I feel a bit embarrassed to confess this, but I have been struggling with Murakami’s 1Q84. And to think I call myself a bookjunkie.
I like his writing style, but when it comes to content, I cannot relate to his way of thinking. In this book in particular, there’s all those male sexual fantasies again which I find unpalatable and unrealistic. And there is also this emotional detachment with the characters that I find disconcerting.
But I refuse to stop. Once I start, I have to finish a book. So I will keep trying. There are too many books I’ve abandoned half way. Also I can’t quite make a fair judgement if I’ve only read a quarter of it. And even though I don’t like the content, I still love the way he strings words together like music.
These days when I read I have been distracted. I didn’t use own a smart phone. Now there are things to entertain my short attention span. The nice people on Twitter and iPhone games with my family are all very enticing. And I am one person who is not skilled in multi-tasking. I much prefer doing just one thing and paying full attention to it. Zero distractions. Maybe I should not charge my battery and place the phone far away in a drawer for at least the hour I spend reading.
Another thing I noticed. When I borrow books from the library I get much more reading done. It’s that sense of urgency as I need to return them in 3 weeks or incur a fine.
have you read other Murakami novels? His Sheep trilogy is the best.
My favourites are The Wind Up Bird Chronicle & Kafka by the Shore. I could read those many times. Just lyrical the way he writes.
Hey!
Enjoyed your posts on Instagram (u snapped all of my favourite foods/craving). Came to your blog from there. Thanks for sharing your escapades through your blog! Really enjoyable read. 🙂
And as for Murakami, I’m currently reading 1Q84 (my first Murakami). While it’s quite interesting, I do agree that his portrayal of female characters is rather disconcerting. And yes, his characters feel emotionally distanced.
Seems he’s caring more about forwarding the narrative than developing real characters.
I thought I was the only one who felt that way. But I still do want to try to continue reading as I like his style. Something about it I just can’t put my finger on. Perhaps the rhythm and the way the words flow?
So delighted you found the blog through Instagram, Roger 🙂
I hate it when I want to abandon a book. I usually try to force my way through it, but every so often, I just have to throw in the towel and move on.
Most recently, for the third or fourth time, I gave up on Lord of the Rings (which I actually HAVE to read because the spelling of Elanor’s name is taken from it).
Oh yes, I see why you have to read that. Maybe you can pick it up again later? Yeah think we are kiasu that way 😉 abandoning a book feels like a failure of sorts 😉 I attempted to read Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children and only got a smooth flow going on my third attempt. First 2 attempts ended after a couple of pages. I had to get used to the style.