Rating: 
Summary: So I can dance after all?
Review: Before I start actually reviewing this book, I should note that I haven't read any of Murakami's other books, so I can't comment on how this one compares. I was also unaware until just now that the book was a sequel to "A Wild Sheep Chase." I actually have a hunch that "Dance Dance Dance" works better without having read that book, but obviously I can't say for sure. At any rate, it stands on its own.Despite containing many impossible things, "Dance Dance Dance" is a very realistic book. I say this because not everything that happens fits neatly into an overarching structure, and some events never end up making sense. Neither of those things are true of most novels, but they almost always apply to real life. The characters, weird as they are, almost all have authenticity. This is especially true of the nameless protagonist. It's necessary to learn what to expect from this book. If you read it looking for a straight-up mystery that resolves itself in the traditional way, as is tempting, you will be disappointed. What you can expect is an entertaining, darkly surreal, and ultimately reassuring story which probably would have been classified as urban fantasy had it been written by an American or British author or magical realism had it been written by a Latin American. Seen that way, I really can't think of any particular flaws in it. The lack of a fifth star is due to the absence of superlative things, not the presence of bad ones. The authors this book reminded me of most were Philip K. Dick and Neil Gaiman, though it doesn't resemble either so strongly.
Rating: 
Summary: Engrossing and oddly inspiring
Review: Dance Dance Dance is honestly one of the most remarkable books I've ever read. I felt completely in touch with the narrator and was drawn to Murakami's characters. Yuki was my favorite, Gotanda and Ame were up there too. There were so many memorable scenes. It was almost a disappointment to finish the book, leaving those familiar people behind. I liked how the Sheep Man made but a cameo appearance, leaving the narrator to figure everything out for himself for the most part. That's how it works in real life afterall. The mystery of Kiki was equally interesting. Perhaps the most impressive part of the book was the interaction between the narrator and Yuki though. I can't say enough good things about the book. I was completely blown away by it and given a new perspective on life. Read Wild Sheep Chase and then Dance Dance Dance- you won't regret it!
Rating:
Summary: In a word, fun
Review: I would still rate 'South of the Border, West of the Sun' more highly, but this is Murakami's most flat-out entertaining novel. Although it's billed as a sequel to Wild Sheep Chase, and it is about the same character, _all_ of Murakami's novels seem to be about the same basic everyman character, and reading Sheep Chase first isn't neccesary (I read this before I read Sheep Chase). Still, Sheep Chase, as Murakami's first novel, provides a good point of reference. The characters in Dance, Dance, Dance are almost exponentially more vibrant than those in Sheep Chase, from the bored, occasionally clairvoyant young girl who might have stepped out of a Salinger novel, to the plucky one-armed American poet. There's an almost cartoonish (not in at all a bad way) quality to these people; they stand out that much, and are that sharply drawn. The intriguing criticism of genius offered in Sheep Chase recurs, more subtly and kindly, in the form of a brilliant woman photographer who happens to be a very poor mother. Murakami is also unexpectedly kind to another character, the superificial actor Gotanda, who reveals a sharply human side. In the end, that may be exactly it about this novel; a sense of warmth and quiet joy underneath everything, even the more sinister events, which not many novels of this modernist type can muster. Every stroke of good fortune seems deserved, and every tragedy is lamented.
Rating:
Summary: How can I find great review titles for these great books?
Review: Although Dance Dance Dance is probably my favorite Haruki Murakami novel besides The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, and possibly the deepest, I just have to start with an amusing observation. That is that four of the five Murakami novels I've read have prominently involved mysterious vanishing women. Sometimes they show up again soon, sometimes later, and sometimes not at all. I might think he was running short of ideas if his novels were not so rich in imagination that each plot works. But on to more important points. I'm finally getting a grasp on what Murakamis are all about. In this one, we meet an unnamed writer of magazine filler articles (shoveling snow is his metaphor; someone has to do it, so it may as well be him). In the beginning he finds himself out of town, staying at the site of the Dolphin hotel where four years earlier his girlfriend just vanished one day. Now, he finds that the run down dump has been replaced by a glittering new luxury hotel of the same name. Compelled to stay, he meets up with an attractive young clerk, and discovers strange goings on. Later he escorts a young girl back to Tokyo and meets up with an old school friend who is now a famous actor. Through it all we see him passing through a world of shallowness and false glamour, and get a taste of yearning for a simpler life. As usual, I find it hard to say more about what actually happens. So much of Murakami is hidden in the style and the background that I dare not say too much for fear of giving something away. It's better to get it from the actual text than from me. He returns to (or predates, I'd have to check the copyright dates) the sort of strange and unsettling otherworldliness that we find in Wind Up Bird, but the effect here is not as jarring to the consciousness of the reader. All in all, an exceptional work
Rating: 
Summary: enough already!
Review: This is the third book of Murakami's I've read in the last several months - the other two being The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles (Wonderful) and A Wild Sheep Chase (Great). However, about halfway through Dance, Dance, Dance I realized that there was very little difference between the three books in terms of the general features of the plot: Disaffected 30-something guy looking for a missing woman and/or abandoned by same, psychic teen-age girl, spacey hookers, comings and goings between various layers of reality, etc. For a writer with the supposed breadth this guy has, you'd think he could do a little more in terms of exploring other ideas. Also, this book just didn't read as well as the other two - whether it was the translation or simply the way it was written, I have no way of knowing. But several times I found myself cringing at the awkward turns of phrase that kept turning up. I thought the last 70 pages or so of the book were very good, but the vast majority of the remainder seemed to consist of pointless meandering. I've rated his other books five stars but this one gets two for the following reasons: (1) It's simply not anywhere as good as the other two, and (2) I'm totally burned out on the overall theme that has been repeated in all three.
Rating:
Summary: Another surreal twist in time
Review: This is a good book. Murakami's writing involves detailed characters who do not always know where they are going nor who they are. The characters and environment are detailed and exquisite, making one want to visit the places written about. This book includes a sideline into a metaphyical world for the narrator, which helps to drive him and guide him. By the end of the book, typical understanding of all the events and characters may not be achieved but a sense of peace is created. When you read this book, do not expect typical Western narrative structures, details or a sense of closure. As with other Murakami books consider the leaves, on the trees in the forest.
Rating:
Summary: Dunce Dunce Dunce
Review: I just finished this and contrary to my prior expreriences with Murakami's books I should say I'm glad it finally got over because this was for, for most of it's running length, one of the most BORRRRING books I've read. The story actually began extremely well, in the author's trademark vein. Here his protagonist feels psychically drawn towards the Dolphin hotel, an utterly run-down place in a Japanese province called Sapporo, where events had happened to him years back. He decides to lay off work for a while and go down there to check out on it, only to find that it has been completely torn down and replaced by a flashy new upmarket hotel bearing the same name. However, all is not mundane, as he discovers that beneath the shell of the new place, the old hotel is still lurking around housing a mysterious character called the Sheep Man. It's quite an interesting concept, the idea of a 'haunting hotel', instead of a haunted one and would have served as an excellent premise for Murkami to set up his trademark parallel universe. But unfortunately for us, Murakami does very little to actually flesh out the concept and instead, has his 'hero' being carted off by destiny to various places, meeting various people who're oddballs in one or the other sense. But unlike his other books, the formula here seems very watered-down and bland. For all his attempts he is never able to generate the sense of connection between the various incidents and people necessary for one to feel hooked by it - most things just feel very arbitrary and tacked-on. The characters with the exception of the hero's actor friend Gotanda come off as dull props that you don't care a whit about. Even Murakami's prose for long stretches of the book comes off as rather...well...prosaic. his descriptions of the hero's routine get painfully repetitive since, unlike his previous books, they do nothing to push the story ahead or give any further insight into his character. He tries to pull the strings together for the last act where he returns to the hotel, but IMO it seems as arbitrary as the rest of the book. In short, this book was for me a waste of time. But I do sincerely recommend Wind-up Bird Chronicle and Hard-Boiled Wonderland as impeccable classics by the author.
Rating:
Summary: enjoyable surreal weirdness; amongst Murakami's best
Review: Haruki Murakami mostly writes books that fall into two categories: either the 'confused but in love' bucket, or the 'confused young man finds himself totally weirded-out' bucket. The first category has Murakami classics such as 'Norwegian Wood' and 'South of the Border, West of Sun', and the latter has 'A Wild Sheep Chase' and 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle'. 'Dance, Dance, Dance', being a sequel to 'A Wild Sheep Chase', is about as weird as anything published by Murakami. And it is about as good, ... which is to say it is very good indeed. It is very hard to explain the novel since the story is so .. strange, convoluted, surreal, etc. We have altered realities, a 13 year old spoilt girl with precognition powers, and a befuddled young Japanese man caught in the middle. It all works, sort of. Believable? Not even close. Bottom line: a book best enjoyed by seasoned Murakami readers. Fans will love it.
Rating:
Summary: A delicious read...as Yumiyoshi would say... "Fantastic!"
Review: In Dance Dance Dance, we are drawn into Murakami's typical murky world where our nameless narrator from "A Wild Sheep Chase" continues to search for his place in a world of "advanced capitalism" - struggling to place meaning behind a world of false values/aspirations and pressures to conform. Old friends such as Kiki, the Sheep Man, and his copywriting partner surface for a much welcomed appearance - while new warm and fuzzy characters are introduced in familiar places such as the Dolphin Hotel to further propel the plot. Murakami succeeds in Dance because he forcefully reminds us of the true value of things in everyday life. He tactfully revisits old themes such as - not realizing the value of things until it's too late - the fragility of the human psyche - and the pain of losing loved ones. Further more, only Murakami can compare and contrast the value of Rolex watches, Maserati sports cars with the joys of preparing and savouring simple but rich, mouth watering homemade-meals.
After flipping through the last few pages of Dance, I am glad to say that it feels as though I have fallen in love for the first time all over again.
Rating:
Summary: A more gentle Murakami
Review: If you have not read "The Wind Up Bird Chronicle," I strongly recommend it. It is Murakami's best and most complex novel dealing with the images and themes explored in "Dance, Dance, Dance." This is a sweeter story, a kind of love story, set in the strange landscape of Murakami's parallel universes. Although it is not quite as thought provoking as "Wind Up Bird," it is very engrossing and enjoyable.
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