I have read 1Q84 some 10 years ago, and although I liked the book, the supernatural vibe has kept me from reading other works by Murakami. Well, it happened that I went to a package tour in Japan an bought Norwegian Wood while in Kyoto.

After a slightly slow start, the book gripped me hard. Of course, there's something to do with the free sex ethos of the 1960s that permeates the story, but other elements were also very engaging. Watanabe, to me, was like Mersault in "The Stranger" by Camus. Many literary references were scattered across the narration. In the end, this was a growth story for the main characters, but too much tragedy was involved, in my opinion.

This book renewed my interest in reading more Murakami. 4/5 stars

You all love her too, right?

I'm sure some of you find her annoying or think real life "manic pixie dream girls" are not worth it.

Let me know your thoughts.

Hello there!
As the title suggests, I’ve just read my first Murakami novel, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.
I know it’s an unusual place to start with Murakami, but I really, really enjoyed it. I especially loved the hard-boiled atmosphere, the late-night feel, the light sci-fi elements, and the flawed but lovable characters.
What would you recommend I read next? I’ve seen Kafka on the Shore recommended for people who liked this book. What do you think?

Thank you in advance :)

I have read kafka on shores( my favourite best book I have read) then Norwegian wood( I didn't like it in the beginning but after I left it for some time and read it again I liked it somehow) and wind up bird chronicles. So guys recommend the next one.

I guess some mushrooms make you see little people. Incidents reported from all over the globe.

This book little bit different. The slow pace make me so unsettled and enjoyable at the same time.

I cant say that much in this book. But its quite journey. In middle of the book, it really reach the plot of the story. I really understand story, the details really help me imagine the situation, ambience and the temperature of the room.

I really love when everything explains in this book after I kept a lot of questions after I finished the first volume. How air chrysalis looks like? Who is little girl and the goat? Who is thse llittle peoples? Gave me such a thrill.

But I really dont like that much on that chapter when Tengo and Fuka-Eri doing “Purification” after he back from “Town of the Cats”. I dont know why Murakami wrote that. There is no point to ask that kind of questions. But really, I cant hide my face while reading it. My housemates must wondered what am i reading that my face looks disgusted hahaha.

I really like Murakami’s idea.

How do you think Murakami feels about readers using AI as a tool to further engage with his text? A broader version of this question is also relevant: do you think using AI to help deconstruct literature is useful?

I used AI to generate a comic strip to help me visualize the first short story in After the Quake.

I certainly enjoyed it, but holy heck, I feel like I need some time to digest what it is I read. Not sure what is a dream and what is real, and what everything means. Reminds me of David Lynch and also kind of reminds me of Severance.

Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/interesting/s/Ia7Ij0Xkpv

This week my bf and I watched Coraline. He pointed out how similar the details of the movie are to Murakami novels, and I was shocked at the similarities. I mean, when I introduced him to Murakami, I told him to watch out for the classic tropes (and shoutout to the Murakami bingo creator on this sub for spelling them out for everyone).

Mysterious underworld? ✅
Cat with plot significance? ✅
Curious side characters? ✅
A well that keeps the secrets? ✅

I welcome more similarities! About to dive into Hard Boiled Wonderland, my twelfth of his catalog.

In a nutshell:

The story clearly takes place in the same "universe" as one of his earliest novels Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and uses the same "walled town" as an allegory for the psyche or subconscious and oscillates between the two perspectives. The plot centers around a very typical-Murakami male going through some sort of emotional reckoning involving a long lost love, who decides to uproot his cozy life to go be a librarian in a remote town. His physical journey and his internal “dialogue” within the town illustrates how people struggle with accepting past traumas, the strange behaviors they create, and how trauma can really stay with you forever if you let it.

Thoughts:

When I read Hard Boiled I liked the non-dreamworld storyline much more so when this book began heavily focused on the dreamworld I was a bit discouraged. It didn’t help that most of part one was a bore with little to no development other than our guy had a teenage crush that “vanished”, but thankfully the story came alive in part two. The dreamworld/walled-town allegory is a creative play on how our subconscious can be trapped or walled off (depending on why u way you look at it) based on our conscious or external lives. Initially, our guy’s subconscious is still romanticizing that teenage love so much that he “follows” her to the walled town and refuses to leave until the very end, when he accepts or moves on.
I think most of the book is about grief and the many forms it can take. Mr. Koyasu’s story was the epitome of tragic, losing his child and then his wife is about an unbearable as it gets - but in his case he seems to undergo some sort of personal transformation and becomes an eccentric kilt-wearing individual. In comparison, the coffee shop owner whom our guy tries to woo has serious trauma from her divorce from her cheating husband which she turned into a physical and emotional “armor” that prevents physical intimacy. And then of course there’s our guy who’s really hung up on a long past relationship that presumably ended without closure.

For me the most Murakami-esque and also least sense-making part was the yellow submarine boy.
His powers and disappearing to the dreamworld to become the dream reader, the fusing/splitting of consciousness, etc. was tough to interpret. I felt like it complicated the relationship between our guy and his shadow by introducing a third “persona” of consciousness. Overall it was better than I expected based on some reviews on here, but still one of my least favorite novels.

I'm staying on the floor in a dojo in Japan for my first time ever going over seas. The wife of the Judo coach is an English teacher and in the room I'm staying in is some English media. I've never read Murukami but I've heard he is a scif author. I'm more of a Le Guin person and I'd want to spend time in Japan doing unique things. Dance Dance Dance is on the shelf next to some John Green I've also wanted to try reading. The big birds, big bugs, fish in streams, old men fishing, tall grass, ledges, vending machines, tunnels and suspicious bike routes really make me feel like I'm in pokemart Red and Blue

I'm so confused by 1Q84 right now. I'm very close to finishing the second book, and I tried explaining the plot to a coworker today. Halfway through, I caught myself thinking, WTH am I even reading?

Seriously, what are the Little People? They seem more like an abstract concept than actual people, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to interpret them literally or symbolically.

And why did reading the Air Chrysalis book trigger the cult leader to want to be killed? Also, what the actual hell was that sex scene with the 17-year-old? (I want to cry)

Are these two worlds somehow colliding? Am I missing something important, or is this just Murakami? Keep in mind this is my first book from this author that I'm reading.

I'm trying really hard to like this book, and there are definitely things I find intriguing, but at this point, I'm starting to wonder whether I'm reading too much into things or whether the story is genuinely as bizarre as it seems.

Without spoilers, can someone tell me whether these questions eventually get answered? I don't want to give up on the book if things will start making more sense, but I'm also worried I'll finish it and still have no idea what I just read.

Please tell me I'm not the only one feeling this way.

Is it just me or I think the ending of Book 2 was the good ending for me? I struggle reading the first 3 chapters of Book 3, I was always thinking to myself: "Maybe it's better if we stop here?" or "What is even the point of putting the MC in this situation, what purpose does it serve to his character and narrative?"

Please tell me if it gets better if I get deeper into it.

Not my first Murakamai btw. Have read Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, and Sputnik Sweetheart.

Hi everyone!
I recently got Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin, in the Penguin Vintage Classics edition.
I noticed that there are around 5–10 completely blank, unnumbered pages at the end of the book, after the story finishes.
Is this normal for this edition, or could it be a printing or binding issue? I just wanted to check with people who own the same edition.
Thanks! 😊