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..
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