Try an audiobook on us
Men Without Women
People who bought this also bought...
-
Killing Commendatore
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 28 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A 30-something portrait painter in Tokyo is abandoned by his wife and finds himself holed up in the mountain home of a famous artist, Tomohiko Amada. When he discovers a strange painting in the attic, he unintentionally opens a circle of mysterious circumstances. To close it, he must complete a journey that involves a mysterious ringing bell, a two-foot-high physical manifestation of an Idea, a dapper businessman who lives across the valley, a precocious 13-year-old girl, a Nazi assassination attempt during World War II in Vienna, a pit in the woods behind the artist’s home and an underworld haunted by Double Metaphors.
-
-
Chapters messed up
- By SABRE on 28-10-18
-
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Michael Fenton Stevens
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tsukuru Tazaki's life was irreparably changed when his relationships with his high school best friends became severed during Tsukuru's college days, with no explanation. Now at 35, Tsukuru's girlfriend Sara suggests he goes to talk to these high school friends in person to mend the relationships. Tsukuru visited his friends in Nagoya and Finland one by one, and uncovers the real reason as to why their relations were broken off.
-
-
Colorless Tsukuru is just that.....
- By Amazon Customer on 20-09-14
-
The Elephant Vanishes: Stories
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A collection of off-the-wall short stories by Japan's leading contemporary novelist. An elephant vanishes; hunger drives a couple to rob McDonalds; an insomniac wife wakes in a different world.
-
-
When I think about short stories?.
- By Welsh Mafia on 13-04-09
-
Kafka on the Shore
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Oliver Le Sueur
- Length: 19 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kafka on the Shore follows the fortunes of two remarkable characters. Kafka Tamura runs away from home at 15, under the shadow of his father's dark prophesy. The aging Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his pleasantly simplified life suddenly turned upside down.
-
-
A new dimension of fiction and sleep
- By Clare on 24-07-08
-
South of the Border, West of the Sun
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Eric Loren
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hajime tells the story of his relationship with Shimamoto, an unconventional girl, from their first meetings as children through to life as students. They drift apart, but come together years later when Hajime is married and a father of two.
-
-
A wonderful tale of love and yearning
- By Andrea Edan on 16-11-16
-
Wind/Pinball: Two Novels
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hear the Wind Sing follows the fortunes of the narrator and his friend, known only by his nickname, the Rat. The narrator is home from college on his summer break. He spends his time drinking beer and smoking in J’s Bar with the Rat, listening to the radio, thinking about writing and the women he has slept with, and pursuing a relationship with a girl with nine fingers.
-
-
Cleverly odd
- By katie on 11-06-16
-
Killing Commendatore
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 28 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A 30-something portrait painter in Tokyo is abandoned by his wife and finds himself holed up in the mountain home of a famous artist, Tomohiko Amada. When he discovers a strange painting in the attic, he unintentionally opens a circle of mysterious circumstances. To close it, he must complete a journey that involves a mysterious ringing bell, a two-foot-high physical manifestation of an Idea, a dapper businessman who lives across the valley, a precocious 13-year-old girl, a Nazi assassination attempt during World War II in Vienna, a pit in the woods behind the artist’s home and an underworld haunted by Double Metaphors.
-
-
Chapters messed up
- By SABRE on 28-10-18
-
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Michael Fenton Stevens
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tsukuru Tazaki's life was irreparably changed when his relationships with his high school best friends became severed during Tsukuru's college days, with no explanation. Now at 35, Tsukuru's girlfriend Sara suggests he goes to talk to these high school friends in person to mend the relationships. Tsukuru visited his friends in Nagoya and Finland one by one, and uncovers the real reason as to why their relations were broken off.
-
-
Colorless Tsukuru is just that.....
- By Amazon Customer on 20-09-14
-
The Elephant Vanishes: Stories
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A collection of off-the-wall short stories by Japan's leading contemporary novelist. An elephant vanishes; hunger drives a couple to rob McDonalds; an insomniac wife wakes in a different world.
-
-
When I think about short stories?.
- By Welsh Mafia on 13-04-09
-
Kafka on the Shore
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Oliver Le Sueur
- Length: 19 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kafka on the Shore follows the fortunes of two remarkable characters. Kafka Tamura runs away from home at 15, under the shadow of his father's dark prophesy. The aging Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his pleasantly simplified life suddenly turned upside down.
-
-
A new dimension of fiction and sleep
- By Clare on 24-07-08
-
South of the Border, West of the Sun
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Eric Loren
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hajime tells the story of his relationship with Shimamoto, an unconventional girl, from their first meetings as children through to life as students. They drift apart, but come together years later when Hajime is married and a father of two.
-
-
A wonderful tale of love and yearning
- By Andrea Edan on 16-11-16
-
Wind/Pinball: Two Novels
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hear the Wind Sing follows the fortunes of the narrator and his friend, known only by his nickname, the Rat. The narrator is home from college on his summer break. He spends his time drinking beer and smoking in J’s Bar with the Rat, listening to the radio, thinking about writing and the women he has slept with, and pursuing a relationship with a girl with nine fingers.
-
-
Cleverly odd
- By katie on 11-06-16
-
After Dark
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Judy Bennett
- Length: 5 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here is a novel, set in Tokyo, of mysterious and intriguing chance encounters. The midnight hour approaches in an almost empty all-night diner. Mari sips her coffee and glances up from a book as a young man, a musician, intrudes on her solitude. Both have missed the last train home. The musician plans to rehearse with his jazz band all night; Mari is equally unconcerned and content to read, smoke, and drink coffee until dawn. Then they realise they've met before through Eri, Mari's beautiful sister.
-
-
Another interesting short tale
- By Mr. Anthony Dawson on 22-07-15
-
Norwegian Wood
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Toru Watanabe, approaching middle age, hears The Beatles song "Norwegian Wood" in an airplane and, with Proustian vividness, it transports him back to his student days in Japan with Naoko, Midori, and Storm Trooper.
-
-
Excellent
- By C. on 13-03-13
-
Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Adam Sims, Ian Porter
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Information is everything in Hard-Boiled Wonderland. A specialist encrypter is attacked by thugs with orders from an unknown source, is chased by invisible predators, and dates an insatiably hungry librarian who never puts on weight. In the End of the World a new arrival is learning his role as dream-reader. But there is something eerily disquieting about the changeless nature of the town and its fable-like inhabitants.
-
-
surreal
- By Anthony on 26-05-11
-
Sputnik Sweetheart
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sputnik Sweetheart is his ninth novel, written in 1999, and tells the story of a young woman - Sumire, an aspiring writer - who falls in love with an older, successful businesswoman and wine expert, Miu. Their relationship is told through the eyes of Sumire's close (male) friend. It is a curious, mysterious tale, told with the compassion and quirkiness that is the hallmark of Murakami's writing. Translated from Japanese to English by Philip Gabriel.
-
-
Not his best
- By Judith on 16-12-15
-
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Rupert Degas
- Length: 26 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Toru Okada is going through a difficult time. He is without a job, his cat has disappeared, and his wife is behaving strangely. Into this unbalanced world comes a variety of curious characters, a young girl sunbathing in a nearby garden; sisters who are very peculiar indeed; an old war veteran with a violent, disturbing story. Okada retreats to a deep well in a nearby house. And the story unfolds.
-
-
A very different listen
- By Martin on 04-05-09
-
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1982 Murakami began running to keep fit. Here he reflects on his running experiences. Equal parts travelogue, training log, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon. By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, this is a must-listen for fans of this masterful author and for the increasing number of people who find a similar satisfaction in running.
-
-
Very poor narration
- By LC on 15-05-17
-
1Q84
- By: Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin (translator), Philip Gabriel (translator)
- Narrated by: Allison Hiroto, Marc Vietor, Mark Boyett
- Length: 46 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.
A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver's enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 - "Q" is for "question mark". A world that bears a question....
-
-
Murakami sparkles as ever
- By Nick on 22-01-12
-
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
- Volume 1
- By: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: uncredited
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In each story in this collection, Haruki Murakami sidesteps the real and sprints for the surreal. Everyday events are transcended, leaving the reader dazzled by this master of his craft. Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is Murakami's most eclectic collection of stories to date, spanning five years of his writing.
-
Nocturnes
- By: Kazuo Ishiguro
- Narrated by: Adam Kotz, Neil Pearson, Julian Rhind-Tutt, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Nocturnes, a sublime story cycle, Kazuo Ishiguro explores ideas of love, music and the passing of time. From the piazzas of Italy to the Malvern Hills, a London flat to the "hush-hush floor" of an exclusive Hollywood hotel, the characters we encounter range from young dreamers to cafe musicians to faded stars, all of them at some moment of reckoning. Gentle, intimate, and witty, this quintet is marked by a haunting theme: the struggle to keep alive a sense of life's romance, even as one gets older.
-
-
Gentle listening
- By Tracey on 24-01-13
-
Short Stories
- The Thoroughly Modern Collection
- By: Doris Lessing, Haruki Murakami, A. S. Byatt
- Narrated by: Harriet Walter, Walter Lewis, Roslaind Eyres
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
23 stories, all unabridged, from a diverse group of star writers and readers. A truly memorable collection with a wide appeal. Includes "The Years Midnight" by Helen Simpson, read by Harriet Walter; "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful Morning" by Haruki Marukami, read by Walter Lewis; "Bablady" by A. S. Byatt, read by Roslaind Eyres; "Hotel des Vaoyaguerus" by William Boyd, read by Martin Jarvis; and "Who?" by Fay Weldon, read by Julie Christie.
-
-
Fantastic Collection
- By Emelyne on 26-06-08
-
Phone
- By: Will Self
- Narrated by: Mike Grady
- Length: 21 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For four characters the 500 quid worry bead in their pocket may be both a blessing and a curse. For elderly Dr Zachary Busner, it's his lifeline to his autistic grandson Ben, whose own connection with technology is, in turn, a vital one. For MI6 agent Jonathan De'Ath, aka 'the Butcher', the phone may reveal his best kept secret of all: that Colonel Gawain Thomas is his lover.
-
-
Too confusing to listen to
- By Mr on 25-06-18
-
Breakfast of Champions
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: John Malkovich
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Breakfast of Champions (1973) provides frantic, scattershot satire and a collage of Vonnegut's obsessions. His recurring cast of characters and American landscape was perhaps the most controversial of his canon; it was felt by many at the time to be a disappointing successor to Slaughterhouse-Five, which had made Vonnegut's literary reputation.
-
-
A unique and biting wit
- By Kaggy on 28-06-18
Summary
Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are vanishing cats and smoky bars, lonely hearts and mysterious women, baseball and the Beatles, woven together to tell stories that speak to us all.
Marked by the same wry humor that has defined his entire body of work, in this collection Murakami has crafted another contemporary classic.
Critic reviews
"Brilliantly combines elements of the surreal, film noir and existentialist enquiry." ( Sunday Times on Dance, Dance, Dance)
More from the same
What members say
Average customer ratings
Overall
-
-
5 Stars63
-
4 Stars73
-
3 Stars46
-
2 Stars6
-
1 Stars6
Performance
-
-
5 Stars79
-
4 Stars56
-
3 Stars28
-
2 Stars7
-
1 Stars8
Story
-
-
5 Stars55
-
4 Stars68
-
3 Stars40
-
2 Stars7
-
1 Stars5
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Suswati
- 03-06-17
Modern day Hemingway
Taking the title from the original Ernest Hemingway novel, Haruki Murakami has updated it for a modern audience in different parts of the world, primarily Japan.
It is a series of portraits of men who have chosen the path of loneliness away from women and the void that it creates when running away from intimacy. Beautiful, simplistic with a wonderful flow, Murakami has a spectacular way of building characters and their anecdotal narratives.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Patrick
- 24-08-17
Murakami deserves better
I have loved some recent books and this narration by Bruno Roubicek throws into relief the importance, the vital importance, of a good narrator. The writing had a deadened, flat quality and Murakami is never dead or flat. I really didn't like this (as you might have gathered, lol).
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Pamela Scott
- 11-07-17
Absorbing
I’m a big fan of Murakami and thought this collection of stories was really enjoyable. I listened to it walking to work and found myself completely absorbed, unwilling to turn it off. As I’ve said in previous reviews of his work, there is something I really love about Hurakami’s writing. I find it absorbing, almost hypnotic. I found myself drawn deep into every story. I liked that I had no expectations for the story, they all took me by surprise and ended somewhere I never expected, full of odd turns. My favourite story was Sansa In Love. This is such a funny, weird and brilliant story, it stopped me in my tracks and I couldn’t stop laughing. Pure genius. I have to say the title story is the weakest in the collection. I loved the premise but found it rambled a lot and didn’t work. Men Without Men is very good and I’d recommend it.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jason
- 22-09-18
Sadly let down by the narrator
Why would anyone narrate a book or ( short story ) and give a Japanese characters a dodge geordie accent .
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lana
- 07-08-17
Very disappointed
Expected better twisted stories from Murakami, this book was very boring barely managed to listen till the end
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mr Adam Farrell
- 19-09-18
The narration is pretty poor,
The stories are rambling but provocative and unmistakably Murakami. Enjoyable if not his best work.
The narration is pretty poor, particularly his use of accents, the lowlight being a Geordie accent in one story which makes it difficult to listen to.
The voice is monotonous and lacks characterisation.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MArina MM
- 14-08-18
Bad narration
there's something about the narrator that iabvery annoying, I try to imagine the Japanese characters but the pitch and accent from the narrator ruined the whole experience.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- John Burns
- England
- 20-07-17
Well written stories with no point to them.
Having read almost all of Murakami`s work, I always find him to be so hit and miss. He is without doubt, a talented writer in terms of his descriptions, although he tends to overuse metaphor a little. What I always find annoying and short-changed by however, is the way I almost feel cheated when I come to the end of one of his stories. It`s as though he lays down all these story lines, characters, bits of tantalising information and mystery, and then just throws them in the air at the end and lets you watch as they merely flutter to the ground. My main complaint is that the stories have a beginning, middle, but no end, and you are left thinking, `what was the point of that?` In a word, cheated.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 12-06-18
Culturally interesting, slightly offbeat stories
I found the Japanese context quite interesting but ultimately the stories were a bit monolithic and somewhat odd. There's also a sense of the stories ending abruptly, perhaps because the author had run out of steam on that idea. Not really an attention grabber, I was quite keen to get to the end of this audio book.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Solaire
- 08-05-18
7 stories... 4 excellent, 3 merely good
As with most collections of short stories, some are better others, but overall the quality is really high. My personal favourite is the one about the bar owner. Very good narration too, pacing and intonation are spot on.