Book Review: Men Without Women is my first book of Murakami short stories. I've read all but one of his novels (curse you 1Q84!), but I've read no other short stories so I can make no comparisons. For the most part, these stories don't wander into the fantastic and weird neighborhoods characteristic of many of his novels, and may be attractive to more readers as a result. Few of these stories have the idiosyncrasies that torment Murakami's novels. The book also isn't quite what the title promises. These are stories of isolated men and their involvement with women, all flawed more or less. The stories: a widower pondering his unfaithful wife; a most unexpected love triangle; a Casanova's rage at falling in love; a (distant and different) variation on Scheherazade; a man who doesn't dare face that he can't address his wife's betrayal; a homage to Kafka as only Murakami might do it; and a man's memories of a former lover after her suicide. Each of the seven stories in Men Without Women is written with Murakami's usual unique imagination, masterful language, and magnificent story-telling skills. Yet none are quite what might be expected from those brief descriptions. "Kino" was my favorite, "An Independent Organ" my least favorite, but all ignited thoughts and prompted worthwhile re-readings. There are more layers of this ogre than it may first appear. I need to mention the cover of Men Without Women, designed by Murakami's longtime designer, Chip Kidd. As you can see it's a silhouette of a man, missing a jigsaw puzzle piece. I just wondered what Kidd was thinking. Is the man without a woman, and so missing a part of himself? Or is the man missing something inside that frustrates his desire to connect with women? The same questions haunt these stories. [4★]
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