Haruki Murakami | Book Chatter

I don’t think I have ever been so excited about a book.

I am becoming that annoying person, the one that keeps harping on the same subject, but Murakami’s writing does something to me. I am totally obsessed and cannot wait for this darn book to come out.

There is a midnight release party for it, but to be honest, as much as I love the guy, I don’t think I will be able to swing it. I get up at 4am to go to work so unless I stay up ALL NIGHT LONG, it isn’t going to happen. I should have planned better by taking tomorrow off, but at the time, plans for a midnight book event did not exist. Plus, The Hub told me that he didn’t want me wandering around Hollywood at midnight. I asked, “What could go wrong?” All he did was give me that look. Apparently, he’s gotten to know me quite well during our almost 18 years of marriage.

Sigh.

Being on Facebook has made me more crazy than I normally am. The following links were posted there and got me all stirred up.

How Haruki Murakami’s ‘1Q84’ Was Translated into English

Tokyo Prose

The Fierce Imagination of Haruki Murakami

Chipp Kidd on Designing the 1Q84 Cover (video)

As you can see, I am dying over here. The thought of that book coming out at midnight and me, not being able to get to it is just too much. I know I can Kindle it, but Kidd mentions a surprise with the page numbers and my Kindle is 2nd generation, no page numbers! That means I have to buy the book. Or, I can buy both.

What do you call a Murakami groupie anyway? I’m sure there is a name for us, but I haven’t come across it yet.

After the Quake – Short Stories (single author)
By Haruki Murakami
(Vintage, Paperback, 9780375713279, May 2003, 160pp.)

The Short of It:

Simple prose yet so complex. The stories in this collection are thought-provoking and dreamy in a surreal, fantastical way.

The Rest of It:

This is a very brief collection of stories. Six stories, all set at the time of the 1995 Kobe earthquake. None of the stories are really about the earthquake. Instead, the earthquake itself serves as a reminder of how delicate life is, how fragile Japan is and how a tiny shift in thinking can affect our daily existence.

Murakami is a powerful writer. The novels I’ve read so far took me to a place I’ve never been before. A far, out-there place where cats can talk and pimps are named Colonel Sanders. But, this collection of stories is the total opposite of his novels.

There are a few fantastical elements contained within this collection, but they are the sort of nightmarish, creepy hallucinations anyone could experience while sleeping. This collection of stories feels more accessible to me, if that makes sense. I’m thinking that those who found Murakami’s work too extreme in the past, might enjoy these stories. Actually, I’m sure of it.

I read this collection in one sitting. I was mesmerized, charmed and in one case totally weirded out yet I could not put the book down once I started reading it. To me, Murakami is this awesome, Japanese Cowboy who rides into town and sweeps me off my feet with his lyrical prose and knack for dialogue.

I’m a bit smitten with his writing. Can you tell?

Source: Borrowed (but now I want to buy my own copy)

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