Review for the Murakami Reading Challenge
I’ve read around a half dozen of Murakami’s books since I was given a copy of Wild Sheep Chase a few years ago, but I’ve always … avoided isn’t the right word … shied away from his longer works. I hadn’t really thought about why until recently. For one thing, there’s something about the magical realist world that Murakami creates, that makes it very difficult for me to read other writers for some time afterwards. But the other reason is I that I get so drawn into his books that I feared diving into one of his longer works would take over my every waking moment. And it did.
Any spare moment that I had over the past few weeks I spent being absorbed into the dual worlds of Kafka Tamura and Mr Nakata. As with all of his books, it was dense with references, both mythological and popular - from Oedipus and Orpheus, to Johnny Walker and Colonel Sanders. And of course, music is as important as always. Again, an eclectic mix: Prince; Radiohead; Coltrane and Beethoven.
Then there’s the language - even in its translated form there’s a poeticism and originality of phrasing that’s astonishing and often breathtaking. If I was to read it again, I’d certainly do so with a notepad by my side to take down some of the most memorable.
The book’s not without its flaws - the shifting between first person and omniscient narrator can be a little disorienting at times; and there’s the odd word - “porch” was one that particularly stuck in my craw - that just seemed too western; but perhaps all of that can be put down to the translation.
But when all is said and done there’s little doubt in my mind that Murakami is one of the most exhilarating of contemporary authors. As I commented to a friend the other day, no other author makes me want to write so much, and yet at the same time, makes any attempt seem wholly inadequate. That said, Haruki started relatively late, so who knows, perhaps one day…
