For me Murakami has been hit or miss, but the I only read three books of his. Norvegian Woods is great, Hardboiled Wonderland is good and very enjoyable, but the I read Killing Commendatore and just could not get into it.
I agree about being put off by the obsession on having sex with any and all women in the plot, for no reason. I don’t really get it either.
The sex thing - I think it’s just a psychological thing that he’s never gotten past. I’ve known people like him (and both male and female).
What almost certainly happened was that he developed psychologically right up until he was somewhere in his late teens or early 20s and he hit a period during which he was on top of his game sexually. He was still in that adolescent phase during which sex is an all-consuming interest, and he had the skills and appeal to generally succeed in his pursuit of it, and he gave himself up entirely to that. And then he never progressed past that stage - he’s been locked ever since into the thinking of a teenage lothario.
It’s unfortunate just because it’s sort of equal parts creepy and tedious, but that’s the way it goes. I find him generally worth reading anyway, since he’s an extremely talented writer, and has a particular talent for conveying emotional nuance.
And it’s not as if sex is his only obsessively repeated theme. Though the others generally don’t stand out quite so much, he’s at least as likely to have his protagonists drink whiskey and listen to music, or go for aimless walks, or clean house, or iron shirts.
I’m not sure I agree with your psychological analysis, but it is compelling. The wiskey! Every time, there is wiskey! To me it seems more like a misconstruction of what is normal, to create a character that both cool and relatable.
For me Murakami has been hit or miss, but the I only read three books of his. Norvegian Woods is great, Hardboiled Wonderland is good and very enjoyable, but the I read Killing Commendatore and just could not get into it.
I agree about being put off by the obsession on having sex with any and all women in the plot, for no reason. I don’t really get it either.
The sex thing - I think it’s just a psychological thing that he’s never gotten past. I’ve known people like him (and both male and female).
What almost certainly happened was that he developed psychologically right up until he was somewhere in his late teens or early 20s and he hit a period during which he was on top of his game sexually. He was still in that adolescent phase during which sex is an all-consuming interest, and he had the skills and appeal to generally succeed in his pursuit of it, and he gave himself up entirely to that. And then he never progressed past that stage - he’s been locked ever since into the thinking of a teenage lothario.
It’s unfortunate just because it’s sort of equal parts creepy and tedious, but that’s the way it goes. I find him generally worth reading anyway, since he’s an extremely talented writer, and has a particular talent for conveying emotional nuance.
And it’s not as if sex is his only obsessively repeated theme. Though the others generally don’t stand out quite so much, he’s at least as likely to have his protagonists drink whiskey and listen to music, or go for aimless walks, or clean house, or iron shirts.
So be it.
I’m not sure I agree with your psychological analysis, but it is compelling. The wiskey! Every time, there is wiskey! To me it seems more like a misconstruction of what is normal, to create a character that both cool and relatable.