Almost Transparent Blue is a brutal tale of lost youth in a Japanese port town close to an American military base. Murakami?s image-intensive narra...
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reviews
Jul 12, 2010
Jasmine
rated it: 
John and Seth should not read this book.
right this book is about sex and drugs and it doesn't really have a plot. But I mean if you like books about drugs and really graphic descriptions of violent psedorape are your thing I say go for it. There is also a fun lsd feel to the book if you can get over the other stuff.
right this book is about sex and drugs and it doesn't really have a plot. But I mean if you like books about drugs and really graphic descriptions of violent psedorape are your thing I say go for it. There is also a fun lsd feel to the book if you can get over the other stuff.
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Jan 27, 2009
Kevin
rated it:
Published in Japan in 1976, this book turned into a Naked Lunch sort of drug-lit phenom. At times, I felt like the violent sex was a bit overdone and I leaned toward a 3-star rating, but there are enough great sentences and amazing imagery to push it to a 4. Ryu takes a lot of chances here--no sturdy plot, odd moments of melancholy, some repugnant scenes, too many characters--but it comes together more often than not, and I was so intrigued by the end, I went and read all the amazon reviews just
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Mar 31, 2007
Scott
rated it: 
The Other Murakami's oeuvre really wavers in quality. Almost Transparent Blue is hopefully the lower limit.
There were tons of digusting sex and drug scenes, and I don't think I'm some stuck up old prune (ok, maybe I do), but lots of it was just uncalled for.
I don't mind if you want to paint a picture of your days in the gutter, that's fine... but if you're going to subject me to little Japanese girls getting dicked bloody by a group of huge (huge) guys, please move the s More...
There were tons of digusting sex and drug scenes, and I don't think I'm some stuck up old prune (ok, maybe I do), but lots of it was just uncalled for.
I don't mind if you want to paint a picture of your days in the gutter, that's fine... but if you're going to subject me to little Japanese girls getting dicked bloody by a group of huge (huge) guys, please move the s More...
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Mar 15, 2011
Slbrowne
rated it: 
This book is not for the slight of stomach. The first thing that happens? The narrator almost overdoses on heroin... and it goes down from there, but it's delicious all the way. It's one of those things that's so horrible you can't look away. Some of the scenes are very hard to read because it's just so damn painful (rape scenes, beatings, etc), but if you get through those there are some really beautiful ones. There's a great scene where Ryu and Lilly are tripping on mescaline and drive around
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Aug 20, 2010
Greg
rated it: 
(Soundtrack for this review)
Do you want to know what I don't give a shit about? This book.
I made it a little more than a quarter through it (35 pages to be exact). I found the writing to be blah (to be fair, I think it is the translation), the type to be a bit too small and the font to be faintly illegible. I dreaded having to go on break and read more of this book, and did internal backflips when I noticed the a new Harpers just went on sale before I went on break and s More...
Do you want to know what I don't give a shit about? This book.
I made it a little more than a quarter through it (35 pages to be exact). I found the writing to be blah (to be fair, I think it is the translation), the type to be a bit too small and the font to be faintly illegible. I dreaded having to go on break and read more of this book, and did internal backflips when I noticed the a new Harpers just went on sale before I went on break and s More...
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Dec 15, 2009
Ben
rated it:
i liked Piercing and i loved In the Miso Soup, but i found this book (his first) just mind-numbingly boring. there's one point where the guy (it took me about 80 pages to decide that the narrator was a guy; even the talk of his penis never really convinced me) talks about the movie he'd like to make, which is simply a huge mirror that reflects back the audience... that was about the only moment in the book that seemed to show a little imagination (though let's be honest, not that much). i'm all
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Nov 05, 2010
Phoebe
rated it:
It's a book that gives me no joy.
And because of it, I've begun to wonder, what kind of reader am I? Why do I read? What is it that I seek in a book?
Almost Transparent Blue is that kind of book.
The set-up obviously is really masterful. We know nothing about the characters. We only get a glimpse of their lives through Ryu's eyes. And then there's the letter. The end. I know it sounds basic, but due to the content, it really can be written in no other way.
If More...
And because of it, I've begun to wonder, what kind of reader am I? Why do I read? What is it that I seek in a book?
Almost Transparent Blue is that kind of book.
The set-up obviously is really masterful. We know nothing about the characters. We only get a glimpse of their lives through Ryu's eyes. And then there's the letter. The end. I know it sounds basic, but due to the content, it really can be written in no other way.
If More...
Dec 07, 2011
Lamski Kikita
rated it:
This is not a book for those who can't handle a little sex and violence. I believe many people would not be able to face those, drop the book, and therefore miss the beautiful parts of it.
There's no denying that people have stereotypical images of Japan; cherry blossoms and samurai warriors, or super smart men in suites and girls in Hello Kitty goth clothes. This book reflects a reality that maybe no one wants to know; that of the youth on the margin of Japanese society.
T More...
There's no denying that people have stereotypical images of Japan; cherry blossoms and samurai warriors, or super smart men in suites and girls in Hello Kitty goth clothes. This book reflects a reality that maybe no one wants to know; that of the youth on the margin of Japanese society.
T More...
Jun 24, 2009
Logan
rated it:
Those who know me are well aware that I have an almost visceral love of twisted literature. Books that are the literary equivalent of a car crash; hedonistic revels that fade into subterranean nightmares. In other words, such extreme excess that you can't help but approach them with a mixture of sick curiosity and nearly overwhelming trepidation. For the longest time that has meant the blasted imaginations of my trifecta of favorite authors (Palahniuk, Irvine Welsh and Bret Easton Ellis) and
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Sep 26, 2011
Patrick
rated it:
I just finished reading a short novel (128 pages), Almost Transparent Blue by Ryu Murakami. It was quite a strange novel; the beginning was full of raunchy sex, massive drug taking, and the expulsion of all types of bodily fluids. It doesn't settle down much as a group of Japanese friends take drugs, fight, and deal with existential dread. I guess it caused quite a stir when it was written more than 30 years ago. I think it follows from the tradition of Osamu Dazai, who was another self-destruct
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Aug 30, 2009
Michelle
rated it:
The storytelling was indeed ‘violent’, in so many different ways and levels. On one end of the spectrum, the things that were happening within the story were violent. Sex and drugs, even when they are by themselves, are rarely subtle. But when huge quantities of both are mixed together within a single bowl, the result is an overdosage of violence.
But as if that wasn’t enough, even the prose was violent. Just reading the book itself, I felt like I was being pushed and shoved in all di More...
But as if that wasn’t enough, even the prose was violent. Just reading the book itself, I felt like I was being pushed and shoved in all di More...
May 03, 2009
Brian
rated it:
"You're always trying so hard to see something, just like you're taking notes, like some scholar doing research, right? Or just like a little kid. You really are a little kid, when you're a kid you try to see everything, don't you? Babies look right into the eyes of people they don't know and cry or laugh, but now you just try and look right into people's eyes, you'll go nuts before you know it. Just try it, try looking right into the eyes of people walking past, you'll start feeling funny
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Nov 18, 2010
Manja
rated it:
I didn't like this book at all, it seemed like something a young guy in his early 20s experimenting with drugs and alcohol would write..oh wait, that is what this book is like. Seems like Murakami just wrote about a lot of his own experiences, perhaps if I'd read the book in Japanese I would've enjoyed it more, but the English translation of it was just not for me. Too many parts in the book where you were left wondering, what the heck just happened here. However, I really enjoy a lot of Murakam
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Oct 13, 2010
Marvin
rated it:
Verbal Vomit.
That's the term I kept thinking as I read Ryu Murakami's debut novel Almost Transparent Blue; partially because he spent a lot of time describing both the action and the result. But mainly due to the author's relentless spewing of descriptions and actions throughout this plotless novel of junkies in Japan. It is not a pleasant book by any means but there is something very impressive, and chaotic, about the almost psychedelic stream-of-consciousness style. His later works a More...
That's the term I kept thinking as I read Ryu Murakami's debut novel Almost Transparent Blue; partially because he spent a lot of time describing both the action and the result. But mainly due to the author's relentless spewing of descriptions and actions throughout this plotless novel of junkies in Japan. It is not a pleasant book by any means but there is something very impressive, and chaotic, about the almost psychedelic stream-of-consciousness style. His later works a More...
Jul 21, 2011
Franco
rated it:
Me resulto muy complicado seguir la historia, si es que en algun momento la hubo. Los nombres japoneses me confundieron y llegue al punto de no saber quienes eran hombres y quienes mujeres. Incluso la narracion en primera persona me hizo pensar por momentos que cambiaba de personaje. Ni hablar de las drogas que consumian, que es la primera vez que las escucho.
El libro esta lleno de lenguaje corriente, y la traduccion espaniola no me ayudo a que me metiera en la piel de los personajes. More...
El libro esta lleno de lenguaje corriente, y la traduccion espaniola no me ayudo a que me metiera en la piel de los personajes. More...
Mar 06, 2009
Gertrude & Victoria
rated it:
I was disappointed with Ryu Murakami's Almost Transparent Blue; even my modest expecations were betrayed.
I found much of the storyline too explict, gratuitous and repetitive, with little redeeming value. There were too many characters, doing too much romping and too many lines, which was all too hard to swallow - a jumble of flesh and powder without meaning or taste. But, if you have a penchant for "sex, drugs and rock n roll," you may want to give this a try.
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I found much of the storyline too explict, gratuitous and repetitive, with little redeeming value. There were too many characters, doing too much romping and too many lines, which was all too hard to swallow - a jumble of flesh and powder without meaning or taste. But, if you have a penchant for "sex, drugs and rock n roll," you may want to give this a try.
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Sep 02, 2009
Sacha
rated it:
Almost Transparent Blue is the quintessential example of a book that's controversial for the sake of being controversial. It reached critical acclaim in Japan when it was originally written decades ago simply for the- what the Japanese would consider- shocking nature of its content. But that alone really isn't enough for a book to be considered literature, much less a work of art. Murakami skimps on the character development and coherency in an ultimately futile attempt to cultivate an experimen
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May 08, 2009
Stephanie A.
rated it:
To relay the life lesson(s) I learned from this book, I must explain.
1. My Japan phase began with...my birth. Haha, no, okay, that's not really funny. But I've been wanting to read books by nation since I read Natsuo Kirino's Out last summer. I already knew about Haruki Murakami, of course, but I didn't realize there was another famous Murakami (two more, if you count Takashi the artist)--the guy who wrote this book. He sounded intriguing, so I borrowed Almost Transparent Blue from D More...
1. My Japan phase began with...my birth. Haha, no, okay, that's not really funny. But I've been wanting to read books by nation since I read Natsuo Kirino's Out last summer. I already knew about Haruki Murakami, of course, but I didn't realize there was another famous Murakami (two more, if you count Takashi the artist)--the guy who wrote this book. He sounded intriguing, so I borrowed Almost Transparent Blue from D More...
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Jan 05, 2008
Lennart
rated it: 
Ryû Murakami paints a bleak narrative about coming-of-age in '70s Japan (Nagasaki prefecture in Sasebo where he's from and where there's a US naval base). For such a short novel the pages sure do seep with the most base of human action. Detailed transgender/anal/orgy/sadism/drug abuse scenes might be too much to stomach for some, but it's a shame that many seem to fail to see past that. The book is not pornographic in the sense that it is hardly arousing. The finished book leaves the reader with
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Jan 24, 2012
Ezgi
rated it:
Rahatsız edici bir konu, rahatsız edici olaylar, rahatsız edici anlatım... Bütünlüğün sağlanması gerçekçiliği güçlendirmiş. Ayrıca gözünü paylaştığımız karakterinin adının da yazarın adıyla aynı olması gerçekçiliğe ayrı bir destek noktası olumuş. Kısa bir roman için karakterin değişimi ayrıntılarda oldukça iyi verilmiş. Cesur bir okuyucu için iyi bir okuma. Eserin, Ryu Murakami'nin ilk romanı olduğuna inanmak oldukça zor.
Jan 07, 2012
David
rated it:
It reminded me of "Raisin Bread", an "Acts of Worship" Yukio Mishima short story. And then I started to think of the representation of foreigners, I started to think of the Black people I'd met in Japanese literature. (Then I remembered that I find Haruki Murakami books pretty forgettable, and I can't recall whether or not I met a Black person in a Haruki Murakami book).
Anyway, I bought "Bedtime Eyes" by Amy Yamada to see if we can improve on drugs, drum
Anyway, I bought "Bedtime Eyes" by Amy Yamada to see if we can improve on drugs, drum
Sep 21, 2011
Peter
rated it:
A visually exciting book, I remember scenes rather than passages. It is the tale of junkies falling into the abyss of addiction and the paths by which some are able to escape this. The plot follows a group of late adolescents and young adults in that period in life in which nothing matters but the self. They are on the edge of adulthood and savoring their last bit of adolescence as long as they can, and some remain stunted indefinitely due to the distractions of drugs and partying. The main char
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Feb 01, 2011
i got about 44 pages into this book and it is pure crap. I have forced myself to get this far but I can go no further. it is absolute garbage. if this kind of junk can be published there is hope for us all whoever dreamt of writing and being read.
I will be returning this book to the Library I borrowed from it as soon as I pass by the one nearest to me. A sorry excuse for literature.
not even worth one star to me
I will be returning this book to the Library I borrowed from it as soon as I pass by the one nearest to me. A sorry excuse for literature.
not even worth one star to me
May 21, 2011
Frank
rated it:
Seems like it would be fun to write like this. In translation Japanese dialogue always comes off as a little corny. Is this how Japanese people talk with one another? I'm not sure. Seems both formal and childish at times. The images and scenes are raw and brutal wherin objects affect just as much as the characters on the page. Pretty good. Short and sharp.
Nov 26, 2011
Madison
rated it:
For me, this was somewhat interesting from a sociohistorical perspective, as I don't know anything about the drug culture or the role of black GIs in postwar Japan. Otherwise, I found even less to enjoy in this plotless, characterless wallow of a novel than in the Beat Generation writers from which it presumably draws inspiration.
Sep 22, 2011
Thepaloalto
rated it:
This seems to be a crossbreed of James Joyce's stream of consciousness, and Jack Kerouac's drug infused stories. Although most of this book takes place in the gutter of society, at times Murakami uses this disparity as a showcase for some profound moments of clarity. A worthwhile read, but you have to be up for the journey to enjoy it.
Jul 27, 2011
Lindy
rated it:
Loved this, beautifully written which, considering the content, is surprising. Not the best Murakami plotwise, but the most addictive narrative of his I've read. My only criticism would be that its brutality is occasionally hard to read. It is graphic, and I would recommend that only those with a suitable constitution attempt to read it.
Mar 08, 2011
Lady Stardust
rated it:
Un livre assez étrange : pas d'histoire bien définie, juste les anecdotes d'un groupe d' "amis" complètement drogués et socialement isolés.
Les descriptions sont trash, mais ça dépeint un certain phénomène de société (même marginal) qui prête à réfléchir. Comment en arrive t'on à ce point de déchéance? Ça laisse pensif.
Les descriptions sont trash, mais ça dépeint un certain phénomène de société (même marginal) qui prête à réfléchir. Comment en arrive t'on à ce point de déchéance? Ça laisse pensif.
Feb 02, 2012
Meghan
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Mar 17, 2011
Found this book on a list of 20 essential works of Japanese literature. Made this list in Goodreads here.
