"It's true though: time moves in it's own special way in the middle of the night "The new day is almost here, but the old one is still dragging its heavy skirts" a book for sleepless nights allowing you to get a glimpse into the lives of people over the course of a single night

I always expect a life-changing message from Murakami, but it's the little things. I always expect too much and in the end I am disappointed. But this book was kinda good. I especially liked Marie and Takahashi, who have become more and more important to me throughout the story, although at the beginning I found them annoying and in my opinion the two didn't harmonized. But in the end I loved them so much! Murakami's writing style was as wonderful as ever. It was partly meditating to read these words 😂 The story was as known from Murakami crazy and scary but also exciting at the same time. Nevertheless, it gets "only" three stars because it was simply nothing mind blowing. It had a message, but nothing very profound. (Or I'm too stupid to notice any deeper meaning. LOL)

Honestly, I do not know what I just read. Maybe I am not big-brained enough and - since this is my first Murakami - I don't understand it "the right way", but this book was a trip in every way. Firstly, the narrator is "us" ("we") and it felt like being a camera in George Orwell´s 1984 (who is actually mentioned in the first chapter). Weirdly humanoid but at the same time like an all-knowing observer. Then there are these weird short moments of reflection of ones self that stay in the mirrors (creepy, but okay). Further it seems that one of the MMC seems to know a lot about one of the FMC he could not possibly know, kinda stalkerish. And lastly there is Eri, who is a complete mystery to me. She is "just asleep"? What the hell is going on with that TV and her? And at the very end: I now get why many say that Murakami has a strange way of describing women. They seem almost 2D compared to male characters and are often reduced to their body and how pretty they are. Maybe I should watch some reviews on YouTube on this book to understand what I just read ...

2.5/5 Honestly, I do not know what I just read. Maybe I am not big-brained enough and - since this is my first Murakami - I don't understand it "the right way", but this book was a trip in every way. Firstly, the narrator is "us" ("we") and it felt like being a camera in George Orwell´s 1984 (who is actually mentioned in the first chapter). Weirdly humanoid but at the same time like an all-knowing observer. Then there are these weird short moments of reflection of ones self that stay in the mirrors (creepy, but okay). Further it seems that one of the MMC seems to know a lot about one of the FMC he could not possibly know, kinda stalkerish. And lastly there is Eri, who is a complete mystery to me. She is "just asleep"? What the hell is going on with that TV and her? And at the very end: I now get why many say that Murakami has a strange way of describing women. They seem almost 2D compared to male characters and are often reduced to their body and how pretty they are. Maybe I should watch some reviews on YouTube on this book to understand what I just read ...