A few years ago, someone on IRC discovered Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami and went around recommending everyone in the channel to it. I made note to download an ebook version of it but gave up after a while.
This summer while I was in HK, I was browsing in a book store and came across a rather odd titled book. It was called "Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World." Read a few pages into it convinced me to get the book and after finishing it, I bought book from the same author, Haruki Murakami.
Eventualy, as I was searching for more books by him, I came across Norwegian Wood again and bought it instantly (actually, I buy all Murakami books I encoutner instantly now). A bit over the top but quite enjoyable. He has a bit of lofty way of storytelling and makes otherwise boring situations interesting. Especially his dialogue, they're odd but never stagnant.
I'm a pretty big fan of Murakami now but just wondering, of the more Japanese culture-influenced 4chan population, has anyone else heard or read of this books? What do you think of him?
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Anonymous2004-12-27 0:58
Ah you beat me to creating this thread! It was what I was most looking forward to.
I have read Norwegian Wood, the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, After the Quake: Stories, Hear the Wind Sing, A Wild Sheep Chase, Hear the Wind Sing (again), South of the Border West of the Sun, and now I am reading Sputnick Sweetheart. I have also read several other random short stories. I just got Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and Underground too; I look forward to reading them as well as Kafka on the Shore once I can purchase it.
He is an excellent writer. His characters seem very very real to me. I know it is a rather cheesy thing to say, but I always feel that I can easily relate to them unlike pretty much any other characters in books.
Has anyone read the non-Jay Rubin translation of Norwegian Wood? I always hear that the first translator did a better job capturing the original atmosphere of the book.
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2004-12-27 3:00(capped)
I was going to make this thread too :mad:
I haven't read Norwegian Wood, but Wind up Bird Chronicle, Hard Boiled Wonderland (especially after watching Haibane Renmei) , and A Wild Sheep Chase are excellent novels. I'd have to say that Dance, Dance, Dance got boring to read more than once, though. If you've already read it you know what's going to happen and there's nothing left but to count how often he makes himself a drink.
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h-cube2004-12-27 5:42
I love Murakami. Some stuff not yet mentioned:
I first read a short story called "Airplane" the New Yorker published and was hooked:
Elephant Vanishes is a collection of his shorts- gives you a pretty good overview of this style and themes. "The Bakery Attack" is my favorite, followed by "On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning".
sigh must... not... start reading... now... will be there... tomorrow...
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Kay2004-12-27 11:12
Praise w4ch for this thread.
I've read "Wild Sheep Chase" plus the Continuation, "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" (my first one ^^) and something I can only translate as "dangerous loved one" and although "Kafka on the Shore" is already out in Germany I tend to wait for the English realese.
Although I truly enjoyed each one of his books, some sections of The Wind-up Bird Chronicle left me with a feeling like "this was wrong / was not supposed to happen / are just a filler / bridge to the further story. Maybe all things will clear up when I read the book again.
Can anyone list all current English publications of Murakami? I'd like to know for what I have to search when stressing the lady at the book store again. ^^
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Anonymous2004-12-27 12:03
he's so overrated.
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Anonymous2004-12-27 16:21
Wow really good
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Anonymous2004-12-27 23:08 (sage)
I was happy to see that A Wild Sheep Chase was kind of a sequel to Hear the Wind Sing. Not too much of a continuation of any sort of story, but both feature the same main character, the Rat, the bartender, etc. Once I reached mentions of the Rat in Wild Sheep Chase I had to go grab Hear the Wind Sing to quickly browse throughi t again.
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Kageshima!W.rJY3yfYQ2004-12-27 23:50
>>10 Wild Sheep Chase is by far my favorite work of his, although I`ve read over Norwegian Wood far many more times. The imagery in it is imepccable, and you have to love how brutally he shows the human condition to his readers. There`s a lot of truth in Murakami`s works.
And I`ll have to add my thumbs up for actually seeing a Murakami thread on w4ch. Awesomely awesome.
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h-cube2004-12-28 0:31
Do you Murakami fans like Camus? I've only read "The Stranger" (which I liked), and I know they've been compared.
[gah, cookie my name already]
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Anonymous2004-12-28 14:37
When I saw that there was a section for books here I instantly thought "there's gonna be a Murakami thread there". Read Sputnik Sweetheart, loved it.
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Anonymous2004-12-28 20:20
Nice response we've got here. Never heard of Camus though.
I kept making comparisons to Haibane when reading Hardboiled Wonderland too. I really wonder how much influence, if any, it had on Haibane. It's still my favourite of all his books though, maybe it's because the idea of a wonderland seems so nice. Or the way he describes that pudgy, rori gal.
Though, in all of the books I've read of his, all his protagonists seem to be the same. Indifferenet towards the flow of the fast paced society he lives in but just participating enough to get by. An affinity towards good food and alcohol and instability in relationships with women. As well as the whole strong independent streak they all share.
http://www.murakami.ch/hm/bibliography/main.html lists pretty much all his books that have been translated into English. I've also heard that the non-Rubin version of Norwegian Wood is better and that the original has two or three lines for everyone in either of the English translations. There's another Murakami, Ryu Murakami that seems to be as eccentric as Haruki. I've never been able to find any of his books at the bookstore though.
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Anonymous2004-12-28 21:03 (sage)
>>14
While I have not read anything by Ryu Murakami, I keep meaning to pick up one of his books.
Hideaki Anno's film Love & Pop is based on Ryu Murakami's book Topaz II.
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Anonymous2004-12-29 3:58
Hmm, haven't read Murakami, though I've noticed his books next to Haruki's at the library and bookstore.
How about Masahiko Shimada? I've been looking around for "Dream Messenger", heard some good things about it. Anyone read it?
>>14
Despite having the same surname, they have the exact opposite styles of writing. While Haruki is slow and calm, Ryu is all rage and aggressiveness. His most famous works include 69, Transparent Blue (not sure if I got this title right though) and Coin Locker Babies - the book the creators of Silent Hill 4 were influenced by. Interesting reads I'd say,,,even if you can't stand em. -) Heard recently he won some award in Japan, like the best writer or smth, so he apparently seems to be pretty popular over there.
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Anonymous2005-01-13 18:31 (sage)
I just finished reading Sputnik Sweetheart.
Definitely wonderful!
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Anonymous2005-01-18 16:47
A friend reccomended I pick up HBW and it totally blew me away. I also enjoyed the excerpt from WBC I read over on Word.com (RIP)... I really need to pick up some more of his books. The other day I found my long-lost copy of the anthology Monkey Brain Sushi and I'm thinking about doing a flash based on TV People.
I finally ead Wind-up Bird Chroncile the other day and I have to say I was disappointed. I enjoyed the first half the book, it was filled with the usual dream-like story and characters but the end was just plain painful.
Even the description of the first encounter of the Russian Boris was OK but the way he dropped the psyhic sisters out of the story was disappointing.
Actually, I think the real bitter aftertaste came from how the main character transforms in the end. In the first half of the book, he's rather independent, he can do what he needs to continue his existance, to continue the flow. Yet in the end, he became dependent on the Akasaka duo to get Kumiko back. Especially his reliance on and presumptions of Cinnamon.
OK, I'm just bitter that the ending wasn't as well wrapped up as HBW.
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Anonymous2005-07-08 7:00
<inst>
actually i don't get WUBC, after reading it. It doesn't really make sense, things don't seem to happen for any reason.
okay, i didn't get it. Looks like it's dealing with "oh noes, japs are devils" issue again...
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Anonymous2005-07-20 22:41
I just recently read a short story by Haruki Murakami called TV People. It's my first taste of his work. The story was very interesting to read, but I don't get it at all - it's obviously full of symbolism but I have no talent for picking up on symbolism. Just wondering if anyone else had read it.
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Anonymous2005-07-29 1:49
once you get over the whole ZOMG WRITERS FROM JAPAN thing, kenzaburo oe is the only one of them with lasting integrity.
murakami is slightly over hyped in my opinion, but not by much. solid, but not spectacular.
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Anonymous2005-08-27 21:52
He's overrated for sure, but a lot of his short stories are quite good and hardboiled wonderland is wic funny.
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Anonymous2005-08-29 12:11
<Inst>
How's Mishima?
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Anonymous2005-08-30 18:01
<Inst>
seriously, how's mishima? While The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea shows Mishima's hatred of the modern age and the modern types, it is, perversely, a manual for all /b/tards.
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Anonymous2005-08-31 9:52
i think haruka/haruko/haruki sounds hot
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Anonymous2005-09-10 2:38
What's the best way to find a copy of Hear the Wind Sing? I saw that Murakami doesn't want it reprinted, and I found a copy of "Pinball, 1973" via clever googling and the Internet Wayback Machine, but it looks like I might have to go to eBay for this.
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342005-09-12 23:08
Pinball, 1973 appears to have the same relationship with Futakoi Alternative that Wind-up Bird Chronicles has with Haibane Renmei. It's very odd, and I don't think he actually mentioned pinball until the second half.
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World was a finalist for the Akutagawa prize. Unfortunately, the responsible committee decided that neither of the two finalists were deserving of the prize, which is par for course for the Akutagawa prize, they only hand out a prize when they feel that a book deserves it, not because there is an empty slot this year.
Murakami, Ryu, whom I have not read, managed to win an Akutagawa Prize for, what, "Almost Transparent Blue".
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Anonymous2005-10-07 6:30
Should I go see Tony Takitani or whatever its called?
Apparently it's based on something by Murakami.
Thanks, I didn't even think to look for it online!
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Anonymous2005-10-11 21:42
I read Norwegian Wood yesterday. It's not as good as Wind-Up Bird, but I suppose he has an excuse since it's earlier.
It also seemed very Japanese, presumably because the following things in the book are very Japanese:
* people commiting suicide
* underage sex
* loneliness
* Murakami going into hiding (in the Author's Note) because he was famous
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Anonymous2005-10-17 14:23
Tony Takitani is a lousy film. The screenwriter didn't adapt the book but simply ripped off some quotes from the short novel and filled the movie with them as voice over explanations of what is going on. The graphical symbolism throughout the whole movie is pretty interesting and it is photographically beatutiful; but as a whole it ends up being kinda dull.
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Anonymous2005-11-10 11:44
I think Hard-Boiled Wonderland was my favorite, it was written so nicely and had a great surreal quality to it. The whole part in the sewers with the inklings really reminded me of Lovecraft for some reason. The ending was fantastic as well.
Murakami's my favorite author. I really didn't like Norweigen Wood all that much, I prefer his more surreal stories. He wrote a short story for the NY TIMES a while back that was fantastic, and After the Quake, specifically UFO OVER KUSHIRO remains one of my favorite books of all time.
once you get over the whole ZOMG WRITERS FROM JAPAN thing, kenzaburo oe is the only one of them with lasting integrity.
I see Oe books in the library, and so far they have all either been one that was The Lord of the Flies, and therefore can be immediately dismissed, or books about his son the retarded pianist savant, and I don't want to read about retarded pianists. I'd much rather read Murakami books where all the main characters have meaningless sex constantly for no apparent reason.
god, there were tons of parallels with murakami's and camus' protagonist in 'sheep' and 'the stranger'. both of which i loved. they are novels which make you feel good yet the characters aren't all sunshine and puppy dogs.
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Anonymous2006-04-12 22:01
I read Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. very bizarre, im still not sure if i liked it or not. i think my favorite asspect was the was the two stories were arranged and intertwined. i also just love cyber-punk.
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Anonymous2007-11-23 21:59
a message from the future has arrived now
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Anonymous2008-07-01 14:03
WOO HOO BUMPING OLDEST THREAD IN /book/
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Anonymous2008-07-06 2:32
FUCK Murakami. Every nerd, geek, gay, lesbian, "indie", progressive, scene, cynical, wannabe-liberal, perv, otaku, bastard, or fatty I know drools over Murakami. FUCK FUCK FUCK. You wanna be unique or non-conformist? PUT DOWN THE FUCKING BOOK AND GET A CLUE ASS-WIPE.
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Anonymous2008-07-06 7:16
>>52
There's nothing wrong with being a conformist in some things.
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Anonymous2008-07-06 7:49
lol @ people complaining about things being too popular.
looks like YOU are trying too hard being non-conformist.
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Anonymous2008-07-06 19:50
>>53 >>54
Completely missed the point of the rant. Everyone I know who reads Murakami reads it in some part because it makes them feel progressive, liberal, and unique. That's bullshit.
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Anonymous2008-07-06 20:44
>>55 I only know faggots, therefore all people are faggots. Q.E.D.
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Anonymous2008-07-06 21:56
>>52 >>55
6/10
so then what makes you feel that way progressive and unique?
it could be argued that's why anyone picks up a book in the first place, and it's not like you are ever going to be the first one to read anything, so what's the fucking point of arguing that Everyone who reads a certain author is a certain way?
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Anonymous2008-07-06 22:45
>>57 it could be argued that's why anyone picks up a book in the first place
Not successfully, it couldn't.
>>57
Wut? You misunderstand my point. I don't give a shit whether i'm progressive. I hate people that read Murakami to be quasi-intellectual.
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Anonymous2008-07-07 4:18
>>55
>Everyone I know who reads Murakami reads it in some part because it makes them feel progressive, liberal, and unique.
Oh really? Did they actually tell you "I read Murakami because it makes me feel progressive, liberal and unique"? Or did you just figure that part out yourself?
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Anonymous2008-07-07 4:19
>>55 Everyone I know who reads Murakami reads it in some part because it makes them feel progressive, liberal, and unique.
Oh really? Did they actually tell you "I read Murakami because it makes me feel progressive, liberal and unique"? Or did you just figure that part out yourself?
I haven't read Murakami's books, though I may parooz around and look for some torrents or something.
As for the ney-sayers, I have a bit of a situation for you to tend.
Everytime you tell someone they are less than shit or likewise, you do so to yourself. The solution to this is...well, you probably already know all this stuff anyway, right? That old common knowledge thing called, 'respect'. Yeah, you guys all know how to behave, what am I talking about, nevermind.
Just...i-g-n-o-r-e m-e. :)
spoiler: there, curse is complete, well not really, just forget everything I said, it doesn't really matter anyway. lol
I just finished Norwegian Wood? Why did I read it? Because of this board, possibly because of this thread, I don't remember, all I remember is perusing through this board months ago, before I wanted to read books, and the only thing that stuck with me was that title: Norwegian Wood. So I found it at a store, and I bought it, and I read it. And now here it is written. The End.
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Anonymous2009-02-02 13:02
>>68
The only book I've read by Murakami. It's very enjoyable, a nice quick read.
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Anonymous2009-02-02 15:24
>>66
i know i'm about six months late and should have noticed this post long before the thread was bumped, but holy shit.
i hope by now you are back on your meds and although it's unlikely you remember making that comment, allow me to respond with a sympathetic doooooooooooooooooooooood!
i mean seriously - dooooooooooooooooooooooooooood!
i mean, c'mon.
doooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood!!1one dood
>>72
no. you're wrong.
he is trying to communicate, but the mind is bouncing off at tangents, speaking vagueries without lucidity.
a non-english speaker would have some message at the foundation, but the poster we're discussing had lost cohesive thought at the time of writing and is using words not to convey expression but rather as symbols of emotion.
tl;dr dood was fruitlooped.
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Anonymous2009-02-04 19:55
>>73
No. He was trying to make jokes and speak in an informal style that would have made perfect sense in the context of his native language's traditions.
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Anonymous2009-02-05 3:36
>>74
no.
he is quite clear in that he has never read any of the works being discussed and goes on to address an audience that bears no relevance to the subject discussed ITT.
his mispelling of the words 'peruse' and 'nay-sayer' indicate that he lives in an environment where English is spoken and that he has heard these words.
that he speaks to an imaginary audience on a theme that has no bearing and then speaks of a 'curse' are strong indicators of diminished mental capacities.
tl;dr doolally
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Anonymous2009-02-05 15:42
>his mispelling of the words 'peruse' and 'nay-sayer' indicate that he lives in an environment where English is spoken and that he has heard these words.
That's the most retarded thing I've ever read.
>>77
yes.
it is, isn't it.
i'm not sure why >>76 feels the need to degrade the argument by resorting to a personal attack upon myself by calling me retarded nor why he seems obliged to defend anon's position on language as the cause for the ramblings we've witnessed, when it's quite obvious that the person i've been corresponding with is more than capable of stating his case without aids.
tl;dr >>76 needs to shush and let the big boys talk.
also; i still say that doood was a mentalist at time of writing and i hope he feels better now.
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Anonymous2009-02-07 9:43
>>78
All I'm trying to say is that it's ridiculous to assume someone speaks English as a first language BECAUSE he misspells. I don't care much whether >>66 is or isn't a nutcase, and for what it's worth also doubt it's just an inability to make his point in English without looking like one.
If you want to take what I said as a personal attack though, be my guest.
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Anonymous2009-02-07 13:14
I've read Wind Up Bird Chronicles, Norwegian Wood, and Kafka on the Shore so far. All are great books. I'd say NW is the best, with Kafka following and WUBC at the end.
Did anyone else dislike WUBC's ending? I found it to be too sudden with many open ends.
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Anonymous2009-02-07 16:05
>>79
He misspelled phonetically, and using English phonetics to boot.
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Anonymous2009-02-07 20:43
>>79
well of course i'm going to take being called retarded personally because it's a personal attack.
rather than break my argument, you instead chose to malign my intelligence.
that you've changed tack now and focused on the content of my hypothesis is a positive move on your part, so lets stick to that.
you reckon it's ridiculous to posit that because he mispells words, that he is an english speaker.
i disagree.
granted that if we took this fact in isolation, it would indicate nothing more than someone who has heard english spoken rather than seen it written down, so he could be either a foreign national who has heard it on tv or a native english speaker with a similar experience.
but we are not viewing this in isolation from the context.
we are reading the words of someone who lurks /book/, who addresses an audience of "nay-sayers" without reason and who can generally be seen to employ idioms of western culture, (as convoluted and nonsensical as his message is).
tl;dr dood talks mad in english
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Anonymous2012-01-02 15:05
I've read HBW and Wild Sheep Chase. I'm not really like Murakami's main characters, but I get so drawn into his books that it's like having an out of body experience. When I finish I have to just walk around and recover.
Anyways, I'm posting because I think that reading Murakami is like watching Wong Kar-wai. Does anyone know what I mean by this? Any recommendations for similar things to read or watch?
He is also one of my favourite author. I've recently finished reading 1Q84 and I've gotta say, this was pretty impressive. At first I thought it was gonna be kind of odd to follow two stories at once, but then you start realising how both are connecting together as you go along. Very impressive work. This guy is a genius.