Alright, I'm a huge Dostoevsky fan. I have a sticker of the guy on the back of my phone. Crime and Punishment is my second favorite book. But The Idiot is just boring. I love Dostoevsky for his psychologically hard-pressed characters. His characters have more emotional depth than most real humans. But The Idiot is just a disappointment. Who's Nastasya going to marry? Who's it going to be!?!? It all feels so artificial and absurd. Maybe that's why I disliked the book; I came into it expecting Dostoevsky-esque realism, but I got proto-postmodern-existentialism, with all these characters making totally inane decisions. SKIP!
Norwegian Wood was the book that made Murakami popular among non-Japanese audiences. But after reading it, I just don't understand why. Sure, the book has its moments of splendid Murakami wisdom. His typical themes of alienation and existentialism are there. However, the plot was incredibly disappointing. It is a very crude love story, no more, no less. To more morally conservative people, Norwegian Wood is very difficult to get through, to say the least.
I found myself missing Murakami's magical realism. Proponents of this work argue that this was a challenging book for Murakami to write, given that he usually doesn't write like this. I suppose he achieved his goal, mixing his usual themes with the genre of romance, but, to me, it detracted from what he does best. All in all, if I could go back and tell myself to skip Norwegian Wood, I would. Not recommended.
This is the third book in Murakami's “The Rat” series, and it's noticeably longer and more developed than the previous two. And, what would you know, the book is a wild sheep chase! This is a very enjoyable and satisfying read that will make you become a Murakami fan. He has such an interesting mind that can come up with such outlandish yet incredible stories.
Where do I even start? I don't know what to say about Notes from Underground as a literary piece. I'll just say that it requires patience.
As an artistic work, it's remarkable. Dostoevsky embarks on such an incredibly display of talent–
No. I'm not even going to try. I'm confused. You should read it, but you'll also be confused.
48 Books
See all