Haruki Murakami
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I got his newest book, After Dark in limited edition. Apparently there are only 800 copies in this edition.
*smug*
>>By Flagg (Sunday, 18 Nov 2007 12:50)
I am finished after the quake, and the stories were terrific, after reading "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo," I'd say this was among the best, then I read "Honey Pie" and it got me all emotional and all. Just wonderful. He can writes simple things yet still srikes a cord iside you.
>>By jeeper (Sunday, 2 Dec 2007 03:17)
Yes, those are my two favourite stories in there. I don't know how he does it. I expect the translators deserve some credit too.
I'm now reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and it's not disappointing me so far. I'm glad it's so long, I like to stay in Murakami's world for as long as I can.
>>By Flagg (Sunday, 2 Dec 2007 23:57)
murakami is a great writer. I always wonder if the flaws or "stange things" we see in his writings are our own insufficiencies. I would suppose most people commenting on this site are anglos (though I did see something from indonesia!)-and maybe our understanding or lack thereof stems from these cultural differences. And yet what makes murakami's work stand out is its "pop" mentality, its westernization.
also-I don't know if you could call his style "magical realism" (to be honest I am not intimate with this heading's true definition)-but isn't strange that to me it seems so and many foreign authors (barring the russians) whose names are widely recognized and lauded including gabriel garcia marquez,salmon rushdie, milan kundera have that same quality-
if anyone wants to discuss this or direct me towards other writers I would appreciate it! ty
>>By iwishiwereabondgirl (Friday, 11 Jan 2008 13:07)
I read very few translated books actually, so I don't know if it's a general thing when reading something that started in another language. I agree the "flaws" in Murakami's style - and there are some - can only be because of cultural differences and things getting lost in translation.
I finished The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. It was if anything even more surreal than the others I've read by him. In fact it reminded me of a David Lynch film a lot of the time. Anyway while I was reading it I kept noticing little flaws or things I didn't like, and I thought I wasn't enjoying it as much as I have his others, but once I finished it I realised just how deeply satisfying it was. I immediately wished it was still going on.
The man is a humble genius.
>>By Flagg (Friday, 11 Jan 2008 15:30)
Since my last visit, I have read After Dark and Sputnik Sweetheart, not really my favorites among what I have read from him.
My girlfriend who's sick borrowed my short stories collection and was really taken by the story "Sleep." Says that it was really disturbing. She says that it was amazing how he was able to catch the female perspective so well.
I am not sure if magic realism applies to his books but from my understanding it seems to me it doesn't apply. Or maybe my understanding of the concept of magic realism is wrong. Sure, it is surreal but I am no literature expert.
>>By jeeper (Saturday, 2 Aug 2008 17:49)
I just finished A Wild Sheep Chase. Pretty good, not his best.
>>By Flagg (Wednesday, 20 Aug 2008 16:34)
His last books have all been crap. after dark, kafka on the shore, sputnick sweethear, south of the west, and that stupid running book are all about nothing. what the hell is happening in After Dark? what kind of ending is that for a book? Kafka is about nthing at all. If you guys want good reading read The Savage Detectives or 2666 by Roberto Bolano, or read Saul Bellow, Philip Roth. I used to like the early works of Murakami but his last books are all rubbish.
>>By hustvedt (Wednesday, 12 Nov 2008 22:06)
You're allowed to be wrong about Murakami's books, but do you have to be so aggressive about it?
>>By Flagg (Thursday, 13 Nov 2008 00:55)
Sorry Flagg, but, in a way, Murakami is a bad example of Japanese literature. A friend of mine read Kobo Abe and another one read Mishima and they said, oh, it's not Murakami. Of course not. Their books tell a story with begining and end, and, as a writer myself, after reading after dark, I was left in the dark myself. One of my friends laughed and said, how come Murakami never finishes a book these days?
>>By hustvedt (Friday, 14 Nov 2008 16:45)
Zen like meditations on modern society,a truly Japanese form of magic realism and utterly absorbing.I've been trying to read his canon slowly, all my instincts tell me to gorge myself on his works but they are too good to use up in a rush.
>>By Pencilsqueezer (Wednesday, 24 Feb 2010 14:46)
Well I don't really read his works as an example of Japanese literature. I just read them as novels. As Murakami novels, from which I don't expect a clear beginning and end. It's not for everyone, admittedly.
Wow, that was ages ago you posted that. Wonder if you're still here...
>>By Flagg (Friday, 26 Feb 2010 01:26)
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