Dance Dance Dance (original 1988; edition 1995)

E' stata una lettura altalenante: all'inizio mi ha attirata però poi il sentimento è andato calando.
Troppa irrealtà nella ricerca della realtà del protagonista, i personaggi hanno caratteri e atteggiamenti eccessivi.
Quei dettagli che avevano un loro senso all'interno de "La fine del mondo e il paese delle meraviglie" qui mi paiono un'esagerazione. ( )

Dance Dance Dance was an odd addition to Murakami's output. It seemed to exist halfway between his metaphysical/fantastical adventures (Wind-Up Bird, Kafka on the Shore) and his more straightforward, yet no less enigmatic novels (Norwegian Wood; South of the Border, West of the Sun). I still certainly enjoyed it and he was entertaining as ever, yet it was a strange combination nonetheless. Some of the events/characters in the book were especially unexplained- even by Murakami standards. One of the other reviews on this site mentioned that Dance Dance Dance may serve as a sort of sequel to his Wild-Sheep Chase (which is one of the other Murakami books I haven't read). This may explain some of my confusion.
Worth reading- though if you are new to Murakami I would start elsewhere (Wind-up or South of the Border). ( )

This was the first book by Murakami that I read. I was looking for something different and was attracted by the cover. I loved the sense of unreality that runs through this book. Then I read Wild Sheep Chase, but thought it was a sequel to this one, rather than the predecessor book. Which just goes to show that you don't need to read Murakami in order. The whole point of him is that you feel a sense of deja vu and are unsettled by it. ( )

Un libro magico: mi ha rapito completamete! L'ho letto con lo stesso gusto che provo sorseggiando un buon vino e ascoltanto un buon disco jazz. La trama conta poco (pur essendo interessante): il ritmo, i dialoghi e le descrizioni sono semplicemente stupefacenti. Letto anni fa, mi ha lasciato un ottimo ricordo ( )

I realize I have given just about every Murakami book 4/5 stars but that's because I normally find all of his novels consistently strong, worth reading, but not life changing in and of itself. I do think that over time your life changes after having read several of them because you start to think about other worlds, alternate realities, dreams, and ghosts. You start to consider space and time as well as concrete life differently and it opens you up a bit..expands you...makes you think of the real world in deeper, less concrete terms.

Anyhow, this is the sequel to A Wild Sheep Chase and I liked the idea of compelled to Dance for a purpose and this hidden floor of a hotel that has changed it's antique ways for a modern appeal..of the dark side of realty and reality both. You get to see The Sheep Man again and in the meantime are introduced to a young girl rich with spark. This on is about solving a mystery as well in many ways but with an even less expected ending than its predecessor (I'll say no more!)


Memorable Quotes:

pg. 68 "I understood. It seemed unreasonable, unfair, that a woman so young and beautiful should be so exhausted. Of course, it was neither unreasonable nor unfair. Exhaustion pays no mind to age or beauty. Like rain and earthquakes and hail and floods."

pg. 310 "Mediocrity is like a spot on a shirt-it never comes off."

pg. 387 "For darkness terrifies. IT swallows you, warps you, nullifies you. Who alive can possible profess confidence in darkness? In the dark, you can't see. Things can twist, turn, vanish. The essence of darkness-nothingness-covers all." ( )