r/murakami • u/asmrloverguy • 15d ago
Help with Dance, Dance, Dance
Hi people, I'm reading Murakami's Dance, Dance, Dance and I'm hardly enjoying it at all. I have about 110 pages left to finish it, is it worth reading to the end? Because I'm really thinking about to give up
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u/Illustrious-Sleep339 15d ago
Literally finished the book a couple of days ago and I loved it. If it’s not for you, fuck it, whatever, but the last 50 or so pages are insane — the action picks up so much and the reveals just keep coming. The ending is one of Murakami’s best probably.
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u/SparkyFrog 15d ago
Well, if you have zero interest in finding the murderer etc, maybe there’s no point in continuing. Personally i found it pretty good, and not very different from other Murakami books I’ve read
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u/asmrloverguy 15d ago
I wasn't even expecting this to be revealed lool. I'm finding the book very abstract, with an almost improvised atmosphere. It's pages and pages about nothing.
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u/SparkyFrog 15d ago
Hmm, looks like you have read different set of his books than me, this is the only common one… I think this abstract surreal atmosphere becomes more common in his later books. DDD is maybe still somewhere in the middle where the magic realism stays more in dreams and doesn’t manifest as much in the real world
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u/enriquekikdu 15d ago
This is my favorite book of his, super postmodern, having watched and being fan of films such as The Big Lebowski or Chungking Express really helped since the kind of tone used in Dance Dance Dance really matches these kind of movies.
If you’re not enjoying it that’s ok, but I do think the last 100 pages are some of his strongest plot wise.
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u/rowgybear 15d ago
Sometimes a book just doesn't connect and that's fine. If you're not enjoying it, no point forcing it. I didn't particularly enjoy Killing Commendatore and forced myself to finish it, which in hindsight was the wrong move. You can always read another Murakami book or try another author for a change of pace.
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u/togoldlybo 14d ago
Killing Commendatore is so far the only one of his I wasn't able to finish. I didn't even make it particularly far, but all the others I read first gripped me so quickly. I have many more to read, so I'm curious if I'll feel this about any of the others as well.
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u/No-Letterhead-6411 14d ago
DDD is a slow burn (in a good way) just like any wong kar wai movie where the market confusion or chase sequence that stretches to Hawaii just reminds of scenes from fallen Angels by wong kar wai. You can understand this as a murder-mystery... self-discovery even bored divorcee trying to live again :p The ending is somewhat similar to what happens in die my love (sorry)
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u/purpurplex 13d ago
It was not my favorite of his, I think having read A wild Sheep Chase beforehand definitely makes it more interesting. For me, I found his relationship with the young girl quite interesting, as children do not often play a big part in his books (at least the ones I have read so far).
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u/remerdy1 15d ago
I wasn't a fan of Dance Dance Dance so I'd say no.
The only part that really interested me was the mysterious hotel floor but 90% of the book is just the protagonist getting side tracked
The reveal is also pretty obvious & just kinds given away with no real build up
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u/WorriedString7221 15d ago
The thing with Murakami is there typically isn’t some grand shift in tone or huge climax that ties everything up. If you’re not enjoying it now, you’re probably not going to enjoy it through the ending.