Will I read Murakami's books again?

I've read Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Men without Women, First Person Singular, and The Strange Library.

If there's one book I regret reading, it's Norwegian Wood. I was curious about the title, and it is quite famous, so I picked it up. If I had known what I know now, I would have never read. That book is so depressing.

But boy! Was I excited to find cats carried mysterious significance in his writing, like in Kafka on the Shore? Oh yes! The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle took me to strange wells and shadow worlds. That was something. And The Strange Library was quite interesting.

But that's all. I don't think I'm going to read another Murakami book. I have my reason.

After reading a few of his books, I started to see a pattern that I did not like: his female characters. If you've read his books, you may know what I'm talking about. I get it; his protagonists are solitary, introspective men, flawed, lonely, and even emotionally stunted. Their perceptions of women are filtered through their own desires and limited understanding. That is probably the reason the women in his books are the way they are, which is not so interesting or compelling to me. I am just more interested in other literature, feminist literature where women have a voice of their own, have depth, and inspire, etc. So, I'm moving on.

(⊙_◎)

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