Haruki Murakami Anyone?

[Lote-Tree]

I have recently become fond of the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami after - at the spur of the moment - reading his book "Sputnik Sweetheart" and "South of the Border, West of the Sun". He writes about isloation, loneliness, identity, unrequited love in such a simplistic fashion without being sentimental. In his book "South of the Border, West of the sun" he makes a point how our very living can hurt another individual. I think it was a poingnant statement about the nature of our lives.

Have you read Haruki Murakami? If so what do you make of him and his writings?

Regards,
Lote

[TheFifthElement]

Yes, yes, yes! I love Murakami, he's one of my favourite authors. You should read Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance, Dance, Dance. All excellent books. I love the way he combines emotions, mystery, strange unexplainable elements, music, philosophy and modern culture in a non-cloying way. At the end of HBW&TEoTW he presents what I think is the most convincing theory of death and the afterlife that I've ever read. But I won't tell, you have to read it :)

I haven't read Sputnik Sweetheart yet - is it good?

[CdnReader]

I read Norwegian Wood (my first by Murakami) this summer and loved it. It's exactly what you said, Lote-Tree: "He writes about isloation, loneliness, identity, unrequited love in such a simplistic fashion without being sentimental."

I closed the last page, amazed and entranced by the writing and the story, and yet at the same time couldn't really explain quite WHAT it was that made it so magnificent.

From my book journal:
I cannot clearly describe why I loved this book SO much, but I certainly did. The writing is simple and beautiful, the story is well-crafted and intriguing, the pages flew by, and the last half of the very last page blew me away, and made me want to turn back to page 1 and start all over again. It’s about love and loyalty, about sex and death and insanity and reality, and about the world of college students in 1960s Tokyo. Poignant and lovely from beginning to end. I was transfixed.

FAVOURITE QUOTE: “It seemed as if the colours of the real world around me had begun to drain away from my having done nothing more than read a few lines she had written.” [p. 110]

[Virgil]

Never heard of him. I will have to look him up.

[Lote-Tree]

Yes, yes, yes! I love Murakami, he's one of my favourite authors. You should read Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance, Dance, Dance. All excellent books. I love the way he combines emotions, mystery, strange unexplainable elements, music, philosophy and modern culture in a non-cloying way. At the end of HBW&TEoTW he presents what I think is the most convincing theory of death and the afterlife that I've ever read. But I won't tell, you have to read it :)


Ah Bueno! I have these titles but I have not read them yet. And yes "Sputnik Sweetheart" was good. Strange and mysterious.


I read Norwegian Wood (my first by Murakami) this summer and loved it. It's exactly what you said, Lote-Tree: "He writes about isloation, loneliness, identity, unrequited love in such a simplistic fashion without being sentimental."

I closed the last page, amazed and entranced by the writing and the story, and yet at the same time couldn't really explain quite WHAT it was that made it so magnificent.

From my book journal:
I cannot clearly describe why I loved this book SO much, but I certainly did. The writing is simple and beautiful, the story is well-crafted and intriguing, the pages flew by, and the last half of the very last page blew me away, and made me want to turn back to page 1 and start all over again. It’s about love and loyalty, about sex and death and insanity and reality, and about the world of college students in 1960s Tokyo. Poignant and lovely from beginning to end. I was transfixed.

FAVOURITE QUOTE: “It seemed as if the colours of the real world around me had begun to drain away from my having done nothing more than read a few lines she had written.” [p. 110]

I look forward to reading Norwegian Wood :-)

[Noisms]

I'm not that huge a fan of his novels. Norwegian Wood was good, but the others are a bit too dreary. That said, I loved After the Quake, which is a collection of short stories. All of them except one are really wonderful. Murakami was Raymond Carver's translator, and you can really see the influence.

Underground is interesting too. It's a collection of eyewitness accounts that Murakami gathered by long, in-depth interviews, of the Tokyo terrorist attacks of 1995, when Aum Shinrikyo - a Buddhist cult - killed a dozen or more people with Sarin nerve gas.

[TheFifthElement]

Ah Bueno! I have these titles but I have not read them yet. And yes "Sputnik Sweetheart" was good. Strange and mysterious.



Lote, do you collect books like I do? I have a stack of about 8 or 9 books (and some on their way!) that I haven't read yet and I go to two different libraries too and get books from there!

I will have to add Sputnik Sweetheart to the list now. Hard-Boiled Wonderland is my top favourite though.

[Nossa]

I've been wanting to know more about Japanese lit. actually, after I read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I'll google him, and see what books I can read by him :D

[NickAdams]

I've read The Elephant Vanishes, or something similiar, and didn't like it.
It is a collection of his early short stories. He is said to have improved overtime, but what I've read has placed him at the bottom of the Lazarus pit. I will read Kafka on the Shore, or Hard-Boiled in the distant future.

[Lote-Tree]

Lote, do you collect books like I do? I have a stack of about 8 or 9 books (and some on their way!) that I haven't read yet and I go to two different libraries too and get books from there!


Sounds familiar pattern :D

I read "in-a-bout-of-obsessive-reading" and then will not read for a while. And when an idea strikes me I have to read everything about it. Now I am going through the "Harukami Murkami bout of obessive reading" :D so I will have to read all his works :D

I am currently going through his collection of short stories called "Blind willow, sleeping woman"...there are some memorable imagery in these little stories...:D



I will have to add Sputnik Sweetheart to the list now. Hard-Boiled Wonderland is my top favourite though.

I look forward to reading that:D

[xaqxit]

No one has mentioned The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle yet, which I've heard is supposed to be his masterpiece. Anyway, it's the only one I've read so I can't comment on the quality of his work as a whole. Something I've heard from two people who have supposedly read almost all his novels is, that once you read more of his works he gets a bit boring (though supposedly Norwegian Wood is different from most of his other writings), and repetitive overall. I hear most his works are extremeley critical about Japanese Capitalism, though I can't be too sure.

Anyway, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is very interesting and worth a read, though I think it loses steam in its last third, and don't expect all (or many) loose ends to be tied up. It's hard for me to judge the book, but as I said before, it is certainly worth a read.

[expired_water]

ive read a few of his books and i am a obsessed fan o.o i love the details he puts into his writing and how he takes the time to describe everything around the charecters. I read his newest book called "after dark" and my two cents thought on that was it dissapointed me =-( when i read the flap on the inside I thought all the charecters were going to be all connected with each other and bring this big twist at the ending of the book. instead, the were connected w/ each other by being in the dark? I wished murakami would of added more to it... maybe a second installment?!? =/ i doubt it

[Lote-Tree]

What do you make of the mysterious women who appear in his stories?

Is there some symbolism behind it?

[expired_water]

he does have alot of women in his stories with wacky personalities... symbolism? I wonder if most of the women he writes about are from past relationships because if you read "norweigen wood" he talks alot about women. It almost seems to real to be made-up but thats my opinion.

[expired_water]

btw how did everyone found out about murakami? I was walking around the library and the cover picture of "norweigen wood" caught my eye.

[TheFifthElement]

No one has mentioned The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle yet, which I've heard is supposed to be his masterpiece. Anyway, it's the only one I've read so I can't comment on the quality of his work as a whole. Something I've heard from two people who have supposedly read almost all his novels is, that once you read more of his works he gets a bit boring (though supposedly Norwegian Wood is different from most of his other writings), and repetitive overall. I hear most his works are extremeley critical about Japanese Capitalism, though I can't be too sure.

Anyway, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is very interesting and worth a read, though I think it loses steam in its last third, and don't expect all (or many) loose ends to be tied up. It's hard for me to judge the book, but as I said before, it is certainly worth a read.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is very good, though I found it one of the hardest of Murakami's books to read. It also contained one of the most graphically disgusting scenes I've ever read in a book (the 'skinning scene, if you've read it). It's definitely a good read.

[Riesa]

I read something a while back...all I remember about it is some piped in fragrance in the elevator and a neglected cat. (what was the name of that book???)

I liked it. :)

[lavendar1]

Kafka on the Shore? All mystical...made me want to write a story with talking cats.

[Lote-Tree]

he does have alot of women in his stories with wacky personalities... symbolism? I wonder if most of the women he writes about are from past relationships because if you read "norweigen wood" he talks alot about women. It almost seems to real to be made-up but thats my opinion.

But these women almost have no past. They remain mysterious?

And I came across Haruki Murakami in the library while I was searching for another book...

[Lyn]

I love Murakami's books, my favourite being the wind up bird chronicle. I love the imagery of the well that he ends up in. And I totally agree, that skinning scene was one I almost had to skip; grim. Anybody spotted any other recurring images in his novels?

[Idril]

I've read Norwegian Wood and felt somewhat indifferent to it but I do intend to read more of his work. What book would you suggest I read next that might inspire a more enthusiastic response?

[TheFifthElement]

I've read Norwegian Wood and felt somewhat indifferent to it but I do intend to read more of his work. What book would you suggest I read next that might inspire a more enthusiastic response?

A Wild Sheep Chase is fairly easy going, and can be followed by Dance Dance Dance which is its better sequel.

[Madhuri]

Well, going by how everyone was saying how good this author is, I bought the book 'Kafka on the Shore,' today (I was to buy a book, so I thought lets go with this author). As I am still on the first page, I hope that I like it.

[xaqxit]

Hah, yeah... the skinning scene... that was just something else. Many parts of the novel were actually uncomfortable to read, I think. I'm not sure what it was about that novel, but after you get into it, it's quite uncomfortable.

[aeroport]

I read Kafka on the Shore over the summer and, to be quite honest, though I tried to enjoy it - you can tell in my comment on the "What are you reading right now?" thread that I was thinking it would be something I would like - it just...never asserted itself as indisputably my "cup of tea". I was immediately skeptical when the cats started talking, but that actually didn't become a major annoyance for me at all; none of the story's supernatural elements made me want to put it down the way I suspected they might. It was worth reading once, I suppose, and I think I'll probably read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle next summer before discarding him altogether, but it is decidedly not my thing. I guess it just seemed like the length wasn't really justified by the content. Additionally, I like to think I'm the furthest thing from a prude, but a few sections read practically like erotica, which didn't really seem necessary to me - at least not over and over like it is.
I don't know about this "skinning scene" yet, obviously, but the scene with the cats' hearts in Kafka definitely made me cringe...

[Clouder]

I've read quite a well ago. I thought, personally, it is a kind of books I might gotten into for a certain my age. Similarly, I love some of Japanese films which might not be influential as authors like him, The Love Letter, etc. The impressive attribute of such kind of literature and films are that it can really bring you into the very natural scene/psychologial state/memory without any pretentious "makings". Sometimes, it won't make you cry, but your heart ache. It can reach into such a deep level, and meanwhile, more or less, reminding you some yourself similar youth, which can only make the effect larger and larger.

I might not have the right to comment. However, I think one of attractive attributes of such Japanese literature/filims is its sensitivity(not overwhelmingly sentimental) and nuance, its delicate development and progress, its way of emotional express. Sometimes, silence is bigger than the loud sound; smile is bitter than a river of tears. If I put more, then it could be related to some oriental philosophy/aesthetics.

Off-topic, don't know whether Beatles' Norwegian Wood has anything to do with this novel?

[Madhuri]

I read Kafka on the Shore over the summer and, to be quite honest, though I tried to enjoy it - you can tell in my comment on the "What are you reading right now?" thread that I was thinking it would be something I would like - it just...never asserted itself as indisputably my "cup of tea". I was immediately skeptical when the cats started talking, but that actually didn't become a major annoyance for me at all; none of the story's supernatural elements made me want to put it down the way I suspected they might. It was worth reading once, I suppose, and I think I'll probably read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle next summer before discarding him altogether, but it is decidedly not my thing. I guess it just seemed like the length wasn't really justified by the content. Additionally, I like to think I'm the furthest thing from a prude, but a few sections read practically like erotica, which didn't really seem necessary to me - at least not over and over like it is.
I don't know about this "skinning scene" yet, obviously, but the scene with the cats' hearts in Kafka definitely made me cringe...

Before buying the book, I did read the short jist that is given on the back cover. The supernatural elements, and the cats talking did make me think the same thing, that I may not like reading it, but I went ahead because mostly people here were saying nice things about the writer and his other books. Let's see, I am still in the beginning of the story.

[Morten]

Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. Though I've enjoyed Norwegian Wood and after the quake, I sometimes feel a kind of embarassment about his prose in some of his other works. I don't know, I feel he's a tad overrated.

[TheFifthElement]

I read Kafka on the Shore over the summer and, to be quite honest, though I tried to enjoy it - you can tell in my comment on the "What are you reading right now?" thread that I was thinking it would be something I would like - it just...never asserted itself as indisputably my "cup of tea". I was immediately skeptical when the cats started talking, but that actually didn't become a major annoyance for me at all; none of the story's supernatural elements made me want to put it down the way I suspected they might. It was worth reading once, I suppose, and I think I'll probably read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle next summer before discarding him altogether, but it is decidedly not my thing. I guess it just seemed like the length wasn't really justified by the content. Additionally, I like to think I'm the furthest thing from a prude, but a few sections read practically like erotica, which didn't really seem necessary to me - at least not over and over like it is.
I don't know about this "skinning scene" yet, obviously, but the scene with the cats' hearts in Kafka definitely made me cringe...

I think Murakami is definitely an acquired taste, you love him or you don't. His novels tend to be quite slow and introspective, they are generally based around 'loner' characters, male, with male sexual appetites. I appreciate your points vis-a-vis the erotica element - I didn't think it was overbearing but perhaps quite an honest reflection of men's desires.

I wasn't overly impressed with Kafka on the Shore, but yet it did resonate with me enough to buy another Murakami book. It kind of gets into your blood.

[xaqxit]

Jamesian, just be warned: I think I agree that The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle didn't do as much as it seems like it could have with it's length (about 600 pages of fairly small print, for a contemporary trade paperback). Moreover, I also thought that parts of it, as you said about Kafka and the Shore, more or less read like erotica, though I think it worked for me as it added more to the general uncomfortable feeling of the book.

One good comparison for Murakami, is that his books read like David Lynch films. He's also a creepy director, who makes uncomfortable movies, filled with bizarre things and rather "perverse" sexuality, yet he still manages to make a unique, thought-provoking, final work.

I think I kind of have a love-hate relationship with the works of both artists, (well I'm judging Murakami on TWUBC alone, but it's his longest work, so I hopse that's justified).

[Lote-Tree]

Murakami writes about isloation, loneliness, identity, unrequited love etc...

If you are not interested in these themes then his writings may not be for you...

[superunknown]

I've only read Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World which I really enjoyed. Very original. I will have to get around to reading more of his stuff at some point.

[Mockingbird_z]

I know its not classical literature, but has anyone read books by Murakami?
what do you think about Afterdark?

[aeroport]

I read Kafka on the Shore last summer. Not really my thing.

[NickAdams]

Another Murakami thread?

[Kafka's Crow]

btw how did everyone found out about murakami? I was walking around the library and the cover picture of "norweigen wood" caught my eye.

One of my favorite search word 'Kafka' brought up Kafka on the Shore and I bought the audio version right away. Will start it today. Have been planning to listen to it for quite a while but other books kept on jumping in between. Will definitely start it today. I will be using this version:

http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/pages/product/product.asp?prod=NAX40512&affiliatecode=Froogle&utm_source=NAX40512&utm_medium=Froogle&utm_campaign=Froogle

[Mockingbird_z]

I read Afterdark and i was so impressed!!!
i like jazz theme in his books.
I thought it would be not a bad idea if someone shot a film based on it.
who knows?

[Lote-Tree]

Another Murakami fan :D

Bueno!

[superunknown]

Another Murakami thread?
No it's the old thread, I bumped it.

[Mockingbird_z]

I cant say I am a fan of Murakami, but I think I will read some more of his books.

[Kafka's Crow]

I am reading (listening to) Kafka on the Shore and am thoroughly enjoying it. Lovely book indeed. I have reached the point where the boy is depicted discussing the significance of his (false) name with the librarian and they are discussing Kafka's In the Penal Colony.

[boristhebutcher]

Murakami is probably my favorite author. The way he combines mystery with somewhat daily routines is incredible. I rate Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle as his best works, although all his novels are good reads. I got one of his first novels, Hear the Wind Sing, the other day, and although it isn't amongst the best of his works (his writing and storytelling has matured a lot since that release) you certainly sense the Murakami-esque universe from page 1. Has anyone else on here read 'Hear the Wind Sing'?

[Kafka's Crow]

I am reading The Wind-up Bird Chronicles and it is ten times better than Kafka on the Shore. I have reached the point where Toru Okada descends in the dry well and goes over the events of his own life. He is facing the guilt of causing two pregnancies which had to be terminated. So far an absolutely excellent book.

[Christophe]

I used to work in a bookshop. One day somebody requested Wind Up and I tracked down a copy for them. I found the title and author-name both amusing and obscure, I mentioned this fact to one of my co-workers. He then asked me if I'd ever read him, of course not, I replied, thinking that was obvious. He then stated matter-of-factly that he didn't feel there was much point in talking to me anymore until I did. Strange way of recommending a text I'd say. Yet I found a copy for myself and read it. And then the next and so on. I've read each of his works that are in print and find him like reading a dream. Although when you wake up and slowly it seeps out of your head and you struggle to recall or realise what happened can be frustrating. He and Peter Carey would be my favourite living authors.

[TheFifthElement]

Murakami is probably my favorite author. The way he combines mystery with somewhat daily routines is incredible. I rate Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle as his best works, although all his novels are good reads. I got one of his first novels, Hear the Wind Sing, the other day, and although it isn't amongst the best of his works (his writing and storytelling has matured a lot since that release) you certainly sense the Murakami-esque universe from page 1. Has anyone else on here read 'Hear the Wind Sing'?

I second your endorsement of Hard-Boiled Wonderland boris, it's my absolute favourite of his works but probably his least known.

If anyone is interested, I set up a social group for Murakami fans here: http://www.online-literature.com/forums/group.php?groupid=19

[Hayley Zero]

Ooooh Murakami!


btw how did everyone found out about murakami? I was walking around the library and the cover picture of "norweigen wood" caught my eye.

Through one of my fathers friends. He had received a Murakami book from a Finnish friend, read it, became completely obsessed with it. He bought all Murakami's books and spent sleepless nights reading them.
That's how me and my father started reading Murakami. I'm still in school and stuck with obligued literature lists - but every free minute I have spent with Murakami!

Thus far I read South of the Border, West of the Sun, Sputnik Sweetheart, Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and Blind Willow, Sleeping Women.

I plead for a Murakami sub-forum!

[kainso]

I have read some of his collected short stories , The Tragedy of Foreign Language. One of the stories recount his gathering with Tonni Morrison and other great writers in Princton College and his reflection over the impossibility of the mastery of a second language resonates with me.

He said he is not a serious writer but that's what makes him such an interesting person

[wessexgirl]

I have just bought a selection of his books for my Library, although I confess that I haven't read any of them. I have been trying to build up a World Literature section, and have read a lot about him and his influences and themes. There's a definite buzz around him, and there was an Arts programme about him recently here in the UK which I caught. I believe that although he's somewhat surreal and dream-like, he's very accesssible to the West, with his musical/cultural allusions. I've bought The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Kafka on the Shore, Sputnik Sweetheart, After the Quake, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, and Norwegian Wood. I think that's all for now. Now to promote him to the students. :thumbs_up

[Geumjassi]

Haruki Murakami (the one you speak of, there are actually two famous authors by that name in Japan right now), is DEFINITELY one of my favorite authors. I've read both "Sputnik Sweetheart" and "South of the Border..." I'm trying to work my way through all his writings.

You are very articulate when you talk about his portrayal of loneliness and isolation. I can't think of another author I've read who does it better. There's this whole eerie vibe about his work, like you are entering another world, even though it isn't strictly speaking magical realism. That's the interesting thing about Murakami: he can blend so many elements. He's an easy enough read to have popular appeal, but at the same time he ranks in my opinion as one of the world's best current postmodern authors, up there with the likes of DeLillo and Pynchon. He reminds me more of J.G. Ballard's sci-fi/surrealistic pieces and the tone of Nabakov's writing, which always involves a certain sense of alienation, as though all the pieces don't fit quite right and existence itself creates uneasiness.

I recommend "Kafka on the Shore", his collection of stories "The Elephant Vanishes" and also "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" which left me haunted for a very long time. Prepare to imagine yourself sitting alone at the bottom of a well a great deal, if that gives you any idea about it's tone.

I don't agree at all with his critics who say that he only uses pop philosophy without delving deeper or that he just drops names to add a pretentious air. As a former philosophy major I can tell you he really knows his stuff and how to use it sparingly and effectively. His existential ruminations almost always hit just the right mark.

He's been described as being a very "American" Japanese author, but I don't really see that. I see that he likes aspects of American culture such as Jazz music and has integrated them into the world of his books, but his take on life matters shows a distinctly Japanese attitude influenced by the folklore of Shintoism and the discipline of Buddhism. The mixture of cultural influences is fascinating to see.

And I personally find it hard to resist an author who integrates cats into almost every one of his stories :p