Beautiful, ephemeral, and profoundly weird, the short stories in this collection by internationally acclaimed novelist Haruki Murakami are nearly i...
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Jun 17, 2011
K.D.
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Reading the books of Haruki Murakami (born 1949) is like watching the films of Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998). The two are the most notable world-known artists in Japan.
In particular, reading the 24 stories included in this collection Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is like watching Kurosawa's 1990 film, Dreams three times. The 8 stories in the film are said to be based on the actual dreams of Kurosawa. In Murakami's Introduction to the English Edition of this book, he said that Ice Man, o More...
In particular, reading the 24 stories included in this collection Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is like watching Kurosawa's 1990 film, Dreams three times. The 8 stories in the film are said to be based on the actual dreams of Kurosawa. In Murakami's Introduction to the English Edition of this book, he said that Ice Man, o More...
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Apr 23, 2011
Kwesi 章英狮
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I like to read short stories since the day I entered college, because It takes me less time to finish them and plus I already feel the pleasure of reading. A research shows that Filipinos were short story lovers because of our current condition, fast paced world. I don’t know if I should nod while agreeing with the fact that we like short stories, but in the darkest side, I was one of the Filipinos who liked to read them.
What I really loved bout Murakami was his passion in writing no More...
What I really loved bout Murakami was his passion in writing no More...
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Apr 06, 2011
oriana
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Here is a story of why I am the best friend ever.
There was a guy I knew from smoke breaks at RH who happened to be like head of marketing for a bunch of the big imprints. He made me a casual offer one time that if there was any book I needed (in his division), I had to but ask and he would find it for me. First I swooned. Then, tentatively, a few weeks later, I asked him for the new Barrico. And he got it for me! Emboldened, I then requested Embroideries, and later, Karen Russell. He More...
There was a guy I knew from smoke breaks at RH who happened to be like head of marketing for a bunch of the big imprints. He made me a casual offer one time that if there was any book I needed (in his division), I had to but ask and he would find it for me. First I swooned. Then, tentatively, a few weeks later, I asked him for the new Barrico. And he got it for me! Emboldened, I then requested Embroideries, and later, Karen Russell. He More...
Jan 15, 2011
Nenette
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I have read good reviews about this book, but I just couldn’t relate to them. The book picked up towards the end, with really nice stories…But one has to live through “waste of time” pieces throughout the book (mostly for the first three quarters) before one is treated to the nice ones (what is glory without suffering?)
Since this is a collection of short stories, I've decided to rate it by story, and then take the average. Average rating overall is 2.54, which technically transla More...
Since this is a collection of short stories, I've decided to rate it by story, and then take the average. Average rating overall is 2.54, which technically transla More...
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Apr 20, 2009
Brian
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Reading Murakami (Haruki) is kind of like dreaming. This was a book of 24 of his short stories. What I noticed is that unlike some short story collections I've read, Murakami has the talent of writing a few first lines that just grab you and make you rush on with the story. But then what seems straightforward, say a simple love affair, ends up being just a firefly stuck in a jar or an endless trip to the south pole; the end sometimes has no relation to the beginning or no apparent relation. Some
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Jan 13, 2010
Daniel
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It turns out I've read a bunch of the stories in "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman" before -- almost half of them, I'd guess, and likely all in The New Yorker. It was nevertheless enjoyable to revisit a few of those, including "The Kidney-Shaped Stone That Moves Every Day," which I had strong memories of reading even before I read this book, and "A Shinagawa Monkey," which I'd forgotten about until I began rereading it.
Reading Murakami's book was not, howeve More...
Reading Murakami's book was not, howeve More...
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Jun 14, 2011
وقتی چشمت میافتد به نام نویسنده مورد علاقهات و میبینی که کتاب رو جلدی زیبایی هم دارد. انتشارات معروفی هم چاپش کرده است، خوب طبیعیست که کتاب را تهیه میکنی
شروع میکنی به خواندن. خوب یک داستان تمام شد. حتما در داستان بعدی چیزی پیدا میکنی. نه چیزی نبود. چرا داستانها این قدر ضعیفاند؟ چرا نقطهی اوجی در داستانها وجود ندارد؟ کتاب تمام میشود. به فراست میافتی که این انتشارات و این مترجم، این داستانها را از کجا پیدا کردهاند؟ و بعد میبینی که با مقولهی ( کتابسازی ) مواجه شدی
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شروع میکنی به خواندن. خوب یک داستان تمام شد. حتما در داستان بعدی چیزی پیدا میکنی. نه چیزی نبود. چرا داستانها این قدر ضعیفاند؟ چرا نقطهی اوجی در داستانها وجود ندارد؟ کتاب تمام میشود. به فراست میافتی که این انتشارات و این مترجم، این داستانها را از کجا پیدا کردهاند؟ و بعد میبینی که با مقولهی ( کتابسازی ) مواجه شدی
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Apr 13, 2009
Lausº
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If I had to think a way to define this book ... I cannot think otherwise than as a "Short story Matryoshka" (Cultural information: matryoshkas are those typical russian wooden dolls of different sizes placed one inside the other). Because as the reading progresses you'll find stories inside other stories, maybe this is part of the originality of the writer.
His style stands out even from the way he entitled the stories, the titles are as imaginative as: The year of spaguetti More...
His style stands out even from the way he entitled the stories, the titles are as imaginative as: The year of spaguetti More...
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Feb 25, 2011
rachel
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Only Murakami can write a poignant story about a monkey stealing people's names.
I concur with Goodreaders who've given this collection otherwise mediocre reviews that with the exception of "Birthday Girl" in the beginning, the most complete and fulfilling stories are all lumped right at the end. "Chance Traveler," "The Kidney Shaped Stone That Moves Every Day," and "A Shinagawa Monkey" are excellent, especially if you're as disheartened by the More...
I concur with Goodreaders who've given this collection otherwise mediocre reviews that with the exception of "Birthday Girl" in the beginning, the most complete and fulfilling stories are all lumped right at the end. "Chance Traveler," "The Kidney Shaped Stone That Moves Every Day," and "A Shinagawa Monkey" are excellent, especially if you're as disheartened by the More...
Dec 30, 2011
Tze-Wen
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I purchased this book in 2007, in a big bookstore in Heidelberg, during a holiday. I remember it was raining pretty badly and I was camping quite far away from the town centre. This wonderful book was exactly what I needed.
Re-reading it for the Murakami challenge.
Full review here: http://www.chinoiseries.net/?p=289
Re-reading it for the Murakami challenge.
Full review here: http://www.chinoiseries.net/?p=289
Mar 01, 2008
Sarah
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Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is the first book by Haruki Murakami I've had the pleasure of reading. It won't be the last. This slim book contains twenty-four short stories that range from subtle character studies of ordinary folks to journeys into the surreal.
These stories were translated beautifully by Philip Gabriel and Jay Rubin who have translated many of his other books. Gabriel did the English translation of Kafka on the Shore, for example.
My favorite story is " More...
These stories were translated beautifully by Philip Gabriel and Jay Rubin who have translated many of his other books. Gabriel did the English translation of Kafka on the Shore, for example.
My favorite story is " More...
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Sep 09, 2007
Alicia
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Haruki Murakami is one of my favorite authors. His postmodern work alternates between full length novels and short story collections and they are always wildly innovative and thought provoking. Often compared to Kafka and Camus, his work has unexplained mystical events, mysteries that are solve with intuition rather than solid clues and unexpectedly funny moments. These stories are epiphanies in which the characters wander through surreal or magical experiences and end up with a new understandin
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Sep 04, 2007
Chaundra
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A few months ago, our book club read The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, which was my first introduction to Murakami's work (despite many, many recommendations of his work from friends). I felt a bit mixed about the whold adventure and never quite got into it the same way I was hoping to. The characters didn't ever really resonate with me and the story just didn't "buzz". All in all, it looked like Murakami just wasn't going to work for me as an author. . .
After that experience, More...
After that experience, More...
Oct 14, 2008
Melissa
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short stories.
blind willow, sleeping woman:
3 out of 5. excellent writing of course, but frankly, confusing and little to NO explanation.
birthday girl:
4 out of 5. loved it. wish it gave just a bit MORE at the end... but i'm not sure if it would have been as good if it had.
new york mining disaster:
3.5 out of 5. again with the surreal confusion - yet i'm still drawn to it!!!
airplane: or, how he talked to himself as if reciting poetry:
4.5 out of 5. More...
blind willow, sleeping woman:
3 out of 5. excellent writing of course, but frankly, confusing and little to NO explanation.
birthday girl:
4 out of 5. loved it. wish it gave just a bit MORE at the end... but i'm not sure if it would have been as good if it had.
new york mining disaster:
3.5 out of 5. again with the surreal confusion - yet i'm still drawn to it!!!
airplane: or, how he talked to himself as if reciting poetry:
4.5 out of 5. More...
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Jan 16, 2012
José-contemplates-Saturn's Aurora
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Some of Murakami short stories are “flowers” he planted,… though strange ones in its colors and life span; some, a blend of reality and dream; some funny and absurd…some playing tricks with reader’s mind, with westerners expectations.
To have a glimpse on the “forests” Murakami plants, you've got to read his novels.
To have a glimpse on the “forests” Murakami plants, you've got to read his novels.
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Jun 24, 2011
Sarah
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I got this book for Christmas a year or two ago and I definitely took my time with it, because each short story has a lot going on. Most of them are from Murakami's early years, but I recognized two later pieces from the New Yorker. Many of the tales have to do with loneliness, loss, isolation or disillusionment, and the overall tone is melancholy, but the translated language is quite beautiful. I loved several of the stories, but some of them didn't do much for me (there's one about...vomitin
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Oct 10, 2007
i'm cracking up that the "After Dark" thread is still going strong. in the mean time i'm really eager to read more of his work....enter: Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. I can't say much about it yet, read only one story on the plane, but i can say that the gentleman next to me on the plane most probaly thinks he was siting next to a seriously disturbed person because the texture of this cover is so awesome that I couldn't help but to keep closing it and resting it against my cheek (ok a
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Mar 02, 2009
Ime'...
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This is the first Haruki's book i ever read. It contains around 24 short stories which i found quite 'heavy' for a beginner like me. But then again, i learn how to adapt myself with Haruki's books (am currently reading Kafka on the Shore).
I chose to start with short stories before i finally decided to read the full-length novel of his. Some stories i could grasp the ideas and got inspired with it.
I like the Seventh Man story, it's about a guy who lost his best friend who More...
I chose to start with short stories before i finally decided to read the full-length novel of his. Some stories i could grasp the ideas and got inspired with it.
I like the Seventh Man story, it's about a guy who lost his best friend who More...
Feb 01, 2012
Rise
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Terdiri dari 24 cerita pendek, beberapa sangat pendek, beberapa cukup panjang. Seperti biasa, buku ini punya formula khas Murakami : jazz (or classic) recording, orang-orang yang terlihat biasa aja namun kesepian, kilasan masal lalu, dan pengalaman supernatural. Beberapa cerita agak membosankan dan mirip dengan cerita-cerita Murakami yang lain (ada satu cerpen yang mirip dengan Sputnik Sweetheart dan ada pula yang terkesan mirip dengan South of The Border, West of The Sun). Beberapa cerita ada j
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Dec 28, 2011
Anjali
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I feel writing a short story is much harder than writing a full-fledged novel. The writer has to tell a story, etch his characters, convey his emotions and opinions in a limited number of words. I am in awe of writers who are great at short stories. I picked up Murakami’s short story collection with a lot of expectation, hoping that someone who can write about such a surreal atmosphere in After Dark, he can definitely write great short stories.
Most of the stories (if not all) have this More...
Most of the stories (if not all) have this More...
Nov 18, 2011
Filipe
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A Rapariga que Inventou um Sonho é um livro de contos de Haruki Murakami, famoso escritor japonês.
Esta obra que reúne 24 contos escritos por Murakami entre 1981 e 2005 é um elogio à arte de bem escrever.
Cada um dos pequenos textos conta a história de uma personagem diferente, quando confrontada com um acontecimento ou uma imagem fora do vulgar.
Murakami, além de escrever sedutoramente, é um escritor absolutamente louco. Cada uma das suas histórias é fruto de uma imaginação mirab More...
Esta obra que reúne 24 contos escritos por Murakami entre 1981 e 2005 é um elogio à arte de bem escrever.
Cada um dos pequenos textos conta a história de uma personagem diferente, quando confrontada com um acontecimento ou uma imagem fora do vulgar.
Murakami, além de escrever sedutoramente, é um escritor absolutamente louco. Cada uma das suas histórias é fruto de uma imaginação mirab More...
Nov 09, 2011
Elida
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I love Murakami’s characters and their loneliness, the silent suffering they go through and the fact that you are never really sure whether they are daydreaming, dreaming, having superpowers or are just being highly sensitive. Yet again, loneliness is one the main topics in Murakami’s work and this book is no exception – “Can you imagine how astonished the Italians would be if they knew that what they were exporting in 1971 was actually loneliness ?”, or the final paragraph of “The Year Of The
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Oct 03, 2011
Nikzad
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This short story collection has some masterpieces (New York Mining Disaster, Man Eating Cats, etc.) along with some other nice stories. Still, one can say the collection has a uniform quality. What struck me most is the mental state of Murakami's characters. They don't much discuss their inner problems and most of them are ordinary people, but then sometime along their ultra-ordinary lives you realize their harrowing alienation. They do their jobs and have wives and children but really they are
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Sep 28, 2011
Patrick
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Haruki Murakmai's new collection of short stories, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, came out immediately in paperback from the British publishing house Harvill Secker (as far as I can tell, it hasn't been released in hardback in America yet, according to Amazon.com). The book collects various short stories that haven't appeared in English before. There are some older stories mixed in with new compositions. For example, "Firefly" was a story that eventually found its way into his breakthro
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Mar 27, 2011
Justus
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One thing I always find fascinating is that how you feel about something -- a book, a movie, music -- depends so much on where you currently are in your life. If I read a certain book when I am 15 it might be my favorite ever. If I read it when I am 22 I might think it is terrible. If I read when I am 50 I think it is sublime again. I always wonder how many books that I've hated I would love if I read them at different points in my life?
Murakami is one of my favorite authors. I've read More...
Murakami is one of my favorite authors. I've read More...
Jan 25, 2011
Fahima
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مجموعةٌ من أربعٍ وَعشرين قصّةً قصيرةً للكاتبِ اليابانيّ هاروكي موراكامي. رغم فتنةِ السردِ فيها، ما زلتُ أجرّ خطاي في الأربعِ الأخيرةِ منها. تمتازُ أحداث قصصه عن بعضها البعض لكنَّ شخوصه – في معظمها- تتقاطعُ في انشغالها بذواتها أكثر من اهتمامِها بالعالم، أو – تحرّياً للدقةِ – في التفاتِها للعالم خلال انهماكها في ذواتِها. ليسَ الانهماكَ الذي يعزلها عن الآخرين أو يقيمُ بينها وَبين محيطها حاجزاً.. لكنْ يبدو أنّها تنمو في معزلٍ عن تأثيراتِ محيطِها المباشرة، أو تظهرُ في النصِّ مكتملةً كالمخرجاتِ الأشدّ
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Jan 13, 2011
Gnoe
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Not being a fan of short stories I expected to be a little frustrated ;) Just getting into a story and then… oops! — The End. Hate that. Of course I hoped Murakami would surprise me with some enchanting writing… But I’d already read After the Quake (twice) and it didn’t impress me. Only Super-Frog Saves Tokyo lingers in my mind because it was weirdly sympathetic (or sympathetically weird).
Well, having such low expectations Murakami could hardly disappoint. And indeed, I loved Blind Wil More...
Well, having such low expectations Murakami could hardly disappoint. And indeed, I loved Blind Wil More...
Jan 06, 2011
In 2010, two relatively small events occurred. I'm not suggesting that the events are in any way related, as you may have assumed, but I'm simply noting that they did happen to occur within the same year. ... J.D. Salinger, writer and Manhattanite best known for "The Catcher in the Rye," "Franny and Zooey," and short stories published in The New Yorker, passed away. Keeping in mind all those years, that he had been somewhere in Cornish, New Hampshire, in a pink house in t
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Nov 25, 2010
Jenny
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http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2006/nov...
Murkami's stories a true treasure trove of the unexpected
By Jenny Shank, For the Camera
Sunday, November 5, 2006
When the publisher of the Harry Potter books realized adults were secretly reading the series but were ashamed to be seen reading a children's novel, they came out with more sober covers so grown-ups could enjoy them incognito. Adults captivated by Harry Potter likely were seeking to regain the sense of magic More...
Murkami's stories a true treasure trove of the unexpected
By Jenny Shank, For the Camera
Sunday, November 5, 2006
When the publisher of the Harry Potter books realized adults were secretly reading the series but were ashamed to be seen reading a children's novel, they came out with more sober covers so grown-ups could enjoy them incognito. Adults captivated by Harry Potter likely were seeking to regain the sense of magic More...
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