Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami
Dance Dance Dance is a novel by Haruki Murakami that explores the themes of gender, sexuality, loss, and abandonment. The story follows an unnamed male protagonist who is searching for his mysteriously vanished girlfriend. As he delves deeper into his search, he encounters call girls, becomes a chaperone to a teenage psychic, and receives cryptic instructions from a shabby but oracular Sheep Man.
The novel deals with the connectedness of life and the ultimate discovery of human connection. It explores the alienation of modern society and the absurdity of technology. The main character experiences loss and abandonment, which causes him to become numb to the world around him. However, through his journey, he learns to pick up the threads of lost connections and find himself again.
What I Liked
I really don’t know – I’ve read every book that Murakami has written and I still can’t put my finger on why. There’s something – it’s a weird mix of setting, character, and something that draws me to read all of his books. Same with this one. It’s brilliant, but strange – and this one stranger than most. It gets into bizzaro-world, but it’s so well written.
What I Did Not Like
Ok. Murakami is weird. Like really, really weird. I don’t think I can recommend any of his books to anyone. So, I don’t like that. But I also don’t think he can be any less weird without losing some of his books’ magic (they do a lot of magical realism anyway).
- The novel explores deep themes like gender, sexuality, loss, and abandonment.
- The writing is brilliant and draws me in despite its strangeness.
- It effectively addresses the alienation of modern society and the importance of human connection.
- Murakami's weirdness makes it difficult to recommend his books to others.
- There's a strong element of strangeness that may not appeal to everyone.
- I can't pinpoint exactly what makes his work compelling.
