Haruki Murakami: The Moment I Became a Novelist • Hacker News Board

Re: Haruki Murakami: The Moment I Became a Novelist

#11

Post by cb18 » Sun, Aug 02, 2015, 2:01 AM UTC

evjan wrote: post #10

howlingfantods wrote: post #9

Among my group of friends, I've found that everyone's favorite Murakami book is always the first or second they read. After you read a couple, they all start sounding the same. Another angsty young man searches for a girl with serious emotional issues, and there's some metaphor heavy dream sequences and talking animals along the way. I haven't read his recent books but I've read five books of his and it was really ti…

That's a very astute observation. I read Norwegian Wood first, but that is so different from most his other works and I didn't love it. I don't remember which one I read after that, but I got hooked around the 2nd or the 3rd. Common themes: a guy, living on his own (or with an often absent girlfriend), cooking simple dishes while drinking beer after working out. He has an ear fetish. There is a cat somewhere. Some ma…

Common themes: a guy, living on his own (or with an often absent girlfriend), cooking simple dishes while drinking beer after working out. He has an ear fetish. There is a cat somewhere. Some magic realism and lots metaphors.

Conspicuous absence of bar/nighclubs, jazz, records, from that list.

Re: Haruki Murakami: The Moment I Became a Novelist

#12

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Aug 02, 2015, 2:11 AM UTC

evjan wrote: post #7

evjan wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't read that particular one, but probably have it in a bookshelf somewhere. My wife is a big Murakami fan and I've read almost all of them. I will make that the next one on my fiction reading list, thanks! I particularly enjoyed A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance, whereas my wife loves Kafka on the Shore (which I didn't like). Funny that...

Also, I finished 1Q84 recently. It took me 3 years, mainly because it was pretty dull and I read other stuff at the same time.

[deleted]

Re: Haruki Murakami: The Moment I Became a Novelist

#13

Post by Brashman » Sun, Aug 02, 2015, 2:38 AM UTC

cb18 wrote: post #11

evjan wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a very astute observation. I read Norwegian Wood first, but that is so different from most his other works and I didn't love it. I don't remember which one I read after that, but I got hooked around the 2nd or the 3rd. Common themes: a guy, living on his own (or with an often absent girlfriend), cooking simple dishes while drinking beer after working out. He has an ear fetish. There is a cat somewhere. Some ma…

Common themes: a guy, living on his own (or with an often absent girlfriend), cooking simple dishes while drinking beer after working out. He has an ear fetish. There is a cat somewhere. Some magic realism and lots metaphors. Conspicuous absence of bar/nighclubs, jazz, records, from that list.

http://www.incidentalcomics.com/2012/06/haruki-murakami-bing...

Re: Haruki Murakami: The Moment I Became a Novelist

#14

Post by evjan » Sun, Aug 02, 2015, 2:54 AM UTC

Brashman wrote: post #13

cb18 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Common themes: a guy, living on his own (or with an often absent girlfriend), cooking simple dishes while drinking beer after working out. He has an ear fetish. There is a cat somewhere. Some magic realism and lots metaphors. Conspicuous absence of bar/nighclubs, jazz, records, from that list.

http://www.incidentalcomics.com/2012/06/haruki-murakami-bing...

Love it!

Re: Haruki Murakami: The Moment I Became a Novelist

#15

Post by evjan » Sun, Aug 02, 2015, 3:01 AM UTC

cb18 wrote: post #11

evjan wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a very astute observation. I read Norwegian Wood first, but that is so different from most his other works and I didn't love it. I don't remember which one I read after that, but I got hooked around the 2nd or the 3rd. Common themes: a guy, living on his own (or with an often absent girlfriend), cooking simple dishes while drinking beer after working out. He has an ear fetish. There is a cat somewhere. Some ma…

Common themes: a guy, living on his own (or with an often absent girlfriend), cooking simple dishes while drinking beer after working out. He has an ear fetish. There is a cat somewhere. Some magic realism and lots metaphors. Conspicuous absence of bar/nighclubs, jazz, records, from that list.

True, listening to music and drinking alone at bars happens a lot. Not sure I remember any nightclubs.

Re: Haruki Murakami: The Moment I Became a Novelist

#16

Post by whiddershins » Sun, Aug 02, 2015, 3:29 AM UTC

howlingfantods wrote: post #9

Among my group of friends, I've found that everyone's favorite Murakami book is always the first or second they read. After you read a couple, they all start sounding the same. Another angsty young man searches for a girl with serious emotional issues, and there's some metaphor heavy dream sequences and talking animals along the way. I haven't read his recent books but I've read five books of his and it was really ti…

I very rarely downvote comments, but I find it distressing that the top comment thread on this post seems to be turning towards a hate-on-Murakami theme.

Not only do I enjoy his work very much, and found some of it to be extremely influential in my life (i.e. Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World) I fail to see the value add in these sorts of comments about any creator's work.

The points about his recurring themes are technically true, but it can be easily debated whether he has reason for using the same metaphors across much of his work.

In any event, to me it seems pointlessly negative to critique such a unique and influential writer with these broad strokes. The best you could hope to achieve with these sorts of comments is nothing, and the worst would be to discourage someone else from finding real enjoyment and meaning by reading him.

Specifically, I enjoyed that little essay about the origins of his writing career so much, and it ever so slightly decreased that enjoyment to turn to the comments and see immediate negativity ... so where is the net gain in that?

Edit: Spelling, and added the last sentence.

Re: Haruki Murakami: The Moment I Became a Novelist

#17

Post by sciguy77 » Sun, Aug 02, 2015, 3:53 AM UTC

whiddershins wrote: post #16

howlingfantods wrote: post #9

Among my group of friends, I've found that everyone's favorite Murakami book is always the first or second they read. After you read a couple, they all start sounding the same. Another angsty young man searches for a girl with serious emotional issues, and there's some metaphor heavy dream sequences and talking animals along the way. I haven't read his recent books but I've read five books of his and it was really ti…

I very rarely downvote comments, but I find it distressing that the top comment thread on this post seems to be turning towards a hate-on-Murakami theme. Not only do I enjoy his work very much, and found some of it to be extremely influential in my life (i.e. Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World) I fail to see the value add in these sorts of comments about any creator's work. The points about his recurring…

This is what I came here to write, I think you're spot on.

There's a similar criticism of Hemingway's works[1]: that his prose is stagnant and unchanging. But the fact of the matter is, his books are phenomenal. I still think about many of them often, and they have had a profound impact on my life. I feel much the same way about Murakami. Yes, his protagonists are often similar (say, if one compares the descriptions of solitude in home life in Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which I'm reading now), and many follow similar themes, but regardless his books (and short stories) are a delight to read. They are full of beautiful thoughts and writing that, though similar, often build on and compliment one another.

Just my 2c.

[1] http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/18/hemingway-s...

Re: Haruki Murakami: The Moment I Became a Novelist

#18

Post by oska » Sun, Aug 02, 2015, 4:16 AM UTC

Small anecdote: I was living in Taiwan in 1999 and found an English translation of Pinball, 1973 in a bookshop there. It was a Kodansha imprint, for English learners I think. Anyway, I'd already read a number of Murakami books by that time (Wild Sheep Chase, Dance, Dance, Dance and Wind-up Bird Chronicle), and enjoyed them so I snapped it up. It was an ok read but far from his best (which for me, still remains Wind-up Bird Chronicle).

Later, I researched that Kodansha edition on the net and realised that it had never really been made available in English speaking countries and was fairly rare. So I put it up for sale on eBay, probably in 2000 or 2001. Thought it might attract a bit of interest but was pleasantly surprised when it attracted a lot of interest and eventually sold for something like $300. Can't remember the exact final bid but it was around that. Was happy to sell it for that and still happy now. I doubt it's appreciated in value since then but I could be wrong.

Anyway, it appears from this article that Pinball, 1973 and Hear the wind sing are now finally being published in a generally distributed edition. I'm a little bit surprised because it was my understanding that Murakami thought they were early, weaker works and wasn't particularly keen for them to get new attention.

Re: Haruki Murakami: The Moment I Became a Novelist

#19

Post by sacrilicious » Sun, Aug 02, 2015, 4:31 AM UTC

I've read this story before, and often think about how if people don't have examples in life these 'epiphanies' are hard to come by. Non-fictional heroes may get more attention with the access to knowledge we have nowadays, but there's still the problem of focusing in and having the possibility made real in our own minds.

My story: - The pretty big theater I worked for had a crackerjack unix head running a windows/exchange environment like it was no big thing, all from an iBookG3. I was in the shower, at some point in the late fall. and I thought to myself 'I'd like to have a job/get paid to "fix computers"'. I sent away for Apple's Tech Training, someone's husband was starting a consulting company, and 10 years later... well, I like what I do and am lucky to have as many advances as I've had in my short career. Workstation-level sysadmin may not be highly regarded, but at least the book I wrote wasn't by hand.

Re: Haruki Murakami: The Moment I Became a Novelist

#20

Post by minikomi » Sun, Aug 02, 2015, 4:49 AM UTC

oska wrote: post #18

Small anecdote: I was living in Taiwan in 1999 and found an English translation of Pinball, 1973 in a bookshop there. It was a Kodansha imprint, for English learners I think. Anyway, I'd already read a number of Murakami books by that time ( Wild Sheep Chase , Dance, Dance, Dance and Wind-up Bird Chronicle ), and enjoyed them so I snapped it up. It was an ok read but far from his best (which for me, still remains Win…

Oh wow I think I have this! It has a glossary in the back to see what Japanese words the English came from. I really liked that idea.

Also, Pinball is probably my favorite work of his because all the pieces which appear in later books - cooking, whiskey, the rat, nonplussed antagonist - appear but the book reads like a weird kind of sketch rather than a fully filled in painting.