"4:44" feels straightforward and factual, almost mundane.
What feels straightforward is complex.
Though it may feel uncharacteristically straightforward to his American following, "Norwegian Wood" bears the unmistakable marks of Murakami's hand.
Doing things the easy way doesn't seem to appeal to Gerbase; she left Kilgour, for example, because it started to feel too straightforward.
From the start, the book is a departure from typical western contemporary fiction in that it feels very straightforward, with a style that verges on timeless.
It's a typical exchange: this fifth series of CK's innovative comedy may have initially felt more straightforward than its predecessor but it remains as funny, acute and occasionally troubling as ever.
This is simple, so simple as to feel somehow too straightforward, but try it out anyway: visualise yourself, ideally on a recent holiday or something, the sun was shining and you weren't checking your email, and crucially you were very relaxed, perhaps you had a drink and perhaps you didn't; I'm not going to judge you, I'm not going to tell you how to spend your holidays and how to live your life.
But for all its budget and lavish effects, The Golden Compass film can't touch the original material, and readers who found Northern Lights disturbing and thought-provoking may feel shortchanged at the straightforward entertainment dished up here.
For once, everything felt transparent and straightforward.
Later in the set, Anything for You feels even more straightforward, a love song with just guitar as accompaniment.
