Los Años De Peregrinación Del Chico Sin Color (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
I loved this book. For me, reading Murakami isn't so much a pleasurable read as a transformative read -- after reading one of his books I always feel a little bit different. This one was every bit as difficult and engaging as other books but was more grounded. It still had that ethereal, dreamy strangeness, but this one was more tempered and didn't drift off into the super strange like many of his other books. This main character, Tsukuru Tazaki, might well be one of the most engaging characters I've come across in a long time. I really liked The Wind Up Bird Chronicles, and I absolutely loved 1Q84, but this story just left me with a feeling of unfinished business. It was an interesting read that really pulled me in with its existential questions and mystery, but eventually I sort of grew bored with the story, and was dissatisfied with the open-ended ending. Now don't get me wrong, I understand that Murakami is huge on unanswered questions and the use of the narrative to bring themes and ideas to light rather than linear plot points, and I'm all for that, but in this particular case, it felt more like the story ran out of steam before it was complete, and the main character was so weak and non-confrontational it got on my nerves. The fact that his literal final act in the story (sort of a SPOILER, but not really) is to agree once again to put off getting the answers he needs in order to move forward in his life (as opposed to what I assume was supposed to represent a maturing and new-found patience) really left me cold. If you ask me, he was far too patient to begin with, so his evolution didn't exactly thrill or intrigue me. So, meh... it's a very well-written story with a lot of enticing threads dangled in front of you that ultimately peter out to an unsatisfying ending.
What do You think about Los Años De Peregrinación Del Chico Sin Color (2013)?
Great read but the ending was abrupt and left much to be desired. Meh.
—tsdj
Typical Murakami, but slightly less strange...
—ebookman
