and I'm talking about Haruki Murakami not Ryu is that his stories are to me a bit bland.
I do not mean this is any other mean way, nor as offensive critique because he's such a celebrated author and a wonderful writer but everyone doesn't have the same kind of taste buds and to my taste buds he comes across as a bit flavourless.
I was recommended his books by my dad and was given a book of short stories 'The elephant vanishes' and almost three stories in I knew this wasn't my carafe of wine, cuz I can read all sorts and have a rather varying palette in terms of reading or listening to books, but somehow this just didn't seem to go anywhere with me.
Not that it was too subtle or open ended, I've read books far daintier in terms of subtlety (Yasunari Kawabata) being one of the greatest among such authors, in fact he is pretty much unparalleled, it's just that the tones of the book that some called Kafka like didn't resonate as anything Kafkaesque nor brilliant story telling.
It felt a bit tedious, unstimulating even, and it's not that each book has to be a certain tsunami causing mad fun, but his writings didn't as much create a ripple in my waters.
Now this is simply my perspective because my dad and others who've read him love his works and in fact keep suggesting other books once they know I don't like his writings, and that they are even a bit perplexed and wonder what's wrong with me as to like something like Pamuk but not Murakami.
Of course those are two completely different authors and comparisons can't be made, it's just a question of tastes.
Murakami's works seemed a bit insipid because they are something like a long, boring description of a very uneventful incident and even if it's something eventful the story telling waters it down to a yawn..for me that is.
I don't know about existentialism seeping from his work, because it's a topic open for interpretation, something that can be absorbed from any sort of writing that you like, or maybe just that his abstractions do not fit into my jigsaw collage.
If you want to give Murakami a try, maybe a short story to gauge if it sits pretty on your palette before committing to a book proper.
I do not mean this is any other mean way, nor as offensive critique because he's such a celebrated author and a wonderful writer but everyone doesn't have the same kind of taste buds and to my taste buds he comes across as a bit flavourless.
I was recommended his books by my dad and was given a book of short stories 'The elephant vanishes' and almost three stories in I knew this wasn't my carafe of wine, cuz I can read all sorts and have a rather varying palette in terms of reading or listening to books, but somehow this just didn't seem to go anywhere with me.
Not that it was too subtle or open ended, I've read books far daintier in terms of subtlety (Yasunari Kawabata) being one of the greatest among such authors, in fact he is pretty much unparalleled, it's just that the tones of the book that some called Kafka like didn't resonate as anything Kafkaesque nor brilliant story telling.
It felt a bit tedious, unstimulating even, and it's not that each book has to be a certain tsunami causing mad fun, but his writings didn't as much create a ripple in my waters.
Now this is simply my perspective because my dad and others who've read him love his works and in fact keep suggesting other books once they know I don't like his writings, and that they are even a bit perplexed and wonder what's wrong with me as to like something like Pamuk but not Murakami.
Of course those are two completely different authors and comparisons can't be made, it's just a question of tastes.
Murakami's works seemed a bit insipid because they are something like a long, boring description of a very uneventful incident and even if it's something eventful the story telling waters it down to a yawn..for me that is.
I don't know about existentialism seeping from his work, because it's a topic open for interpretation, something that can be absorbed from any sort of writing that you like, or maybe just that his abstractions do not fit into my jigsaw collage.
If you want to give Murakami a try, maybe a short story to gauge if it sits pretty on your palette before committing to a book proper.
