r/murakami

Just finished the trilogy of the Rat. Should I continue with Norwegian Wood or skip to Dance Dance Dance as it acts as a continuation of the Rat?

Did anyone had similar reaction? It felt strange to me. I did not expect it at all as it didn't seem like a particular sad scene, but the imagery that murakami drawn up in me at the 3 sequential explosions made me burst into tears, somewhat confused.

The explosions represented those miracle moment, where a heroic act came from a unsuspecting, regular(mediocore) man , and yet nobody was there to witness it.

It reminds me every day people fighting and going through life despite that feeling its so confusing and hard, like the one grass that pierce out of the rock, despite the harse conditions around it. It is miraculous and inspiring and it makes me tears up always, and its not a feeling i can fully understand and describe in logic.

I think RAT died for his own ideology/purpose , despite claiming he had a life with no purpose. His purpose was to insist on being true to himself, even if its been ridiculed by the elites of the modern society as mediocracy.

It felt weirdly resonating to me because I have had felt weak a few years ago. I have had these words in my head right around when I turned 30: the first word was anchor and the second word was courage. These words kept appearing in my chest/head and I ve been looking for solutions for them.

Retrospectively, I would say what I was looking for was my own beliefs/values (anchor) and the courage to act and speak by them, even if it seems scary and against the crowd.

The book actually reminds me so much of the wind up bird chronical, which has been my previous favourite book from Murakami so far. It was the first time i've read evil being described in a way and it left a very curious impression in me. That such form evil is actually appealing to the masses and cherished as success. It can awaken something dangerous from them, and all it takes is just one person to do it. This makes it both strong(just require that one person) but also fallible (one person being the bottleneck for succession).

But just like any other read, i am always left with so many questions, particularly around woman and relationships:[spoiler]

- What is the RAT's weakness? He mentioned sex in a meaningless way a few times and I wonder if he meant it as, when he start using people as tools for something else, that is where his desires can turn him into a purposeless man.

- What are the 'trash' in women's drawers that RAT mentioned which he can take out and find something good in it, which is the definition of sex appeal? is this way of talking about them as trash related to the above point of his weakness (to manipulate people?)

- following that, And what is this exact sex appeal he means ? Is it the ability to make another person feel seem and hence unique/special (like the rose in little prince)

-and why did the protagonist Girlfriend lost her special power? Is her ear the magical power that is similar to what RAT described as trash stored in drawers?

I know these authors are wildly different in genre and style. I just happen to love them both and have read multiple books by each. I love the weird magical realism of Murakami, and the subtle dark/slightly uncomfortable vibe that many of his books have. It’s not super dark or horrific, but mildly unsettling.

I also love Mhairi McFarlane as a romance/women’s fiction writer. Her writing is beautiful and emotional. As an American, I find the Scottish and British scenery and cultures to be a bit novel and fun. I also like that her books have some depth to them but they are still more or less “feel good” reads.

Open to specific book recommendations or authors in general. Thanks!

Haven’t read any murakaki; would like to. Are there any that completely avoid all these: 1) self-harm/ideation and 2) animal harm or death?

Before you hate just know that this is my personal opinion and I do want to give him another try.

Issues with the book for me…

Maybe it’s because I’m familiar with Japanese works all through my life so I find this particular description of surrealism to be something of a novelty technique. I also feel like a lot of loosely conveyed themes and imagery was there for the sake of it and hardly served any narrative progression to both the overall story or to the characters development.
Don’t get me wrong, I love magical realism and dreamy sequences, but from the perspective of this novel in particular; it felt like a sexually charged-guilty fever dream with no payoff or resolution (which if that was the point, it did it well). I love the imagery, I just wished it amounted to something more meaningful.

Also, maybe this is a translation issue, but the overall dialogue wasn’t all that compelling to me either (granted the main character is a 15 year old), but nothing struck me as illuminating or creatively put if that makes any sense. It was written like a modern poem (like that of a middle-aged woman with no literary experience outside of YA fiction who wished she led a more adventurous life).

Well, I’m sure other people have other reactions, but this book was a bit of a torture chamber for me, long digressive passages and the “when will this part end, and why am I reading it?” that reminded me of pushing through parts of Les Misérables. Only a mild payoff in the end, and it seems like the book would’ve been better at half the page count. I’m sure I’ll get flamed for this, but it wasn’t a length thing. It was just for me the almost irrelevance of some of the parts. I liked 1Q84, which was longer, so the page count doesn’t bother me.

And I love Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years (have read multiple times) so I don’t mind multiple threads.

I’m thinking Wild Sheep Chase next — supposedly more linear. Thoughts?