I happen to agree, I don't like Murakami all that much, and I've read 6 or 8 of his novels. I feel a bit similar about him as I do about Stephen King or TV seri

I happen to agree, I don't like Murakami all that much, and I've read 6 or 8 of his novels. I feel a bit similar about him as I do about Stephen King or TV series like Games of Thrones, Orange is the New Black or House of Cards: more manipulative and plain than genuinely interesting. Throw in a little bit of cheating, a little bit of drama, "lovely breasts bouncing violently in the air", "Emotions that, if cut, would bleed", a little bit of vagina, the "bloody weight of desire and the rusty anchor of remorse", to substitute for lack of substance. Then again, who am I to criticize, what have I written that has any substance... All that said, I wonder what it is that makes us feel that trying to pander to the general public is so bad... If by using "cheap tricks" he reaches a bigger audience and connects with more people... More power to him?