You forgot about having dual plots going on at the same time.

I also forgot about random outbreaks of nonsensical violence, and classical music seemingly owning the soul of every radio and whistling person in Japan.

Also: lots of Jazz music everywhere, since he's a huge fan.

At least Murakami is right about something:

""But despite their growing ranks, both kogaru and ganguro encounter hostility here. In a recent interview published in Kansai Time Out, Japan's eminent novelist Haruki Murakami called them a big problem for Japan, and said that he feels sadness and disgust when he passes these bleached and flamboyantly outfitted young ladies on the streets of his neighborhood, Shinjuku, in Tokyo.""

Fortunately that fad has mostly died out as far as I am aware. Only a few stubborn embers remain thank God

That recipe is awesome Aijin,

I'm not a big fan of Murakami ether. He writes good, interesting sentences, but the plots are so incoherent, and the story goes nowhere. After turning the last page of his book, I always feel like "So just what was the story about???". But a lot of people like it so I guess it's his style and it's not too much about plots and story lines but more about the feelings that each scene convey.

I liked his translation of an English book though. But I forgot which one I read.

Yeah... I'm not really impressed, but maybe I'll try to continue since it's an easy read and his books are rated so highly...

I think I liked the Murakami Ryu books I've read much better, like coin locker babies and 限りなく透明に近いブルー...

torokun Wrote:I think I liked the Murakami Ryu books I've read much better, like coin locker babies and 限りなく透明に近いブルー...

That's how I feel too, I like Ryu better because Ryu has real stories, Haruki doesn't. I gave up on reading ねじ巻き鳥クリニクル. It was on a magazine, weekly or monthly, bit by bit as a series, 15 years ago or so. And at first, like ALL his works, it looked really interesting. But after a while, the story went nowhere and I just gave up.

He does have the talent to write good sentences though. It's just there is no real plots in his works, imo.

Aijin Wrote:Recipe for creating a Murakami novel:

• Marinade a lb of incoherent plot in three cups of awkward sex scenes.
- Brand with large age differences in the couple is preferred. Sex Between Family Members brands can be found at specialty stores.

• Sprinkle four tbsps of unexplained-mysticism-used-simply-to-give-the-novel-the-illusion-of-containing-depth.

• Sear the marinaded incoherent plot in dry dialogue for five minutes, until the average prose is crisp. Proceed to bake at 100 degrees for weeks straight, simply to drag out the story as unnecessarily long as possible.

Yum yum!

Hehe, that's disturbingly accurate... and yet, I do enjoy reading Murakami. I got into it from reading his short stories. Then I read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and thought it was really great, and it motivated me to really get into Japanese so I could read it in the original. Norwegian Wood I also enjoyed. After Dark, I was like, yes, and? Then I read Kafka on the Shore and my brain exploded. WTF is this book about? And also, ew? I read an interview where Murakami says you have to read the book several times before you can really understand it and that it's worth it. Um, no thanks. Ok, maybe I'll read it again. If I'm ever down a well with nothing much to do.

Nemotoad Wrote:Ok, maybe I'll read it again. If I'm ever down a well with nothing much to do.

Especially if you're hiding from crazed Russian soldiers.

A few people have commented that Murakami's writing lacks coherency and heavily relies on stylistics. I haven't read anything written by Murakami, but I do know he draws inspiration from Kafka and his writing is generally considered postmodern. This poses problems for those who expect traditional, narrative storytelling. I know it did for me.

Reader guides on postmodern lit are helpful in this situation. The wiki is a good starting point. Beginning with easier reads, like Catch-22, Cat's Cradle, or anything by Jack Kerouac or William Burroughs is useful as well. Being able to appreciate some contemporary literature can be as difficult as appreciating Shakespeare. However, just because you can't wrap your head around Hamlet the first time doesn't mean that it's a lousy piece of literature. Eventually, a contemporary novel like Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon might stand next to Dostoevsky on your bookshelf.

Anyhow, if this sort of thing isn't your cup of tea, then there's plenty of straightforward storytelling to be found in genre fiction. Literary elites like to discredit this sort of stuff, but they seem to neglect the fact that different people have different goals when it comes to literature. If they do understand this, then they generally suggest that people should read the literature they approve of because it can "enrich" their lives, help them "understand the cultural significance of literature", etc. While these are legitimate reasons, unfortunately, it all seems like preaching to the choir.

The bottom line: read what you like, and do a little research if you don't understand it. Try to read again while equipped with your new knowledge. And if you still don't like it, then don't feel ashamed, even if some literary snob tries to make you feel bad.

mmm I don't know. Yeah, everybody has a different taste, but I don't think it's a question of if you understand postmodern literatures. Haruki's works aren't incoherent in the same way Naked Lunch is, nor his character becomes a caterpillar when he wakes up one morning. It's more like high school girls talking like "oh my god, I was at my boyfriend's place, and he's so cute, and he's like so buff and uh yea, I'm going to Ibiza with him this summer!" OK. I'm definitely exaggerating, but substitute the girl with a geeky, but smart, dude and make him fantasize about relations with exotic women in a classy way, that's pretty much what you get.

It's worth a read for sure though. He's got a style. Whether or not you like it is a different story. I like things like The old man and the sea, A clock work orange, and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? better.

@masaman

Ah, okay. I had no idea since I've never read a word written by Murakami. However, from a literary point of view, I wouldn't brush off seemingly unnecessary and mundane descriptions or dialogues. Sometimes, the atmosphere and pacing of a work can be altogether lost if such elements are removed.

I've even seen entire films composed of seemingly random conversations strewn together, "Coffee and Cigarettes" and "Waking Life" come to mind.

However, I will admit that such styling can be incredibly boring to general audiences. The film "All the Veneers in New York" is a great example of this. Even my pretentious film school friend stopped watching after the first 30 minutes. Curious enough, that's exactly what the director was going for. After about an hour of just about nothing happening, the last five minutes of the film is a totally unexpected climax that more or less explodes in your face in all of its filmic beauty. I highly recommend it for those with patience or experience with long sessions of meditation.

Norwegian Wood is a great book, but I don't like any of Murakami's other stuff. Granted, I read a translation, and I'm a way bigger fan of the translator (Jay Rubin, as mentioned above) than I am of Murakami. I later bought the Japanese version. I've read the first chapter or so in Japanese, and it doesn't seem too too hard. Granted, there are plenty of easier books.

Incidentally, if you're reading a novel for the first time, I think that 1Q84 is a horrible idea. The first time to finish a full novel written for adults is a big moment, and it's gonna take a while... why start with a three volume book and make it that much harder?

Hm. I guess I was expecting something more straightforward from Haruki, since his books are 'popular'. I will suspend my boredom for a while and see where it goes... There have been interesting moments, but not too many so far.

The first Murakami book I read was South of the Border, West of the Sun (国境の南、太陽の西) which I've enjoyed more than any of the other books of his I've read. I also read it in Japanese and found I could follow along enough to enjoy it, having read the English a year prior.

[Katsuo]

Apologies for reviving a very old thread…

But if you like Murakami Haruki’s books you may be interested to know that he has recently opened a temporary web site and will reply to some posts from readers. He did something similar in 2003, so it’s not a frequent event. On that occasion he made about a thousand replies including a dozen or so in English, and the site was taken down after a few months.

Links: 村上さんのところ
Guardian article about the website

vileru Wrote:A few people have commented that Murakami's writing lacks coherency and heavily relies on stylistics. I haven't read anything written by Murakami, but I do know he draws inspiration from Kafka and his writing is generally considered postmodern.

kafka's style and themes are typical of modernist literature. he influenced postmodern writers yes, but his books are firmly in expressionism/modernism camp.
on the other hand, murakami is a typical postmodern writer and one of the easiest to read. i guess that's why he's popular.

Aijin Wrote:Fortunately that fad has mostly died out as far as I am aware. Only a few stubborn embers remain thank God

Hasn't died out at all, and I happen to like them. I'm going to find his books online instead of buying them now.