I respectfully disagree. I prefer honest self expression above meeting any bars at all. A reader who is engaging critically with a Murakami book can't help but

I respectfully disagree. I prefer honest self expression above meeting any bars at all. A reader who is engaging critically with a Murakami book can't help but be creeped out and shocked by the dreamlike scenarios, including, as you mentioned, women that don't seem real, but also, most characters don't feel real. Intimate scenes are empty, unemotional, disconnected from reality. They are expressions of deep self obsession, where the whole world bends for a character. The result is disconnection and boredom. Characters that feel silly, dumb, unwise, ego obsessed. Still damn good books. The fact that they discuss this aspect is fascinating. I'd much rather have this aspect of humanity expressed, no matter how difficult it is, than to pretend it is not there. As someone else said in this thread, it is your time, and if you decide to not waste it on Murakami, that's fair. But if you ever decide to give it a second shot, I'd say don't expect any bars to be met. Just engage with it as it is.