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Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage - Murakami
- Thread starter BlazingDarkness
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CheesecakeRecipe
Stormy Grey
I still have to finish Wind-Up Bird Chronicles! Maybe I'll pick it up just to push myself towards spending more time reading like I promised myself.
thequickandthedead
Member
I have never read a Murakami book but this looks interesting.
radios shipping overview
Member
Didn't know he had a new one on the way. I'll pick this up for sure.
I tend to be more fond of his shorter books, but then, I haven't touched 1Q84 yet.
I tend to be more fond of his shorter books, but then, I haven't touched 1Q84 yet.
i'm attracted by it being more of a straight story, ala norwegian wood or after dark, i'm not sure if i trust his surreal side anymore after 1Q84 which to me was a total disaster
also there's a cool minimalist poster advert for this near where i live which is just murakami in all caps above a blue circle on a white background. nothing else. i was pretty jazzed to see it, even if it makes him sound like he's releasing a downtempo ambient lp. though when people see the cover itself they should make the connection
also there's a cool minimalist poster advert for this near where i live which is just murakami in all caps above a blue circle on a white background. nothing else. i was pretty jazzed to see it, even if it makes him sound like he's releasing a downtempo ambient lp. though when people see the cover itself they should make the connection
BlazingDarkness
Member
BlazingDarkness
Member
From reading some reviews, this definitely seems like an easier one to 'get into', whereas his last book, 1Q84 was very long, and pretty divisive.
Splash Wave
Member
This sounds fairly interesting, as I'm certainly partial to Murakami's more level-headed stories.
Side note: the explosion in popularity around him in the states is astounding. When did this happen? I'd rarely hear his name mentioned until the lead-up to 1Q84, after which he seemed to be everywhere.
Side note: the explosion in popularity around him in the states is astounding. When did this happen? I'd rarely hear his name mentioned until the lead-up to 1Q84, after which he seemed to be everywhere.
dakkumauji
Member
Got this preordered but now I want that UK edition with the nice cover :|
BlazingDarkness
Member
plasmawave
Banned
Chance Hale
Member
Looking forward to it, enjoyed IQ84 but the translation seemed a bit off in comparison to his other novels. And as I'm sure everyone does, I prefer the UK cover. Is this more of a slice of life like Norwegian Wood or Sputnick Sweetheart? Hard to tell if there's supposed to be a fantastical element in the summary.
Edit: Or maybe not, didn't see the first paragraph for some reason.
Edit: Or maybe not, didn't see the first paragraph for some reason.
rhizomatic
Member
I don't have it preordered. I'm not sure if I should even buy it until it comes out in paperback; I have way too many novels I haven't finished as it is.
It sounds pretty interesting, though, based on the handful of reviews I've read. It would make sense to do a smaller, more realistic novel after 1Q84 (especially since some prominent critics didn't like it).
It sounds pretty interesting, though, based on the handful of reviews I've read. It would make sense to do a smaller, more realistic novel after 1Q84 (especially since some prominent critics didn't like it).
dakkumauji
Member
Yep, I mean sure it could mean well with the novel but it just isn't eye-catching enough compared to the UK cover.
I think the Japanese cover looks better than the US cover too.
I liked After Dark and Kafka On The Shore. I wanted to try 1q84 but the reviews and sheer size scared me off.
Slackbladder
Member
Now I liked Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World but that's the only one of his books I've read. If this is in the same vein I might get it.
Got into Murakami earlier this summer by reading Norwegian Wood and Kafka On The Shore so I'm pretty excited about this one. It's not coming out here in Finland until September, so I might end up getting either A Wild Sheep Chase or 1q84 before that as I want something new to read.
About to finish up Wind-Up Bird. Have also read South of the Border and Norwegian Wood. There are other Murakami books I really want to read but maybe I'll make this my next one, just for the sake of jumping on a new-Murakami-book bandwagon for the first time.
AwesomeSauce
MagsMoonshine
I'm on the same boat. I was enjoying the book a lot before I got distracted with school. I've been meaning to get back and finish it :/
John Rabbit
Banned
after reading the mindjob that is 1Q84 earlier this year i'm not sure I can go back again so soon. sounds promising.
BlazingDarkness
Member
Yep, reviews say it's very close to these in style, with some magical realism mixed in (I think I read about dream sequences).
CheesecakeRecipe
Stormy Grey
You know, doesn't Amazon.co.uk ship to the US anyways? Fans were getting the Twin Peaks Blu Ray box set shipped to them from there since the set was region free and was $50 cheaper or so. This might end up being slightly more expensive, but that cover would be worth it.
We can do it! Maybe I'll push aside a few things after dinner tonight and get back to it.
We can do it! Maybe I'll push aside a few things after dinner tonight and get back to it.
BlazingDarkness
Member
UK first edition also comes with a sheet of stickers to customize the cover
MrChocolate
Member
Didn't know it was going to be released.
Ordered!
Ordered!
Do they have Wind Up Bird Chronicle in Finland? I think that's still his best, especially if you liked the general tone of Kafka.
I'm still working my way through 1Q84 right now. It's ok, but definitely not his best. Colorless will probably end up being my first non-surreal Murakami whenever I get to it.
Read it (Dutch translation came out in january. Since 1Q84 we are usually first. Big fanbase in holland and belgium)
I think it is one of his lesser works. Took me a while to finish and never really gotten into. Not that its bad. Not at all. The melancholy Murakami provokes is second to none imo. But i don't know, I didn't care that much for the main character and the reason why he got isolated seeled tame.
Read all his works btw, except his first two untranslated novels. Wins up bird and south of the border are his bests. And his shorts.
I think it is one of his lesser works. Took me a while to finish and never really gotten into. Not that its bad. Not at all. The melancholy Murakami provokes is second to none imo. But i don't know, I didn't care that much for the main character and the reason why he got isolated seeled tame.
Read all his works btw, except his first two untranslated novels. Wins up bird and south of the border are his bests. And his shorts.
demosthenes
Member
Same, can't wait!
It reminded me a lot of Norwegian Wood. There is hardly any surrealusm, except for some dreams idd and a
weird "state of near death" the character lives trough for a while
BlazingDarkness
Member
IrishNinja
Member
sounds interesting - if i've never read Murakami, what's his best work to start with?
BlazingDarkness
Member
Most people would recommend The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, though I'd say it's quite a dense book. Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World and Kafka on the Shore are also widely celebrated - all of them have quite a degree of magical realism/surreal elements and can give you a good idea about Murakami's style.
There's also some books like Norwegian Wood, After Dark and Sputnik Sweetheart which focus more on realistic character drama. So really it depends on your taste, you can probably jump in to any of his books and get a good idea what he's about as a writer. I personally started with Kafka and then quickly consumed lots of his other novels soon after. Only one I'd recommend not starting with is 1Q84, simply because of the sheer bloat of it. Maybe Colourless Tsukuru would be a good place to start, while the rest of us are reading
War Peaceman
You're a big guy.
Sputnik Sweetheart is short and sweet. Pretty reflective of his general style. Norwegian Wood or The Wind Up Bird are also great ways in.
Got this preordered and cannot wait. I've read everything else he's done. Even 1Q84, which I disliked at first but came back to in a big way.
HORRORSHØW
Member
i love his classic stuff but 1q84 left me wanting. i'll probably pick this up, though.
I think his two best books are After Dark and Hard-Boiled Wonderland, so you could always start there.
demosthenes
Member
Opinions are divided it seems. But his output is quite great so it is hard to pick a bad novel to start with. People just have different favourites it seems.
I'd recommend South of the Border. It's a short book, and very good. His masterpiece in my opinion is Wind-up bird. But that's is a very long one (allthough I'm not sure the English translation is updated allready. Dutch translation is of the revised version which got another third part added to it). Or, mayby better; Start with his short collections. You'll easily get an idea of his style, and read many different kinds of stories, from full blown surrealism, to realistic ones in one book. (The elephent vanishes is great, After the Quake too)
But once you read one of his books, you'll probably want to read them all. His works divide themselves in groups.
You have the realisticy stuff like norwegian wood, Colorless, Sputnik Sweetheart, ... who have some magic realistic elements.
You have his more magic realistic works like Wind-up Bird, Kafka on the Shore, ...
You have the ones that are more surrealistic and high concept like, like Hard-Boiled Wonderland and arguably 1Q84
You have his shorts
You have his non-fiction ones (What I talk about... and Underground). Underground is his only book I disliked (it is so thorough in it's investigation of the gas attacks, it gets one-note. Halfway trough you're like: okay, i got this allready)
BlazingDarkness
Member
I've decided to do a re-read of Wind-Up Bird prior to Tuesday's release!
Porcile
Member
FYI Murakami is doing a book signing at the massive Waterstones in Piccadilly on August 30th. Not sure I have the energy to get up to London at 7:30 just to get a place in the queue. It's just a limited book signing as well, no talk or Q&A. Anyway, thought UK GAF would like to know.
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