* this is more like 1.5 stars.

firstly, please check trigger warnings before reading this book, the content is quite heavy.

secondly, here are the trigger warnings for this review:
mentions of sexual assault & relations between a minor and an adult

okay. this was the first Murakami book i’ve ever read and honestly, i was so disappointed. i am aware that it was written in the 80s and set in the 60s, but that is not an excuse for some of the content in this book.

the only reason i did not give this 0 stars and DNF it is because Murakami’s style of writing and certain sections of his prose were really well done.

now, this book discusses sexual assault SO CASUALLY, almost without a negative connotation whatsoever. also, the scene between Reiko and her 13 year old student (when Reiko was 31 YEARS OLD) was predatory and disgusting and when the whole town found out, they did nothing except give Reiko dirty looks. she faced no consequences except for the mental strain it put on her, rather than the actual minor????? Murakami disturbingly wrote this section really well as if it was meant to be a “spicy” scene, rather than something that is totally not okay which only made it 1000000x worse.

i also did not like any single character in this book. the way Murakami writes his female characters is misogynistic, extremely over-sexualising, and almost fetishising. this book was also SO SAD, reminding me of certain unnecessary plot points in A Little Life.

anyways, i was disappointed and i don’t think i’m ever going to read another Murakami book :)