When Reading Murakami

Haruki Murakami is known to repeat elements in several of his novels. This is apparent to such an extent that illustrator and cartoonist Grant Snider has even made a bingo card. Though this turns many readers away from exploring Murakami’s numerous works, I’m not too bothered by it. To me, it’s just his flavor of writing, but on the other hand, I have become incredibly suspicious when reading his novels. These are some common thoughts that emerge in that process.

“Are they gonna die?”

What’s a Murakami novel without death? There is most certainly a ton of deaths in Murakami’s novels. The only books I’ve read by him so far without any character deaths are After Dark and South of the Border, West of the Sun. After Dark includes death threats from a Chinese gang member though, and South of the Border, West of the Sun also includes a potential love suicide. So yeah, can’t really say they’re void of death. Not to mention Dance, Dance, Dance, where death is a central theme. As a matter of fact, just moments ago, I grew impatient like I often do and skipped ahead in Colorless. The first word I saw was death. I doubt anyone's going to die, but it was a moment of “nope”. Yeah, I didn't read further in, and returned to my spot a few pages back. The struggle is real.

“Are they going to disappear?”

This one is especially frequent while reading Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. First, his friends all shun him, then the only other friend he’s made disappears twice - the first time on family business, the second time final and without explanation. There’s this feeling that Sara will abandon Tsukuru as well, just like everyone else in his life, but who knows. A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance, Dance, Dance also face the disappearance of the nameless protagonist’s girlfriend, Kiki. There’s also Eri’s somewhat disappearance in After Dark, where her body is present, but no one has witnessed her consciousness in months.

Is any of this actually real?

This one really became a question asked after South of the Border, West of the Sun. South of the Border is quite reminiscent of American Psycho in some ways, but in the context of unfaithfulness. At the end, the protagonist is revealed to have possibly imagined everything. Murakami loves to dwell in a space between reality and something else. Fun stuff, really.

The ending is going to be a cliffhanger.

This one isn't even a question.

My Experience Reading Dance, Dance, Dance and A Wild Sheep Chase (a short, somewhat humorous post)

I read Dance, Dance, Dance before A Wild Sheep Chase. If this was a mistake, I don’t know, but I must say that it made for some humorous thoughts. Dance, Dance, Dance is regarded as a stand-alone novel, but there are definite connections to A Wild Sheep Chase.

Some thoughts I had while reading Dance, Dance, Dance:

“What is the Dolphin Hotel?”

“Kiki….? Who?”

“what”

“Who is the Sheep Professor?”

“Sheep Man…..?”

“Who is the Rat? Does it even matter since he’s dead?”

“what”

So it was a little difficult to read fluidly, but was still a good book regardless. I read it over my winter break from school, which was excellent because the exposition takes place during the winter season.

A Wild Sheep Chase is actually the third book in Murakami’s Rat Trilogy, but again, it functions as a separate piece as well. There are still some details that I feel would read more smoothly with prior reading of Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973. A Wild Sheep Chase was definitely weirder than Dance, Dance, Dance, but I also felt that it was slower in its plot development ( that is, until death and explosions came in). Both books have humor, but I felt that A Wild Sheep Chase overall had more humorous writing. There were several odd funny parts, as well as comedically blunt chapter titles. For example, “We are not whales - and this constitutes one great theme underscoring our sex life” in the chapter “The Whale’s Penis and the Woman with Three Occupations”. The books have a funny sort of dynamic between them. Whether this is intentional or just me being goofy, I don’t know. For example, I was thinking about the presence of death in both, and decided A Wild Sheep Chase is like “Dude, I’m dead,” while Dance, Dance, Dance is more like “Dude, you’re dead…who’s next?”

I plan to read the first two pieces in this series, Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973 after Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and Sputnik Sweetheart.

Sputnik Sweetheart : Chapters 1-8

My most recent posts are all Murakami-centric. For this fact, I am not sorry. The guy write some weird and fantastic books. 10/10 would recommend.

Beforehand: 

Before beginning Sputnik Sweetheart today, I read Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki over Wednesday and Thursday, as well as A Wild Sheep Chase before that. Both aren't out-of-this-world weird on the surface, but were definitely not ordinary. A Wild Sheep Chase is unapologetically odd. Like, really odd. The tone is ironically pretty passive and neutral though, constant with Murakami's style of protagonists and magical realism. The plot was a slow one too, until the explosive end (that was a pun). On the other hand, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki is headache-inducing when you think deeply over the plot and its symbols. I needed to give my mind a rest, so I settled on reading Sputnik Sweetheart next. Sputnik is known as one of Murakami's more traditional novels, along with Norwegian Wood which is also similar in length, and the first Murakami book I read. 

So far:

First off, I have to say, for such a short book (210 pages), Sputnik Sweetheart has a long exposition. It was only at about halfway through the book that I began turning pages more consistently. Though definitely not bad, it seems to take quite a while to get into the story. Colorless had a very distinct gloomy mood to it, but I struggled to distinguish a feeling for the first half of Sputnik. Personally, I also struggled to get a good picture of the setting.

 This starts to change where I am right now, at the end of the eighth chapter. K has just arrived in Greece after Miu called him, alerting him of Sumire's disappearance. After he arrives on the island, the pictures formed much more easily in my mind and are gorgeous. The mood of summer is also illustrated beautifully. While reading, I was filled with summer longing and nostalgia. I look forward to the events unfolding in this setting.

On what's to come:

Though I'm eager to continue reading, I'm also scared. Why? Because Haruki Murakami, that's why. A disappearance almost certainly means death, or disappearance from this dimension entirely. Is Sumire dead? Did she literally just stop existing? I have not read on Murakami book that didn't have an open-ending either, so who knows? Seriously, the book might never say what happened to her...

Norwegian Wood

With my decision to start reading for fun, I decided to dive into the work of Haruki Murakami. The first book in my plan was Norwegian Wood. Unlike most of Murakami's other works, Norwegian Wood lacks any magical realism, and instead follows the experiences of a young man. Though he is thirty-seven in "the present", the story mostly follows his life during and a little after his college days in the sixties. As with all of Haruki Murakami's writing, Norwegian Wood is incredibly thoughtful, and though slow at times, creates a rich story.

In place of a dynamic plot full of action and twists, Murakami builds complex and varied characters. The lives of these characters don't feel dynamic, but rather live their lives at the same pace of most people. The humanity in Norwegian Wood was really something that I appreciated. Nothing about the book was glamorous in the least. Though these were all qualities I enjoyed, the story is definitely not for some people. There are also frequent sex conversations and acts, as well as numerous suicides.

I would definitely recommend Norwegian Wood to someone who enjoys coming-of-age stories and reflective novels. It's really a great work.

-Spoilers below- 


Though I wish to avoid summarizing the plot, I can't help but share my interpretation on the ending for anyone who has also read the book. When I first finished the last few paragraphs, I was hella confused. The story went from sex with the roommate of suddenly-deceased Naoko to a scene in a telephone booth when Wantanabe calls a confused Midori. 

"At last, Midori's quiet voice broke the silence: 'Where are you now?'

Where was I now?

Gripping the receiver, I raised my head and turned to see what lay beyond the telephone booth. Where was I now. I had no idea. No idea at all. Where was this place? All that flashed into my eyes were the countless shapes of people walking by nowhere. Again and again, I called out for Midori from the dead center of this place that was no place.?

Murakami's attempt at creating an open ending was definitely successful. Immediately after finishing the last paragraph, I went online to search for interpretations. My interpretation is that after Naoko's death Wanatanbe continues the traveling that he had begun after he heard of her end. We, as readers, know that he has moved around a lot since. He backpacks throughout Japan, and there's also the scene at the West coast where he has a realization about Hatsumi. I believe that the last section actually follows the beginning, where Wantanabe is in the airplane and stumbles upon his memories with an overwhelming emotional and physical reaction. Many many years after Naoko is gone, he realizes that he doesn't want to lose Midori, or himself. 

 

Reading for Fun

In my freshman year, I took AP Art History, and continued with AP classes in each year of high school. The large amounts of homework and night textbook readings soaked up almost all of my free time and effectively slaughtered my interest in reading. Before, I used to either read a book a day, or embark upon massive novels a week each. Reading was a major hobby of mine, and I often read instead of slept. I was a very strong reader that flipped pages quickly and had an active imagination. Unfortunately, my reading shifted mainly to textbooks with the coming of high school. Sure, I can read textbooks fine and get a lot of information, but when I would try to read a book for my own personal enjoyment, I could not longer effectively follow the plot or feel the author's intended impact.

Recently though, I've decided to pick up reading as a hobby again. Honestly, compared to the skill that was there before, I suck. My focus floats and the pace is much slower than before because I often have to go back to absorb all the written details. Hopefully I can rebuild the skill with lots of practice and determination. Right now I've decided to focus on Haruki Murakami's books because I enjoy his topics and style, plus I can organize my the order of books I read by the varying complexities.

I just want to encourage anyone that enjoys reading to keep dedicating time to immerse yourself in words because the skill does go away if it's not exercised.

Quit doing these things to people of multicultural heritage (seriously)

My mother is a Filipina and my father is a half-Italian American. Growing up half Southeast Asian and half (mostly) Caucasian was and continues to be incredibly confusing. I know for a fact that not all, but several other mixed individuals have felt conflict in the area of cultural identity. There are definitely a group of those who fortunately don't have to experience these things, but I'd say a large number do. Interracial relations have grown increasingly more welcomed and accepted socially, but people still say some things that are offensive, whether intentional or not. I'd just like to share a few examples.

Stop pressuring mixed people to choose a "side".
This one is so common. One thing that drives me crazy is how people stubbornly see in black and white, and this thinking most definitely applies to how they view racial/cultural identity. This may be a shocker, but more than one ethnic background can coexist in a person, I promise. Yes, it is not impossible. Don't ask someone "So are you _______ or _______?" They may identify with one more than the other, but for heaven's sake, they. can. be. both.

Stop invalidating how they identify(!!)
Oh boy, this one comes back stubbornly, much like herpes. I'll just use my background as an example for this next piece. If I say something reflective of my Asian background, don't say "but aren't you white too?" In a circumstance where I tell you about negative experiences I've experience as someone who is Asian, don't reply with "but you're also white". I mean really, how is that relevant? If what you're going to say starts with "But aren't you....", just don't say it. Save everyone's time. Also saying "You don't look _________" when someone tells you what they are is rude. First of all, people of the mentioned race/cultural background will not all look the same. Secondly, someone will look like the identity they've stated because that are that identity.

Don't treat multicultural people as some sort of "other"
A common struggle for mixed people is a heavy lack of belonging because we often just don't quite fit in. "You're too _____ to be _______" is not an uncommon phrase. Individuals tend to feel out of place in any of the cultural groups of their heritage, regardless of how they identify. Another dehumanizing piece is fetishization and objectification. Especially with mixed women, people will consider them exotic and fetishize the heck out of them. Also, there's this recent obsession with having mixed kids, which on the surface sounds positive, but 100% makes several mixed people including myself uncomfortable. The fascination with multicultural people and children causes further alienation.

In Times of Nostalgia

Perhaps I am too young to feel this way, but sometimes there are waves of nostalgia that wash over me, dousing all of my being. I'm only sixteen years old, but a mere two years ago feels like another life. Responsibilities are delivered with time, and the sweet innocent rose tint of the world begins to caramelize, threatening to burn. I feel nostalgic most when the seasons change. The transitions remind me of change, but the yearly repetition brings forth the past.

Nostalgia is a weird sensation. Sometimes it's heavy and dark, but other times, it's comforting.
I'll find my heart ache over easier times, or lost friendships. Sometimes it's warm and I feel a sense of pride when reflecting on my development and growth. Overall it's just very complex.

Sometimes I just take time to reminisce. This involves silent isolation where I can retreat into my head, reliving feelings and rebuilding environments. Other times, I look back at old pictures and listen to old songs. The best actions in moments of nostalgia are when it's shared. Whether it's over coffee or at home, to reflect on past times with friends is such an intimate and relieving thing. It's something that brings friends closer and affirms that there is still care.

Viewing old times has also made it apparent to me that memories aren't big events or dramatic happenings, but rather small happenings. In Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood, the protagonist Toru says "Memory is a funny thing. When I was in the scene, I hardly paid it any mind. I never stopped to think of it as something that would make a lasting impression, certainly never imagined that eighteen years later I would recall it in such detail." This thought is important, because I know that I often feel like my life has become nothing but insignificant actions. When that happens, I flee to times when I was younger. The thing is, realistically thinking, these times were not any more phenomenal in context.