Welcome to Litsy!

My latest addition to the my collection. Which is your favorite? Mine is probably the wind-up bird chronicles (not pictured here bc I read it on kindle. I‘m also missing a few others which is driving me crazy and instead of doing work, I‘m tearing up the house trying to find them 😂

Classic Murakami in the best way. I love his quirky, slightly unsettling approach to storytelling. He keeps you on your toes and leaves you with some unresolved pieces to ponder. He‘s always a favorite of mine. I got this copy in Taipei - pictured here with the tea set I picked up there as well. 📖 🫖

This is the story of a 36-year-old unnamed narrator going through a personal and artistic crisis leaves his house on a remote mountain and takes residence in an old house previously occupied by a mysterious painter. Wherein, he discovers an enigmatic painting called “Killing Commendatore” in the attic and triggers a chain of events that comprises the core of this narrative.

An absolute return to form for Murakami. I felt the excitement that I had experienced 25 years ago when I read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. The perfect balance of observation with the splendid alternate reality that he excels at.

Murakami is absolute love. From ever I started reading his book I was never disappointed.
Murakami book just sucks you into his world And make you believe in all the stories and illusions he creates.
Murakami book has a great magically charm which I never get tried off.

❣

relishing every single word of this book. not something you would want to read in a single sitting because it's not fast paced and plot driven. more of an examination of art, the world of ideas and reality. the characters' musings are quite amusing. i'm pacing myself and reading this piecemeal to take time to digest the ideas and savour them.

"Look deep enough into any person and you will find something shining within."

Ending my year with Murakami and this grumpy, little beautiful thing!!!

Happy New Year 🎊🎊🎊

My first Murakami! And also my last!

I knew he wouldn't be my type of author, but if you can get past all the uncomfortable and kind of inappropriate scenes, then you're good.

🌟3

#murakami #asianlit #japaneselit #harukimurakami

The man just doesn‘t get it. Yet, like Mieko Kawakami, I still enjoy his books.

https://lithub.com/a-feminist-critique-of-murakami-novels-with-murakami-himself/

An interesting and weird book about a painter who leaves home following his wife‘s request for a divorce, moves into another painters house and finds himself on a bizarre journey complete with a 2 ft version of Commendatore from Don Giovanni. At times I felt as though Murakami went on a rambling tangent, but once he got back on pace it was enjoyable. #AuthorAMonth #AuthorAMonth2020

Finally starting this beauty!!! Hoping to finish this and 1Q84 soon!

This chunkster could have been edited to half its length. The story follows the male protagonist artist who is recently divorced and is living is another artist‘s home. Mysterious things start happening after he finds a hidden pairing by the resident artist. It has Murakami‘s trademarks of a missing girl, magic realism, strange people, going on a quest, and a lot of World War II history. Definitely it his best. #AuthorAMonth

Maaaaaybe this story doesn‘t translate well, but I suspect it‘s just crap. There‘s some interesting stuff about a painting and metaphors. Then there are obsessive descriptions about the breasts of every female character. Murakami has never been good at writing women. Here they‘re especially (ahem) flat. Way too much detail on meals eaten and clothes worn. At 400 pages this could have been a great book, but at 700+, it‘s just a mess.
#AuthorAMonth

Nothing new from Murakami.
This is a very long and somewhat repetitive read coming from him. However people who prefer his softer novels may really enjoy this. Still Murakami, Still Worth Reading.

Well this is either going to be an incredible read or an unbelievable slog, so say the reviews. Into the breach I go...

Second read of the year. This seems to be a study of human nature meshed into a fiction story. Will see how it all unfolds.

7 days. 7 covers you love. No explanation. Tag a new person to participate each day.

#7covers7days #coverlove Day 7, 10/4/19

@keepingupwiththepenguins Wanna play?

An idea, a metaphor and a double metaphor walks into a bar and Killing Commendatore was created.

After hearing so many bad reviews, I was sightly reluctant to read KC. Even though it took me a lot of tries of starting and putting it away over a span of 10 months, I finally managed to pick and complete this book during a slow week at work.

Do I love KC? Definitely no, but it‘s definitely not the worst book I‘ve read.

3.5/5

#AyUpAugust #PillowTalk Has any one read this & remember the pillow ..... 🤐😳 saying no more ( spoiler) .. I also read Wind Up Bird ..... but this Commendatore is my favorite so far

Wow! I didn‘t know what to expect from Murakami‘s newest novel. I wasn‘t really blown away by “Colorless Tsukuru” & I‘ve been more fond of his earlier works. But I absolutely loved Killing Commendatore!!! It reminded me a little of 1Q84, another Murakami favorite of mine, but with more character building that really had me loving the characters, especially Menshiki.

I‘d really like to discuss how all of Murakami‘s novels are related.
How Marie‘s father is in a cult, probably from 1Q84, the hole the protagonist fell through is similar to that described in Norwegian Wood (and maybe wind-up bird chronicle? It‘s been a while since I‘ve read it though), and many other references throughout his work. Has anyone else noticed it?

I loved my first experience of Murakami. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Layers of dreams & the unconscious & metaphor... what a story , such imagination! He is a strange one & I love his strangeness.. ... that‘s my Japanese cup that hubby got me years ago in the airport in Japan.

He doesn‘t recognize me. He‘s lost the concept of family of father of son. Even the distinctions between himself and other people may have blurred. Still , maybe it‘s easier when those things are swept away and you don‘t have to think about them anymore...

That psychic power is what makes him who he is. I feel a bit guilty sometimes that I didn‘t inherit that temperament

“There were times I felt abandoned at the edge of the world. Yet even then I felt no envy toward that other man. Did that make me strange ? “

I could quote endlessly, but I won‘t. Marakami is such a unique writer .. I‘m turning pages calmly but surely.. it‘s a long book & I‘m in no hurry ( I feel under a spell ...

1. I think reading & reaching the halfway ( 350pages ) in my first book by Murakami... & finding it amazing on all sorts of levels .. feels like an accomplishment to me
2. Inchydoney ♥️west Cork , a reading paradise
3. I definitely prefer apples 👍🏻
4. ♥️Yes ! Neil Young & Bob Dylan in Kilkenny with my 2 daughters. I‘ll need sun glasses & tissues ... tears of memory & sun ☀️ predicted 🤞🏻
5. I will 👍🏻♥️

I‘m over 200 pages in & I think it‘s safe to say I‘m IN , hook , line & sinker .... LOVE Murakami .. beautiful writing & as of a few pages ago, I‘m in shock & in stitches - Really Murakami !!!! 😳🤔🤣😳 what are you doing to me .... ??!!! ( Pic taken by hubby -

I‘ve decided to be adventurous on this sunny morning & try a new author & it‘s a long long book ( 681 pages 😬) Oh well , nothing ventured nothing gained. ....

#Top6Reads @Cinfhen
These are my top reads for the first half of 2019. My very favorite was Killing Commendatore.

Murakami is my favorite author, so this review is a little biased! That being said, I loved this novel! It is magical realism at it‘s finest and Murakami does not disappoint with this book. His style of writing- it‘s simple words that form such detailed pictures in my mind. I can‘t get enough of his work! #PulitzerWorthy

Omg!!! @thebluestocking Thank you so much!!! This is awesome! I love everything!! All this plus The Priory of the Orange Tree for my kindle.(my daughter snagged it and is reading it now) Thank you! My insomnia has kicked in, so it‘s a perfect time to start reading Killing Commendatore. I love Murakami and have wanted this book for so long. Thank you!! #MysteryMessageSwap

K 💃🏻 @RealLifeReading #alphabetbookishquiz

https://wellreadneck.wordpress.com/2019/05/13/killing-commendatore-haruki-muraka...

#QuotsyApr19 Day 26: The truth as a #Symbol. Murakami is a hit or miss for me. I did not particularly enjoy the only novel of his that I read - title escapes me now, but perhaps one has to be in the right headspace to really appreciate him. Regardless, I am still collecting most of his novels in the hopes that I acquire a taste for them.

This is one of the best authors in the world today, I haven‘t read anything by him I haven‘t enjoyed. This bizarre story is a stunning work of imagination. Next I‘m on to IQ84 wish me luck.

Really good book

“‘If I can draw you the right way, maybe you'll be able to see yourself through my eyes,‘ I said, ‘If all goes well, of course.‘

‘That's why we need pictures.‘

‘You're right - that's why we need pictures. Or literature, or music, or anything of that sort.‘”

#QuotsyMar19 | 9: #Observation

📷: Made with Typorama

What can I say, it‘s Murakami at his finest! This may be his best book yet. Of course, that‘s easy to say when I just finished it and it‘s fresh in my mind. Haruki Murakami absolutely deserves a #Pulitzer. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After his last two boring books, I'm glad to see Murakami return to his famous flights of fancy. Killing Commendatore is classic Murakami, with a nearly affectless hero, mysterious collaborators, spirits, and most important, dark and mysterious holes in the ground. Murakami also tipped his hand to what I think must be one of his sources--Ueda Akinari's Tales of Moonlight and Rain, an 18th century collection of supernatural stories. Loved it!

Up next: My February pick — listening to audio and reading print book at the same time. I love doing that.
#LoveMurakami

As nuts as ever but I just love how he writes and his books are so different from anything else I read

My kids and I went to the library this evening and these were my choices! Has anyone read either? They're both on the long side so I must assume I won't get through both before I have to return them. That being said, which should I start with? 🤔

Hard to review. There were bits I adored so much, including the overall plot and themes, but Murakami‘s view of women particularly preteen girls just ruined it in so many places. The idea of a 13yo talking about her breasts to a man she‘s never met for PAGES was completely ridiculous, it icked me out. I love the magic realism and the ideas but I wish Murakami would just never mention women, I can‘t read books where every woman is this ridiculous.

Lost track of time a little for #24b4monday but think I‘m around the 4/5 hour mark? Should have used my timer more carefully!

I‘ll finish this book today if it‘s the last thing I do! Need to crack on and get through it. @TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65

Not my favourite Murakami. His obsession with ore-pubescent girls‘ breasts is disturbing, to say the least. I found the resolution very unsatisfying as well. #aroundtheyearin52books

#24b4monday @TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65

I‘m at about 3 hours now, pushing on through lunch with this one. Starting to wonder if I‘ll be reading this book for the rest of my life...

Lunchtime murakami with my new eco-friendly sandwich bag - no more cling film or metal foil! It was a gift from a friend and it‘s so cute.

Finally over half way through Killing Commendatore, hoping I can finish it in the readathon this weekend. I definitely need to read something short next