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

I have read one of murakami ‘s books before but I particularly liked this one. They are all short stories, very unusual ones, more close to real life feel about them. The last of the stories in the book titled “men without women “ stayed with me for a long time and I kept going back to it in my head thinking about the characters in the story. Worth a read

Well written, hits you in the right places. Although it gets a bit boring and dark toward the end, but may be that pain resonates with some.

This book is a collection of short stories of men dealing with absence of women, betrayal, or deep Emotions towards women.This is a Unqiue novel; one which you don't read quite often; nor the emotions, instances, the relationships that are described are not the ideal-next-door-common ones.Murakami writes so intricately about these men who suffer, thrive, long for the presence, touch and involvement of women who are so varied, & his writing is what kept me reading the book.This book has a very acquiescent. I felt like my interest towards the short stories could be portrayed graphically; like it had its high peaks and lows. Sometimes it was bland and moderate. But tis book just didn't catch my attention; like grab me , divulge and did not keep me hooked which I really appreciate about 'Murakami' and his book.

that Morakami dude is something else. His stories are not bound by literary parameter. It breaks rule and peeks at the just art of story telling. This book is all about the situation and just notion of that moment. A character and rest thing are given less consideration. Which i enjoyed alot. It was like I was myself in every story and a part of me was among the stories. Stories with no definite beginning or end for that matter.I would recommend it to those who would like to entertain themself with new kind of writing. not new but different to be precise. I guesscheerz

A good collection of some fine stories about Men truly without Women. Few like ‘Drive My Car’, ‘Scheherazade’ or ‘Yesterday’ carry the trademark Murakami open endings. A couple, like ‘The Independent Organ’ or ‘Kino’ almost have resolved endings though there is always some room for interpreting the climaxes in more than one way in a Murakami story.The Men in these stories come across as pallid and depressed because they are deprived of a deep involvement with their women. Only in ‘Samsa in Love’ where - when outside Prague was being marauded by Germans - the protagonist (who just metamorphosed into Gregor Samsa) finds hope in the hunchbacked woman with a sharp tongue; in all other stories, the men suffer in a soulless desolation with the loss or lack of women. How incomplete man is in this state and in what different senses he depends on them for meaningful existence is splendidly displayed in each story.For the Murakami fans the treats are there all along: Jazz, whiskey, expensive wines, running, cats, hat tips to Beatles, Kafka to name a few. Magical realism is represented but the stories are more hinged than Murakami’s typical writing. As we go along the book the stories transform from superficially mundane to deeply Existential ones, the last one ‘Men without Women’ being practically abstract.The best part of the book, other than the superb way in which he unravels the minds of his characters, is the writing. The pacing of the stories is so splendidly measured one doesn’t have to pause to think, but can ruminate as one goes along. Of course, there are mystical gems which one would read and retread (“Maybe working on the little things as dutifully and honestly as we can is how we stay sane when the world is falling apart.” - Samsa in Love).Personally the only reservation I have about Murakami’s writing is the reams of third party narration. Entire characters and stories are presented in staid tones. In some instances this renders some stories less evocative. The most striking example for me was ‘The Independent Organ’. For some it may look like a drab narrative about the life of a boring man: such is the monotony of narrative. Whereas layered under this simple narrative is an enquiry of existence, meaning of life and the philosophical question of suicide, their import would have certainly been amplified had there been more drama. But then, to allow you to take as much as you can from each story is perhaps the quintessential a Murakami!Happy reading!!

The writer’s observations are very true to life . For me it was a lesson to understand women, sex and the mind of young generation.

Yet another thematic Murakami short story collection similar to After the Quake. For Murakami fans like me we already know what is in store. A protagonist dealing with loss and loneliness, some jazz and tiny bits of magical serialism as one would expect from Murakami. Thankfully no cats though.As I am eagerly waiting for Murakami’s latest fiction ‘Killing Commendatore’ in English I thoroughly enjoyed this short story collection. Two short stories ‘Drive My Car’ and ‘An Independent Organ’ stood out for me.For someone new to Murakami I wouldn’t suggest to start reading Murakami with this book. Reason being you would not be able to truly appreciate the author. Sputnik Sweetheart or Norwegian Wood is where you should start Murakami. Then go to his short story collections such as this one, After the Quake and Elephant Vanishes. If you enjoyed these then you venture into the ‘Rat’ series and finally the dark world of Murakami with Wind up Bird Chronical, Kafka on the Shore, and finally 1Q84.

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.

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Excellent book, compelling short stories

almost every story was amazing.