Haruki Murakami Thread?

[Anonymous No.11510745]

What do you guys think of Haruki Murakami?

What novels of his have you read, and what do you think of them? What aspects of his writing do you enjoy or dislike?

I'm currently reading through The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, it being the first novel of his I've read. I'm not well-read enough, but I find the protagonist pretty relatable especially in the uncertainty of his life / relationships.

[Anonymous No.11510783]

Tsukuru Tazaki, Kafka on the Shore, Sleep, 1Q84 Trilogy, Sputnik, Dance Dance Dance, A Wild Sheep Chase, After Dark.

Good to see you're enjoying Murakami. The general consensus here is that he's a good writter, but not "literature" tier. He also has the problem of being pretty horrible at writting endings to his stories. That said, he has some great and bad books. I'd personally recommend you reading those: Tsukuru Tazaki, Kafka On The Shore and the two last parts of the rat trilogy "A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance". AWSC is an okay book, but Dance Dance Dance is probably one of the comfiest books I've ever read.

[Anonymous No.11510821]

He’s great. Even most snobs think he’s worth knowing about, but it boils down to if you enjoy magical realism or not. I’ve only read After Dark and it’s like the literary form of an abstract panoting. For me it relied on creating mood and emotion and didn’t really care too much about resolving some of the philosophical questions or narrative loose ends. Enjoy him for those reasons and you’ll probably do okay.

[Anonymous No.11510830]

>>11510821
This. His stories are interesting, but leave you with nothing to think about. Then again, that's true for most magical realism.

[Anonymous No.11510893]

>>11510783
Thank you for the recommendations!

>>11510821
I suppose this is the first book that I've read that falls into the "magical realism" category. I've enjoyed it so far, so I likely will enjoy his other works so long as they don't get *too* deep or strange that I have trouble figuring out where plot points fit in. I find myself appreciating how odd the characters in TWBC are and I can definitely see how well he can creates mood in his scenes, though I wouldn't liken it to an abstract painting. But as I go on I'm sure that's likely to change.

[Anonymous No.11510940]

>>11510821
>Even most snobs think he’s worth knowing about
Not really. He even wrote a passive aggressive short story about how Japanese intelligentsia despise his writing.

>but it boils down to if you enjoy magical realism or not
Does it? I enjoy several other authors that fit that bill but of the maybe thirty Japanese authors (not claiming here that these Japanese authors are magical realists) I have read he is joined by only one other that I actively dislike.

[Anonymous No.11510945]

I find his books entertaining but they don't really leave me with anything. I feel like I have just read a good, entertaining story and not really become a better person.

[Anonymous No.11510967]

>>11510945
>entertaining story and not really become a better person
I'm not trying to be snarky but how old are you? Nabokov called this idea of the purpose of literature as adolescent. It was certainly true for me until my very early 20's.

[Anonymous No.11511039]

*caresses an ear*

[Anonymous No.11511063]

After reading Norwegian Wood and Windupbirdchronicle I must conclude that he's not a bad writer.

[Anonymous No.11511079]

>>11510745
I bought Norwegian Wood and Kafka recently. I've heard that his novels are "comfy" so I plan to read these when I want something more 'relaxed'. Which should I start with?

[Anonymous No.11511092]

>>11511079
Kafka is the comfiest, but Norweigian might be a good place to start.

[Anonymous No.11511118]

>>11511092
Wrong. Sheep is the comfiest.

[Anonymous No.11511205]

>>11510745
He knows how to form sentences that make people imagine similar things. When you talk to people about his books, most people imagine his characters the same way you do.
Does that make any sense? I'm not sure, it's really hard to describe.

[Anonymous No.11511208]

>>11510783
What do you think about after dark?
I gave it to a girl as a gift, along with tokyo blues.

[Anonymous No.11511311]

>>11510745
He's alright. His endings are often bad and all his characters are the same though. The "handsome jazz loving record playing coffee enthusiast who swims daily and is popular with women" describes all of the protagonists in his novels.

[Anonymous No.11511690]

>>11511311
Are his characters a self-insert then? I mostly mean that as a joke, but Murakami does seem to love jazz a lot and has opened his own coffee / jazz shop in the past. Not to mention, he is a frequent runner who started around 33, though he has only ever had 1 wife.

[Anonymous No.11511706]

>>11511311
>handsome jazz loving record playing coffee enthusiast who swims daily and is popular with women
WTF I read the whole haruki now

[Anonymous No.11511713]

>>11510967
I'm 27. I read 1Q84 earlier this year and then read the brothers karamasov straight after. Passages of the TBK still stick with me. I think my behavior changed after reading that book and it made me understand the world more.
1Q84, however, was a good book but what I got out of it was like watching an enjoyable movie. It was only good for entertainment value and didn't impart anything deeper.

[Anonymous No.11511720]

Just finished Kafka on the Shore.
His writing style is simple, but very effective. My only problem is how he sometimes seems to brag to the reader about how much of an euridte he is. His characters always seem to know way too much about philosophy, literature and classical music, as if Murakami is projecting in them his need to show off.
Still, his books are the ultimate comfy.

[Anonymous No.11511735]

>>11511311
>handsome jazz loving record playing coffee enthusiast who swims daily and is popular with women
Weird how that could describe numerous characters in each of his novels. In Kafka on the Shore, even the ignorant low brow truck driver has a complete change of personality once he sits in a cafee and listens to beethoven.

[Anonymous No.11511926]

Loves himself some tiddies

[Anonymous No.11512050]

>>11511690
Haruki is sort of like a not (that) atrocious Dan Brown type. I really liked A Wild Sheep Chase, but couldn't enjoy anything else I've tried after because everything else was more or less the same thing only not as concise and way longer than it had to be.

[Anonymous No.11512332]

>>11510783
>Reading Colorless
>suddenly that part with sleep paralysis
>that part in the mountains

What the fuck. That was some unexpected but good shit. Also I wonder why it wasnt #metoo'd because of the false rape storyline, or maybe it was and I missed it.

[Anonymous No.11512522]

>>11511079
Kafka has some really great scenery and atmosphere. Small town rural Japan type of shit.

[Anonymous No.11512543]

>>11511311
I like the vagueness of his endings, even though they can be clunky when it comes to how they're written. And I also enjoy how the main character is basically the same. Dont know why but it just has this cohesiveness to his work, how the same dude can go through different experiences in different lives. but it does get old if read one after the other, it's better to space them out.

[Anonymous No.11512923]

>>11511208
It's okay in my opinion, but it didn't left much of an impact on me. The problem with Hurakami having no idea how to write endings is really clear with After Dark.

[Anonymous No.11512953]

>>11511713
The only thing that stuck with me about 1Q84 is that i want a japanese woman's pubes to rub against my leg.

[Anonymous No.11514470]

essential midwit literature

[Anonymous No.11514512]

He's to literature what Lucky Charms are to food: a temporary satisfaction with little or no actual benefit.

[Anonymous No.11514531]

>>11512953
I'm 100% sure that's one of his fetishes. You find rubbing pubes in literally all of his books