The Seventh Man by Haruki Murakami

[windowfriend]

My apologies if this is in the wrong forum...

I'm writing a paper on Haruki Murakami's short story "The Seventh Man".

I'm wondering if anyone has read it. If you have, what were your thoughts on it?

I really enjoyed it but analyzing it critically is difficult. I know I like it, but describing why is hard to put into words. Whenever I read it I get a very strong emotional response--which makes unbiased, logical deconstruction difficult. So far, I have identified a number of symbols but I think I'm missing a lot of them.

Does anyone know the full meaning of the title? I've thought of several possible meanings but I'm not sure where the author was going with it.

Any input would be appreciated! :)

[jon1jt]

I heard a reading from this book on national radio the other night and was very disappointed. The story is flat, tinny, and predictable. The Seventh Man sitting around the fire recounts an incident long ago about a boy pulled out to sea and the friend who looks up at the wave and sees the boy looking down at him before being ripped away, out. This event sets up the rest of the novel---the friend, distraught over what's happened, moves away. He grows old and one day returns to the same barren patch of beach his friend was swallowed by---to reflect on what happened, sort it all out. :rolleyes:

I haven't read this book nor would I read it if somebody paid me. Unfortunately I can't make any suggestions. It just doesn't seem like there's anything to "analyze" in the plot, so I'm not surprised you're having difficulty with it. Good luck.

[windowfriend]

It is very simplistic, which is why is was having problems with it. :sick: Great story on the surface, but start digging...and there's not much to talk about.


Interesting that you got the impression of everyone sitting around a fire while the 7th man tells his story...'cause that's the impression I came away with. But then I went back and looked at it later, and the story said nothing about a fire. In fact, it only says it is dark outside and makes no mention of the temperature. :)