Othy’s Reviews > Killing Commendatore > Status Update

The plot is coming to a climax, but it is slow going. I think the book could have been much shorter and more effective - or my fortitude is a little weak. Whatever the case, I feel like I'm in the home stretch, even with two hundred pages left.

The book finally hit the "weird" part (a very good thing) and continues to be delightfully existential and artistic. The pace is slow, but the book is rising to the top tier of Murakami books for me

It always fascinates me how little agency Murakami's characters have.

"So you're doing your own painting now, right?"
"Seems that way."

So passive. A little earlier, the character had a one-night stand for no other reason than that he dropped someone off at a hotel room (who he didn't know). "Might as well sleep together" the woman told him. And so they did.

Unlike in Western lit, character is nothing. Refreshing

So far, this novel is different and yet very similar to Murakami's other novels. The images are the same (eg a man in a stone hole), but the main character has more agency - at times. He's more curious than other Murakami main characters. The comments on art and descriptions of the artistic process are magnificent. I'm really enjoying it!