Did you know that there is a story by Haruki Murakami in this week's New Yorker? (feb. 13-20)
I won't spoil it for you, but I can see how someone would hate him now!
I don't read the New Yorker, but I can see how nonetheless!
why would people hate him?
Because he inserted something ridiculous out of the blue in the middle of the story!
But just that is good.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is just a classic - insertng ridiculous stuff out of the blue can be indeed good
I'm not saying I didn't like the story :D
I loved what he did with it, but I can see how it would irritate someone
There's nothing ridiculous in that short story. Now if Y. asked M. to be her petite soeur in the middle of the story, I would consider it. :-P
Who is Haruki Murakami?
I'm Japanese,but I have never read his book.
Oh, I thought he was quite big in Japan... he writes novels about many things, but his best ones are strange oddyseys which happen amidst the lives of everyday people. Sort of like some of Kobo Abe's stuff, but perhaps not as far-out, and, some argue, better. I reccomend The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Nejimakidori Chronicle)
he's the best writer in Japan i think
Murakami's most popular work is arguably Norwegian Wood (ノウェーの森). He's undoubtedly famous for a Japanese writer in the so-called "western world," mostly because of the deluge of cultural references to the U.S. and European pop music, unabashed discussions of "fastfood sex," modern fashion, and the occasional jabs at student movement in the 60's as well as capitalism, which makes him posh as well as pop to western sensibilities. He's also quite a problematic writer in Japan because his prose is often criticized for being "not Japanese enough." Murakami has been greatly influenced by American writers such as Raymond Chandler and Truman Capote, whose many works he translated into Japanese afaik.
Well, I was personally kind of disappointed by Norwegian Wood - it's not bad at all, but it has none of the weirdness which makes Murakami so special - though the book has got a very interesting atmosphere and I quite liked it... I mean, I was disappointed because it wasn't like his other books that I had read. But it's good, anyway.
Some foreigners say that Haruki is quite popular in Japan.
But I dont think so. Of course he is famous, but there are not so many people who really love his works.
What's funny on him is that before Haruki got famous in CHina, Russia and USA, most critics in Japan were mockering him and regarded him as some relics.
Anyone else notice that Murakami has a thing for wells and map makers?
i tried reading hard-boiled wonderand and the end of the world last year and got really bored with it halfway through
was i missing something?
I'm currently reading it and liking it. Personally I like 'Kafka on the shore' as well as a 'Wild Sheep Chase' It think it is quite strange what happens in his books though. It's like things jump from one to another almost totally randomly. It's ok, but still very strange.
kafka on the shore was a return to form for murakami...though i didn't rush out for the short story book yet.
and norwegian wood is very different to his other work, vut is possibly more accessible because of it....
Kafka, himself, was one cool writer. I loved both, The Trail, and The Castle. Though couldn't quite grasp the short story called, Metamorphosis. He must have been on lsd or something when he wrote that one. (Do Jews take drugs?)
i`m currently reading UNDERGROUND now. Its sorta like Murakami interviewing the victims of the Aum Shinrikyo subway gas attacks. I like it alot so far.
As much as I'd love to get Murakami's book of short stories, I rather have a paperback version of it. Of course this will mean that I'll have to wait at LEAST a year to get it. D:
It's one of the world's great shames that it's far easier to translate anime and comics than it is to translate novels.
Has anyone read After Dark yet?
I've only read Norwegian Wood, and from what I've heard about his other works, I'm not greatly interested in dreamy, surreal things. I like my feet firmly planted on the ground.
After Dark was decent, but I wasn't really surprised by any of the events and the subplot with the older sister (if you could call it a subplot) seemed pointless.
Murakami has a great skill in making weird events and beings seem absolutely normal and everday. Sometimes when reading his books I just stop and smile because he's just done a total mindfuck with the story being sort of random and yet connected in every way.
I love Murakami. If I could suddenly become a skilled writer, I would write like him. What I mean is, we share the same views and style. I wouldn't really call the elements 'random.' It's more of a Vonnegut meets Kafka kind of random, which isn't really random at all but simply complex. (Oxymoron!)
I've read Norwegian Wood before, and I'm now finishing The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle... I liked the former, but did not ponder overmuch. However, the latter made me think of Tim Powers a lot...
Murakami's work is great. I love "dance, dance, dance" most.
In his story a surrealistic event often happens, but he portrays it as if it is quite normal thing.
He is very good at giving reality (feeling of everyday life) to conceptual, fantastic world.
>>12
Murakami isn't as popular in Japan as he is overseas. He himself has admitted that he writes his Japanese in a way that lends itself to easy translation. That would amount to doing things such as not using certain difficult-to-translate idioms, presenting the story in a more Western way, etc. The accusation that his writing is not "Japanese enough" is, from what I've heard, justified.
I've picked up After Dark, and am hoping to dig into that soon.
I really enjoyed Kafka on the Shore... but I really don't care for his style. I like meaty works; metaphysical, well-written, poetic, etc., and I just feel like he delivers any of these (except metaphysics, I suppose).
I'm a really big fan of Murakami.
My first one was After Dark.. I've seen the cover and thought "I need to read this book" (..the german Cover is way cooler than the english one)
Really? Damn- when I hear his name [or read it in this instance] I get shivers- I really like his styles and how he writes- I've read After Dark as my first book- and was previously interested but didn't remember what his name was when my friend started reading his works- I need to pick up more of his things.
yoshitomo banana
>Since childhood, Murakami has been heavily influenced by Western culture, particularly Western music and literature. He grew up reading a range of works by American writers such as Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan, and he is often distinguished from other Japanese writers for his Western influences.