Haruki Murakami

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Haruki Murakami

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1nakedsushi
jan 3, 2008, 8:48 pm

I don't understand why everyone goes on and on about his books. Someone even say that it changed their lives.

A boyfriend (fan of Murakami) recommended Norwegian Wood to me before I knew anything about Murakami. I think I read a few chapters in and then stopped because it didn't interest me, but I can't explain why.

Recently, I read After Dark and I guess I just didn't "get it." I feel the same way about it as I felt about Norwegian Wood. I felt like I was just reading words. I didn't feel anything for the characters and while events happened in the book, they didn't stir any reaction from me.

What am I missing here?

2Medellia
jan 25, 2008, 8:41 pm

For what it's worth, Norwegian Wood and After Dark are my two least favorite Murakami novels by far--and I have read all of them, including Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973.

My favorite is Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, followed by The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore. I prefer longer novels to shorter novels, though, and I will readily admit that his books often take a while to get going.

My husband recently read Hard-Boiled Wonderland. He found it to be slow going at first (I didn't really get this, as I was sucked in immediately, but I've heard this from a few other folks), but thought that the ending was truly wonderful. I like themes of mind, memory, and identity, and these are all over this novel (and really, the rest of Murakami's works). If you don't like sci-fi elements in your literary fiction, though, you might not want to read Hard-Boiled Wonderland.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is definitely a book that I felt was slow-moving, but the last 100 pages were beautiful. I felt that Kafka on the Shore was a messier novel than the other two, and I think that it didn't adequately address some of the issues (particularly those of violence and warfare) that he brought up. Nonetheless, I found it to be an engaging read that had some thought-provoking passages. It is considerably more fanciful than The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, so if you're not one for magic realism, again, it may not be to your liking.

I wouldn't say that Murakami's novels have changed my life, but they have certainly enriched it. They often touch me in a deep, almost spiritual (humanistic, not religious) way. And they have led me to think more deeply about memory and identity, among many other things.

I'd encourage you to give one of those three novels a try. If you don't like it, then maybe Murakami's just not your thing!

3whitewavedarling
feb 26, 2008, 11:47 am

I have a friend who used to teach Norwegian Wood because he wanted to have Murakami on the syllabus, and felt like it was one of the more accessible ones that fit in his syllabus, but even he admitted it was one of his least favorites of the works. I haven't read many of his novels, but I do love Kafka on the Shore--for the me, the writing is beautiful, the characters engaging, and the story is just fun. I would classify it as magical realism, so it's not for everyone, but I think that if you can get past the first fifty pages or so and just go along for the ride, it's enjoyable. In any case, that's the one I'd recommend regardless of length...

4laphroaig
jul 6, 2008, 6:04 pm

It's interesting that some find Kafka on the Shore difficult to get into. I loved the novel for its first 100 pages, which I found deeply intriguing and very engaging as well as satisfying imaginative. However by the end I was bored of all this style without substance; it felt like a film made of highly photogenic but unconnected scenes.

5bookchronicle
aug 14, 2008, 1:10 pm

While I do love Norwegian Wood, I usually suggest people start with his short story collection The Elephant Vanishes. Assuming the reader doesn't loathe short stories, they're accessible, fulfilling, and if you do end up disliking them you tend not to feel you've wasted as much time.

6bardsfingertips
nov 13, 2008, 11:53 am

I want to read this guy!

Thanks for this thread of posts, everyone :-)

7varielle
Bewerkt: mei 6, 2013, 5:54 pm

I'm afraid I'm with nakedsushi on this one. I've tried Hard Boiled Wonderland and The Wind up Bird Chronicle and they both bored me out of my mind.

8AnnieMod
mei 6, 2013, 4:47 pm

>7 varielle:

Try Kafka on the Shore. I am reluctant t o recommend any pf his other books but I really loved that one. But be patient at the start - it is a bit slowish in the first 1/3rd or thereabouts.

9pgmcc
mei 6, 2013, 5:12 pm

I have read The Wind-up Bird Chronicle and 1Q84. I found them wonderful books. They both forced me to think about reality, relationships, reality, violence, terror, and many other things. They are not books one would turn to for a fast action thriller. They are books providing food for thought and for new ways of looking at old things.

My interpretation of Murakami's use of surreal/supernatural elements in these books is that they provide a mechanism to allow the reader to explore situations from different viewpoints and in a fashion that is different from the normal linear way of looking at things.

I would never say a book has changed my life but I will say that discovering Murakami's works has certainly enriched my life.