book and read again some pages, because i could see myself as the protagonist

i'll start reading kafka as soon as i can

>>8758810
I'll most likely reread NW sometime. Mostly liked it because it was cozy & immersive, so I doubt i'll have the same problem.

Also did anybody think it was stupid that the protagonist in Kafka was 15? Feels like the only reason for that was because he didn't want to rewrite NW.

>>8756954
You can't in Amazon. The only "old" cover you can find is 1Q84, and that one was designed by Chip Kidd.
>>8756895
Sputnik is his worst, silly anon.

I was looking at Dance, Dance, Dance, recently has anyone read it?

>>8764046
Probably my favorite by him. I think it's worth it honestly

>>8764046
>>8764760
Read Wild Sheep Chase first though.

Can anyone share the e-book for his new book "Absolutely on Music"?

>>8758810
I regularly reread Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Almost once a year

>>8760436
>"she was like a 3D painting in the forest of his mind"
oh boy that's bad

>>8763790
Surely you can find one on Amazon by an independent seller?

>>8758815
You, pinned it down.

>>8764046
>>8766023
you need to read the whole trilogy of the rat first but wild sheep chase + dance dance dance are really good. The protag is a lot more emotionally transparent than a lot of later murakami, and the story beats hit a lot harder as a result. end of a wild sheep chase made me cry.

>>8768664
also I'm pretty sure he's like the only murakami protag with a sense of humor, even if he's a bit of a creepy asshole.

>>8761863
I think 1Q84 is carried really well by the main duo. I liked it at least as much as wind up bird.

honestly his characters+scene-setting are probably my favourite part about him as a writer: all of the arcane plot mechanics are pretty secondary.

>>8768672
Eh, still can't convince me it's not too long and all the nasty sex was so cringe and off putting (especially when involving obvious Murakami inserts). I did not finish it but I suppose I could get it a try again, it's been a few years. It was comfy and readable as usual.

>>8769014
hm, the fuka eri/tengo thing was definitely weird, I think he tried to make it pretty clear the fact that it was sexual was at least secondary to the actual point of the relationship. Really I just like Aomame+the dowager and the fact that ushikawa shows up again.

>>8769175
I didn't like the whole sexcapades of the main woman and that other lady. Bald Sean Connery fetish or whatever. Next level cringe.

But I think I'll probably give it another chance. It was definitely comfy and immersive as expected from Murakami.