Behind every successful man, stands a woman. Haruki Murakamami gives this phrase a dark, and in some ways a disturbing twist using his trademark style in Men Without Women.
Men Without Women is a collection of seven short stories of seven different men. Each in its own setting. And each an emotional complexity. With its own take on the relationship between the men and women they feature.
The seven stories have only two features that run common across them. One: Vintage Murakami patterns that have almost become synonymous with his work. Including a disappearing cat, jazz music, smoky bars, the Beatles, and of course, heartbreaks. And two: The emotional turmoil faced by men whose lives have been deeply affected by women. More specifically by women they have lost. In ways they never thought was possible.
Truly Murakami, as anyone familiar with his work will attest to. In its style, depth and intensity. A book where he does not shy away from blending other forms of literature. Including the title that is inspired by Hemingway’s collection of short stories that goes by the same name. And a story that gives a twist to one of Franz Kafka’s works – Metamorphosis. But all that just adds to the brilliance of the short stories which are almost a painful lesson on human relations and emotions.
Sprinkled with a genre of humour that is peculiar to Murakami, Men Without Women, despite its simplicity, can be an extremely intense at times. Putting you through the emotions and memories that these seven men experience. Almost at times making you cringe with pain for these seven men. After all, Men Without Women is more than just stories about the loneliness of these men. It is more than their relationships. But rather, it is a collection of stories of a much deeper emotion. Stories of losses that sentimentalize their relationships in a way they hadn’t imagined.
