First Person Singular: Stories
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- Create Date：2021-04-22 11:52:05
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Haruki Murakami
- ISBN：0593396545
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Summary
"Some novelists hold a mirror up to the world and some， like Haruki Murakami， use the mirror as a portal to a universe hidden beyond it。" --The Wall Street Journal
A mind-bending new collection of short stories from the internationally acclaimed Haruki Murakami。
The eight stories in this new book are all told in the first person by a classic Murakami narrator。 From memories of youth， meditations on music， and an ardent love of baseball， to dreamlike scenarios and invented jazz albums， together these stories challenge the boundaries between our minds and the exterior world。 Occasionally， a narrator may or may not be Murakami himself。 Is it memoir or fiction？ The reader decides。
Philosophical and mysterious， the stories in First Person Singular all touch beautifully on love and solitude， childhood and memory。 。 。 all with a signature Murakami twist。
A mind-bending new collection of short stories from the internationally acclaimed Haruki Murakami。
The eight stories in this new book are all told in the first person by a classic Murakami narrator。 From memories of youth， meditations on music， and an ardent love of baseball， to dreamlike scenarios and invented jazz albums， together these stories challenge the boundaries between our minds and the exterior world。 Occasionally， a narrator may or may not be Murakami himself。 Is it memoir or fiction？ The reader decides。
Philosophical and mysterious， the stories in First Person Singular all touch beautifully on love and solitude， childhood and memory。 。 。 all with a signature Murakami twist。
Reviews
Lyssa Dueker
，
This feels like a miss。 I'm a big Murakami fan and I'm used to his style but this was lacking his usual luster。 His take on women in this book is almost too hard to read， it's so superficial and rude from story to story。 This feels like a miss。 I'm a big Murakami fan and I'm used to his style but this was lacking his usual luster。 His take on women in this book is almost too hard to read， it's so superficial and rude from story to story。 。。。more
Gerry O'Malley
，
Reading Murakami is like eating fast food - I know it's not good for me， I know I won't be a better person for reading it， but sometimes I just can't resist。 This collection is like a tasty， greasy fast food burger and fries。 You eat （read） it quickly， enjoy it， and try not to think about what you are doing。 These eight stories go down quickly and enjoyably but aren't nutritious or complex。 Compare these stories to something by Kenzaburo Oe （probably the high bar for Japanese novelists， in my op Reading Murakami is like eating fast food - I know it's not good for me， I know I won't be a better person for reading it， but sometimes I just can't resist。 This collection is like a tasty， greasy fast food burger and fries。 You eat （read） it quickly， enjoy it， and try not to think about what you are doing。 These eight stories go down quickly and enjoyably but aren't nutritious or complex。 Compare these stories to something by Kenzaburo Oe （probably the high bar for Japanese novelists， in my opinion） or even one of the important contemporary Japanese fiction writers like Kazuo Ishiguro or even Ryu Murakami or Banana Yoshimoto or Yoko Ogowa and you come away with a sense of being manipulated by a masterful operator。 There is nothing new here - if you've read anything by Murakami before， there is nothing here that you haven't read before。 In fact， four of the eight stories have been previously published and， being a subscriber to The New Yorker， I've read all of them。 I feel a little gypped in that I've already read half this book。 Still - if this is your first exposure to Murakami， you will absolutely enjoy it。 Just like you would enjoy a Big Mac， had you'd never eaten one before。 。。。more
Steve Essick
，
To all the people in my KARASS， all I have to say is “ nice， nice， very nice “。
Nilu
，
This latest short story collection by Murakami is mostly a hit or miss affair。Out of the eight stories ， I loved one， liked two more and felt meh about the rest。However ， I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the music and artists included in each story。If you’re a music aficionado ， especially jazz and classical music you’d understand what I’m saying by checking out some of the titles。Recommended to Murakami fans。 This is not his best work， but even his mediocre efforts are commendable。 If he was a This latest short story collection by Murakami is mostly a hit or miss affair。Out of the eight stories ， I loved one， liked two more and felt meh about the rest。However ， I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the music and artists included in each story。If you’re a music aficionado ， especially jazz and classical music you’d understand what I’m saying by checking out some of the titles。Recommended to Murakami fans。 This is not his best work， but even his mediocre efforts are commendable。 If he was a student and this book was one of his assignments， he’d get a B + ！ 。。。more
Dimka
，
Great stories， and the set is a good overall representation of his various book types
Simcha
，
Having recently traveled from Marquez's Macondo， it was a delight to enter into Murakami's own brand of magical realism。 My first foray into the works of Murakami， I wasn't sure what to expect。 Knowing from other reviews that this piece was not representative of the prolific author， I was still pleasantly surprised by his artistic range over just a handful of stories。 Some stories， such as Cream， stay with you because it's the type of absurdity that conjures up strange feelings of deja vu。 Like Having recently traveled from Marquez's Macondo， it was a delight to enter into Murakami's own brand of magical realism。 My first foray into the works of Murakami， I wasn't sure what to expect。 Knowing from other reviews that this piece was not representative of the prolific author， I was still pleasantly surprised by his artistic range over just a handful of stories。 Some stories， such as Cream， stay with you because it's the type of absurdity that conjures up strange feelings of deja vu。 Like in the Charlie Parker piece when Murakami insists， "Because it happened。 It really did。" Other stories， like the Confessions of a Shinagawa Money， are flat out disturbing。 I haven't decided if that's a good thing or not。 A couple of the stories were drab and a sludge to get through， hence the 4 stars。 I did think it was a funny moment when the narrator in the short story First Person Singular struggled with getting through a book while sitting at the bar。 It was like a witty moment of self-reflection without breaking the 4th wall。 I look forward to grabbing one of his more renowned works next！ 。。。more
Susanne
，
It seems Murakami has just decided to embrace his reputation for awful depictions of women; they're nothing more than supporting actors， always faceless and nameless， never fully human。 The monkey is a more fleshed out character than any of the women in these stories。I did like a couple of the stories， but overall the collection feels like inconsequential musings of an older man， which sadly makes for a rather boring read。 It seems Murakami has just decided to embrace his reputation for awful depictions of women; they're nothing more than supporting actors， always faceless and nameless， never fully human。 The monkey is a more fleshed out character than any of the women in these stories。I did like a couple of the stories， but overall the collection feels like inconsequential musings of an older man， which sadly makes for a rather boring read。 。。。more
Malka
，
First， I have a fondness for this book just for being the first book I have finished in such a long time， not to mention consistently as part of a daily routine。None of the stories wowed me， but they bring the comfort of Murakami’s skill and craft。 It is a comfortable book。 It is smooth with a splash of eccentricity。
Jeroen Jansen
，
Ik had één keer eerder een bundel korte verhalen van Murakami gelezen， Kangoeroecorrespondentie om precies te zijn， en had daarvan genoten。 Dat lukte me bij deze bundel een stuk minder。 In een deel ervan zaten wel kleine vondsten die me aanspraken， of grappige gebeurtenissen， maar ik vond ze op één of andere manier erg gelijkvormig。 Veel toeval， veel hoofdpersonen die van klassieke muziek weten， veel vrouwen/meisjes die vooral als decor dienen， maar weinig échte verrassing en geen spanningsbogen Ik had één keer eerder een bundel korte verhalen van Murakami gelezen， Kangoeroecorrespondentie om precies te zijn， en had daarvan genoten。 Dat lukte me bij deze bundel een stuk minder。 In een deel ervan zaten wel kleine vondsten die me aanspraken， of grappige gebeurtenissen， maar ik vond ze op één of andere manier erg gelijkvormig。 Veel toeval， veel hoofdpersonen die van klassieke muziek weten， veel vrouwen/meisjes die vooral als decor dienen， maar weinig échte verrassing en geen spanningsbogen。 De volgende Murakami wordt weer een roman。 。。。more
Lili Kim
，
Didn’t really understand the endings of some stories but perhaps that was on purpose？Notable lines:“‘All of us， more or less， wear masks。 Because without masks we can’t survive in this violent world。 Beneath an evil-spirit mask lies the natural face of an angel， beneath an angel’s mask lies the face of an evil spirit。 It’s impossible to have just one or the other。 That’s who we are 。 。 。 he himself was a deeply divided soul， a person who lived in the stifling gap in between the two。’”“Of course， Didn’t really understand the endings of some stories but perhaps that was on purpose？Notable lines:“‘All of us， more or less， wear masks。 Because without masks we can’t survive in this violent world。 Beneath an evil-spirit mask lies the natural face of an angel， beneath an angel’s mask lies the face of an evil spirit。 It’s impossible to have just one or the other。 That’s who we are 。 。 。 he himself was a deeply divided soul， a person who lived in the stifling gap in between the two。’”“Of course， winning is much better than losing。 No argument there。 But winning or losing doesn’t affect the weight and value of the time。 It’s the same time， either way。 A minute is a minute， an hour is an hour。 We need to cherish it。 We need to deftly reconcile ourselves with time， and leave behind as many precious memories as we can-that’s what’s the most valuable。” 。。。more
Simi
，
I adored this book。 It reminds us that Murakami's work is singular & unique。A collection which is a constant play of lights and shadows I adored this book。 It reminds us that Murakami's work is singular & unique。A collection which is a constant play of lights and shadows 。。。more
Ai Sugiura
，
ジャズの話は、正直教養のない私にとってはかなり苦痛であった。前半戦はかなりライトめな、村上節の少ないストーリー展開であったのでいささか退屈に感じてしまったが、後半戦、謝肉祭やお馴染みの品川猿、そして女のいない男たちに登場する「木野」と「ねじまき鳥クロニクル」を彷彿とさせる、こちらを一方的に知っている女と黒い蛇のモチーフ。後半になるにつれ、村上らしいダークなモチーフと暗喩が増え、その余韻に耽ることができた。まるで舌の上でいつまでも残る、効果は確かだが、何しろ後味の悪い不味い漢方薬みたいに。
Joe M
，
First Person Singular is my 22nd Murakami book（！） and 5th of his short stories， and yet another book filled with music， dreams， memories， mysteries， and magic。 I had read a few of these in various places over the last couple of years， but it was fun to revisit them， and they do work well as a collection in concert with one another， exploring similar themes， and each indeed told from a "first-person" auto-fictional POV。 I wouldn't argue that Murakami is exactly forging new ground with this collec First Person Singular is my 22nd Murakami book（！） and 5th of his short stories， and yet another book filled with music， dreams， memories， mysteries， and magic。 I had read a few of these in various places over the last couple of years， but it was fun to revisit them， and they do work well as a collection in concert with one another， exploring similar themes， and each indeed told from a "first-person" auto-fictional POV。 I wouldn't argue that Murakami is exactly forging new ground with this collection， nor is he pushing his art significantly forward at this moment in his career， so anyone looking for a drastic shift or a return to his more ambitious output may be disappointed。 For me， it's always just comforting to be back in the realm of Murakami's odd imagination， and enigmatic worlds and characters， and I enjoyed every moment of it。 。。。more
Yunia
，
The only reason I gave this book 3 stars was because I loved Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova and With the Beatles。 If you plan on reading it， feel free to skip Carnaval， that's all I'm going to say。 The only reason I gave this book 3 stars was because I loved Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova and With the Beatles。 If you plan on reading it， feel free to skip Carnaval， that's all I'm going to say。 。。。more
Peter Schutz
，
light as air， brilliantly reflexive。 last two were my favorite。 such a distilled look at the murakami world， like looking through a telescope backwards。
John Owen
，
I am one of the many fans of Murakami but this slim collection of stories made me wonder why it was published and sold。 Was it just a chance to reel in a few more dollars？ Some of what's in this book consists of short stories， a lot was just musing about the author's feelings on certain subjects like， clothing and how wearing a suit makes you feel different and what is beauty and ugliness。 I found most of it amusing but it was thin material。 You would have to be a Murakami fan to enjoy this。 I am one of the many fans of Murakami but this slim collection of stories made me wonder why it was published and sold。 Was it just a chance to reel in a few more dollars？ Some of what's in this book consists of short stories， a lot was just musing about the author's feelings on certain subjects like， clothing and how wearing a suit makes you feel different and what is beauty and ugliness。 I found most of it amusing but it was thin material。 You would have to be a Murakami fan to enjoy this。 。。。more
Lars Reijnen
，
Eight enjoyable Murakami stories。 I liked 'Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova'， 'With the Beatles'， and 'Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey' best。 'Carnaval' and 'The Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection were a tad disapointing， and neither was I impressed with the title story。 Eight enjoyable Murakami stories。 I liked 'Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova'， 'With the Beatles'， and 'Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey' best。 'Carnaval' and 'The Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection were a tad disapointing， and neither was I impressed with the title story。 。。。more
Aylin Sökmen
，
En sevdiğim öykü， 'Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey' oldu。 Okurken beni en çok düşündüren şey ise öykülerinin içeriğinden bağımsız olarak zaman algısıydı。 Daha ikinci öyküyü okurken bir anda internetten yazarın yaşına bakma ihtiyacı duydum ve tabii ki 70’i geçmiş。 Oysa benim zihnimdeki Murakami hala onunla ilk tanıştığım yıllardaki yaşında， yani 50’lerindeymiş， bunu fark etmek tuhaf hissettirdi。 Öykülerin çoğunda o eski kıvraklığı ve hayal gücünü bulamadım。 Retrospektif tadında， doğrudan kendi En sevdiğim öykü， 'Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey' oldu。 Okurken beni en çok düşündüren şey ise öykülerinin içeriğinden bağımsız olarak zaman algısıydı。 Daha ikinci öyküyü okurken bir anda internetten yazarın yaşına bakma ihtiyacı duydum ve tabii ki 70’i geçmiş。 Oysa benim zihnimdeki Murakami hala onunla ilk tanıştığım yıllardaki yaşında， yani 50’lerindeymiş， bunu fark etmek tuhaf hissettirdi。 Öykülerin çoğunda o eski kıvraklığı ve hayal gücünü bulamadım。 Retrospektif tadında， doğrudan kendi yazarlığından bahseden otobiyografik denemeler okumak isterim doğrusu， ne de olsa Koşmasaydım Yazamadım’ı yazalı epey olmuş， belki o da düşünüyordur， kim bilir :） 。。。more
Saurabh Modi
，
It’s a fun read。 But I usually expect more from a Murakami book。 This one had the usual Murakami feel of layers upon layers of metaphor （which is honestly the best part in reading any Murakami book， I feel）。 But less so， compared to ‘Men Without Women’。 It might feel a bit too similar to the kind of stuff he normally writes though， if you’re a fervent Murakami reader like I am。 But I don’t care， I’m just glad there continues to be more of his stuff to read。
Andytabelz
，
A bit all over the place， but a solid addition to his collection。 Best: Cream， MonkeyWorst: Carnaval， Beatles
Dustin Timblin
，
Tha god
Ethan
，
First Person Singular is a middling short story collection by Japanese author Haruki Murakami。 Aside from a charming story where Murakami himself was the protagonist， about his lifelong love for baseball （The Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection）， and a somewhat creepy story right at the beginning of the book （Cream）， this collection， though well-written， is otherwise mostly just filler。 One of the stories was so deranged it left me concerned about Murakami's mental health （Confessions of a Shinaga First Person Singular is a middling short story collection by Japanese author Haruki Murakami。 Aside from a charming story where Murakami himself was the protagonist， about his lifelong love for baseball （The Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection）， and a somewhat creepy story right at the beginning of the book （Cream）， this collection， though well-written， is otherwise mostly just filler。 One of the stories was so deranged it left me concerned about Murakami's mental health （Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey）， and another was incredibly offensive towards women， constantly talking about "ugly" vs。 "attractive" women and describing in detail how one of the main women in the story was ugly because of certain physical features; it seemed pretty dehumanizing after a while。 I was left wondering what Murakami was thinking when he wrote some of these stories。 The other thing I really didn't like is how this book is basically a cash-grab， very similar to the recent poetry collection Dearly by Margaret Atwood。 What I mean by that is， this book has absolutely enormous margins on all four sides of each page， over an inch， and so each page really only has about as much text as half or maybe three-quarters of a page in a regular book。 Add to that the two empty pages and one page with just the title on it before each story， and you get a book that's probably really only around 160 pages， but it's been shamelessly stretched into a 245-page length to make it sellable。 I hate when publishers do this; it's a rip-off， plain and simple。 My suggestion is that you don't pay the outrageous price for this artificially-bloated collection; put a hold on it at the library and just wait in the queue。 It sucks to have to wait， but in this particular case you're not missing much。Below are my ratings for each individual story， and for the collection as a whole:Cream: 4/5On a Stone Pillow: 3。5/5Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova: 3。5/5With the Beatles: 3/5Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey: 3/5Carnaval: 1/5The Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection: 5/5First Person Singular: 1/5 24/40 = 60% = 3 stars 。。。more
Chaitanya Dwivedi
，
I like everything Murakami writes。 He has a way to enthrall you， but with First Person Singular， I feel the author has gotten complacent。 These stories didn't captivate me as his other works did。 This collection of stories reads like a dull writing exercise devoid of all his signature charisma！I really hope Haruki Murakami is able to find his magic again。 I like everything Murakami writes。 He has a way to enthrall you， but with First Person Singular， I feel the author has gotten complacent。 These stories didn't captivate me as his other works did。 This collection of stories reads like a dull writing exercise devoid of all his signature charisma！I really hope Haruki Murakami is able to find his magic again。 。。。more
Callmebookworm
，
https://www。instagram。com/p/CNmdHezBb。。。 https://www。instagram。com/p/CNmdHezBb。。。 。。。more
Lucia van den Brink
，
Murakami blijft me verrassen， intrigeren en inspireren。
Dynah
，
I really enjoyed only a few of these （Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova was the standout for me; I also liked Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey， Cream， and Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection）。 Of the other half， most were flimsy nameless-objectified-woman stories。 This is one Murakami trope he really needs to move past - a） come on man， it's 2021; b） it's just so boring。 I'm not even suggesting he write fully fleshed-out， complex women characters （heavens）。 His work is so much more enjoyable when i I really enjoyed only a few of these （Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova was the standout for me; I also liked Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey， Cream， and Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection）。 Of the other half， most were flimsy nameless-objectified-woman stories。 This is one Murakami trope he really needs to move past - a） come on man， it's 2021; b） it's just so boring。 I'm not even suggesting he write fully fleshed-out， complex women characters （heavens）。 His work is so much more enjoyable when it's a dude cooking， having a beer， listening to music， talking to/about cats， and getting wrapped up in surreal mysteries。 。。。more
Roberta Jayne
，
I've heard people say stuff like 'I love that author's work so much， I'd read anything they write。 I'd read their shopping lists if they published them'。。。 I can't help but think， is this short story collection Murakami's shopping list？It's such a haphazard mix of stories， as always Murakami produces more questions than answers。 It feels like a weird selection of random moments but it's reflective and questioning and more fun than expected。 Confessions of A Shinagawa Monkey was strangely the bes I've heard people say stuff like 'I love that author's work so much， I'd read anything they write。 I'd read their shopping lists if they published them'。。。 I can't help but think， is this short story collection Murakami's shopping list？It's such a haphazard mix of stories， as always Murakami produces more questions than answers。 It feels like a weird selection of random moments but it's reflective and questioning and more fun than expected。 Confessions of A Shinagawa Monkey was strangely the best。 。。。more
Mehrdad M。
，
«اول شخص مفرد» جدیدترین مجموعه داستان کوتاه موراکامی。 امتیاز من به این هشت داستان از پنج:Cream-3On a Stone Pillow-2Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova-4With the Beatles-5Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey-5Carnaval-3The Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection-2First Person Singular-4باید اعتراف کنم که من بندهی ادبیات ژاپنام، موراکامی هم گل سرسبدش。 حالِ داستانهای کوتاه او بین سرد و سخت، لطیف و دلپذیر و تنشزا و مضطربکننده بودن متغیر است و من تمام این احوال را به دقت درونم احساس میکنم و به طرز عجیبی وا «اول شخص مفرد» جدیدترین مجموعه داستان کوتاه موراکامی。 امتیاز من به این هشت داستان از پنج:Cream-3On a Stone Pillow-2Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova-4With the Beatles-5Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey-5Carnaval-3The Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection-2First Person Singular-4باید اعتراف کنم که من بندهی ادبیات ژاپنام، موراکامی هم گل سرسبدش。 حالِ داستانهای کوتاه او بین سرد و سخت، لطیف و دلپذیر و تنشزا و مضطربکننده بودن متغیر است و من تمام این احوال را به دقت درونم احساس میکنم و به طرز عجیبی واژه به واژه و سکانس به سکانس قصههایش جریان حضور مرا تصاحب میکند، همین است که برای خواندن هر اثرش لحظهشماری میکنم。از شرح خلاصهی قصهی هرکدام از آنها میگذرم تا جادوی اولین مواجهشان را از دست ندهند اما باید بگویم که تمام داستانها به خوبی پرداخته شده بودند، با دیالوگها و مونولوگهایی به اندازه و استادانه شروع و پایان مناسبی برای آنها در نظر گرفته شده بود （هرچند که پایانبندی آخرین داستان را -به رغم روایت بینظیرش- دوست نداشتم） و نمرهی پایین به بعضی از آنها صرفاً به خاطر ارتباط برقرار نکردن من با موضوع آن بود。در این کتاب همان عناصر قدیمی کتابهای او را میتوانید پیدا کنید。 از روابط انسانی عجیب و خودکشی و فقدان و حسرت عمیقِ چیزهای از دست رفته گرفته تا بوی قهوه و بارهای کمنور و موسیقی جز و پیانوی کلاسیک، در واقع داستانهای کوتاه موراکامی حتی از رمانهایش نیز عجیبتر و دیوانهوارتراند و هیچوقت آنها را برای تجربهی اولین اثر پیشنهاد نمیکنم！در هر صورت من در کتابهای او به دنبال مفهوم ویژه و فلسفهی معنابخشی نیستم، بلکه فقط از سیر وقایع خلاقانه و درخشان، امضای موسیقایی اتفاقها و فضای ملانکولیک ژاپنیاش لذت میبرم。 。。。more
Alix
，
A quick read。 Two of the stories I had already read before from The New Yorker and those were the best stories in this collection， apart from the one about the monkey。 His love of jazz music and baseball definitely shined through this collection。 Overall， not his best short story collection but there were a few standouts。
Laith Mahyoub
，