1. The title of the collection is Men Without Women.
Consider the ways in which the men in these stories find themselves
alone, not just without women but, in many cases, without friends as
well. Are there similarities between their situations? What does it mean
to be a man without women, both in the title story and throughout the
collection?
2. Kafuku, the protagonist of "Drive My Car," divides people into
groups. For example, he says female drivers are either "a little too
aggressive or a little too timid" (3) and identifies two types of
drinkers: "those who drank to enhance their personalities, and those who
sought to rid themselves of something" (29). What’s the effect of
classifying people in this way? What does it reveal about how Kafuku
sees the world? Do you think there’s any truth to these kinds of
classifications?
3. Kafuku has a "blind spot" in his vision that prevents him from
driving, but also a "sixth sense" that enables him to know his wife is
cheating on him. How is he — and other men in this collection — both
aware of and oblivious to what’s going on around him?
4. Why does Kitaru want the narrator to date his girlfriend, Erika
Kuritani? Why do Kitaru and Erika eventually break up? Do you think they
are ultimately destined to be together? Do you think it is possible for
the men in these stories to have platonic relationships with women?
5. Kitaru makes up his own lyrics to the song "Yesterday." Why do you
think Kitaru plays with the words, and how does the narrator react? How
does this mirror the ways in which both Kitaru and the narrator want to
become "a totally different person" (45)? How do they each accomplish
this? Does either of them succeed?
6. What kind of person is Dr. Tokai? He is described as "not the sort of
person with an excessive amount of room for misunderstanding" (78), yet
the narrator seems to have complicated feelings about him, calling him
both a "principled soul" and also someone lacking "intellectual acuity"
(77) who "only thought of himself" (91). How does he come across
throughout the story? Does the narrator’s perception of him change by
the end? Does your own?
7. What is the "independent organ" Dr. Tokai believes in? How does it
impact men and women in different ways?
8. In both "An Independent Organ" and "Scheherazade," lovesickness is
presented as an actual medical condition. What is the effect of treating
the relationships between men and women in this way? Why do you think
Murakami chose to do so?
9. "Scheherazade" (as Habara, the main character of this story,
nicknames her), claims to have been a lamprey in a previous life,
"fastened to a rock" (120), but it is Habara who now seems stuck in one
place, unable to leave his house. Why do you think he has to remain at
home? How can each of their lives be seen as lamprey-like?
10. In high school, Scheherazade became addicted to housebreaking. How
does her obsession compare and contrast with Habara’s need for her
stories — and his fear of losing them?
11. Kamita tells the two yakuza that visit Kino’s bar, "Memories can be
useful" (157). What do you think he means by this? Are memories helpful
for Kamita later in the story?
12. Kino’s aunt calls snakes "essentially ambiguous creatures" (172). Do
you agree, based on the role they play in the story? Are they, as she
suggests, harbingers of disaster, or guides, or something else?
13. "Samsa in Love" is a reversal of Franz Kafka’s story "The
Metamorphosis," in which a man finds himself transformed into an insect.
How does Gregor Samsa view the world — and people — differently after
having been a bug? Why do you think Murakami chose to retell the story
in this way?
14. How does the narrator of "Men Without Women" respond to finding out
that his ex-girlfriend has killed herself? Why do you think he reacts
this way? Do his feelings cause him to look inward or outward?
15. What does the narrator mean when he says he’s "trying to write about
essence, rather than the truth" (218)? Are there other stories or novels
you’ve read that also deal with the distinction between the two?
16. Haruki Murakami’s stories are famous for their fantastical elements
— talking cats and parallel universes. Do any of these elements appear
in the stories in this collection? What purpose do you think they serve?
17. Acting — or "becoming somebody different" (23) — is a major theme
throughout the stories in this collection. In "Yesterday," the narrator
says that "you can’t just change your personality" (68); nonetheless,
many characters do try to reinvent themselves. Do you believe that it’s
possible to become a different person? What do the examples in these
stories suggest?
18. Music is a constant presence in these stories — as it is in all of
Haruki Murakami’s books. In "Yesterday," the narrator remarks, "Music
has that power to revive memories, sometimes so intensely that they
hurt" (75). Do you agree? What role does music play in this collection?
19. Consider the roles of fate, luck, and predestination in these
stories. Do the characters in these stories believe in these things?
20. Have you read any other books by Murakami? How were they similar or
different to the stories in Men Without Women? Are there common
themes that tie them together?