Frank Galati on Haruki Murakami

[Helgonet1234]

What's this guy saying? After the quake was NOT about the aftermath of 9/11..it was about the aftermath of the 1995 Kobe earthquake! I mean, the book was published in February 2000..

[tr1tan]

@Helgonet1234 Yes, he knows that. He said that it is VERY SIMILAR to the aftermath of 9/11. He didn't say After The Quake was ABOUT 9/11. He said it is about a similar catastrophe.

[GeorgesBarras]

I remember reading Wild Sheep Chase for no reason - best literary accident of my life.

[FierceSwitters]

"half a dozen years ago"??! why could'nt he say six years ago

[ang7090]

@FierceSwitters because his goal in life is to bother you, for the world revolves around you.

[FierceSwitters]

@ang7090

why couldn't you just say I was boring, or a cyber--dick, or something?

[ang7090]

@FierceSwitters because his goal in life is to bother you, for the world revolves around you. you must be a tedious friend.

[go624jp]

i had read norway's wood,after the quake,etc at japanese language.

i was surprise with his written technique about story development. then i am reading "The sputnik Sweetheart,haldboild wonderland and the world end.thank you!

[shmexaymuffin]

just finished reading Kafka On The Shore. It was legendary. It was truly, truly a piece of magnificent work. My gf recomended it to me i'm 15. :D

[Garganfunker]

My first Murakami book was "Dance dance dance" I loved all his works since that day

[maarten66]

You know that thats a sequel to 'A Wild Sheep Chase'? I advise you to read that one as well. As well as all the others!

[Garganfunker]

I do know that now. usually I just go to the bookstore, pick a book read a few pages and if I like it I buy it.

[zhinshi]

...ahahahha...mine is After Dark....then after that.....i can't help it....im thinking of what to buy for my fourth book...ahahhaha....is dance dance dance good???...so far...Ive read, yes...after dark, norwegian wood and kafka on the shore....thanks a lot...

[kuzcat]

wind up bird chronicles!! hard boiled wonderland or the end of the world!!! these works are fkn EPIC and btw this bearded dude didnt say anything new or insightful that any one of Murakami's readers didnt already know. He just phrased it in a fancy professorial manner and adden ums and pauses. *annoyed* >:/

[zhinshi]

I agree....if i finished reading the book i'm reading right now...unfortunately it isn't Murakami...i think I'll have another trip to the book store...thanks..im really looking forward to reading either or all of them...aahahahha

[benjaminmn123]

@kuzcat That's because Murakami's books do not contain anything new or insightful, they contain things for bearded hippies to paraphrase, eyebrows aloof.

[Kanteinium]

@benjaminmn123 Not every good piece of literature has to be new or insightful.

[FastJohnnyNardGard]

@benjaminmn123 You shut your lousy, stupid failhole right now before I fill it with spiders and dog shit.

[Paul186]

Just finished "Norwegian Wood." The Japanese have a stereotype of being "stoic, emotionally 1 dimensional." Murakami paints the characters with depth and color-blowing the lid of that tmage. That contributes to the reminder that all cultures are diverse in personality, against the grain of TV and

movie stereotype brainawash. BTW, good clip,

Mr. Galati..

[Paul186]

Just finished after the quake. Murakami uses pop music a lot as a universal link. I like the quirkiness of the characters.

[talitapelente]

I wouldn't agree with Murakami being that much of a "romance" writer at all. I read 4-5 of his books already but this is not the word that would occur to me to describe his work.

[monkies978]

I would have to agree but the way he writes is romantic.

[kuzcat]

yes the dude clearly hasnt read all of his books. the word for it i think is "surreal". also the phenomena of the human condition, the mix of physicality, imagination, relationships between human beings (not necessarily romantic) etc

[bta1987]

My first Murakami's novel ever read was South of the Border, West of the Sun; and at the end of the day, my final impression was nothing more than desire --> sex --> confusion --> schizophrenia!...hah, what a guy...

[rapi321]

@bta1987 was it good? I'm having doubts buying that one, because in the bookstore where I usually buy stuffs South of the border west of the sun has the same price as wind up bird chronicles which is 3 times thicker...

[swantonist]

if Hollywood makes a film on on eof Murakami's novels then it will only be because he sold th filr rights right?

[9unslinger]

Hi I'm onli 15 but i've read Murakami's books. I love his storyline so much!!!^^

The books i've read

1.Bind Willow,Sleeping Woman

2.The Elephant Vanishes

3.Sputnik Sweeheart

4.A Wild Sheep Chase

[ibx33]

This makes me happy. I'm really glad when younger people are reading good books.

[rapi321]

@ibx33 yeah man, and not those vampire shits.

[hayasi1991]

1Q84,

 I'm Love it....

[bhattkris]

I have yet to read Murakami. But this review by Mr. Galati is impressive. Has he also written something?

[louisejbjb]

I LOVE Haruki Murikami's books. On very top of my favorite novels his is Wind Up Bird Chronicles

Living in the US I really hope to see this novels and others on film.

[khoihq]

I like Kafka on the Shore better...since i could grasp the story line and the time line of it better than Wind up Bird Chronicles...which was more like Murakami's own story in his early 20's

[khoihq]

sorry...i meant to say Norwegian Wood was more like his own story...lolz

[cobracommander1234]

norweigian wood is being made into a film as we speak lol

[AdamantiumJedi]

I hope to god the film industry stays away from his novels......

[broseph127]

sadly, i don't think it will.

[dinodemic]

@AdamantiumJedi I agree with you! But: It was announced in July 2008 that French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung would direct an adaptation of Murakami's novel, Norwegian Wood. The film will be released in 2010.

At least its not Hollywood!

[zhinshi]

@dinodemic ....yeah, its japanese....a japanese novel made into japanese movie...at least, i am quite relieved to hear that.

[joshlopez116]

@AdamantiumJedi

actually they made a movie based on all god's children can dance, its actually phenomenal, check it out

[TheCausation]

@AdamantiumJedi I generally agree with your sentiment, but there are some studios / directors that might do some of them justice.. Just want to keep Hollywood away really.

[MargarettAstorr]

i love Murakami, he teach me how to take the reality.

[lernisto]

lovely comment

[eatallday0713]

I am not sure whether there is anything or much Japanese about Murakami's novels. By changing a few things in his novels, it may be possible it hide that his novels are Japanese. If readers did not know that his books are not by a Japanese author, would they have liked them as much, or liked in the same way? Is the connection to Japan important or relevant? I wonder. Perhaps Japan is no longer much Japan. Or, that is the current state of Japan.

[eatallday0713]

Correction: not by a Japanese author -> "not" should be removed.

[lernisto]

there is a witty quote by kenzaburo oe about the way he uses japanese like english, so oe thinks that the english speakers reading the translation don't realize the akwardness of his style

[psnapplebee]

Good talk .. my slight cavil is I'm not sure it's right to say he "began" to incorporate 'societal concerns' or the like after 1995's events, as e.g. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle was published in Japan in 1994, and then there's Hard-Boiled Wonderland ... and honestly, all of his work -- take for example the 1960s backdrop to Norwegian Wood, which is probably the closest someone could hold up as 'straight romance' that you could get with Murakami. But it isn't 'just' a romance, anyway.