I wondered if that beetle had a nest to go back to. ( )Ī hard-shelled insect was knocked off the trunk of a poplar by the wind-blown rain upside down in flowing water, it tried to swim. This book just wasn't for me but I can appreciate some of the merit within it and I just wouldn't feel right giving it 1/5 and for this reason I give it 2/5. I can't say that I enjoyed the book but I was left feeling as though I had just come out of haze of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll and if that was Murakami's aim, then mission accomplished. The chaos kind of works and i assume being left feeling disorientated is the point. I was left feeling disappointed once I had finished as I had built the book up to be something which it is not. The writing is a chaotic mess and it was a book I really had to concentrate on just to get a grasp of what was going on. Burroughs and ended up getting something more akin to Bret Easton Ellis (who's books I hate). I guess I was hoping for something more along the lines of Junky by William S.

I don't think I have read anything so graphic since I read Justine by Marquis de Sade. I think it would be wise to warn any potential readers that there is constant drug use, group sex (gay, straight, you name it, even including with a foot) and violence throughout the book.

I guess I should say that, number one - this book has no plot, and number two - it is very graphic. I don't even know where to start with this review having finished the book, my head is swimming and I feel partially stunned and numb. Eventually this got too much and I decided that it would be my next book come what may. I reached this odd state of mind where I wanted to read it but I didn't want it to be read yet (if that makes any sense). Fortunately a relative saw it on my wishlist about a year or so ago and bought it for me and it has been teasing me ever since. It also turns out that this book can be pretty hard to find for what I would regard as a reasonable price. The synopsis intrigued me as I like books with a bit of an edge and books about the fringes of society. I am not sure where I first hear about it, but I suspect it's from a list of cult books or novellas that you 'must read'.

This short novella (126 pages) has been floating around the book reading part of my head for a few years.

Title by Ryū Murakami