Men Without Women: Stories (Vintage International) Paperback – Unabridged, 1 May 2018

Excellent book, compelling short stories

I am already a huge Murakami fan and I always grab his books as soon as they are released in English and ‘Men Without Women’ was no exception. I am not a fan of short stories as a rule but I do enjoy Murakami’s ones, although not as much as I generally enjoy one of his full novels.I believe that all of these stories have been previously published in the New Yorker and are still available to read for free online. I read this book on my Kindle and the first thing I noticed was that the lengths of the stories are very different, this left me slightly disorientated as I was never sure when any of the stories were going to end but I think that is one of the things I don’t like about short stories in general.'Drive my car' begins the collection in a good way, I really enjoyed this story. It's a simple, classic and easy Murakami read and a really great way to get back into his style and go into the flow of the rest of the book.We then move into 'Yesterday', which I also found a light and pleasant read.‘Sheherazade' is the next story and I liked this one too, it was dreamy and wistful and softer than some of the other stories in the book.‘An Independent Organ ' followed a bachelor who fell in love with a married woman who then broke his heart, although this was written in the Murakami style, it felt a bit more ordinary and didn’t really grab my attention.The next story is 'Kino', which a lot of people feel is the strongest story in the book. I did enjoy it but it was not my favourite.My favourite story was next: 'Gregor Samsa in love'. This is an interesting tale, and a bit of a twist on the old Kafka story. I think I liked it as it reminded me of Murakami’s older pieces of writing, style and characters.The last story is the title story, this one kind of passed me by, it didn’t seem to have real purpose for me but it did close off the book nicely.Overall, it was unmistakably Murakami’s style and I enjoyed being back into his world. I didn’t love this collection as much as his ‘Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman’ collection but these were still a pleasant read although I am really looking forward to his next novel more as I much prefer those.

I'm a huge Murakami fan. Only discovered his magical world about five years ago but have lapped up his back catalogue with glee. His short story collections are usually full of the weird and wonderful but on this occasion he delves into the male psyche in all its forms. Being a middle aged man I can relate to much of the observations found in these stories. The final title track story ['Men Without Women'] was particularly significant for me. Yes, life is tough, complicated and never straight forward and we need to accept that, move on with the hope of brighter days in our sails. People change. Yet as Murakami points out the wine stain of hurt never really fades.

After reading several of his books, we realise the writing is great but the theme's are very similar, with their depressed characters, all obsessed with classical music. Definitely readable, but it does wear you down and often brings you down with dark colours of monotony and even suicide that always seem to show through.

Typical Murakami style: simple to read, can be read quickly, can provoke conversation / analysis, and quite allegorical in parts. Very enjoyable.

He's so perceptive and his prose style is magnificent. He does middle aged men, love, loss and loneliness very well indeed! About the only story I wasn't keen on was Samsa in love, although it's an amazing piece of work, the whole Kafka metamorphosis motif thing just isn't my cup of tea, but lots of Murakami's fans will absolutely love it no doubt. As ever his use of metaphors is stark, crystal clear, meaningful and never cliched. How does he do it and make it all seem so effortless. He's a writer who really makes you ponder, reflect and think. Is he Japan's answer to the late lamented and superlative William Trevor? Very highly recommended.

This book took my breath away. I have recently discovered Murakami and have acquired most of his books with an intention to binge on them. This book so far has been my favourite. 7 Broken Stories of Men without Women. In an ode to Hemmingway, Murukami has achieved for me, what Hemmingway couldn't. An everyday person, With an Everyday routine..sensually mundane. His seductive style with minimalist approach to people has achieved an amazing anthology of stories where each character continues growing in depth long after you have finished the story. Each one as simple as the next one complicated, but the author does not patronise the reader by colouring that character within a definitive boundary. These characters are mine to interpret,develop a relationship with and interact with. They are my life..infact they could indeed be me.

I bought this book on a whim after a friend said they liked this author. They named a different book, but the title of this one stood out to me. I'm glad I chanced it with this one instead(After Dark is the book I was recommended to read). I've only finished two of the seven stories(the first and the last), but they both have had a poignant effect as they reveal a little something about the nature of a man's grief over the woman who left his life for whatever reason. Powerful stuff.I just wish I was capable of reading Japanese so I could enjoy the true beauty of Murakami's poetic writing style.

Murakami te lleva a través de sus historias a la reflexión. Excelente.

tip top

almost every story was amazing.

It would be nice if this novel were written ironically- some sort of gag. If someone were trying to nail the perspective of a guy who has zero social intelligence, has never interacted with women outside of formal or forced situations then this would hit the bulls eye. Unfortunately this is not the case and this fantasy of a world where women exist solely as an object for mens pleasure is not funny.There was not one social interaction between a man and a woman in this book that did not ooze the stink of forced sex. And while not all interplay between man and woman led to sex, all had some sleazy commentary in that direction. Not to mention that all these interactions that were unlikely to happen become right incredible when sex is (always) forced in the picture.Good writing shows, does not tell- this collection of short stories is all telling and no showing. Nothing happens naturally in any of those stories, although the course of events is mostly described as such. A lot of forced commentary that is there simply to show the narrators medieval values makes this a drag to read.I could get over all this if these stories were at least well written.I would also like to think that this book was translated by two men because no woman would agree to put her name on it. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.