/lit/ - Literature

bump, he is quite an excellent author.

That book is on the syllabus for my 20th century Japanese lit course. I am looking forward to reading it--the only other Murakami I have read is After Dark

>>2023538
your really in for a treat, is After Dark any good?

>>2023539
I thought it was good. I know a lot of hardcore Murakami fans don't like it as much, but I felt that it was an interesting look into youthful alienation

I read Norwegian Blues and I liked it a lot, kinda reminds me of Garcia Marquez in the sense that it's a story that revolves around what would be a boring world, but spiced with very subtle touches of fantasy

I've heard this guys name being thrown around, but I've never checked out his work. What's it like?

>>2023544
instead of touches of fantasy, i find his novels to be rather dreamlike and surreal.

Has anyone read kafka on the shore?

>>2023538
May I ask what else is on that syllabus?

>>2023548
yeah well that was what I was trying to say, but I'm dumb with words.

I'm currently working my way through his work.

I started with Kafka on the Shore and loved it. I read After Dark next since I wanted something quick to read for a train journey.

I've read Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973 and am 1/3 of the way through Wild Sheep Chase. It's going to take a while, but I'm going to get through all of his books in order. I have them all on my shelf ready and waiting.

I've read four books and my fave is The Elephant Vanishes

Kafka on the shore, Norwegian wood, and 1Q84 (Finished part one today) are all worth reading OP
get to it.

>>2023579
thanks
did anyone else think that book three in the Wind Up Bird Chronicle was the weakest of the three?

BUMP

>>2023548
>>2023544

is it what they call magical realism?

>>2023661
im not quite familiar with that term, but i could imagine it could be applied to his novels.

liked norwegian wood a lot, but maybe because im a pansy ass 20 year old college boy. Kafka was good but notm y favorite, wind up birdi s great

if you like one book you'll probably like them all. his narrative voice is generally the same. some people complain about it but i don't mind since i really enjoy it.

any other similar authors in the realm of surrealism and post modernism?

>>2023563
Snow Country (Kawabata)
Fires on the Plain (Ooka)
A Personal Matter (Oe)
Asleep (Yoshimoto)
Masks (Enchi)
The Housekeeper and the Professor (Ogawa)

>>2023697
kobo abe's woman in the dunes is pretty good. also check out ryunosuke akutagawa's short stories. both of these are surreal.

>>2023716
cool list.

is RYU murakami any good?
i'm thinking about getting almost transparent blue.
>>2023728
thanks, man

>>2023716
Wow, that should really be re-named Post-War Japanese literature. No 1900-1950 coverage at all.

If Wind Up Bird is your first Murakami then gratz for making it through in one piece

'Hard Boiled Wonderland or The End of the World' is a personal favorite and his latest 'After Dark' may well be his most accomplished novel, though TWUBC is doubtless his masterpiece.

Norwegian Wood is probably his most widely known piece and has accrued something of a fanbase. For me though, it is nothing particularily special. Too Emo