^(E) Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

Most of the stories are really interesting and Marukami's style is always captivating. The only disappointment was the last story where a key protagonist is a monkey that actually talks to humans- I thought this story was a bit silly and frankly it seemed like the author did not know how to finish the story so came up with a wacky storyline to fill the void. This book is not as good as his last book 'Men without women' - hence 4 stars.

Some of the other reviews here are spot on. Murakami has written a highly impressive collection of novels and short stories, but Blind Woman... isn't one of them. The reviewer who said they're 'thin' is right; there is very little substance to these stories and none of them even exhibit Murakami's usual themes and trademark genius touches. A couple of the stories hint at his (usual) greatness, but many of the stories left me wondering what the point was. I can't blame the translation as both translators of this book have a long history of working with Murakami and have done an exemplary job in the past. Basically, it seems as if Murakami couldn't be bothered. The only book of his I've yet to read is the latest novel; I was put off buying this due to the poor reviews of it on Amazon. Hopefully Murakami will regain his skills. I truly hope that this isn't the end of his stunning, atmospheric and superbly crafted fiction. That would be a huge loss of a great talent.

The flow. The flow of this book is so charming, kudos to the translator for that too. Haruki Murakami is one awesome author and it is a pity that only ardent readers know about this great person. This is a great buy. I would have given spoilers here, but oh well, don't want to get some curses from a few readers here.

I am reserving my comments for the book as I personally did not seem to hook up. Maybe, I do not share the similarity with many others.The book has been delivered in perfect condition with no issues whatsoever. As the norm goes, it has also been gifted with a bookmark. Till date, buying books on Amazon did not disappoint me.

The worst packaging and binding of a book ever.Shipped only in the Amazon Plastic cover, hence torn corners, thin jacket cover with black ink smudged on it, poor quality of paper, small fonts not reader friendly at all :/And the sad part is am not able to return it, only option is of replacement!!!!