JLC #19 - Book Review - Men without Women

 Some light bedtime reading??  Murakami “Men without women”. 

“stories of loneliness, of men struggling in a world, forced to live their lives for whatever reason without women”.  Review

 In the last short story of the book, I found what appears to be the punch line for me

 Suddenly one day you become Men without Women. That days comes to you completely out of the blue, without the faintest of warnings or hunts beforehand.

Murakami goes on to day “only Men without Women can comprehend how painful, how heartbreaking, it is to become one. You loose that wonderful west wind….

 I’ve been reading the short stories as my commitment to the Japanese Literature Challenge #19. Each one of the 6 short stories comes from the perspective of a man, in different iterations of a mans life and life stage.  I think only 2 of the stories were a little too bizarre for me to see the point, but still, Murakami does write with some magic.. and I keep on reading.  Murakami writes about men who have slept with other mens wives, or other men who have slept with the main character’s wife, and mostly I think women who die. One of the stories is of a man who lives with a disability, and the women in his life are paid carers who also sleep with him, but also bring companionship to his housebound life. In another story, a well to do cosmetic surgeon, with a womanising reputation, ends up starving himself to death over a women he accidentally fell in love with… dramatic ending!!

But I think the take-away for me, is just how men (in Murakami's writings), see women as an integral part of their life journey, playing a variety of roles…  

I ponder, on this International Women’s Day, March 8, my reflections on this book of stories… perhaps dark, moody, and narrowly focused on a particular aspect of men's relationship with women.

 

The front cover of my hard copy depicts a black background with perhaps raindrops or tears.  Seems a fitting visual reference to the sadness this book conjures..

JLC #19 - Book Review - Hunchback

 

I'm still experimenting what what my type of book is... so this recommendation, among other references to this author, made me pick up this copy. 

A literary phenomenon in Japan, Hunchback is an extraordinary and thrilling debut novel about sex, disability and power

 Further more, Ichikawa is the first author with a physical disability to receive the Akutagawa Prize, Japan’s premier literary award. She has congenital myopathy, and uses a ventilator and an electric wheelchair. (ref). In 2025 she was also long listed for the international Booker Prize.

It was definitely something new for me, but so easy to read and get into the space and story, I completed it in 3 reading sittings.. Some reviews referred to it as 'hilarious' or 'up-roaringly funny', but to be honest I must have missed that thread. She does however let us in on her view of life with a disability that is quite provocative, and intense. 

I have delayed writing this review while I was processing my take on the book - but what I've come up with is - you need to be brave enough to be questioned when you take on this read. She does provoke the reader to consider what's acceptable or even possible, for someone who lives with a disability to think or do. In her book, Saou, lets us get to know her as a survivor, a resilient and persistent individual, and someone who doesn't what to waste he capacity to live and experience life as she sees it. 

There are a couple of scenarios explored in this short book which provoke the reader to question

• Wow, is this something happening in my city/ state or place? 
• I'm not sure that happens in real life? 
• is that even ethical? 
• Would this happen to an able bodied individual? 

For me, I want to join the author in celebrating the experience we have in our daily life, the hard ones and the joy-filled ones... We are all able to experience things, interpret those events, and choose more of less of them... that's the pleasure of learning to be who we are. 

Be brave, be curious - check out this author and her view on life.