Only to a point where you realize how much shittier your life could be.

>>7408208
if you a useless neet.

Do you think Japanese normies actually appreciate good literature? I've heard Murakami is ridiculously popular over there. I can't imagine any respectable Western author having that level of popularity with the general poupulation.

It's extremely relatable if you feel alienated and alone.

>>7408208
why do you think relatable and popular have anything to do with each other?

>>7409332
Exactly.

>>7408208
The overall themes of depression and alienation were extremely relatable to me. The alcoholism and drug abuse not so much, other than a coping mechanism that I can understand someone may have.

Did anyone else understand the seeming anti-woman messages in the book? I understand that it is quasi-autobiographical, but he spends a lot of his time focusing on his circular and failed female relations.

I generally like these kinds of novels but I thought the protagonist of this one was just a manipulative cunt and deserved all his sufferings.

>>7408208
It is at times, but I don't have qt Jap gfs, or any gf for that matter, so it makes my story all the more tragic. I am also not as afraid of people, but the feel of not being wanted and being repulsive was familiar, even if it's unjustified (which the epilogue in the book proves) His friend was pretty accurate as well, silly semantic games without any feeling, just someone to get lost in your own bullshit with.
>>7409344
I didn't really get an anti-woman vibe. Remember it is pre WWII Japan we're talking here (written directly after, so I can't imagine it being anything else). Women were not that high up the food chain.

>>7409344
you obsess over relationships because they allow you to briefly take your attention away from your own insecurities

>>7409540
Not him, but be sure to keep your projections in check, senpai.

Think about the ego more, friend.

>>7409344
The narrator obviously has a warped sense of reality, this is shown by what he thinks of himself vs what others think of him, so it's not too far-fetched for his warped views to extend to women. But I think in the end he realizes that most women live like he does and he respects them for being able to better handle it.