I finally started reading this in I think November, four years after it was published. Murakami’s the only author I intentionally buy in hardcover but I can never dive right in when he puts out a new book. Part of it is that I like to completely immerse myself in the worlds he creates and I have to be in a certain headspace to do that. The other thing is, because he doesn’t publish frequently, I need to somehow make his books last. Weird but that’s what it is. Anyway the book is >500 pages, the story is unfolding slowly, and I’m loving it.

12/28/21 edit: I so enjoyed being in the world Murakami created I didn’t want to leave it. So I guess that means I loved it? The story didn’t have me at the edge of my seat but it was somehow comforting to read, like an old cozy blanket. I give it an A-

Reading this as part of an afro-socialist political education reading group. This is a topic in history I knew nothing about and I’m finding it super interesting and relevant to modern day activism.

The hype behind this book is unbelievable... and ridiculous. Even I was mildly interested in it.. Unfortunately it’s like a book of memes and Twitter posts, and it’s painfully obvious to me that it was written with the aspiration of being adapted into a movie (with Zendaya miscast as the lead, of course). If it hadn’t been this month’s book club pick I might not have finished. As it happens, I read it in about 3 days so I could get it off my plate. TRASH.