Murakami’s work has been translated into 42 languages and appeared on best-selling lists across the world, from South Korea to Australia, Italy, Germany and China. I picked Men without Women by Haruki Murakami, a Japanese author. This is my first attempt in reading a translated book. The Kawaii Japan Market was really well-organized! My mini haul 🌸 Archivesįollow Wretched and Divine on WordPress.Language must never be a barrier to enjoying literary works by foreign authors. Every time I read his books, I gain new perspectives. I believe that he has a lot of knowledge on human emotions. I recommend Murakami’s books because his writing is engaging and because he really brings his characters to life. I love short stories because they are little gems. This was a really quick read, which shows how invested I was in these stories.

However, he gets you to think critically about the stories which draws upon your imagination and creativity. You may be disappointed at the endings of some of these stories, or really confused. Another common feature in his works is that the endings are often open to interpretation. I started reading his novels when I was in high school. Murakami often writes about sex, so don’t be surprised about that if you read his works. My favourite story from this collection is “Kino.” I really enjoyed reading six of the seven short stories, which is a really high number. I was pleasantly surprised at how different each story is. The impact of these women lost and gone forever cut deeply, and sometimes life will never be the same again. These are stories of men who have lost important women in their lives, sometimes to other men, sometimes to death or due to complicated reasons. He often writes about the themes: isolation, loneliness and loss. Haruki Murakami is my favourite contemporary writer. The front cover depicts a man with a puzzle piece missing. Can we take a moment to appreciate the front and back covers? The back cover starts with the word, 女 ‘woman’ and it transforms into a puzzle piece.

Men and women murakami