Name: Men Without Women
ISBN: 9781473547308

Haruki Murakami

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A dazzling new collection of short stories from the beloved, internationally acclaimed Haruki Murakami Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are vanishing cats and smoky bars, lonely hearts and mysterious women, baseball and the Beatles, woven together to tell stories that speak to us all. Marked by the same wry humor that has defined his entire body of work, in this collection Murakami has crafted another contemporary classic. ‘Supremely enjoyable, philosophical and pitch-perfect new collection of short stories...Murakami has a marvelous understanding of youth and age’ Observer ‘Murakami at his whimsical, romantic best’ Financial Times

Stories

Men Without Women

hannah 

Aren't you a little young to be, like, the voice of reason or something?

He always spoke of his women friends with great respect and affection, and took care to keep any personal information secret.

And he wasn't all that afraid of revealing his weaknesses to others –– an unusual quality. [...] It's what's on her core that attracts me so strongly. Like a powerful magnet. It's beyond logic.

(sadly), there is no such thing as love antibodies

"But maybe it would have been better if i'd experienced this while I was still young," Tokai said. "Then I would have developed love antibodies."

Falling in love is like that. You can't control your feelings, and it's like some outrageous power is manipulating you.

aditi 

“You’re right,” Kafuku said. “I guess I was happy then. But that much happiness can lead to an equal amount of pain.”

But the proposition that we can look into another person’s heart with perfect clarity strikes me as a fool’s game. I don’t care how well we think we should understand them, or how much we love them. All it can do is cause us pain. Examining your own heart, however, is another matter. I think it’s possible to see what’s in there if you work hard enough at it. So in the end maybe that’s the challenge: to look inside your own heart as perceptively and seriously as you can, and to make peace with what you find there. If we hope to truly see another person, we have to start by looking within ourselves.

Although I still prefer his novels, this is definitely among Murakami's better short story collections.

Frederik De Bosschere

It was good but, lord, why is Murakami obsessed with sex ???

Romy

i love how murakami's characters could say the quaintest thing and everyone around them just passed it off like nothing lol. 

i love 'Kino', but overall it's 3.5

enjoyed some stories better than others, but the ones i did like i loved 

geri chan 

Kendall McClain

3.5 stars
My favorite thing about these stories is the focus placed on character analysis- If you’re plot reader you probably won’t love this, but as a character girl this slayed! My downside is the similarities between characters throughout the stories (a “player” man with few friends, an unattractive women that men shockingly like (this trope of women is an issue on its own) etc.) but the depiction of relationships were very thoughtful and I’m a fan of the writing!
Fav stories- Kino & Yesterday

A dazzling new collection of short stories--the first major new work of fiction from the beloved, internationally acclaimed, Haruki Murakami since his #1 best-selling Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are vanishing cats and smoky bars, lonely hearts and mysterious women, baseball and the Beatles, woven together to tell stories that speak to us all. Marked by the same wry humor that has defined his entire body of work, in this collection Murakami has crafted another contemporary classic.

Rifqaiza Pravangesta

Enggak bisa bohong sih, seberapa pun bencinya sy dengan Murakami, sy selalu bisa suka dengan cerpen-cerpen yang ditulisnya (lebih daripada novelnya), termasuk kumcer ini. Untuk rating per cerpen;

1. Drive My Car (5*) 
2. Yesterday (4*)
3. An Independent Organ (5*)
4. Scheherazade (3*)
5. Kino (3*)
6. Samsa In Love (1*)
7. Men Without Women (1*)

Still typical Murakami, but much more thinking and contemplating. Much more realistic too, as expected from his stories, maybe that’s why they’re more compelling to me. But he is always making men as a victim lmao. And still objectifying women.

Loreng

deleted texts: 

haha, sa ganda mong 'yan wala kang boyfriend? 

bawal ka mag-shorts.

summary: sadboi literature



A dazzling new collection of short stories--the first major new work of fiction from the beloved, internationally acclaimed, Haruki Murakami since his #1 best-selling Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are vanishing cats and smoky bars, lonely hearts and mysterious women, baseball and the Beatles, woven together to tell stories that speak to us all. Marked by the same wry humor that has defined his entire body of work, in this collection Murakami has crafted another contemporary classic. From the Hardcover edition.

isabel ⋆｡°✩

remiel

As a whole, it's fair to say that 'Men Without Women' falls short of being one of Murakami's finest works. While I harbor some affection for it, given that the recognition 'Drive My Car' received at the Oscars prompted me to delve into his literary world, it failed to capture the distinctive 'Murakami Charm' that I've cherished in many of his other creations.
The short story that lends its title to the book, 'Men Without Women,' also misses the mark in bringing forth this charm. It is simply disappointing and superficial.
The true gems of the book undoubtedly lie in 'An Independent Organ,' 'Scheherazade,' and 'Kino' — the latter being the one that continues to affirm my belief in the saying, 'Murakami's books will find you when you need them the most.'

garnet

Pretty interesting stories, but I feel like all of his works sound/feel the same. Also, you can definitely tell that this is a man's writing (do what that information what you will).

Sami Uzzama

“Haruki Murakami’s Men Without Women examines what happens to characters without important women in their lives; it'll move you and confuse you and sometimes leave you with more questions than answers.” —Barack Obama Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are lovesick doctors, students, ex-boyfriends, actors, bartenders, and even Kafka’s Gregor Samsa, brought together to tell stories that speak to us all. In Men Without Women Murakami has crafted another contemporary classic, marked by the same wry humor and pathos that have defined his entire body of work.

i enjoyed this reading experience so much more than colorless tsukuru tazaki and his years of pilgrimage, i’d nearly given up on murakami entirely after that one. glad i gave this one a go 🫡 

༺ kat ༻

THE SUNDAY TIMESBESTSELLER Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are vanishing cats and smoky bars, lonely hearts and mysterious women, baseball and the Beatles, woven together to tell stories that speak to us all. Marked by the same wry humor that has defined his entire body of work, in this collection Murakami has crafted another contemporary classic

half of them were really good half of them were okay

First Murakami book down :)) overall, really enjoyed his writing style, very easy to read and very me. Although his portray of women is just not it, but expected so I was prepared. 

Fave story: men without women, loved the whole sailor and sea references and metaphors. I also enjoyed the Samsa in Love, and Kino. 

Denisse Garcia Ramírez 

First Murakami book down :)) overall, really enjoyed his writing style, very easy to read and very me. Although his portray of women is just not it, but expected so I was prepared. 

Fave story: men without women, loved the whole sailor and sea references and metaphors. I also enjoyed the Samsa in Love, and Kino. 

This book was definitely a pleasant read although I feel it didn’t reach up to its potential. The romanticizing of men without women and the varying intensity of their feels was beautifully portrayed. There weren’t any other views from men that enjoy the solace when without women. I feel it lacked diversity when it came to men who enjoy being without women.

I think my favorite story was the story about Dr. Tokai showed the painful death of oneself when left without love or when love is ripped out of your chest.

Tess 

This book was definitely a pleasant read although I feel it didn’t reach up to its potential. The romanticizing of men without women and the varying intensity of their feels was beautifully portrayed. There weren’t any other views from men that enjoy the solace when without women. I feel it lacked diversity when it came to men who enjoy being without women.

I think my favorite story was the story about Dr. Tokai showed the painful death of oneself when left without love or when love is ripped out of your chest.

Aakankaha Dwivedi

Midori Kobayashi

Whether you want to or not. But the place you return to is always slightly different from the place you left. That’s the rule. It can never be exactly the same.


Typical Murakami style with quiet rains, somber music and a tinge of the supernatural. Loved reading all seven short stories, they are all about men who have never or atleast in the present had woman in their lives and tho each story has a diff set of characters, they are all very intriguing nonetheless.

If you're already familiar with Murakami's writing and want a short reliving of that experience this a perfect book for you, or if it's gonna be your first time reading Murakami, this is a short yet very good book to get a hang of his writing style.

Stef

Satu hal yang menghubungkan cerita pendek di buku ini, semua karakter nya not ended up with women. Still my favorite story "Yesterday".

Hellboy TCR

3-3.5 stars, not his best. Some of them I have read before (Kino, Scheherazade), some like the Title story are new to me. There are lot of nice passages as usual.

Neverland ✨

Sanaa Shaltout

حبيت هذه القصة
حبيت تفاصيلها
بحب تفاصيل البنت والولد وخصوصًا البنت اللي تقعد تحكي قصص لجوزها حبيبها عشيقها صديقها جو حكاية القصص.
بحب الحاجات، وخصوصًا إني بحب أحكي أي رواية قريتها وأحولها لقصة.

القصة فيها من مستر وايت بطل مسلسل Breaking Bad
I'm not in danger, I am the danger.

جميل أنك تحكي ماضيك لحد متعرفوش، ومتتكسفش من حكاياتك، لأن اللي يعرفك هيأذيك للأسف بمعرفته.
وجميل أنك بعد فترة تكتشف إن الحاجات اللي كنت هتموت عليها كانت لها وقت صغير فترة وعدت، وفقدت شغفك بيها.

حبيت موراكامي 
<3

Kholoud Ayman

Audiobook.
 I loved all the stories especially (yesterday) and (an independent organ). 

And I can't love you more, Murakami.

Katie Chua

i give murakami a lot of shit but i liked this enough. there were a few moments that def made me roll my eyes. Men Without Women is not just the title of the collections, it's like a whole Thing that murakami decided to term sad bois and that's what all these stories touch on. sometimes i'm like, men so stupid, get over it, but other stories i found really insightful and touching so where does that leave us ... 

overall, i thought well-translated (i don't know japanese but i feel like it was very murakami-esque and also he's got great music taste. i always listen to jazz/classical after reading him)

Jocelyn Poh

my rating | 2 stars


  ”You might meet a new woman, but no matter how wonderful she may be (actually, the more wonderful she is, the more this holds true), from the instant you meet, you start thinking about losing her.”

Some beautiful prose but after a certain point of the book I wasn’t sure if I was reading Murakami or erotica...

Men Without Women Stories