1Q84 is one of my all-time favorite books, but everything you said is true. And just for the record, if you hated the first quarter, you would've hated the rest, especially the ending. As a fan of the book, I wouldn't have wanted it to be any shorter. I felt like I could've lived in it the rest of my life. I've even re-read it two times since then. But, yeah, the misogyny is atrocious. I wish some other writer would come along who could write exactly like Murakami, just less... gross.
@@BooksRebound Hey, sorry. I meant to reply the same day that I first read your comment and then completely forgot. Honestly, I think it all boils down to the fact that you either connect with it or you don't. No amount of explanation will make you see what I see. Also, I haven't read it in a few years, so I can't give too many specific examples of things I liked, but I'll try to explain it generally. First, I think I read it at the exact time that I needed something like this, which happens with a lot of his books. So I was just in the right mindset to be taken away into the story. Also, this book is just really comforting to me. I know a lot of people think it's filled with things that don't make sense, but they make sense to me. I often get lost in daydreams and this book was like someone took my daydreams and put them on paper - falling into a slightly off world, the lonely characters, the stargazing at the playground... As someone who feels like an outsider and too weird to exist with the rest of humanity most of the time, it feels really validating to know someone else is the same kind of weird as me. I've read other books that people love and I can't understand why, but I would never assume those people just don't understand good literature or the author is an idiot. It's okay to like something or not like it.
I expected these will be the reasons you hated this book and I actually had a good time watching this! You didn't annoy me at all, so don't worry about that. The sexual language and imagery in his work have always perplexed me, even though I've always read them with a sense of detachment. It's not something I do that much (mainly because it's not worth my brain power) but there are times when I wonder "why does Murakami have the need to mention or depict sex so much in his writing?" But even so, and even though I did go through the book, even though I even read the most awkwards lines or scenes in the book, I was able to forget about them and move on with the plot. It doesn't excuse any of the bad writing, but it was my experience. And as those sex scenes faded into the background, everything came to life for me. Beautiful imagery, beautiful scenes on the slide looking at the moon, the themes of love and fate and beliefs and reality, the sentences that hit me like a speeding truck, the crazy twiste and turns in the plot that kept me on the edge, the story in a story, the intertwining narratives both "real" and "fictional," the meaning of reality-those stayed with me. It would have been a better book if those bad parts were cut out, but as it was, it helped me through one of my darkest times in December 2020. I don't want to get into too much detail, especially as this is a RUclips comment, but I was basically questioning a ton of things and my whole belief system fell apart. And this book gave me the building blocks to start over. To see the world differently, in a way that I was scared of before. And starting over scared me, but it surely did bring me on one harrowing journey and conflicts with both others and myself. And 1Q84 had given me a guide, a few scraps and notes however small or seemingly disconnected from me, to help me even after the story was over. Before I end this, I just want to mention a subplot that touched me toward the end of the novel: and it relates to Tengo, the male protagonist's, father. (Spoilers for anyone else, if necessary) Basically we get a lot of backstory about the father, which of course links back to Tengo's search for his real father, but what touched was how Murakami described going to see the old man. How the father was in a coma, and how, eventually, the father passed away. It was only later on that I learned that Murakami's father died during the writing of 1Q84, which implied that that was why the scene touched me; it felt real, to me. And the fact that a lot of Murakami books dealt with strained father-son relationships, thanks to his relationship to his own father, only made the subplot a lot more human to me. I don't know if what I said made sense, as I'm just writing from the top of my head, but still, continue being honest and I hope you maybe try his stories like After Dark or the short story Sleep. You don't have to, I just wonder what you'd think of them. Still, looking forward to your next video! Hope you're having a nice day.
Loved your take on DNF-ing the book, it really does sounds so straight forward when you put it this way - finite amount of time on earth, why spend it hate-reading a book? Definitely something that's going to stick with me and I'm going to try to do from now on if I find myself not enjoying reading something! Norwegian Wood is one of my favourite books and I noticed his awful misogyny in there too but I think I convinced myself it was because of the character in that book, yikes to see that it's kind of a thing with Murakami's other novels too.. Thank you for a very entertaining video!
Yeah life's too short to read bad books! But I don't apply that to good books that are challenging, because they're worth sticking with. And yeah he is just gross. I also let him off the hook the first few books. Then... nope. I'm done.
I haven’t started with the video yet, but finally!!!!! I will never forget how Mieko Kawakami critiqued him and I think this is now a safe space to say that I dnf-ed almost every Murakami book that I’ve tried to read…yes, he may be good(?) but I will always hate how he writes women and his writing somehow shows how most older Japanese men are a menace to the society haha
I completely agree with you. This is exactly why I hate some of his novels. Actually Haruki Murakami is not critically-acclaimed in Japan (another Murakami, Ryu Murakami, is always critics' favorite). Mieko Kawakami's analysis of '1Q84' (in her interview with Haruki Murakami published in 2017) was really interesting, though (Mieko Kawakami is a big fan of his). She also asks him about the depictions of women and sex in his novels in the interview.
I read a Murakami Haruki short story for my Japanese degree but other than that I've never read anything by him because I've been so put off by hearing about his sexism and other tropes. I definitely want to try one of his books at some point soon because it feels weird saying I love Japanese fiction in translation without having read any of his novels (or at least tried because if I start one and hate it there's no way I'm gonna finish it). It's good to know the one I try should not be 1Q84 (I'll probably choose a shorter one lol), so thank you for this!
Yeah I'm completely over him at this point lol. If you want to try a shorter one, the one that got me into him was A Wild Sheep Chase. Doubt I'll ever read him again tho. There are countless other and better modern Japanese writers, and they're all women 💜
I used to defend some of his writing beCAUSE he only ever wrote from the pov of male protagonists. But now that i hear you say that it's the exact same situation even from a woman's perspective, there's absolutely no excuse. xD
I don't know where you're coming from but this I can definitely say, you are not an Academian so there's no point giving you a critical explanation of Murakami's employment of the erotic. Nevertheless, I watched your entire video for 12 mins because I cannot afford to keep personal biases when I'm a researcher. Okay now coming to your allegations about Murakami's absolute depiction of what you call "bad sex", in 1Q84. The entire idea of sex in Murakami is psychologically nuanced. It's not the cheap 50 shades of greyish market sex which if removed from the plot, will have absolutely no impact on the overall plot. The erotic is the essence of every Murakami plot. Tengo's childhood memory of his mother's breasts being sucked by a man other than his father is purely Freudian which brings us to the exploration of childhood to interpret sexual interests of a human being. Although Freud's idea is flawed in many aspects but when we talk of childhood sexual memory, we cannot deny psychoanalytical school of thought. And you find the same in even greater depths in Kafka on the Shore. And as you said, Murakami has never written a female protagonist, then I'm certain you have never read his short story, "Sleep" which has an empowering female protagonist as well as narrator ( both of who are the same person) . Besides this, almost all the plotlines of Murakami, begins and proceeds in a very linear dimension until a female protagonist enters and drives the plot topsy turvy. You'll find it in 1Q84, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, Norwegian Wood, and in an umpteen number of short stories of Murakami. If that is not one way of projecting female agency in the erotic of narrative, then I don't know what is. Also talking of "bad sex" again, obsession with breasts is as natural to any woman as breathing. Being a woman I can vouch for it. I look at my breasts everyday in the mirror with slight dissatisfaction about its shape of size just as any other part of my body like my nose or mouth or ears. Since when did breasts become sexual in nature? Breasts have been made sexual because of the "male gaze". What Murakami is doing, is normalising human concern about breasts like we would have been concerned or satisfied or dissatisfied with any other part of our body. Also, the entire idea of sex isn't shamed in Murakami's narratives. Sex in Murakami's narratives, is as essential a need for human beings irrespective of their gender/ biological sex as breathing is once again. In 1Q84, in fact you can actually see Aomame as an empowered woman with an agency of her own over her own body and being. It is she who decides whom she'll sleep with. It is she who decides who gets to touch her body. She in the novel, considers the body as a temple and she reveres her body. No wonder why she cannnot tolerate rape like any sane person. And she believes rapists and men who inflict violence on women do not deserve to live hence takes it on herself to remove such parasites from the face of the earth. If even after this, you continue to say that Murakami reinforces "Misogyny", then I think you should reconsider your argument. Also what's the big deal in lesbian or gay sex? Murakami showing lesbian sex and you mocking at it, reeks of Homophobia. Maybe you can widen your outlook a bit . Also your argument of why only lesbian sex and not gay sex, counters youe own argument. Also Murakami's plotlines have still not demanded a gay sex episode perhaps. Let me remind you, Murakami never employs sex without the technical and contextual need for it. So if he needs it in his future plots, I'm sure he will. Thank You. 😊
@@WillowTalksBooks Why are you so smug in the comment section? If you disagree with a comment either ignore it or say something smart. I know you're intelligent so it's kind of shame that ego gets in the way of that lmao
The only thing I read by him was Norwegian Wood (because 'YOU HAVE to read Norwegian Wood' ). I finished it a couple of weeks ago and something felt really off for me about it. I couldn't put my finger on it all this time and now, of course, a light went on. The terrible, terrible portrait of women! That's it! I'm quite ashamed that I'm so indoctrinated by reading male writers writing women all my life that it took me this long to spot it.
Yup, we have such a high tolerance for men’s behaviour and I’m so sick of it. The man is gross and I cannot read him anymore. Indoctrinated is the word! Patriarchy is indoctrination.
Didn't read "1Q84" yet but there are other female protagonists, like Mari Asai in "After Dark" and the narrator of his short story "Sleep". And they're both GREAT protagonist (the second even was praised by Mieko Kawakami). But the reason those protagonist are great is because he is not sexualizing them constanly, and, especially in "After Dark" (my favorite work of his) the focus is on Mari's growth as a person. I think Murakami writes women better when he's not trying to think like a woman. Your criticism towards Murakami are pretty much correct I think (well, he had a interview with Mieko where she adressed this issues, and Murakami pretty much dismissed all the criticisms... too bad, because I think he's a wonderful writer, one of my favorites, and this problem - among others - is gonna keep holding him up to be better) Murakami fans doesn't help at all 😶 Great channel, I always come here whenever I discover/read a japanese author. Suscribed! (sorry if my english is shitty)
This is my favorite video that you created so far (especially seeing you laughing so hard). I never read Murakami and based on your review, I won't skip it altogether.
Thank you for saying this!!! Sometimes too weird is just NOT good - did not reflect before about the misogyny of Murakami but the more I think about it the more I recognise how this often annoyed me about his work...
I'm about 300 from the end and still wondering "Where is this going?" Not so much in the plot sense, but why any of these characters were worth investing in. Also really tired of the fetishistic language. I don't think I've seen a character more obsessed with the shape of their breasts than Aomame. My god... Tengo never talked about his dick with this much anatomical focus. I plan to finish it, but I've spent half of the last 500 pages wondering what's really happened less because he's good at ambiguity but that I feel like we've been staring at Aomame and Fuka-Eri's breasts every other page.
I've just finished reading 1Q84 and I really enjoyed it... But you make so many good and valid points in this video! Really interesting to hear different opinions. Thanks for sharing your thoughts (and for really making me laugh!) ❤️
I just finished it. Really enjoyed it, despite the length. But I see how many people will find it difficult to enjoy it, based on the depiction of women. Maybe I enjoyed it for the opposite
I shivered when I saw the title of the video, not because I disagree - even though I love the book - but because the potential incoming slander towards you could be very intense 😬
@@WillowTalksBooks I wish you the best of luck, you might need it 😂 I’m a male fan of Murakami but I won’t even attempt to defend his misogyny, that man just needs to know when to tone it down 😒
This was actually the funniest thing to watch. 1Q84 was my first Murakami and it's the book that got me into Murakami. Despite all of its flaws and cringe worthy moment, i can't say I hated it. Great reaction though 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Now this was enjoyable xD I feel the same as you regarding Murakami’s magic just wearing off the more you read it and the more you yourself grow? The first book of him that I read some 3 years ago was Norwegian Wood and I absolutely loved it, instant favourite. After dark, 5 stars. Sputnik Sweetheart, good enough. By the time I got to Kafka on The Shore the magic was wearing off so I gave it some time. Just a few days ago I read South of the Border, West of the Sun and absolutely hated it. I think it’s because when you first read him it’s an overwhelming and unique experience. The trademark-sad-lonely protagonist seems relatable at first and you’re so busy enjoying all these elements that you can overlook some really big holes in character development and the shit load of creepiness. Now that I’m sufficiently familiarised with the recurring plot elements for them to feel like background noise, the blatant misogyny and lack of creativity is a lot more glaring. Now I read him as *No thoughts just vibes* to just get into a mental space I’m well aquatinted with. I used to recommend him to people but I really don’t know anymore. Scared to go back and read my proclaimed favourites again. And yes, thanks for saving me the trouble of reading this one. There’s SOOO many positive reviews about this lol
oh man, I feel the same way and I kinda do not understand the way he deals with the plot. There are so many unexplained things left behind and he just literally ends it.
I really needed this video. I thought I was losing my kind. This was my first Murakami, after seeing his novels absolutely dominate any modern surrealist or magic fiction list. I made it about 8/47 hours into the audiobook and just couldn't for all the reasons you said. It's just so slow and boring too. The prose is nice enough and I there was a time when I was eager to see the magic goat and the tiny people and the religious communist insurrectionists, but I just could get there. I'm sure this has already been pointed out, but it bears repeating because it's so ridiculous. An author in his 60s wrote his 30ish ball-kicking assassin as having a fetish for older men beginning to lose their hair who have odd shaped heads and penises that are reasonably sized! I'm really glad you mentioned ones you previously liked. I'm going to need a big break, but I will trying Wind Up Bird or Kafka at some point, but I need to cleanse with a bunch of anything, but cishet men for a while. Hope you didn't get too much hate and if you did it boosted the video! Love the nails and your hair looks lovely BTW. Take care! ❤
I’m reading 1Q84 rn and am absolutely loving it. I like it so much, I’m literally reading it slowly with gaps because I don’t want it to end. But I’m fully with you on the parts you called gross. I’m super used to male authors being creepy and misogynistic (being a lit major who had to skim a bunch of “classics” and “must reads” exposed me to more than what I was ready for) but even then, the parts where he describes certain body parts of underage girls make me shudder. And idk why no one seems to mention this but Tengo’s reaction to Ushikawa’s physical appearance really worried me as it seemed to play into that horrible trope of equating supposed ugliness with bad character. But back to misogyny, I think Murakami is massively unaware of how he writes women. In Men Without Women, in the very first story, a character says he feels somewhat uncomfortable when a woman is driving because sth always seems to be different, that there is this tension, and that made me facepalm so hard. It’s like he has no idea that women face obstacles and you know, misogynistic attitudes, in almost every walk of life. I still read his books though because they just feel like this whole other experience and it’s soft, slow and calming. I couldn’t believe that I actually even liked the parts where Tengo and Aomame just prepare food for themselves. I think the reason why I like his books is because things of great significance happen but characters continue at a sluggish pace. There’s just sth so simultaneously unnatural but also human about it? I’m also someone who gets anxious with fast-paced books where bad things happen to characters quickly though so that might also have contributed to my liking this book. Lastly, and this is the end of my brain vomit, I just find it a relief that not everything is resolved and I find it okay because his books have always been more like a sensory experience for me, like I’m floating in a glass globe, am a massive eyeball, and am getting to watch things unfolding without disturbing anything and I usually feel like this for the whole book except when he ofc starts talking about boobs.
I'm so impressed with your ability to enjoy the book while recognising everything that makes it unreadable. And I actually do agree with how his books make you feel. They make me feel the same way. Or at least some of them do. Not this one. This one is disgusting.
I read the book in full and that was my first murakami. The sex scenes were disturbing for me. I was like, why do you need to include those? They can very well be omitted and it wouldn't affect the story at all. I remembered the beginning taxi and fire escape scene very well and that got me to continue until the end. I thought that was an interesting idea and how would the story go? I expected some interesting explanation or insights on her world changing etc but i was disappointed.
That’s the beauty of it I think, it’s just like my memory of Shazaam. SinBad scared the crap out of me.. but suddenly there’s only one moon. (Kazaam with Shaq) I’m sure I won’t get an explanation at the end of my.. story.
OK, i'm 82 and never realized Murikami was so mysoginist, and i'm an old hippie. Have read a lot of Murikami but not this. Gonna read IQ84 because I like odd books. Love your presentations.
Ok it might be cultural sexism wit hweird fetish focus, which still is sexist but not the entire of the work. Probably explains why a lot can ignore it.
Hi! Thank you for this video. It contributes to me to realize different opinions and approaches. However, I can say that there are many complex reasons in whether a book is loved or not. I have just read 1Q84. It took approximately 1 month because of its fluency. I really like Murakami's style and world despite some repetitions and uncertainty. I believe that a novel does not have to include perfect characters and also just good vibes. In addition, in today's world we have a lot of trouble about various kind of violence. Althought I thought some parts of book is unnecessary and a little bit boring, I could accept almost all scenes. In my opinion, the reason is related to perception and belief.
I got this book from my cousin and his wife for my 20th birthday this January (I don't know why, I don't read at all, I'm barely surviving day by day running on 2 brain cells) and so far I'm ~200 pages in more or less. I agree with what you've said, there were some very questionable scenes in that book, as a queer person especially and a former cis woman (I'm trans), but honestly I'm appreciating how everything is spelled out for me story wise because I tend to get lost in books (as I said, running on very low brain power just to survive lol). I appreciated your review a lot and I'm glad your channel was recommended to me. your commentary was very fun. Subscribed :)
This video is absolutely bang on. I do like Murakami, and 1Q84 was the first of his novels I read (The running autobiography was the first actual book I read), and I do have fond memories of it. About 7 years ago. I don't know why I didn't realise the issue with the characterisation of women at the time. Over the years and hearing the criticisms its obviously become much more apparent. I recently read Pinball 1973, as that was the last Murakami novel I haven't read, and it is present there too, which honestly made me roll my eyes. I'll continue to read his work, as I enjoy the writing style and the general way he puts narratives together, but I'll be much more aware of this aspect of his writing.
Hey I have found your channel a month back and now I am literally a fan of yours! I admire how you bring such important topics to light and discuss with such comfort and ease. Amazing! I am also a booktuber, I do like Murakami quite a lot but reading this book made me feel pathetic! So yess you rocked!
This is so fucking funny. I've never read a murakami book, mostly because he shows up on r/menwritingwomen on a near daily basis, and each entry is worse than the last. And writing women like that is an instant No from me. (See also: stephen king). This is just icing on the cake.😂
I let go of the description of the sxual scenes and the image that the main characters had about themselves because of the great loneliness they had, as well as the emotional wounds of their childhoods... which consequently may have led them to have lives somewhat peculiar and certain type of perception about their bodies (aomame). I thought it was a good representation of that kind of loneliness that you've been experiencing for so long that you don't even realize it's there anymore. it ends up devouring every aspect of your existence, so yes, I thought the bad sx was on purpose, among other things haha... I was still very creeped out by the way the world saw Fuka(or her boobs).. so I was praying for Tengo to not have anything with her and AAAAAAA (but with a context of why and how it happend, it MAY not be as horrible/terrible as it sounds). So yeah.. in that aspect the book may not have been a criticism of this, if not, just "sadly human" to me. If you found the "boob recognition system" absurd, I can't imagine what you would think of Aomame missing her friends.. AND her boobs hahaha. So I completely agree with you! (and thank you for making me see stuff I may not have seen at first) At the same time I still love the book.
Thank you for saving my time. I read only two Murakami's books and I have mixed opinions. Maybe I should read other types of Japanese/oriental books. (I'm from Brazil and new here, but I already love your videos and the way you talk) ✨✨✨
Yeah Japanese books are my favourite and there is a world of great literature from Japan, especially its women writers. You don't need to settle for Murakami.
"[Her insides] powerfully churned! Like a cement mixer!" 🤣 I'm dead. How did I not discover your channel till recently. How. Only found your content through redditors' recommendations on the books subreddit. Thanks YT algorithm /s
@@WillowTalksBooks It's the confirmation bias supported by the moral standards.. We all judge things on that basis, and it changes from time to time, person to person, society to society... There is no catch🙂keep on with the good work
For our class book club me and my roommate chose 1Q84 because she loves Murakami and I love Ishiguro but when we finished I was just like "___" I hate this book I hate it so much while she loved it so much oh man I relate so much with you
After-hours is written from a "woman's" perspective too, I liked that one because it was short and weird, and I can't remember the main female protagonist being awfully written (some of the other women kinda suffer tho) but hey, Murakami bingo exists for a reason.
Such a great rant!!! I am bias because I've never ever liked Murakami or his writing. (Why does he always write sex scenes with underaged girls? Why are the women always horney af!?) But still, thank you for this validation.
Yeah I kick myself for not being critical enough of his nasty misogyny until now. I've always seen it and just pushed past it but I'm too much of a furious feminist to deal with that shit any more.
I loved your reaction and how much you hated it(and your laugh😊)! I was debating with myself whether to read this book, or any other that i still havent (e.g. Killing Commendatore, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage), but I think I'm gonna spare myself. There are plenty other Asian writers, who dont incorporate misogyny in their works 😏
1Q84 is the first novel by Haruki Murakami that I have read. I like it very much. The world in the book is immersive, and sometimes I feel inexplicably frightened, and it has written the confusion in the minds of many people. This is contemporary 1984, and I have to put him in a prominent place on the bookshelf.
Murakami's style and development of magic realism/introspection are what I like about him. In that sense he is unmatched. I do think people are too quick to judge him by modern standards. We are all products of the culture around us. His views and descriptions of women are reflections of how women were represented in the literary culture of Japan, which has traditionally had a level of aesthetic emphasis and abstraction from reality. Just look at manga... Saying all that I would agree with what you said. His descriptions of women and his characters' treatment of women are bad. Murakami just doesn't know how to write women. I don't like the repeated themes that make Murakami Bingoable and that his work sometimes seems slightly pop art mass-produced. I found 1Q84 troubling and was not able to finish it. Sure there is a deeper meaning, but I was not prepared to shovel the snow to get there. Norwegian Wood is one of my favorite novels (It could unquestionably do without a few scenes that should be edited out). I also kind of think one of Murakami's themes is men's inability to understand women and the damage that misunderstanding causes. I like the fact that it is written from a purely male perspective and it deals with their memory of what happened not what actually happened. In fact, if you ask me the book wouldn't work if it truly took into account the female perspective. It's written from the perspective of a lost young man with a lot to learn. It kind of shows people the Darkside of others and one of those flaws is only being able to see things from their own perspective even though they try.
I'm a big fan of Kafka OTS, and I will absolutely go to bat for the creepiness in that book as a retelling of Oedipus Rex. I love how in that book the protagonist has to look at the rapiness and incest in his heart and come to terms with the fact that he has the capacity to do very bad things, and eventually learns to forgive himself and move beyond his base sexual impulses. Almost feels like Murakami in conversation with himself. The only thing I will take issue with you with on 1Q84 are the awkwardness of the sex scenes and of sexuality in general. I think that portraying sexuality in an alienating way, weirding the ways that sex is expressed and felt, is a big strength of Murakami's. I think he's being purposefully obtuse to get us to think about what we're attracted to and why, and to pull out the deep and pervasive sadness that is often the heart of intimacy. Besides that, you're spot on. Aomame was such an interesting character that was ultimately crushed under the weight of Murakami's fetish for her. Similarly the young writer is absolutely disrespected in a way that is really gross. I hate that such a creative book with so much to say is ultimately marred by that disgusting characterization. It's hard to read and really makes me long for the days of After the Quake and Kafka, when Murakami felt like he was considering his creative choices more carefully and intentionally.
I read IQ84 10 years ago when it first came out. I remember liking the story itself (i.e. the concept and main narrative arc(s)) but being less than completely happy with the characters and writing. I don’t remember having a strong reaction to the bad sex and misogyny, but then then I was a lot less mature back then than I am now. (I was in my early 60s when I read it and I’m in my early 70s now.) I recently did a reread of the Murakami books that I had read and enjoyed at the height of my Murakami period in the 2000’s, and was, frankly, shocked at how bad most of them now seemed to me. The one exception was Wild Sheep Chase, which, though it didn’t seem as good as I remembered it, still managed to stay in my list of favorite Japanese novels. In fact most of the books I was rereading seemed so bad that I drifted over from reading them as literature or even pulp entertainment to reading them clinically, for what they revealed about the psychological makeup of the author. (And same for my recent first read of What I Talk about when I Talk about Running, which I really could not find any other way to read.) And I ended up with a clear picture, informed by a psychological model called attachment theory. Basically the conclusion I reached was the root of pretty much everything that is distinctive about Murakami’s personality - inability/lack of desire to relate to others (whether individuals, including especially but not limited to women, or groups), attraction to fantasy worlds and people of his own making, obsession with the details of his everyday personal life, etc. - can be explained by a lack of bonding with his parents during early childhood, which is typically due to the parents rather than the child, particularly lack of positive engagement of the parents with the child. For those who are interested, psychologist Stan Tatkin’s popular book Wired for Love (2012), which uses attachment theory to explore adult couple relations, classifies partners into three personality types, Anchor (secure in relationships), Wave (needy, unstable in relationships) and Island (self-sufficient, avoids/is uncomfortable in relationships). Of the three types Murakami is a clearly an Island, and (IMO) a fairly extreme one at that.
Ok I need you to write a longer think piece about your interpretation of Murakami because this was fascinating!! Should even consider doing a video essay on it here on RUclips because I think this would benefit many of us who flounder with disliking his works and his inability to address these issues. I also wonder if for those of us who used to like Murakami but no longer do have worked on some of our own attachment issues and thus are no longer as entranced.
I'm so glad you reviewed him honestly. I had to stop reading it when he sexualized the underaged female writer from high school. Describing this schoolgirl's stature graphically with a male gaze just made reading it so uncomfortable and disrespectful. You also made me notice some other points about misogyny in his writing. Thank you for that.
I read my first Murakami last year, Norwegian Wood, I absolutely hated it so hard it was painful to me. The misogyny was something I could never look past it was disgusting. Women were only there to have sex with the main character, when one of them killed herself the only thoughts he had of them was him having sex with her and the sex itself. There was a scene where a female character described a scene in which her father had died and she exposed herself to his memorial photograph so ''he could look at my c**t''. I hate read it until the end but won't go back to him for more. I'm legit worried for the women who state he is their favourite author, I don't know if the patriarchy has gotten to them too hard and it's a form of self hate because how a woman could even like it, let alone favour it I find hard to comprehend.
I used to feel justified in my enjoyment of his books by the women I knew who also enjoyed them, but that shit doesn't fly with me anymore. The misogyny in his books is unforgivable, but it's so stretched and awkward and absurd that I don't find it offensive, so much as laughable. Like it can't even be taken seriously, let alone actually be upsetting. He's a caricature of a man.
@@WillowTalksBooks Yeah, I kind of want to give a hug to those girls and women and tell them that whatever they've been through, it's not OK and they deserve better! I did find it funny, then I was just offended and pissed at all the people who touted him as the messiah of writing and we all must bow to him, especially the guys, but I was just so, so angry that this not only flies, but it's lauded!
Oh no thats horrible!!! Imaging someone kill1ng herself and then the male character instead of remember her as a Fellow humans with emotions, her laugh, her eyes, the way she talked to me ... He remember the sex he had with her ... That is SO objectifing in a very very creepy level I read somewhere that people don't understand why he is a Best seller worldwide and people give him free pass with his level of sexist
This was very entertaining! I couldn't stop laughing at your take on squeezing ones breasts as a form of self identification, I kept thinking about Murakami trying to replace ID with some form of pseudo sophisticated groping. Does Murakami even know breasts change size and change at different points of the month? 🤣🤣
Hahaha omg can you imagine. My friend said the same thing! Murakami, tell me you know nothing about breasts without telling me you know nothing about breasts lol
The beginning was so terribly boring. The second third of the book was very interesting, bc it makes you think that there's a huge thing coming, but in the end, that thing never comes. The last third also gets exciting, yes, but you notice it's trying to keep you onto something that doesn't arrive...
Wind-up Bird Chronicle is one of my all time favorites. Read Kafka, Norwegian Wood, Sputnik Sweetheart, His memoirs of running, his short stories, A Wild Sheep Chase..... Though haven't read Killing Commendetore & 1Q84 just for the mixed reviews I had heard about these. Glad you have just saved plenty of time of mine 😀
Great video and almost everyone loves a rant! I was an enthusiastic reader of HK in the 90s but this slowly faded - the last two I read were Wind-up and Kafka around 12 years ago. Then this one came out and I couldn’t face it - seems it may have been the right decision! I got bored with the ‘Murakami bingo’ for one thing. The one book I am still wondering about reading is Underground - the non fiction account of the sarin attack on the Tokyo subway - any thoughts?
There's so much great Murakami out there: Wild Sheep Chase, Dance Dance Dance, Hard Boiled Wonderland, Kafka. etc. I saved 1Q84 for the end and ... wow... this ain't it. I stopped after part 1 of 3. Bored to tears. And yes, pretty much yes to everything you said here. sigh.
How do you look so good in all of your videos? Totally love your style mate. Also I have turned into a huge fan of your intellect suddenly. I hadn't watched a lot of your videos untill now, but one of your latest 'shorts' video made me binge all the rest of them. Loving your work 100% buddy. You are super
I personally admired his style and works (Norwegian wood and South of the border) and tbh I never looked at him as a misogynist. Now and then I would think, "why does this have so many sex scenes. " It's like I didn't even _notice_ I really feel like I failed as a man ugh
I was careful never to call him a misogynist because, outside of his writing, nothing has ever come out about him being a bad person. But his writing is so vile and exhausting that I've just lost patience with it. I also didn't really notice for quite a while, until I couldn't ignore it any more.
I was checking your different videos on Murakami because i finally gave his books a chance and i had to stop reading norwegian wood because of the pedophilia part (and i saw this was your last point here for 1q84). Like honestly there are so many problematic stuff in his books, and i agree with you : i could pass them if it wasn't so gratuitous all the time). after watching this video and also doing some research (like i tried to see why ppl loved his works so much so i looked at many things and also to see if what bothered me was a one time thing or not), i see it's tropes for him and i'll give up. I just don't want to subject myself to that. Like you said there's tons of other books to read. thanks always for your videos and honesty, and your enthusiasm or dIs-enthusiasm here.
This is it, exactly. You can see from my articles and videos that my relationship to him has changed. At first, I didn't notice any of his grossness. Then I did but I ignored it. Then I just snapped and thought about all the time I was wasting on a hack writer who is worshipped for no good reason.
I agree with all of this! I finished the whole thing and I can say the best part of this book was the fact that the story left some questions unanswered and room for the reader’s interpretations. The worst however, everything you just mentioned and beyond. But as you did not finish you missed some horrible details later on 😂 the story is a love story between Tengo and Aomame and it is just so cringe and unbelievable. There is a scene where male protagonist Tengo thinks of Aomame as a 10-year-old and masturbates. And we don’t see any moral debate on that… and also nothing of Tengo and a teenager Fuka-Eri having sex, not because of the age gap and also there is no consent on Tengo’s behalf. I got a feeling like this book is just some perverted old man’s fantasy content 😂
I just plainly decided to stop reading Murakami, the misogyny in his writing 'paired' lol with his simple and acclaimed writing style just doesn't do it for me and it's hella frustrating to read. Spoilers here: Mind you I only read 2 of his books, but 1q84 really did it for me. I would've liked to see more explanations of the actual mystery of the Little People, Sakigake, or at least attempts at what they mean to Murakami or the characters but instead we're just reading about Tengo and Aomame introspecting (which I don't mind at all), then Ushikawa (who was used to tense the mystery situation and get you interested to read more and to retell the plot only to serve no purpose by being killed off). The ending was anticlimactic and though Murakami is known to leave open ends and leave you questioning and wondering to his books, in my opinion the romance and reunion between the 2 characters didn't seem compelling or believable. The book could've also been cut to 700 pages, it was those Ushikawa chapters and straight up leaving the mystery that really slowed down the pace for this book.
1q84 is my favorite book of all time and I also respect your opinion. Some people prefer tea some people prefer Goatman masturbatin. I'm okay with that
I'm ashamed to admit these were my favourite books 10 years ago. What I liked about them will probably remain a mystery, as I agree with everything you said in this video and now I remember that these creepy and lame sex scenes.
yes, a rant!!! love this! Loved Norwegian Wood by Murakami and parts of the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Some of the magical elements put me off reading more of his magical realist stuff...
I listened to the audio book when it came out, I probably would have never read it. I don't remember much of it, but when I try to figure out what it actually was that did prevent me from *really* enjoying this book (and I have read a handful before this), it may have been the same reasons you have. Back then I just could not put a finger on it. I did not know the Murakami tropes and patterns back then, all I thought was, this book is just a tad too weird. So thank you for this rant, it helped me understand better why this book felt "off" to me.
I'm glad you get where I'm coming from. I never used to notice the "off" things about his writing either but I've read a lot now and it just becomes laughable eventually!
I've tried reading Norwegian Wood 4 times now and i just can't get past page 100. Don't get me wrong I do love a book where absolutely nothing happens and messed up characters do messed up things but something about the misogynist male pov puts me in a reading slump. the only book of his i enjoyed was Sputnik Sweetheart because even tho it's still not good atleast it had pov of only women 😭
Hello. I enjoyed watching this video. I too had a great time reading "What I Am Talking About When I am Talking About Running". I remember reading this autobiography on my 30th birthday in the best Waffle Cafe in Bruges, Belgium (I am from the UAE btw). That book resonated with me because Murakami spoke a lot about aging and how and from where he derived inspiration for his novels. I have read five books by Murakami and tbh, most of his novels are naughty/explicit and promiscuous (I guess that's why many people like him). Just a correction. You mentioned that Murakami doesn't write about LGBT sex. If my memory is supporting me, I remember in Norwegian Wood, one time, Ishida the late 30-year-old Naoko's roommate, narrates the story of a teenage girl experimenting with her body and how she felt euphoria from her touch even though it was nonconsensual. Anyway, the old man is a pervert and he should stop compensating his lack of talent with more nudity. You are the best/honest book reviewer. Keep going!
To understand why Murakami writes the way he does you should read his book "what i talk about when i talk about running". He talks about the critisism he gets for his own views and ideas. That includes some of things you point out in this video. I think it's important to have different takes on things and people, it doesn't matter if those takes are right or wrong. In the end it makes us think and questions this Author's reality and we don't have to agree with it or understand it. As long as we all can accept that we all have different and sometimes very negatively viewed perspectives on life. Is it better to comform and please others or is it better to keep being yourself and write books that have some weird and sometimes disturbing thoughts and ideas, but that are also comming from a genuine and real place? I personally can feel the cringe reading some scenes in his books and be like why would you write about it?? But at the same time it makes me think and question his and mine own ideas about sometimes really simple things in life and human behaviour. That's something i really like about Murukami and this is why i keep comming back for more.
I agree with you dude. I’m a pretty big HM fan, read most of his stuff…. 1/3 the way through 1Q84 and it stinks. The creepy sex stuff, the cult stuff that just matter. Etc.
Such an enjoyable video :D You raise such a great point, I would love to be his editor and go ah thank you Murakami-san for this titty chapter, yeah no sorry, it got deleted for some reason, but send me more pages about that second moon, love that stuff :) I really like a lot of his books but yeah he just keeps putting in eye-rolling stuff and I wish his editor would reign him in more because his magical realism just really works for me.
Hahaha I completely agree! Like, yeah, he's real good at world-building and magical realism but it would be very easy to remove all the shit bits. But he just... doesn't.
I think the thing with Murakami is this: You enjoy the first few books of his that you read (regardless of title) -- and then the creep factor sets in and you begin to realize that he is disgusting and relatively boring (jazz, breasts, pasta, repeat). Because they're all like this. 1Q84 is my first Murakami and I look at it fondly, however it's problematic AF. After reading 1Q84 I read his novels in chronological order and by the time I reached Wind Up Bird Chronicle I couldn't do it anymore and that's where I stopped. Honestly replace 1Q84 with any of his titles in your script and it would work. He's just -- gross.
I'm a new viewer of yours and you're really inspiring me to read more Japanese authors. I've never heard of Mieko Kawakami but I've been reading more Yoko Ogawa books this year. I've always loved Murakami's writing style, I have read a few of his books but not 1Q84, and I follow booktubers who also love him and I have friends who love him too. But I've just noticed something. It just dawned on me that every person who gushes over his writing style always says something to the likes of "he's so great... the way he writes women is questionable... But besides that he's so good..." And they brush it off, and I usually do the same. I love that the main reason you hated this book is because of how he wrote the female characters and the sex scenes. It's actually really validating. I think it's something more people should give importance to. This is a valuable review! Calling out bad misogynistic sex scenes should be normalized, and I'm here for it!
I agree i’m starting on it after men without women and another short story book an I really can’t care for his poorly written females and boring dudes, sexual encounters. I’m glad i’m not on my own on being annoyed by these things.
How mean to recommend such a big book to someone to introduce Murakami, people need to rethink their recommendations. I read two of his shorter beloved books years ago and decided that I don't need more of him in my life. But they were short books to give him a try. You really should make all those people who told you to read this to read something they'll hate. Kudos for finishing it.
I didn't get past the first time the teacher meets the teenage writer. It made me so uncomfortable and thats really saying something because I was a Randy 18 year old at the time
I remember reading this Murakami book where the climax to the whole thing was a fellatio given by the female character who -of course- keeps disappearing Tokio Blues style. Murakami sure literally sucks this way too 😂 But I thought you’d also refer to his poor prose or the fact that his novels seem to go from nowhere to nowhere. I’ve found his Japanese prose to be almost insufferably meagre and depressive. I find successive claims that he could be a Nobel candidate offensive.
After living in Japan for almost half a decade, I certainly understand the style of 1Q84 a lot more, but that has made me like it even less. Murakami is celebrated internationally but as a “Japanese novelist” he seems quite average, even below par in some respects. For example his conversations are very un-subtle and don’t really have the interesting subtext that superior writers are able to convey. Even in Japanese, his dialogue is very “surface level”. 1Q84 is a long and boring book that says nothing about the world, makes no commentary about any sort of larger philosophical point, and doesn’t have an overall theme or message other than “the subconscious is a weird place”. It’s an amateur copy of a David Lynch film in prose form, nothing more or less.
Murakami has great books, but after 500 pages i am dissapointed, love story where Tengo has phaedophile sex, basically all intrigue and mystery vanished with cheap porn stories, and 1000 pages for what, i think this book is more suitable for japanese sexual fantasies readers
I don't judge anyone for needing and finding comfort when they're depressed. When I was depressed I clung to The Big Bang Theory and that show is awful.
Hi I'm adding on to the people here who love 1Q84 but agree with what you've identified as issues. What's fascinating about this discussion to me is that it seems like the books often get evaluated as acts of the author's virtues, both artistic and morally. That isn't unfair, and I would totally agree with anyone who says that 1Q84 is a demonstration of Murakami's clumsiness, lack of thoughtful artistic direction, and most importantly by far, his misogyny (which blends into his sexualization of minors I think). I don't think I'm forgetting or forgiving any of that when I say that I find the books captivating and moving. They are artifacts to me, like pieces of a shipwreck or a preserved animal skull: looking at them and considering them deeply is a troubling, disturbing experience, but there's something beautiful about it. I don't know what his intentions were, and regardless I think his careless and horny meanderings are embarrassing, not to mention repugnant. But I'm not judging him like he were an Olympic diver. Instead, I'm getting catharsis by seeing a bunch of messy and slippery feelings I have inside get brought out on the pages. Feelings that only really get stirred by this shitty, bewildering man and his shitty, bewildering writing.
Thankyou for this, I've had this book sat on my shelf for awhile and been put off reading it learning of the sexism in Murukami's books. I kept wondering if it'd be something i could look past but now I know that's definitely not the case. I think I'll go off some of your other recommendations like Idol, Burning and Convenience Store Woman instead. As a side note I've fallen in love with your channel over the last few days. Your recommendations are always so unique and have such interesting concepts and the way you talk about books is so beautiful (aside from this video which was hilarious) and reminds me of why I love reading so much 🥰
The breast-sucking memory is somewhat of an outlier in your list of problems with the book. Murakami looooooves psychoanalysis. I strongly believe this memory was a reference to Tengo’s psychosexual development. It’s a memory from when he was a baby (an extremely rare occurrence since adults typically lose their memories from when they were ages 0-3), and it involves the psychosexual phase of oral fixation. This intimate act, which Tengo, a baby, should be engaging in so as to feed and bond with his mother, is instead performed by a man-a stranger-which is an even crazier circumstance than seeing it performed by his own father. & though you understandably found the comment about his own mother’s breast shape to be uncomfortable/bizarre…that’s sort of the point! The subconscious as it’s been interpreted by Freud is an unorthodox, scary, confusing, gross,and difficult to access realm that sometimes infiltrates people’s minds with invasive images (some of which may be Oedipally coded). I’m not trying to be condescending, but I really think it’s important to critically analyze moments like that rather than write them off as purposeless.
Oh dear. Yeah, the writing of women and the strangely and off-puttingly clinical sex scenes were among the things I didn't like about 'the Windup Bird Chronicles'. It was the intense ennui and alienation that I really couldn't deal with during quarantine, but if the weird sex isn't a deliberate part of creating that vibe...that might be a problem for me with trying his other novels.
It's weird. I have loved everything else Murakami I have read(4 other reads), but this one failed miserably. So overblown was this novel. So many needless depictions. But the two lead characters were not very interesting to me as well. Thanks for the thoughts!
I read it last year and hated it, the whole treatment of women I found really sickening. Certain scenes made me believe he's never actually spoken to a woman because none would even act in that way and it's so sick that he expects them to.
Let's be honest, Murakami has been one of my favourite authors for years, but I agree with most of what you said (except the length, that didn't bother me at all). 1Q84 is clearly one of his novels I liked least. I couldn't help rolling my eyes up at every boob description and sex scene in this trilogy (and other books he wrote to be honest). And the more I grow up the more I become bothered by those. I also remember the sex scene between Fukaeri and Tengo making me totally uncomfortable back then. Since now, I have always been able to cope with these points in his books because I liked the universe, stories and atmosphere he builds so much that I felt okay disagreeing with the caracters vision (or the author's vision, at that point, seeing that this is a pattern is every single one of his books) of women. But the more I read his books, and see that all of his male narrator protagonist are more a less the same, and the female ones are all equally badly written, the more it feels like he just fails as an author to create protagnoists that aren't reflects of himself or his vision. So yes, I still enjoy reading his books because there is something in the atmosphere and strangeness in his stories that resonnates in me but I can totally get why these points would make someone hate his books. And I would love them a thousand times more if he was able to do an accurate depiction of women just once in his life.
There are probably 2 reasons for length. First is that the trilogy was written over a few years, so he has to keep reminding the readers about previous plot points. The other is probably because the chapters have to keep going back and forth between the 2 protagonists. They have to present information in a way where the 2 sides slowly converge, so he has to slow down either one or the other to achieve this.
Hahahha. Yup murakami reaaally loves depicting these cringey sex scenes. The book itself is painfully long, with terrible - and i mean terrible - pacing. But the ending is quite epic and satisfying, which I guess explains why so many people are fond of 1Q84, even nostalgic about it.
Maybe you’re not empathising enough with the position of a woman, reduced to an object for the grim sexual satisfaction of creepy, disrespectful, uncaring men.
@@WillowTalksBookses, I haven't completely wrapped my head around these arguments, but I guess the problem is my viewpoint. I will try to reach your conclusion on my own to make it less elusive. I think my problem is that the misogyny in this case isn't Murakami screaming that he hates women, but instead more nuanced and deeply baked into his way of thinking. In any case though, there are other positive elements to enjoy in his books. No writer is perfect.
My criticisms of it aren't about how long it is or the sex scenes. I thought the characters (except Ushikawa) were so ditzy as to be unlikable, and their actions didn't make sense. The little people stuff was silly and didn't ever make sense or even have any internal logic. But I agree with you it sucks.
I haven’t read it, but I own it and especially after your review I’m intrigued to read it tbh :D. Like, I’ve the same issues that you have with Murakamis books but I’m still interested reading Murakami writing from a female perspective. I’ve also noticed that his protagonists are usually really obnoxious (like Kafka) but his side characters (that aren’t female) are so vibrant and interesting ^^ I don’t know if you know what I mean, but I literally finished Kafka on the shore mainly to read more about Oshima (the guy working at the library) he’s so fun! Sadly Murakami really can’t write female characters, even if his life would depend on it ig :D
I don't disagree that his side characters are often more vibrant and enjoyable people to watch. Although I never found any of the characters in 1Q84 fun or interesting at all. Flaws aside, this is also just a bloated and bland book!
can anyone explain what they think about ushikawa, his end and the scene at sakigake near the end of the book. fascinated by where murakami took that guy in the story, and the meaning of his soul with its cold lump
Did you happen to watch Fargo Season 3? If you didn't, watch the show 😊 What I'm trying to point out: The character that David Thewlis plays is basically Ushikawa to me. If love the bad-ugly-seriously-bad character. Too bad he's gone. Great reused character, though!
1Q84 was the first book i read from haruki murakami and i couldn't finish reading it. I was hating so much the girl's pov (i forgot her name), her pov was so boring and the same thing over and over, every time her chapter starts i want to skip it to the other character's pov, its so annoying. I ended up not finishing it because i thought the struggle would not be worth it. Not to mention the continuation, i was afraid the other books of the series would be the same so i just DNF.
I loved wind up bird and got 1Q84 ages ago knowing nothing about it and now I'm thinking of never reading it lol. Murakamis sexism and weird horniess was enough in the bg for me in his other stuff I've read but idk if i could handle something this blatant
This is hilarious. I read this when it first came out as an undergrad during my "Murakami phase." Of course I thought this book was brilliant. It would be interesting to re-read this now as I'm sure I would have a different perspective on it. I'm gonna skip that though. 😆
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1Q84 is one of my all-time favorite books, but everything you said is true. And just for the record, if you hated the first quarter, you would've hated the rest, especially the ending. As a fan of the book, I wouldn't have wanted it to be any shorter. I felt like I could've lived in it the rest of my life. I've even re-read it two times since then. But, yeah, the misogyny is atrocious. I wish some other writer would come along who could write exactly like Murakami, just less... gross.
I really respect the fact that you can enjoy the book while also agreeing with the points I'm making. I wish the whole internet behaved that way lol
@@BooksRebound i have the SAME question....
@@BooksRebound I've seen your video and i agree with you 100%🤦🤦🤦for me, 1q84 was a big disappointment.
He is an class A idiot.
@@BooksRebound Hey, sorry. I meant to reply the same day that I first read your comment and then completely forgot.
Honestly, I think it all boils down to the fact that you either connect with it or you don't. No amount of explanation will make you see what I see. Also, I haven't read it in a few years, so I can't give too many specific examples of things I liked, but I'll try to explain it generally.
First, I think I read it at the exact time that I needed something like this, which happens with a lot of his books. So I was just in the right mindset to be taken away into the story. Also, this book is just really comforting to me. I know a lot of people think it's filled with things that don't make sense, but they make sense to me. I often get lost in daydreams and this book was like someone took my daydreams and put them on paper - falling into a slightly off world, the lonely characters, the stargazing at the playground... As someone who feels like an outsider and too weird to exist with the rest of humanity most of the time, it feels really validating to know someone else is the same kind of weird as me.
I've read other books that people love and I can't understand why, but I would never assume those people just don't understand good literature or the author is an idiot. It's okay to like something or not like it.
I expected these will be the reasons you hated this book and I actually had a good time watching this! You didn't annoy me at all, so don't worry about that.
The sexual language and imagery in his work have always perplexed me, even though I've always read them with a sense of detachment. It's not something I do that much (mainly because it's not worth my brain power) but there are times when I wonder "why does Murakami have the need to mention or depict sex so much in his writing?"
But even so, and even though I did go through the book, even though I even read the most awkwards lines or scenes in the book, I was able to forget about them and move on with the plot. It doesn't excuse any of the bad writing, but it was my experience. And as those sex scenes faded into the background, everything came to life for me.
Beautiful imagery, beautiful scenes on the slide looking at the moon, the themes of love and fate and beliefs and reality, the sentences that hit me like a speeding truck, the crazy twiste and turns in the plot that kept me on the edge, the story in a story, the intertwining narratives both "real" and "fictional," the meaning of reality-those stayed with me. It would have been a better book if those bad parts were cut out, but as it was, it helped me through one of my darkest times in December 2020.
I don't want to get into too much detail, especially as this is a RUclips comment, but I was basically questioning a ton of things and my whole belief system fell apart. And this book gave me the building blocks to start over. To see the world differently, in a way that I was scared of before. And starting over scared me, but it surely did bring me on one harrowing journey and conflicts with both others and myself. And 1Q84 had given me a guide, a few scraps and notes however small or seemingly disconnected from me, to help me even after the story was over.
Before I end this, I just want to mention a subplot that touched me toward the end of the novel: and it relates to Tengo, the male protagonist's, father. (Spoilers for anyone else, if necessary) Basically we get a lot of backstory about the father, which of course links back to Tengo's search for his real father, but what touched was how Murakami described going to see the old man. How the father was in a coma, and how, eventually, the father passed away. It was only later on that I learned that Murakami's father died during the writing of 1Q84, which implied that that was why the scene touched me; it felt real, to me. And the fact that a lot of Murakami books dealt with strained father-son relationships, thanks to his relationship to his own father, only made the subplot a lot more human to me.
I don't know if what I said made sense, as I'm just writing from the top of my head, but still, continue being honest and I hope you maybe try his stories like After Dark or the short story Sleep. You don't have to, I just wonder what you'd think of them.
Still, looking forward to your next video! Hope you're having a nice day.
Loved your take on DNF-ing the book, it really does sounds so straight forward when you put it this way - finite amount of time on earth, why spend it hate-reading a book? Definitely something that's going to stick with me and I'm going to try to do from now on if I find myself not enjoying reading something! Norwegian Wood is one of my favourite books and I noticed his awful misogyny in there too but I think I convinced myself it was because of the character in that book, yikes to see that it's kind of a thing with Murakami's other novels too.. Thank you for a very entertaining video!
Yeah life's too short to read bad books! But I don't apply that to good books that are challenging, because they're worth sticking with. And yeah he is just gross. I also let him off the hook the first few books. Then... nope. I'm done.
I completely agree about this book. Reads like someone with less talent was inspired to write something after reading wind up bird...
Omg that's so well put! Yes!!
Never understood all the hype around Murakami. Never. And I adored how Mieko Kawakami dissed him, when media tried to compare her to him.
Kawakami is my absolute hero, both as a writer and as a person. I love her so much.
context please 🥺
Hahahahaha she's savage I love this woman 😂🤌
I haven’t started with the video yet, but finally!!!!! I will never forget how Mieko Kawakami critiqued him and I think this is now a safe space to say that I dnf-ed almost every Murakami book that I’ve tried to read…yes, he may be good(?) but I will always hate how he writes women and his writing somehow shows how most older Japanese men are a menace to the society haha
Mieko Kawakami is an absolute queeeeen! And I am now too old, too angry, too fed up to deal with shitty misogyny in my books.
I completely agree with you. This is exactly why I hate some of his novels. Actually Haruki Murakami is not critically-acclaimed in Japan (another Murakami, Ryu Murakami, is always critics' favorite). Mieko Kawakami's analysis of '1Q84' (in her interview with Haruki Murakami published in 2017) was really interesting, though (Mieko Kawakami is a big fan of his). She also asks him about the depictions of women and sex in his novels in the interview.
I actually didn't realise Ryu was more respected by critics than Haruki, and I'm very happy to hear that!
I read a Murakami Haruki short story for my Japanese degree but other than that I've never read anything by him because I've been so put off by hearing about his sexism and other tropes. I definitely want to try one of his books at some point soon because it feels weird saying I love Japanese fiction in translation without having read any of his novels (or at least tried because if I start one and hate it there's no way I'm gonna finish it). It's good to know the one I try should not be 1Q84 (I'll probably choose a shorter one lol), so thank you for this!
Yeah I'm completely over him at this point lol. If you want to try a shorter one, the one that got me into him was A Wild Sheep Chase. Doubt I'll ever read him again tho. There are countless other and better modern Japanese writers, and they're all women 💜
I used to defend some of his writing beCAUSE he only ever wrote from the pov of male protagonists. But now that i hear you say that it's the exact same situation even from a woman's perspective, there's absolutely no excuse. xD
Yeah I was always able to kind of ignore the problems and focus on the good stuff but this book is the final straw.
I don't know where you're coming from but this I can definitely say, you are not an Academian so there's no point giving you a critical explanation of Murakami's employment of the erotic. Nevertheless, I watched your entire video for 12 mins because I cannot afford to keep personal biases when I'm a researcher.
Okay now coming to your allegations about Murakami's absolute depiction of what you call "bad sex", in 1Q84. The entire idea of sex in Murakami is psychologically nuanced. It's not the cheap 50 shades of greyish market sex which if removed from the plot, will have absolutely no impact on the overall plot. The erotic is the essence of every Murakami plot.
Tengo's childhood memory of his mother's breasts being sucked by a man other than his father is purely Freudian which brings us to the exploration of childhood to interpret sexual interests of a human being. Although Freud's idea is flawed in many aspects but when we talk of childhood sexual memory, we cannot deny psychoanalytical school of thought. And you find the same in even greater depths in Kafka on the Shore.
And as you said, Murakami has never written a female protagonist, then I'm certain you have never read his short story, "Sleep" which has an empowering female protagonist as well as narrator ( both of who are the same person) . Besides this, almost all the plotlines of Murakami, begins and proceeds in a very linear dimension until a female protagonist enters and drives the plot topsy turvy. You'll find it in 1Q84, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, Norwegian Wood, and in an umpteen number of short stories of Murakami. If that is not one way of projecting female agency in the erotic of narrative, then I don't know what is.
Also talking of "bad sex" again, obsession with breasts is as natural to any woman as breathing. Being a woman I can vouch for it. I look at my breasts everyday in the mirror with slight dissatisfaction about its shape of size just as any other part of my body like my nose or mouth or ears. Since when did breasts become sexual in nature? Breasts have been made sexual because of the "male gaze". What Murakami is doing, is normalising human concern about breasts like we would have been concerned or satisfied or dissatisfied with any other part of our body.
Also, the entire idea of sex isn't shamed in Murakami's narratives. Sex in Murakami's narratives, is as essential a need for human beings irrespective of their gender/ biological sex as breathing is once again. In 1Q84, in fact you can actually see Aomame as an empowered woman with an agency of her own over her own body and being. It is she who decides whom she'll sleep with. It is she who decides who gets to touch her body. She in the novel, considers the body as a temple and she reveres her body. No wonder why she cannnot tolerate rape like any sane person. And she believes rapists and men who inflict violence on women do not deserve to live hence takes it on herself to remove such parasites from the face of the earth. If even after this, you continue to say that Murakami reinforces "Misogyny", then I think you should reconsider your argument.
Also what's the big deal in lesbian or gay sex? Murakami showing lesbian sex and you mocking at it, reeks of Homophobia. Maybe you can widen your outlook a bit . Also your argument of why only lesbian sex and not gay sex, counters youe own argument. Also Murakami's plotlines have still not demanded a gay sex episode perhaps. Let me remind you, Murakami never employs sex without the technical and contextual need for it. So if he needs it in his future plots, I'm sure he will. Thank You. 😊
If this is academia we’re all doomed 😭
@@WillowTalksBooks Why are you so smug in the comment section? If you disagree with a comment either ignore it or say something smart. I know you're intelligent so it's kind of shame that ego gets in the way of that lmao
This RUclipsr is the biggest clown I've come across till now.@@Nope-un8gf
The only thing I read by him was Norwegian Wood (because 'YOU HAVE to read Norwegian Wood' ). I finished it a couple of weeks ago and something felt really off for me about it. I couldn't put my finger on it all this time and now, of course, a light went on. The terrible, terrible portrait of women! That's it!
I'm quite ashamed that I'm so indoctrinated by reading male writers writing women all my life that it took me this long to spot it.
Yup, we have such a high tolerance for men’s behaviour and I’m so sick of it. The man is gross and I cannot read him anymore. Indoctrinated is the word! Patriarchy is indoctrination.
Didn't read "1Q84" yet but there are other female protagonists, like Mari Asai in "After Dark" and the narrator of his short story "Sleep". And they're both GREAT protagonist (the second even was praised by Mieko Kawakami). But the reason those protagonist are great is because he is not sexualizing them constanly, and, especially in "After Dark" (my favorite work of his) the focus is on Mari's growth as a person.
I think Murakami writes women better when he's not trying to think like a woman.
Your criticism towards Murakami are pretty much correct I think (well, he had a interview with Mieko where she adressed this issues, and Murakami pretty much dismissed all the criticisms... too bad, because I think he's a wonderful writer, one of my favorites, and this problem - among others - is gonna keep holding him up to be better)
Murakami fans doesn't help at all 😶
Great channel, I always come here whenever I discover/read a japanese author.
Suscribed! (sorry if my english is shitty)
This is my favorite video that you created so far (especially seeing you laughing so hard). I never read Murakami and based on your review, I won't skip it altogether.
I'm thrilled that you had so much fun watching 💜
Thank you for saying this!!! Sometimes too weird is just NOT good - did not reflect before about the misogyny of Murakami but the more I think about it the more I recognise how this often annoyed me about his work...
Yeah sometimes the strangeness is great and other times it's strange for the sake of it and that's boring. Then there's the misogyny...
I'm about 300 from the end and still wondering "Where is this going?" Not so much in the plot sense, but why any of these characters were worth investing in. Also really tired of the fetishistic language. I don't think I've seen a character more obsessed with the shape of their breasts than Aomame. My god... Tengo never talked about his dick with this much anatomical focus. I plan to finish it, but I've spent half of the last 500 pages wondering what's really happened less because he's good at ambiguity but that I feel like we've been staring at Aomame and Fuka-Eri's breasts every other page.
omg so he just writes "she breasted boobily down the stairs" but unironically lol
LOL yes!
Yes he does
I've just finished reading 1Q84 and I really enjoyed it... But you make so many good and valid points in this video! Really interesting to hear different opinions. Thanks for sharing your thoughts (and for really making me laugh!) ❤️
Thanks! 💜
I just finished it. Really enjoyed it, despite the length. But I see how many people will find it difficult to enjoy it, based on the depiction of women. Maybe I enjoyed it for the opposite
I shivered when I saw the title of the video, not because I disagree - even though I love the book - but because the potential incoming slander towards you could be very intense 😬
I've been very nervous about putting this video up for days and days. His harscore male fans are horrible. Wish me luck!
@@WillowTalksBooks I wish you the best of luck, you might need it 😂
I’m a male fan of Murakami but I won’t even attempt to defend his misogyny, that man just needs to know when to tone it down 😒
I was waiting for this
Hope it was worth it!
This was actually the funniest thing to watch. 1Q84 was my first Murakami and it's the book that got me into Murakami. Despite all of its flaws and cringe worthy moment, i can't say I hated it. Great reaction though 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I'm glad you had fun!
Now this was enjoyable xD I feel the same as you regarding Murakami’s magic just wearing off the more you read it and the more you yourself grow? The first book of him that I read some 3 years ago was Norwegian Wood and I absolutely loved it, instant favourite. After dark, 5 stars. Sputnik Sweetheart, good enough. By the time I got to Kafka on The Shore the magic was wearing off so I gave it some time. Just a few days ago I read South of the Border, West of the Sun and absolutely hated it. I think it’s because when you first read him it’s an overwhelming and unique experience. The trademark-sad-lonely protagonist seems relatable at first and you’re so busy enjoying all these elements that you can overlook some really big holes in character development and the shit load of creepiness. Now that I’m sufficiently familiarised with the recurring plot elements for them to feel like background noise, the blatant misogyny and lack of creativity is a lot more glaring. Now I read him as *No thoughts just vibes* to just get into a mental space I’m well aquatinted with. I used to recommend him to people but I really don’t know anymore. Scared to go back and read my proclaimed favourites again. And yes, thanks for saving me the trouble of reading this one. There’s SOOO many positive reviews about this lol
Yeah that pretty much sums up the experience of reading too much Murakami, the magic wearing off, the cracks appearing, and the exhaustion setting in.
That was my exact reaction when I read this book! I was so angry that I lost all that time reading... this. I could never touch another of his books.
Yup, yup, yup, I have no idea if I'll ever read another Murakami book. Like, why should I?!
oh man, I feel the same way and I kinda do not understand the way he deals with the plot. There are so many unexplained things left behind and he just literally ends it.
I really needed this video. I thought I was losing my kind. This was my first Murakami, after seeing his novels absolutely dominate any modern surrealist or magic fiction list. I made it about 8/47 hours into the audiobook and just couldn't for all the reasons you said. It's just so slow and boring too. The prose is nice enough and I there was a time when I was eager to see the magic goat and the tiny people and the religious communist insurrectionists, but I just could get there.
I'm sure this has already been pointed out, but it bears repeating because it's so ridiculous. An author in his 60s wrote his 30ish ball-kicking assassin as having a fetish for older men beginning to lose their hair who have odd shaped heads and penises that are reasonably sized!
I'm really glad you mentioned ones you previously liked. I'm going to need a big break, but I will trying Wind Up Bird or Kafka at some point, but I need to cleanse with a bunch of anything, but cishet men for a while.
Hope you didn't get too much hate and if you did it boosted the video! Love the nails and your hair looks lovely BTW. Take care! ❤
I’m reading 1Q84 rn and am absolutely loving it. I like it so much, I’m literally reading it slowly with gaps because I don’t want it to end.
But I’m fully with you on the parts you called gross. I’m super used to male authors being creepy and misogynistic (being a lit major who had to skim a bunch of “classics” and “must reads” exposed me to more than what I was ready for) but even then, the parts where he describes certain body parts of underage girls make me shudder. And idk why no one seems to mention this but Tengo’s reaction to Ushikawa’s physical appearance really worried me as it seemed to play into that horrible trope of equating supposed ugliness with bad character.
But back to misogyny, I think Murakami is massively unaware of how he writes women. In Men Without Women, in the very first story, a character says he feels somewhat uncomfortable when a woman is driving because sth always seems to be different, that there is this tension, and that made me facepalm so hard. It’s like he has no idea that women face obstacles and you know, misogynistic attitudes, in almost every walk of life.
I still read his books though because they just feel like this whole other experience and it’s soft, slow and calming. I couldn’t believe that I actually even liked the parts where Tengo and Aomame just prepare food for themselves.
I think the reason why I like his books is because things of great significance happen but characters continue at a sluggish pace. There’s just sth so simultaneously unnatural but also human about it? I’m also someone who gets anxious with fast-paced books where bad things happen to characters quickly though so that might also have contributed to my liking this book. Lastly, and this is the end of my brain vomit, I just find it a relief that not everything is resolved and I find it okay because his books have always been more like a sensory experience for me, like I’m floating in a glass globe, am a massive eyeball, and am getting to watch things unfolding without disturbing anything and I usually feel like this for the whole book except when he ofc starts talking about boobs.
I'm so impressed with your ability to enjoy the book while recognising everything that makes it unreadable. And I actually do agree with how his books make you feel. They make me feel the same way. Or at least some of them do. Not this one. This one is disgusting.
Ew
I read the book in full and that was my first murakami. The sex scenes were disturbing for me. I was like, why do you need to include those? They can very well be omitted and it wouldn't affect the story at all. I remembered the beginning taxi and fire escape scene very well and that got me to continue until the end. I thought that was an interesting idea and how would the story go? I expected some interesting explanation or insights on her world changing etc but i was disappointed.
That’s the beauty of it I think, it’s just like my memory of Shazaam. SinBad scared the crap out of me.. but suddenly there’s only one moon. (Kazaam with Shaq) I’m sure I won’t get an explanation at the end of my.. story.
OK, i'm 82 and never realized Murikami was so mysoginist, and i'm an old hippie. Have read a lot of Murikami but not this. Gonna read IQ84 because I like odd books. Love your presentations.
Ok it might be cultural sexism wit hweird fetish focus, which still is sexist but not the entire of the work. Probably explains why a lot can ignore it.
Hi! Thank you for this video. It contributes to me to realize different opinions and approaches. However, I can say that there are many complex reasons in whether a book is loved or not.
I have just read 1Q84. It took approximately 1 month because of its fluency. I really like Murakami's style and world despite some repetitions and uncertainty. I believe that a novel does not have to include perfect characters and also just good vibes. In addition, in today's world we have a lot of trouble about various kind of violence. Althought I thought some parts of book is unnecessary and a little bit boring, I could accept almost all scenes. In my opinion, the reason is related to perception and belief.
I got this book from my cousin and his wife for my 20th birthday this January (I don't know why, I don't read at all, I'm barely surviving day by day running on 2 brain cells) and so far I'm ~200 pages in more or less. I agree with what you've said, there were some very questionable scenes in that book, as a queer person especially and a former cis woman (I'm trans), but honestly I'm appreciating how everything is spelled out for me story wise because I tend to get lost in books (as I said, running on very low brain power just to survive lol). I appreciated your review a lot and I'm glad your channel was recommended to me. your commentary was very fun. Subscribed :)
This video is absolutely bang on. I do like Murakami, and 1Q84 was the first of his novels I read (The running autobiography was the first actual book I read), and I do have fond memories of it. About 7 years ago. I don't know why I didn't realise the issue with the characterisation of women at the time. Over the years and hearing the criticisms its obviously become much more apparent. I recently read Pinball 1973, as that was the last Murakami novel I haven't read, and it is present there too, which honestly made me roll my eyes. I'll continue to read his work, as I enjoy the writing style and the general way he puts narratives together, but I'll be much more aware of this aspect of his writing.
Hey I have found your channel a month back and now I am literally a fan of yours! I admire how you bring such important topics to light and discuss with such comfort and ease. Amazing!
I am also a booktuber, I do like Murakami quite a lot but reading this book made me feel pathetic! So yess you rocked!
Aw thank you so much! That really means a lot to me!
This is so fucking funny. I've never read a murakami book, mostly because he shows up on r/menwritingwomen on a near daily basis, and each entry is worse than the last. And writing women like that is an instant No from me. (See also: stephen king). This is just icing on the cake.😂
I let go of the description of the sxual scenes and the image that the main characters had about themselves because of the great loneliness they had, as well as the emotional wounds of their childhoods... which consequently may have led them to have lives somewhat peculiar and certain type of perception about their bodies (aomame).
I thought it was a good representation of that kind of loneliness that you've been experiencing for so long that you don't even realize it's there anymore. it ends up devouring every aspect of your existence, so yes, I thought the bad sx was on purpose, among other things haha... I was still very creeped out by the way the world saw Fuka(or her boobs).. so I was praying for Tengo to not have anything with her and AAAAAAA (but with a context of why and how it happend, it MAY not be as horrible/terrible as it sounds). So yeah.. in that aspect the book may not have been a criticism of this, if not, just "sadly human" to me.
If you found the "boob recognition system" absurd, I can't imagine what you would think of Aomame missing her friends.. AND her boobs hahaha. So I completely agree with you! (and thank you for making me see stuff I may not have seen at first) At the same time I still love the book.
Thank you for saving my time. I read only two Murakami's books and I have mixed opinions. Maybe I should read other types of Japanese/oriental books. (I'm from Brazil and new here, but I already love your videos and the way you talk) ✨✨✨
Yeah Japanese books are my favourite and there is a world of great literature from Japan, especially its women writers. You don't need to settle for Murakami.
"[Her insides] powerfully churned! Like a cement mixer!" 🤣 I'm dead. How did I not discover your channel till recently. How. Only found your content through redditors' recommendations on the books subreddit. Thanks YT algorithm /s
Dont get me wrong but I think you are judging Murakami's biases with your own biases🙂
If my bias is having a base level of respect for women, I am okay with that.
@@WillowTalksBooks you are absolutely right from your POV and condemn any artwork that involves misogyny
Yes. Sorry, is there a catch somewhere? I feel like I've walked into a trap that hasn't gone off lol
@@WillowTalksBooks It's the confirmation bias supported by the moral standards.. We all judge things on that basis, and it changes from time to time, person to person, society to society... There is no catch🙂keep on with the good work
You're so clever 💁🏻♀️
For our class book club me and my roommate chose 1Q84 because she loves Murakami and I love Ishiguro but when we finished I was just like "___" I hate this book I hate it so much while she loved it so much oh man I relate so much with you
After-hours is written from a "woman's" perspective too, I liked that one because it was short and weird, and I can't remember the main female protagonist being awfully written (some of the other women kinda suffer tho) but hey, Murakami bingo exists for a reason.
The more I check off the Murakami Bingo card the more I think, what's the point lol
I don't even read Murakami but based on your reaction to this book in a previous video, I was looking forward to this. You did not disappoint!
Haha thanks! Just steer clear. The guy's a loser.
Same!
Thank you! We need to put limits to misogyny and sexualisation of underage persons!!
Such a great rant!!! I am bias because I've never ever liked Murakami or his writing. (Why does he always write sex scenes with underaged girls? Why are the women always horney af!?) But still, thank you for this validation.
Yeah I kick myself for not being critical enough of his nasty misogyny until now. I've always seen it and just pushed past it but I'm too much of a furious feminist to deal with that shit any more.
And if all his male characters find those horny women???? Like that's not so common I'm sure his male characters aren't that special lol lol
Damn, I'm in the middle of 1Q84 and was initially planning to release a review, but this video scared me! :D
If you're in the middle you made it further than I did!
I loved your reaction and how much you hated it(and your laugh😊)! I was debating with myself whether to read this book, or any other that i still havent (e.g. Killing Commendatore, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage), but I think I'm gonna spare myself. There are plenty other Asian writers, who dont incorporate misogyny in their works 😏
EXACTLY! So many. Tsukuru Tazaki is also boring as hell imo
I had my doubts but after watching Willow's reaction and explanation, I won't be reading this misogynist title.
Do tell me your favourite books.
I'm currently reading Killing Commendatore, all I can say is, don't waste your time, will never read anything from him again.
1Q84 is the first novel by Haruki Murakami that I have read. I like it very much. The world in the book is immersive, and sometimes I feel inexplicably frightened, and it has written the confusion in the minds of many people. This is contemporary 1984, and I have to put him in a prominent place on the bookshelf.
Good for you :)
Definitely not
Murakami's style and development of magic realism/introspection are what I like about him. In that sense he is unmatched. I do think people are too quick to judge him by modern standards. We are all products of the culture around us. His views and descriptions of women are reflections of how women were represented in the literary culture of Japan, which has traditionally had a level of aesthetic emphasis and abstraction from reality. Just look at manga...
Saying all that I would agree with what you said. His descriptions of women and his characters' treatment of women are bad. Murakami just doesn't know how to write women. I don't like the repeated themes that make Murakami Bingoable and that his work sometimes seems slightly pop art mass-produced. I found 1Q84 troubling and was not able to finish it. Sure there is a deeper meaning, but I was not prepared to shovel the snow to get there.
Norwegian Wood is one of my favorite novels (It could unquestionably do without a few scenes that should be edited out). I also kind of think one of Murakami's themes is men's inability to understand women and the damage that misunderstanding causes. I like the fact that it is written from a purely male perspective and it deals with their memory of what happened not what actually happened. In fact, if you ask me the book wouldn't work if it truly took into account the female perspective. It's written from the perspective of a lost young man with a lot to learn. It kind of shows people the Darkside of others and one of those flaws is only being able to see things from their own perspective even though they try.
😂😂judging him by modern standards? Standards are standards and he is writing for the male gaze
@@IchibanOjousamaI see it more as standards are not so standard. He Defo writes for a male gaze.
I'm a big fan of Kafka OTS, and I will absolutely go to bat for the creepiness in that book as a retelling of Oedipus Rex. I love how in that book the protagonist has to look at the rapiness and incest in his heart and come to terms with the fact that he has the capacity to do very bad things, and eventually learns to forgive himself and move beyond his base sexual impulses. Almost feels like Murakami in conversation with himself.
The only thing I will take issue with you with on 1Q84 are the awkwardness of the sex scenes and of sexuality in general. I think that portraying sexuality in an alienating way, weirding the ways that sex is expressed and felt, is a big strength of Murakami's. I think he's being purposefully obtuse to get us to think about what we're attracted to and why, and to pull out the deep and pervasive sadness that is often the heart of intimacy.
Besides that, you're spot on. Aomame was such an interesting character that was ultimately crushed under the weight of Murakami's fetish for her. Similarly the young writer is absolutely disrespected in a way that is really gross. I hate that such a creative book with so much to say is ultimately marred by that disgusting characterization. It's hard to read and really makes me long for the days of After the Quake and Kafka, when Murakami felt like he was considering his creative choices more carefully and intentionally.
i don't watch the video, i don't care about your comment. I'm still reading it and it doesn't suck
Hahahahaha! You’re such a little rebel, honey
I read IQ84 10 years ago when it first came out. I remember liking the story itself (i.e. the concept and main narrative arc(s)) but being less than completely happy with the characters and writing. I don’t remember having a strong reaction to the bad sex and misogyny, but then then I was a lot less mature back then than I am now. (I was in my early 60s when I read it and I’m in my early 70s now.)
I recently did a reread of the Murakami books that I had read and enjoyed at the height of my Murakami period in the 2000’s, and was, frankly, shocked at how bad most of them now seemed to me. The one exception was Wild Sheep Chase, which, though it didn’t seem as good as I remembered it, still managed to stay in my list of favorite Japanese novels.
In fact most of the books I was rereading seemed so bad that I drifted over from reading them as literature or even pulp entertainment to reading them clinically, for what they revealed about the psychological makeup of the author. (And same for my recent first read of What I Talk about when I Talk about Running, which I really could not find any other way to read.) And I ended up with a clear picture, informed by a psychological model called attachment theory.
Basically the conclusion I reached was the root of pretty much everything that is distinctive about Murakami’s personality - inability/lack of desire to relate to others (whether individuals, including especially but not limited to women, or groups), attraction to fantasy worlds and people of his own making, obsession with the details of his everyday personal life, etc. - can be explained by a lack of bonding with his parents during early childhood, which is typically due to the parents rather than the child, particularly lack of positive engagement of the parents with the child.
For those who are interested, psychologist Stan Tatkin’s popular book Wired for Love (2012), which uses attachment theory to explore adult couple relations, classifies partners into three personality types, Anchor (secure in relationships), Wave (needy, unstable in relationships) and Island (self-sufficient, avoids/is uncomfortable in relationships). Of the three types Murakami is a clearly an Island, and (IMO) a fairly extreme one at that.
Ok I need you to write a longer think piece about your interpretation of Murakami because this was fascinating!!
Should even consider doing a video essay on it here on RUclips because I think this would benefit many of us who flounder with disliking his works and his inability to address these issues.
I also wonder if for those of us who used to like Murakami but no longer do have worked on some of our own attachment issues and thus are no longer as entranced.
So cool to read someone in their 70s talking about being so much less mature in their 60s. I hope to be like you one day.
I'm so glad you reviewed him honestly. I had to stop reading it when he sexualized the underaged female writer from high school. Describing this schoolgirl's stature graphically with a male gaze just made reading it so uncomfortable and disrespectful. You also made me notice some other points about misogyny in his writing. Thank you for that.
You made the right decision because the book goes in a *really* gross direction with that character.
I read my first Murakami last year, Norwegian Wood, I absolutely hated it so hard it was painful to me. The misogyny was something I could never look past it was disgusting. Women were only there to have sex with the main character, when one of them killed herself the only thoughts he had of them was him having sex with her and the sex itself.
There was a scene where a female character described a scene in which her father had died and she exposed herself to his memorial photograph so ''he could look at my c**t''. I hate read it until the end but won't go back to him for more.
I'm legit worried for the women who state he is their favourite author, I don't know if the patriarchy has gotten to them too hard and it's a form of self hate because how a woman could even like it, let alone favour it I find hard to comprehend.
I used to feel justified in my enjoyment of his books by the women I knew who also enjoyed them, but that shit doesn't fly with me anymore. The misogyny in his books is unforgivable, but it's so stretched and awkward and absurd that I don't find it offensive, so much as laughable. Like it can't even be taken seriously, let alone actually be upsetting. He's a caricature of a man.
@@WillowTalksBooks Yeah, I kind of want to give a hug to those girls and women and tell them that whatever they've been through, it's not OK and they deserve better!
I did find it funny, then I was just offended and pissed at all the people who touted him as the messiah of writing and we all must bow to him, especially the guys, but I was just so, so angry that this not only flies, but it's lauded!
Oh no thats horrible!!! Imaging someone kill1ng herself and then the male character instead of remember her as a Fellow humans with emotions, her laugh, her eyes, the way she talked to me ... He remember the sex he had with her ... That is SO objectifing in a very very creepy level
I read somewhere that people don't understand why he is a Best seller worldwide and people give him free pass with his level of sexist
This was very entertaining! I couldn't stop laughing at your take on squeezing ones breasts as a form of self identification, I kept thinking about Murakami trying to replace ID with some form of pseudo sophisticated groping. Does Murakami even know breasts change size and change at different points of the month? 🤣🤣
Hahaha omg can you imagine. My friend said the same thing! Murakami, tell me you know nothing about breasts without telling me you know nothing about breasts lol
The beginning was so terribly boring. The second third of the book was very interesting, bc it makes you think that there's a huge thing coming, but in the end, that thing never comes. The last third also gets exciting, yes, but you notice it's trying to keep you onto something that doesn't arrive...
Wind-up Bird Chronicle is one of my all time favorites. Read Kafka, Norwegian Wood, Sputnik Sweetheart, His memoirs of running, his short stories, A Wild Sheep Chase.....
Though haven't read Killing Commendetore & 1Q84 just for the mixed reviews I had heard about these. Glad you have just saved plenty of time of mine 😀
Great video and almost everyone loves a rant!
I was an enthusiastic reader of HK in the 90s but this slowly faded - the last two I read were Wind-up and Kafka around 12 years ago. Then this one came out and I couldn’t face it - seems it may have been the right decision! I got bored with the ‘Murakami bingo’ for one thing. The one book I am still wondering about reading is Underground - the non fiction account of the sarin attack on the Tokyo subway - any thoughts?
That's also the only book I still have any interest in. Maybe we should both take the plunge and compare notes!
@@WillowTalksBooks That's a great idea but there are so many books I want to read before that it might have to wait a while!
I really appreciate the review! I will NOT be spending time previewing this, & definitely NOT adding this to my class list.
There's so much great Murakami out there: Wild Sheep Chase, Dance Dance Dance, Hard Boiled Wonderland, Kafka. etc. I saved 1Q84 for the end and ... wow... this ain't it. I stopped after part 1 of 3. Bored to tears. And yes, pretty much yes to everything you said here. sigh.
How do you look so good in all of your videos? Totally love your style mate. Also I have turned into a huge fan of your intellect suddenly. I hadn't watched a lot of your videos untill now, but one of your latest 'shorts' video made me binge all the rest of them. Loving your work 100% buddy. You are super
Thank you so much :)
I personally admired his style and works (Norwegian wood and South of the border) and tbh I never looked at him as a misogynist. Now and then I would think, "why does this have so many sex scenes. " It's like I didn't even _notice_
I really feel like I failed as a man ugh
I was careful never to call him a misogynist because, outside of his writing, nothing has ever come out about him being a bad person. But his writing is so vile and exhausting that I've just lost patience with it. I also didn't really notice for quite a while, until I couldn't ignore it any more.
I was checking your different videos on Murakami because i finally gave his books a chance and i had to stop reading norwegian wood because of the pedophilia part (and i saw this was your last point here for 1q84). Like honestly there are so many problematic stuff in his books, and i agree with you : i could pass them if it wasn't so gratuitous all the time). after watching this video and also doing some research (like i tried to see why ppl loved his works so much so i looked at many things and also to see if what bothered me was a one time thing or not), i see it's tropes for him and i'll give up. I just don't want to subject myself to that. Like you said there's tons of other books to read. thanks always for your videos and honesty, and your enthusiasm or dIs-enthusiasm here.
This is it, exactly. You can see from my articles and videos that my relationship to him has changed. At first, I didn't notice any of his grossness. Then I did but I ignored it. Then I just snapped and thought about all the time I was wasting on a hack writer who is worshipped for no good reason.
I agree with all of this! I finished the whole thing and I can say the best part of this book was the fact that the story left some questions unanswered and room for the reader’s interpretations. The worst however, everything you just mentioned and beyond. But as you did not finish you missed some horrible details later on 😂 the story is a love story between Tengo and Aomame and it is just so cringe and unbelievable. There is a scene where male protagonist Tengo thinks of Aomame as a 10-year-old and masturbates. And we don’t see any moral debate on that… and also nothing of Tengo and a teenager Fuka-Eri having sex, not because of the age gap and also there is no consent on Tengo’s behalf.
I got a feeling like this book is just some perverted old man’s fantasy content 😂
I just plainly decided to stop reading Murakami, the misogyny in his writing 'paired' lol with his simple and acclaimed writing style just doesn't do it for me and it's hella frustrating to read. Spoilers here: Mind you I only read 2 of his books, but 1q84 really did it for me. I would've liked to see more explanations of the actual mystery of the Little People, Sakigake, or at least attempts at what they mean to Murakami or the characters but instead we're just reading about Tengo and Aomame introspecting (which I don't mind at all), then Ushikawa (who was used to tense the mystery situation and get you interested to read more and to retell the plot only to serve no purpose by being killed off). The ending was anticlimactic and though Murakami is known to leave open ends and leave you questioning and wondering to his books, in my opinion the romance and reunion between the 2 characters didn't seem compelling or believable. The book could've also been cut to 700 pages, it was those Ushikawa chapters and straight up leaving the mystery that really slowed down the pace for this book.
I got 1/4 through this video and decided that it sucks.
lol I see what you did there, Clever Man
1q84 is my favorite book of all time and I also respect your opinion. Some people prefer tea some people prefer Goatman masturbatin. I'm okay with that
Eww
I'm ashamed to admit these were my favourite books 10 years ago. What I liked about them will probably remain a mystery, as I agree with everything you said in this video and now I remember that these creepy and lame sex scenes.
yes, a rant!!! love this! Loved Norwegian Wood by Murakami and parts of the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Some of the magical elements put me off reading more of his magical realist stuff...
Yeah his books are not to everyone's tastes and I get that completely. This book was so awful I think I'm done with him forever.
I listened to the audio book when it came out, I probably would have never read it. I don't remember much of it, but when I try to figure out what it actually was that did prevent me from *really* enjoying this book (and I have read a handful before this), it may have been the same reasons you have. Back then I just could not put a finger on it. I did not know the Murakami tropes and patterns back then, all I thought was, this book is just a tad too weird. So thank you for this rant, it helped me understand better why this book felt "off" to me.
I'm glad you get where I'm coming from. I never used to notice the "off" things about his writing either but I've read a lot now and it just becomes laughable eventually!
My husband couldn’t read it either. He said it sucked, it was awful and your assessment is spot-on.
Yay, thank you (and him) for the validation!
I've tried reading Norwegian Wood 4 times now and i just can't get past page 100. Don't get me wrong I do love a book where absolutely nothing happens and messed up characters do messed up things but something about the misogynist male pov puts me in a reading slump. the only book of his i enjoyed was Sputnik Sweetheart because even tho it's still not good atleast it had pov of only women 😭
I've heard great things about Sputnik Sweetheart but I just don't think I can. I'm done with him now.
Hello. I enjoyed watching this video. I too had a great time reading "What I Am Talking About When I am Talking About Running". I remember reading this autobiography on my 30th birthday in the best Waffle Cafe in Bruges, Belgium (I am from the UAE btw). That book resonated with me because Murakami spoke a lot about aging and how and from where he derived inspiration for his novels. I have read five books by Murakami and tbh, most of his novels are naughty/explicit and promiscuous (I guess that's why many people like him). Just a correction. You mentioned that Murakami doesn't write about LGBT sex. If my memory is supporting me, I remember in Norwegian Wood, one time, Ishida the late 30-year-old Naoko's roommate, narrates the story of a teenage girl experimenting with her body and how she felt euphoria from her touch even though it was nonconsensual. Anyway, the old man is a pervert and he should stop compensating his lack of talent with more nudity. You are the best/honest book reviewer. Keep going!
To understand why Murakami writes the way he does you should read his book "what i talk about when i talk about running". He talks about the critisism he gets for his own views and ideas. That includes some of things you point out in this video.
I think it's important to have different takes on things and people, it doesn't matter if those takes are right or wrong. In the end it makes us think and questions this Author's reality and we don't have to agree with it or understand it. As long as we all can accept that we all have different and sometimes very negatively viewed perspectives on life. Is it better to comform and please others or is it better to keep being yourself and write books that have some weird and sometimes disturbing thoughts and ideas, but that are also comming from a genuine and real place?
I personally can feel the cringe reading some scenes in his books and be like why would you write about it?? But at the same time it makes me think and question his and mine own ideas about sometimes really simple things in life and human behaviour. That's something i really like about Murukami and this is why i keep comming back for more.
I have and I actually quite liked it. It didn’t excuse his disgusting misogyny though
I agree with you dude.
I’m a pretty big HM fan, read most of his stuff….
1/3 the way through 1Q84 and it stinks. The creepy sex stuff, the cult stuff that just matter. Etc.
Such an enjoyable video :D You raise such a great point, I would love to be his editor and go ah thank you Murakami-san for this titty chapter, yeah no sorry, it got deleted for some reason, but send me more pages about that second moon, love that stuff :)
I really like a lot of his books but yeah he just keeps putting in eye-rolling stuff and I wish his editor would reign him in more because his magical realism just really works for me.
Hahaha I completely agree! Like, yeah, he's real good at world-building and magical realism but it would be very easy to remove all the shit bits. But he just... doesn't.
I've tried a couple of times to read this book because I like some of his other books. You're totally right, it sucks!
Haha same, I don't hate Murakami but I really hate this one. Wind-Up Bird distills all his good stuff into one book. 1Q84 distills all the bad stuff.
@@WillowTalksBooks Exactly. :)
your laugh is so infectious omg 😂👌🏻
That's so great to hear 💜
I think the thing with Murakami is this: You enjoy the first few books of his that you read (regardless of title) -- and then the creep factor sets in and you begin to realize that he is disgusting and relatively boring (jazz, breasts, pasta, repeat). Because they're all like this. 1Q84 is my first Murakami and I look at it fondly, however it's problematic AF. After reading 1Q84 I read his novels in chronological order and by the time I reached Wind Up Bird Chronicle I couldn't do it anymore and that's where I stopped. Honestly replace 1Q84 with any of his titles in your script and it would work. He's just -- gross.
You're so right it almost feels embarrassing. I'm going to he stealing this and using it in a video one day. Like, wow, this will stick with me.
I'm a new viewer of yours and you're really inspiring me to read more Japanese authors. I've never heard of Mieko Kawakami but I've been reading more Yoko Ogawa books this year.
I've always loved Murakami's writing style, I have read a few of his books but not 1Q84, and I follow booktubers who also love him and I have friends who love him too. But I've just noticed something.
It just dawned on me that every person who gushes over his writing style always says something to the likes of "he's so great... the way he writes women is questionable... But besides that he's so good..." And they brush it off, and I usually do the same.
I love that the main reason you hated this book is because of how he wrote the female characters and the sex scenes. It's actually really validating. I think it's something more people should give importance to. This is a valuable review! Calling out bad misogynistic sex scenes should be normalized, and I'm here for it!
Thank you so much! This was all very validating! I brushed it off too because I wanted to like him, but why should we?? He's a problem!
I agree i’m starting on it after men without women and another short story book an I really can’t care for his poorly written females and boring dudes, sexual encounters. I’m glad i’m not on my own on being annoyed by these things.
How mean to recommend such a big book to someone to introduce Murakami, people need to rethink their recommendations. I read two of his shorter beloved books years ago and decided that I don't need more of him in my life. But they were short books to give him a try. You really should make all those people who told you to read this to read something they'll hate. Kudos for finishing it.
I didn't get past the first time the teacher meets the teenage writer. It made me so uncomfortable and thats really saying something because I was a Randy 18 year old at the time
I remember reading this Murakami book where the climax to the whole thing was a fellatio given by the female character who -of course- keeps disappearing Tokio Blues style. Murakami sure literally sucks this way too 😂 But I thought you’d also refer to his poor prose or the fact that his novels seem to go from nowhere to nowhere. I’ve found his Japanese prose to be almost insufferably meagre and depressive. I find successive claims that he could be a Nobel candidate offensive.
After living in Japan for almost half a decade, I certainly understand the style of 1Q84 a lot more, but that has made me like it even less. Murakami is celebrated internationally but as a “Japanese novelist” he seems quite average, even below par in some respects. For example his conversations are very un-subtle and don’t really have the interesting subtext that superior writers are able to convey. Even in Japanese, his dialogue is very “surface level”.
1Q84 is a long and boring book that says nothing about the world, makes no commentary about any sort of larger philosophical point, and doesn’t have an overall theme or message other than “the subconscious is a weird place”. It’s an amateur copy of a David Lynch film in prose form, nothing more or less.
Murakami has great books, but after 500 pages i am dissapointed, love story where Tengo has phaedophile sex, basically all intrigue and mystery vanished with cheap porn stories, and 1000 pages for what, i think this book is more suitable for japanese sexual fantasies readers
I didn't like it either, I liked Murakami up until that book... then the love affair with M was over. :D
That is exactly what's just happened to me! The affair was already on the rocks but now it has sunk.
I read iq84 during a depression and it was a great companion. I love Murakami and don't like you any less for having a opinion.
I don't judge anyone for needing and finding comfort when they're depressed. When I was depressed I clung to The Big Bang Theory and that show is awful.
Awwwnn, i feel you. Do not stop doing videos, i love every bit of it and find comfort in your content :)
Hi I'm adding on to the people here who love 1Q84 but agree with what you've identified as issues.
What's fascinating about this discussion to me is that it seems like the books often get evaluated as acts of the author's virtues, both artistic and morally. That isn't unfair, and I would totally agree with anyone who says that 1Q84 is a demonstration of Murakami's clumsiness, lack of thoughtful artistic direction, and most importantly by far, his misogyny (which blends into his sexualization of minors I think).
I don't think I'm forgetting or forgiving any of that when I say that I find the books captivating and moving. They are artifacts to me, like pieces of a shipwreck or a preserved animal skull: looking at them and considering them deeply is a troubling, disturbing experience, but there's something beautiful about it. I don't know what his intentions were, and regardless I think his careless and horny meanderings are embarrassing, not to mention repugnant. But I'm not judging him like he were an Olympic diver. Instead, I'm getting catharsis by seeing a bunch of messy and slippery feelings I have inside get brought out on the pages. Feelings that only really get stirred by this shitty, bewildering man and his shitty, bewildering writing.
Thankyou for this, I've had this book sat on my shelf for awhile and been put off reading it learning of the sexism in Murukami's books. I kept wondering if it'd be something i could look past but now I know that's definitely not the case. I think I'll go off some of your other recommendations like Idol, Burning and Convenience Store Woman instead.
As a side note I've fallen in love with your channel over the last few days. Your recommendations are always so unique and have such interesting concepts and the way you talk about books is so beautiful (aside from this video which was hilarious) and reminds me of why I love reading so much 🥰
The breast-sucking memory is somewhat of an outlier in your list of problems with the book. Murakami looooooves psychoanalysis. I strongly believe this memory was a reference to Tengo’s psychosexual development. It’s a memory from when he was a baby (an extremely rare occurrence since adults typically lose their memories from when they were ages 0-3), and it involves the psychosexual phase of oral fixation. This intimate act, which Tengo, a baby, should be engaging in so as to feed and bond with his mother, is instead performed by a man-a stranger-which is an even crazier circumstance than seeing it performed by his own father. & though you understandably found the comment about his own mother’s breast shape to be uncomfortable/bizarre…that’s sort of the point! The subconscious as it’s been interpreted by Freud is an unorthodox, scary, confusing, gross,and difficult to access realm that sometimes infiltrates people’s minds with invasive images (some of which may be Oedipally coded).
I’m not trying to be condescending, but I really think it’s important to critically analyze moments like that rather than write them off as purposeless.
Okay, now do all the other unforgivably creepy bits
Oh dear. Yeah, the writing of women and the strangely and off-puttingly clinical sex scenes were among the things I didn't like about 'the Windup Bird Chronicles'. It was the intense ennui and alienation that I really couldn't deal with during quarantine, but if the weird sex isn't a deliberate part of creating that vibe...that might be a problem for me with trying his other novels.
Yeah it's just a Murakami problem, unfortunately!
It's weird. I have loved everything else Murakami I have read(4 other reads), but this one failed miserably. So overblown was this novel. So many needless depictions. But the two lead characters were not very interesting to me as well. Thanks for the thoughts!
i felt the exact same about norwegian wood and it put me off so much, im never touching murakami again 😂
I don't blame you! I read that book at an age where I didn't notice his problems but I'll never go back to it now.
I read it last year and hated it, the whole treatment of women I found really sickening. Certain scenes made me believe he's never actually spoken to a woman because none would even act in that way and it's so sick that he expects them to.
Let's be honest, Murakami has been one of my favourite authors for years, but I agree with most of what you said (except the length, that didn't bother me at all). 1Q84 is clearly one of his novels I liked least. I couldn't help rolling my eyes up at every boob description and sex scene in this trilogy (and other books he wrote to be honest). And the more I grow up the more I become bothered by those. I also remember the sex scene between Fukaeri and Tengo making me totally uncomfortable back then. Since now, I have always been able to cope with these points in his books because I liked the universe, stories and atmosphere he builds so much that I felt okay disagreeing with the caracters vision (or the author's vision, at that point, seeing that this is a pattern is every single one of his books) of women. But the more I read his books, and see that all of his male narrator protagonist are more a less the same, and the female ones are all equally badly written, the more it feels like he just fails as an author to create protagnoists that aren't reflects of himself or his vision. So yes, I still enjoy reading his books because there is something in the atmosphere and strangeness in his stories that resonnates in me but I can totally get why these points would make someone hate his books. And I would love them a thousand times more if he was able to do an accurate depiction of women just once in his life.
I agree that the atmosphere and strangeness provides this eerie kind of comfort. A world I enjoy living in. But I'm also just so tired.
There are probably 2 reasons for length.
First is that the trilogy was written over a few years, so he has to keep reminding the readers about previous plot points.
The other is probably because the chapters have to keep going back and forth between the 2 protagonists. They have to present information in a way where the 2 sides slowly converge, so he has to slow down either one or the other to achieve this.
Hahahha. Yup murakami reaaally loves depicting these cringey sex scenes. The book itself is painfully long, with terrible - and i mean terrible - pacing. But the ending is quite epic and satisfying, which I guess explains why so many people are fond of 1Q84, even nostalgic about it.
My small mind can't understand why these sex scenes and woman body part depictions of Murakami directly induct misogyny. Maybe I am too stupid.
Maybe you’re not empathising enough with the position of a woman, reduced to an object for the grim sexual satisfaction of creepy, disrespectful, uncaring men.
@@WillowTalksBookses, I haven't completely wrapped my head around these arguments, but I guess the problem is my viewpoint. I will try to reach your conclusion on my own to make it less elusive. I think my problem is that the misogyny in this case isn't Murakami screaming that he hates women, but instead more nuanced and deeply baked into his way of thinking. In any case though, there are other positive elements to enjoy in his books. No writer is perfect.
My criticisms of it aren't about how long it is or the sex scenes. I thought the characters (except Ushikawa) were so ditzy as to be unlikable, and their actions didn't make sense. The little people stuff was silly and didn't ever make sense or even have any internal logic. But I agree with you it sucks.
Just a bad book innit!
I haven’t read it, but I own it and especially after your review I’m intrigued to read it tbh :D. Like, I’ve the same issues that you have with Murakamis books but I’m still interested reading Murakami writing from a female perspective. I’ve also noticed that his protagonists are usually really obnoxious (like Kafka) but his side characters (that aren’t female) are so vibrant and interesting ^^ I don’t know if you know what I mean, but I literally finished Kafka on the shore mainly to read more about Oshima (the guy working at the library) he’s so fun! Sadly Murakami really can’t write female characters, even if his life would depend on it ig :D
I don't disagree that his side characters are often more vibrant and enjoyable people to watch. Although I never found any of the characters in 1Q84 fun or interesting at all. Flaws aside, this is also just a bloated and bland book!
@@WillowTalksBooks I’ll see, I just kinda hope that I didn’t waste my money completely :D
can anyone explain what they think about ushikawa, his end and the scene at sakigake near the end of the book. fascinated by where murakami took that guy in the story, and the meaning of his soul with its cold lump
Did you happen to watch Fargo Season 3? If you didn't, watch the show 😊 What I'm trying to point out:
The character that David Thewlis plays is basically Ushikawa to me.
If love the bad-ugly-seriously-bad character. Too bad he's gone. Great reused character, though!
When you just focus on the sexual scene on Murakami's books, yes you're not gonna love his writing. As simple as that.
See, girls, just ignore all the abuse and misogyny perpetuated by male characters and you’ll be golden!
1Q84 was the first book i read from haruki murakami and i couldn't finish reading it. I was hating so much the girl's pov (i forgot her name), her pov was so boring and the same thing over and over, every time her chapter starts i want to skip it to the other character's pov, its so annoying. I ended up not finishing it because i thought the struggle would not be worth it. Not to mention the continuation, i was afraid the other books of the series would be the same so i just DNF.
Amazing how boring he makes an actual assassin.
I loved wind up bird and got 1Q84 ages ago knowing nothing about it and now I'm thinking of never reading it lol. Murakamis sexism and weird horniess was enough in the bg for me in his other stuff I've read but idk if i could handle something this blatant
This is hilarious. I read this when it first came out as an undergrad during my "Murakami phase." Of course I thought this book was brilliant. It would be interesting to re-read this now as I'm sure I would have a different perspective on it. I'm gonna skip that though. 😆