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A review by remlezar
Pinball, 1973 by Haruki Murakami
4.0
2021 reread:
Been thinking about this book a lot lately and decided it was time for a revisit.
Some of the flaws were more glaring and obnoxious to me this time around - especially Murakami's horrible handing of female characters. If you think his new stuff is bad in this regard, wait until you read this one.
I also felt like his signature lean but beautiful prose wasn't quite there yet, although you do see hints of it.
HOWEVER. I enjoyed the story of The Rat more this go around. His loneliness and existential dread feel all-too-relatable in 2021. I remember thinking the character was supposed to be kind of pathetic and sad, but now it just feels sad.
The climax of the book is still also exquisite. Looking at my original review, I called it "strange and haunting and wonderful," and I don't think I have much more to add to those thoughts.
***
Original review from 2018:
After getting somewhat into Dance Dance Dance (#4 in the "Rat" series), I paused and decided to go ahead and commit to reading the entire loosely related saga. While I enjoyed Hear the Wind Sing, the first book in the series, mostly in a "cool to see where Murakami started" kind of way, I found Pinball, 1973 as striking and hypnotic and brilliant as his later work.
Like much of his writing, Pinball is mostly a work of meandering character study, but if you're willing to get on that slow moving train and enjoy the scenery, there is plenty of beauty to enjoy here.
The climax, if you can call it that, was so strange and haunting and wonderful, I have a feeling I'm going to be thinking about that moment for quite some time. This is a short book and can be read with or without reading the preceding novel. With that in mind, it's incredibly easy to recommend for someone in the mood for something a little different. I don't think this kind of writing is for everyone, but I do think everyone should give it a try to see if they find anything that speaks to them.
I mean, damn. And this is his second book??
Been thinking about this book a lot lately and decided it was time for a revisit.
Some of the flaws were more glaring and obnoxious to me this time around - especially Murakami's horrible handing of female characters. If you think his new stuff is bad in this regard, wait until you read this one.
I also felt like his signature lean but beautiful prose wasn't quite there yet, although you do see hints of it.
HOWEVER. I enjoyed the story of The Rat more this go around. His loneliness and existential dread feel all-too-relatable in 2021. I remember thinking the character was supposed to be kind of pathetic and sad, but now it just feels sad.
The climax of the book is still also exquisite. Looking at my original review, I called it "strange and haunting and wonderful," and I don't think I have much more to add to those thoughts.
***
Original review from 2018:
"I'm off to play pinball. I don't know the location."
"Pinball?"
"You got it, batting balls with flippers."
"I know what pinball is. But really, why?"
"There are - how do you say - things in this world our philosophy cannot account for."
After getting somewhat into Dance Dance Dance (#4 in the "Rat" series), I paused and decided to go ahead and commit to reading the entire loosely related saga. While I enjoyed Hear the Wind Sing, the first book in the series, mostly in a "cool to see where Murakami started" kind of way, I found Pinball, 1973 as striking and hypnotic and brilliant as his later work.
Like much of his writing, Pinball is mostly a work of meandering character study, but if you're willing to get on that slow moving train and enjoy the scenery, there is plenty of beauty to enjoy here.
The climax, if you can call it that, was so strange and haunting and wonderful, I have a feeling I'm going to be thinking about that moment for quite some time. This is a short book and can be read with or without reading the preceding novel. With that in mind, it's incredibly easy to recommend for someone in the mood for something a little different. I don't think this kind of writing is for everyone, but I do think everyone should give it a try to see if they find anything that speaks to them.
"We fell silent again. The thing we had shared was nothing more than a fragment of time that had died long ago. Even so, a faint glimmer of that warm memory still claimed a part of my heart. And when death claimed me, no doubt I would walk along by that faint light in the brief instant before being flung once again into the abyss of nothingness."
I mean, damn. And this is his second book??