Haruki Murakami

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I saw that London-Tokyo collaborative stage adaptation of Murakami short stories that played at the Lincoln Center Festival the other month. It was pretty interesting, lots of cool multi-media staging, did a good job of conveying Murakami's alienated surrealism or whatever you call it (and having the dialogue in Japanese -- with a Japanese cast and English supertitles -- helped). But it wasn't as engaging or engrossing as Murakami is on the page, because in his stories you're immersed in the strangeness and alienation, whereas the stage there was more distance between the characters and the audience. Definitely worth seeing if you get the chance. Did anyone here see it in London (or Tokyo)? I think it's playing one more place in the U.S., possibly Ann Arbor.

― spittle (spittle), Thursday, 2 September 2004 03:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Didn't see that, but I've done lots of mental film adaptations in my head as I read Murakami... usually starting off with thinking, 'wow this would be great... oh there's have to be some interesting effects to make this part work... ok the lead character has been in total darkness for quite some time now... etc". I'd still like to see someone try.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Thursday, 2 September 2004 03:30 (twenty-one years ago)

The obvious person to adapt Murakami is David Lynch, seeing as how Murakami cites Lynch as an influence (and boy does it show).

― spittle (spittle), Thursday, 2 September 2004 03:39 (twenty-one years ago)

"ok the lead character has been in total darkness for quite some time now..."

I was attempting the movie adaptation in my head enthusiastically while reading DANCE DANCE DANCE, which remains my favorite, but the darkness seemed to present problems.

I need to finish the copy of Norwegian Wood I've had out from the library the entire summer but I've been hesistant to subject myself to the sadness.

― herbert hebert (herbert hebert), Thursday, 2 September 2004 03:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I was attempting the movie adaptation in my head enthusiastically while reading DANCE DANCE DANCE, which remains my favorite, but the darkness seemed to present problems.

not with the sony cinealta!!

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Thursday, 2 September 2004 04:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Has anyone seen that London stage adaptation of the Elephant Vanishes yet?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 2 September 2004 07:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I read 'South of the Border, West of the Sun'. At first I thought it was just dial 'm' for more of the same, but it got better. I have forgotten most of it though. They've got quite a lot in the library.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Thursday, 2 September 2004 08:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I have only read Underground but I found it quite affecting, if a bit repetetive which I guess was inevitable due to the format. His summary at the end is quite moving I thought.

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 2 September 2004 08:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I've now read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance (I followed Nabisco's recommendation and read the last two in sucession).

Wind-Up was the best when it came to the individual strands, but it really didn't seem to hang together and the ending felt forced. Dance Dance Dance was probably my favourite, just for the sheer feeling of joy it inspired - much needed after the end of Wild Sheep Chase.

Which should I read next? I was thinking about The Elephant Vanishes but Norwegian Wood is tempting me as well.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 2 September 2004 08:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Have read quite a few now - "Wind-up bird", "Sputnik sweetheart", "After the quake", "Dance, dance, dance". Liked them all to a greater or lesser extent particularly Wind-up bird and Dance. But none touched "Norwegian wood". It may have caught me in a particularly emotional frame of mind but it's a long time since anything set my heart racing like it did.

― Tag (Tag), Thursday, 2 September 2004 09:33 (twenty-one years ago)

For me, Norwegian Wood had a very different feel to it from any of the other books; it was the first Murakami I read and, like Tag, it's still my favourite. It's more conventional I think but emotionally more authentic and strong somehow.

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 2 September 2004 09:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I've read Wind-Up Bird Chronicale, Hard-Boiled Wonderland, Norwegian Wood and A Wild Sheep Chase. Not sure if I'll read any more tho coz reading the last one I just kept thinking 'been here before'

― fcussen (Burger), Thursday, 2 September 2004 11:32 (twenty-one years ago)

very true. He does like to pull the old Outsiderish Everyman Seeking Lost Love With Sidetrips Into Other Dimension (With Help From Teenaged Girl Sidekick) schtick. but so far the deja vu hasn't been overpowering for me. It hasn't hit me that hard yet, but a lot of writers I really liked a lot (Vonnegut, Elmore leonard) kind of left me with the same diminishing returns you describe after reading a few too many of their books. I wonder if that's just a danger of being prolific?
also, other than the non-fiction & short stories, all the stuff I've read is pretty similarly themed & I think mostly of the same era, so I think the next one I read will be one of the earlier ones like Norwegian Wood, which I gather is less like the Hardboiled/Dance/Sheep/Windup Bird axis.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Thursday, 2 September 2004 12:21 (twenty-one years ago)

i just realized how few literature threads there are anymore on ILX.

For myself, I'm putting more and more of my thoughts on recent reading on the Brown Wedge on FT -- but that said, I'm definitely concentrating on nonfiction reading first and foremost. I think this is partially down to the fact that in many cases I'd rather be writing fiction than reading it!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 2 September 2004 13:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I read a number of the Murakami novels (Wind-Up Bird, Sheep) in my early college years over vacation and remember enjoying them, but a few months ago, I read Hardboiled Wonderland and really found it lacking, which has kind of turned me off of Murakami in retrospect. Part of it may be translation problems: while I find his stories and structures somewhat imaginative, his use of language seems really dry and dull. There is the problem of repetitiveness, but within his stories and looking at his novels as a whole. And there's just something unsatisfying about his stories; they just seem light and insubstantial. I find him kind of interesting but fail to understand the rabid enthusiasm that some have for his work, especially among my age/social group.

― n/a (Nick A.), Thursday, 2 September 2004 13:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Nobody`s mentioned Sputnik Sweetheart yet. I only mention this because I`ve just read it and it scared the shit out of me. His matter of fact style veered into boring in the first half or so,, but it got better and included some memorable images (ripe for filming as others have mentioned above). Sometimes he has an annoying way of rooting things in the present by being very specific about products and brand names. I was quite takenn aback by this while I read Sputnik. On film this would be called product placement.

As for the Elephant Vanishes dramatisation, I saw it when it was on. it was great fun - lots of Mcburney trickery without losing the murakaminess of the stories.

― Japanese Giraffe (Japanese Giraffe), Thursday, 2 September 2004 14:51 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm gonna see the Elephant Vanishes in a couple of weeks.

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 2 September 2004 15:18 (twenty-one years ago)

I quite like the fact that they are all the same, if indeed they are all the same.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Thursday, 2 September 2004 16:41 (twenty-one years ago)

just would like to note that i would be very sad if david lynch was the one who finally
got to film a murakami novel. i don't dislike him, though i don't think he's made a
good film for a long while now (excepting the straight story). i just don't think there's
ever been the same ebullient wonder and awe and happy surreality in any of lynch's
work that i think would be necessasry to succesfully convey murakami. you know?
he'd have some apache indian playing the torturous guard/soldiers and midgets
playing the prisoners. murakami is usually effortlessly bizarre and doesn't ask a lot
more than the reader wants to look for... whereas lynch tends to say: you know you
want to know what it means. figure it out. why did ebert love it so much. huh, fucker?

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Thursday, 2 September 2004 19:20 (twenty-one years ago)

murakami is usually effortlessly bizarre and doesn't ask a lot
more than the reader wants to look for... whereas lynch tends to say: you know you
want to know what it means. figure it out.

My POV obviously, but I fail to see how this makes Murakami better than Lynch. I find mysteries more rewarding if I have to make an effort to solve them.

― n/a (Nick A.), Thursday, 2 September 2004 19:23 (twenty-one years ago)

i guess i don't find lynch mysterious, i find him puzzling. but that's debatable. i think
that a mystery that i'm not especially interested in solving is much less interesting than
something that merely hints at the mysterious.

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Thursday, 2 September 2004 19:25 (twenty-one years ago)

rather, something that hints at the mysterious but remains engaging.

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Thursday, 2 September 2004 19:26 (twenty-one years ago)

he'd have some apache indian playing the torturous guard

But it would be brilliant if it was actually Apache Indian.

― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 2 September 2004 21:09 (twenty-one years ago)

The Elephant Vanishes was good, quite funny in parts and the multi-media stuff didn't really get in the way. I was lucky coz the subtitles were at my eye level. It's well worth going to see.

Patrick 'Picard' Stewart was in the audience (I had a good view of the crowd), I wanted to shout out "Hey Picard! Dude! Make it so!", but I didn't. I kond of regret it now.

― jel -- (jel), Monday, 13 September 2004 16:02 (twenty-one years ago)

I have 3 of his books, now!

― the bellefox, Monday, 13 September 2004 16:27 (twenty-one years ago)

when the fuck is 'kafka on the shore' coming out? i am growing despondent.

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Monday, 13 September 2004 16:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Not until January in the UK. There was a poster for it.

― jel -- (jel), Monday, 13 September 2004 16:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm midway through Norwegian Wood at the moment - I'm unconvinced at the moment. I think I prefer the more surreal stuff, Chronicle, Dance Dance Dance etc. Or maybe I'm reading it at the wrong time and its just depressing me.

Anyway, bearing in mind Chronicle is my favourite, is Wonderland a good next move?

Also can anyone who's read the first two novels tell me more about the girl who dies at the beginning of Wild Sheep Chase?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:03 (twenty-one years ago)

what order do they go in? are sheep chase and dance first? i thought i'd read them all,
but? and wonderland is a necessary part of your future if you prefer the surreal stuff.

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Anyway, bearing in mind Chronicle is my favourite, is Wonderland a good next move?

definitely, if you like the more surreal side (i do, and its my favourite).
i read 'hear the wind sing' yesterday, its very short but a nice preamble to the wild sheep chase/dance dance dance books. he mentions 3 girls in it, one of who may be the girl at the start of AWS, i'll have to reread the start of that to remind myself.

― zappi (joni), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:13 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, chronicle > wonderland is a good move

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Hear the Wind Sing: 1979
Pinball, 1973: 1980
A Wild Sheep Chase: 1982
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World: 1985
Norwegian Wood: 1987
Dance Dance Dance: 1988
South of the Border, West of the Sun: 1992
The Elephant Vanishes: 1993
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: 1994
Underground: 1997/8
Sputnik Sweetheart: 1999
After the Quake: 2000
Kafka on the Shore: 2002

― jel -- (jel), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:30 (twenty-one years ago)

hhuh... must track down the first two i guess... only available in the uk maybe?
the wind-up bird chronicle has probably made more of an impact on me than any
other fiction book. must've given it as a gift 30 times. is that tacky?

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:46 (twenty-one years ago)

the first two books were only available in japan, sort of study aids for japanese people learning english. 'pinball 1973' is long out of print and sells for silly amounts of money, but 'hear the wind sing' turns up regularly on ebay for £10-20. it can also be ordered through amazon.co.jp but this is very complicated & the postage is extortionate.
both are easily found online though.

― zappi (joni), Monday, 13 September 2004 18:03 (twenty-one years ago)

"Pinball 1973" is in .pdf format here: http://morales.pressurize.net/pinball1973.pdf

― zan, Friday, 17 September 2004 20:00 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...

One day, I will read Norwegian Wood, next.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 09:10 (twenty-one years ago)

If you need a copy, PJ, you can have mine. Via the medium of the postal service or something.

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 09:16 (twenty-one years ago)

That is very kind of you, Archel. I will try and think of something to send in return. Something else, something good.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 09:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Ooh, ok. Does that email address work? I will write to it if so.

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 09:22 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't think it does, although it ought to. The normal one is [email protected]

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 09:29 (twenty-one years ago)

"I like the world they have created, and the sense of something menacing lurking just over the horizon."

That's what I think about Philp K. Dick.

I think the "Sputnik Sweetheart" is the most non-Murakami Murakami book I've read, and it's rather good. Strange how nobody mentioned it.

― Pingu, Tuesday, 19 October 2004 09:30 (twenty-one years ago)

-- Japanese Giraffe (nihonnokiri...), September 2nd, 2004 4:51 PM.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:10 (twenty-one years ago)

I am back reading "Underground". It rocks.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 13:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Thank you, Archel!

I will retaliate in due course.

You keep your books in very good condition.

I wonder if I will stay up all night to read it, like Mooro did.

Please note: I will soon have read 3 Murakamis for the price of 1, thus beating the original Borders offer by 1 Murakami. If I take up Mooro on his offer of a loan, I will make it 4 for the price 1.

I've got to hand it to myself.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Friday, 29 October 2004 10:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I seem to be struggling with Hard-boiled wonderland but it's early doors yet.

― Tag (Tag), Friday, 29 October 2004 11:54 (twenty-one years ago)

just bid on 'kafka on the shore' on ebay...

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Friday, 29 October 2004 12:24 (twenty-one years ago)

I think the "Sputnik Sweetheart" is the most non-Murakami Murakami book I've read, and it's rather good.

I'm not surprised.

― You've Got to Pick Up Every Stitch (tracerhand), Friday, 29 October 2004 12:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I have got another Murakami book from the British Red Cross shop. It is called 'Boiled Egg Wonderland' or something. One pound fifty. Up yours, Borders!

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Friday, 5 November 2004 17:25 (twenty-one years ago)

This is the thread where I said thanks, Archel.

Archel didn't see it, everybody else.

She thought perhaps it had got lost.

We need to talk about YASUNARI KAWABATA one day.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Monday, 15 November 2004 14:22 (twenty-one years ago)

He's great, Sound of the Mountain, and A Thousand Cranes are brilliant. I found Snow Country a little harder to get into. I never seem to be able to find Beauty and Sadness in book shops, this makes me a little annoyed.

― jel -- (jel), Monday, 15 November 2004 18:25 (twenty-one years ago)

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