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Haruki Murakami


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That's really the thing I love most about Murukami.

 

I love the descriptions, and the mundane lives of mundane people who have weird and wonderful things that happen to them. I love the repeated use of the same cyphers and places. The spaghetti and beer and food and TV and cats that always repeat - in a much more low-key and urban equivalent of Ballards broken sunglasses and empty swimming pools. I love the vaguely cyber-punk/matrix-y stuff that happens, where people get sucked into parallel worlds, but those parallel worlds don't bother with the high-tech stuff, and the attempts at explanation, that make cyberpunk feel astonshingly dated very quickly.

 

I love all that stuff. But really what grabs me is the lack of explanation, the lack of conclusion. The way it's left to the reader to think, and wonder. The way that narratives don't have clearly defined endings, the way they don't in real life.

 

I think it's fantastic stuff.

 

I really must read Hard-Boiled Wonderland.

 

Great stuff Andy, the best thing I find about his books is they always involve a cat in some way, he loves cats :icon_eek:

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I hear what you're saying Loopyloo, I was also curious to know if I was missing something because there's only 10 pages left and I didn't think Murakami could wrap it all up in that space, making 100% logical sense.

 

Now I've reread what I wrote I don't think I was clear: what I was meaning was that I wondered what I was missing by not reading Murakami when everyone else seemed to be. :D

 

I think I was expecting it not have a beginning, middle and end as in the conventional sense because of the posts I'd read previously.

 

I've still not gotten round to reading more as I just have too much to get through at the moment!

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Now I've reread what I wrote I don't think I was clear: what I was meaning was that I wondered what I was missing by not reading Murakami when everyone else seemed to be. :D

 

Aaaaa! ;) I probably read it all wrong myself. Well it did make sense to me, though from a totally different perspective :D

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I find it really difficult (as you may have guessed :lol:) to describe Haruki Murakami, its like, 'yeah I really like him because he is so different' and people ask, 'why different', which results in me saying 'er....'

 

:lol:

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  • 4 weeks later...

Ooh, interesting links, thanks Gyre. That's an intriguing title for a book. I have no doubt that it will be translated into English at some point, given his popularity in English-speaking countries (I'm surprised the article would even mention it).

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Thanks for that Gyre. I was wondering when he would follow up with another fiction gem. Looks like there might be a follow-up or -ups to 1Q84 in the making already!

 

He did release a sort of biog last year centring on his love for running marathons - What I Talk ABout When I Talk About Running. (Note the homage to Ray Carver's 'What We Talk About When We Talk About Love' in that title... but don't get me started on Carver.)

Bart

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I am looking forward to it too, Kylie I was surprised too that they mentioned that in the article because I am sure it is a given that the book will be translated into english :)

 

Bart, I did not know that 'What I Talk ABout When I Talk About Running' was a homage to Ray Carver, I am not familar with his work, sorry to say. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Alongside Milan Kundera, this guy is probably my favourite writer ever.

 

I find the juxtaposition of the ordinary and the downright bizarre in his writing style fascinating. There really aren't many people who could tackle the kind of oddness that he does and still resonate in a very human way.

 

I think Kafka On The Shore is probably my favourite of his, closely followed by The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Like many other people, Norwegian Wood was the first book of his I read and it is definately a good, gentle introduction to his work for anyone that hasn't read him before.

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I`ve only read one After Dark that was good, I`ve got Norwegian Wood on my TBR which I`m looking forward to reading :)

 

There have certainly been some good reviews of his books and his writing style on here. :)

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I just finished Kafka on the Shore by Murakami - a real metaphysical mind-bender to be sure but I really enjoyed it. It was the summer read for my bookclub and in fact, my bookclub meets this evening to discuss it. Should be cause for some interesting discussions and theories.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well I've tried reading his 'Wind-up Bird Chronicle' and given up. I found it overwrought, repetitive and somewhat lacking. The main character Toru is self centred, taking advantage of all that falls his way. The other characters just dont gel - with the exception possibly of May. The only theme of interest was the philosophical. I got to about 100 pages within the end and just found I'd lost interest. I might try 'Norwegian Wood' as that seems to be different, as its unfair to dismiss an author on the basis of one book.

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  • 4 months later...

I'm reading Norwegian Wood right now, too, and I'm loving it! I think Murakami is officially my favorite writer ever. His books are so good, I can't even review them. Does that make sense? :D

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I don't get what's good about it. Don't read the following if you're not up to around page 270.

All four girls (Naoko, Midori, Reiko and to a lesser extent Hatsumi) are NEUROTIC, and Toru doesn't seem to notice this or care. He has so little personality that he's a pure vehicle pulling those girls together while they're so completely off the wall that it's impossible to like or relat to or even care about them. There's no plot other than 'Saw Naoko. Oral sex. Thought about death. Saw Midori. Talked about sex. Thought about death. Saw Naoko. Oral sex. Death death death. Saw Midori. Went to a porn film.' If I liked the characters or felt sympathy for their conditions then maybe it'd have some impact on me, but they're completely lifeless so all that's left is a series of neuroses which are mind-numbingly repetitive and boring.

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I just finished it. As I've said also in my reading list thread yokey, if anyone can explain this X factor of Murakami's which I can audibly hear wooshing over my head, please feel free to do so.

Edited by Nollaig
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I just finished it tonight. I think what I love about his characters is that he can bring them to life, yet they remain completely ordinary. They are extraordinary and ordinary at the same time. For some reason, I love his narrators' descriptions of their daily lives, and the fact that they are fairly isolated from the world around them. They live in the world, yet they remain apart from it.

 

I don't know...like I said, I love Murakami's books so much, it's hard for me to express it. I've never even been able to review a single one of his books. Oh well, it's on to The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. :ditto:

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Haruki Murakami are so hard to describe, everyone of his characters, have quirks, some annoying, some endearing, basically people being people :lol:

 

He is one of my favourite authors because he is so different, I love his outlook of the world :ditto:

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  • 1 month later...

I'm currently reading Kafka on the shore,and so far I like it.Very much.I think it'll turn out to be a great book,but I'll just wait until I've finished it before I make that statement official :smile2:

 

As far as Norwegian wood goes,I've read it some time ago,and I remember I didn't have a very good feeling about it before reading it, because Murakami just seemed to be so..Dunno.In I guess.Overblown or sth.But when I read it,it changed my opinion a bit,because the book was well written (of course,keep in mind I've read a translated version,not the original,so this statement is a bit silly,but you know what I mean),easy to read,and it seemed honest.What annoyed me was the sex scenes,they seemed unnecessary most of the time.But I've noticed the sex motif in his other books so...Guess he's just a teeny guy in an grown man's body :) Anyway,it seems to me that Norwegian wood is not one of his best books,but seems to be one of the most popular for whatever reason.

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