⭐⭐
date started: 3/9/2022
date finished: 3/18/2022
duration: 13:21
genre: contemporary
from: mpl
reason: murakami, duh
Toru begins to write the story of him and Naoko. There is a well (of course) but it never appears again except for at the beginning. He goes to college and runs into Naoko (a friend from home). There is still the ear obsession but it isn't as prevalent in this one. She moves and he sends letters but gets no reply. Finally she responds and says she is moving to a sanitorium and doesn't want to see him. He meets Midori (which stands for green and her sister, I believe is yellow). She disappears. He gets a long letter from Naoko asking him to visit her at the sanitorium. He goes to see her and they sort through some stuff. I never trusted her roommate. He continues to run into Midori. Eventually Naoko hangs herself.
This was a HUGE disappointment. This was nothing but whiney angst. I get that it focuses on mental illness but the characters for the most part are extremely unlikable (especially the narrator Toru and Midori). I liked Naoko and that is about it. She seemed to be the only truly honest one. There was no magical realism. Nothing like the other Murakami I've read. If this had been the first Murakami I read, I would not have continued reading him.
However, the writing is still beautiful. That is the only reason I gave it two stars.
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