25 replies to this topic

[Artem]

there were a few mentions of haruki murakami in the "summer readings" thread, so i decided to make a separate thread for this author. he's one of my favourite authors. was sort of a gateway writer to a lot of other interesting literature. what appeals to me the most in his books, is his main male character. for some reason i feel like i can relate to them, and they often feature the same characteristics thoughout his books. he's a cosmopolitan. single. intellectual. alway calm. takes even the weirdest situation with perfect ease, and is always looking for something. so, a part existentialist too. my top 10 murakami's books: 1. a wild sheep chase 2. dance dance dance 3. the wind-up bird chronicle 4. norwegian wood 5. sputnik sweetheart 6. hard boiled wonderland and the end of the world 7. south of the border, west of the sun 8. kafka on the shore 9. underground 10. after dark i don't know where i'd put "pinball 1973" and "listen to the song of the wind". probably out of the top 10. i've also read about 4 books of his collected stories. old ones and new ones. and a collection of jazz essays he wrote. he's very popular in russia, although i know maybe 3 other people besides me who know him, but the publishing companies release about 3-4 books each year by him. mostly short form. and we've been getting his latest novels probably a year before they get published in the states or in england. so, what do you like about murakami? favourite book? or whatever you feel like talking about him, do it here.

[Artem]

by the way, i wonder if females like him? i remember someone jokingly saying that murakami is "talking to hot women about blow jobs and listening to jazz music". which is sort of true. i think he's very male-centric in his writing target audience, if you can call it that way.

[undo]

I read some short stories by him and enjoyed them.

[Aerodynamics]

I've noticed that Murakami is sometimes compared to David Lynch.

I think that the comparison is somewhat apt, but Murikami's work has it's own unique tenor that is quite different from Lynch's.

While they both work at the junction of of the real and the imagined, the world of waking and the world of dreams, it seems that Lynch's interest lies in persuing and understanding dark, malevolent inhuman entities and powers, whereas Murakami seems more focused on good, positive and beautiful things.

I'd like to discuss 'Kafka on the Shore', the most fertile part of which is the last third, so consider this a spoiler warning.











Murakami leaves abundant ambiguity in his novel, and I think he does so pointedly. We are left to wonder just what entrance the entrance stone opens. At the point that Kafka abandons his gear and goes into the deepest part of the forest, he plays with the notion of killing himself with his fathers knife. Soon afterwards, he finds himself in a sort of netherworld that seems at once real and unreal. Is this place a kind of purgatory, or limbo? And what is the connection between these events and the events which took place near the end of the war, that caused Nakata's condition?

What is the significance of the philosophy quoted by the prostitute? And what of Aristophane's male/male male/female female/female model?

Finally, there is the mystery of Ms. Saeki. In answer to Kafka's question about whether she is his mother, she replies "You already know the answer to that". Indeed, we, as readers, are told that he does, but the answer is never divulged to us. It seems likely to me that Ms. Saeki is not, in fact, Kafka's mother, but is willing to take the role of an older woman who loves and accepts him. She reconciles his anger and pain at being abandoned by accepting him, just as he puts to rest her pain at loosing the lover of her youth.

Curiously, after finishing the novel, if found myself bombarded by coincidental reminders of it. 'Edelwiess' playing in the background at a music store, happening, by chance, to catch the 'Heigh-Ho' sequence of 'Snow White', and similarities between Murakami's description of the forest to a re-telling of 'Hansel and Gretel' that my wife happened to be writing at the time.

[st. park]

i went on a murakami binge a few years ago and read like 7 of his books over one summer. i love wind-up bird chronicle; really like dance, dance, dance and norwegian wood. the others, i don't really remember.

[Artem]

i like what you say about that coparison with lynch. i can definitely see those things you mention about murakami.

i have read "kafka on the shore" a few years ago. my memory of it isn't very strong to discuss it's details.

Soon afterwards, he finds himself in a sort of netherworld that seems at once real and unreal. Is this place a kind of purgatory, or limbo?

it could be both, i think.
the emphasis on duality is obvious there. so it really could be a mix of the two.
i dunno

[boobs]

ladies love 'Norwegian wood.' i found it ... emo you underrated hard boiled wonderland

[Artem]

the reason i don't like it as much as some other of his books, is because of its duality. it never clicked with me, and i don't think it works very well with his style. that's the exact reason why i didn't enjoy "kafka on the shore" and "after dark" as much as i thought i would.

[boobs]

elucidate

[Aerodynamics]

I thought the ending of 'Hard Boiled Wonderland' kinda flopped. Also, I would have preferred a whole novel of the 'End of the World' half. I thought he did a much better job in 'Kafka' of creating dynamic and tenuous connections between the disparate elements.

[Artem]

"kafka" doesnt' feel as much as two separated books as "wonderland" does. i dunno about kafka, but i'm sure that "wonderland" was made out of two separate unfinished texts.

[sombrero]

I've read a few Murakami's, and I think he's a great writer. I like the mood his books put me in and with every one that i've read I haven't been able to put the book down. I wonder how much is lost in translation though. For instance, all of his characters have a subdued, Meursault quality that comes across as strange and sober. There is no real shouting or outbursts of emotion (as far as i can remember anyway), but i'm not sure whether it's intended to be an unusual characteristic or whether it's simply culturally realistic. I like the mix of mundane detail and extraordinary events.

[Aerodynamics]

I suspect a lot of the humor is lost in translation. I get the impression that Murakami has a habit of using english words for comedic affect (many english words and phrases are known to the general public of Japan because of their national interest in Western pop-culture). Of course, there is no way to retain this kind of effect when translating into english.

[Artem]

i think the tranquility is originally there i found reading murakami very relaxing and comforting. as far as translation, i've read his books in english and russian. i liked english translated versions better.

[Waylon]

I read all of the Murakami I could get my hands on back in my early 20s. I really enjoyed it. Now that I'm closer to 30 the stuff doesn't grab me in the same way. I think it's because I have a better idea of what I'm doing with my life and am in a good relationship. But he does a great job of capturing the feeling of those wilderness years. Re: Hardboiled Wonderland, all of his endings have been disappointing except for that book. It's the only one with any sort of resolution. I've never noticed the Lynch parallels, but I can certainly understand why some would draw that distinction, having finally watched season 2 of Twin Peaks.

[st. park]

murakami: post-grads in their 20's :: salinger: teens ?

[Aerodynamics]

Funny ... the weather report said nothing about heavy clouds of condescension rolling in.

[Waylon]

It wasn't my intention to condescend -- I still like Murakami, all I'm saying is that there's a certain time in my life where his work clicked with me more than it does these days.

[st. park]

just kidding dudes. maybe should have included a smiley or whatever.

[wakingrufus]

i want to read this stuff, but something in me tells me i need to learn japanese first to enjoy it in the native tounge......but i'll never be that fluent.