decent

The Elephant Vanishes is this quirky compilation of 17 short stories that took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I couldn't help but notice how the book shines a light on the themes of loneliness and the struggle to break free from the chains of conformity in modern Japanese culture. Some stories resonated with me, while others left me scratching my head, but all in all, it was a pretty enjoyable ride.

Picking a favorite story was like trying to choose a favorite flavor of ice cream—impossible! The writing was solid across the board, leaving me with that lingering aftertaste that makes you pause and ponder. And speaking of nuances, oh boy, Murakami throws in these strange details that practically beg you to read between the lines.

It's a peculiar book indeed.

Disappointed. I knew it would be quirky, but didn’t expect it to be boring. Lots of people talking with no real action. My favs were: the second bakery attack and Sleep

❤️

125th book of 2020.

There's a level of symmetry that the first Murakami I read was his short story collection [b:Men Without Women|33652490|Men Without Women|Haruki Murakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483232988l/33652490._SX50_.jpg|43247031], and now I am reading another, with nearly all of his novels finished. After reading that first collection I began my journey, starting with his first novel, [b:Hear the Wind Sing|226973|Hear the Wind Sing (The Rat, #1)|Haruki Murakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1209948233l/226973._SX50_.jpg|2902423], to read everything he wrote in order of publication. I still have two collections left after this, so maybe I can read those when all the novels are finished.

The stories in this collection were:
- The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday’s Women
- The Second Bakery Attack
- The Kangaroo Communique
- On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning
- Sleep
- The Fall of the Roman Empire…
- Lederhosen
- Barn Burning
- The Little Green Monster
- Family Affair
- A Window
- TV People
- A Slow Boat to China
- The Dancing Dwarf
- The Last Lawn of the Afternoon
- The Silence
- The Elephant Vanishes

I don't have that much to say on them, on the whole. The first story is simply a slightly altered version of start of [b:The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle|11275|The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle|Haruki Murakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327872639l/11275._SY75_.jpg|2531376] - or maybe a slightly different translation. Either way, if you've read the novel there isn't too much reason to read the short story. Some of the stories are better than others, of course. It is all just classic Murakami: music, girls, swimming, running, reading, whiskey, beer, more music, things vanishing and dreams... Enough to make your head spin, but in a good way - in a comforting way.