Murukami

[Bekah]

I see what you might be saying about the similarities between GR and Wind-up but just as TRP doesn't stick with WWII, neither does Murakami.  Fwiw, Raymond Carver infuenced both writers. (heh) 

 I think that Wind-up Bird Chronicle is Murakami's best (and probably most fans and reviewers agree) but it doesn't really exemplify his work overall.  Generally, I'd say Murkami is more into what we think of as fantasy and magical realism (a horribly over-used term).  His style is kind of mesmerizing in it's own way, dreamy, like soft jazz taking you somewhere. 

For a good example of current Murakami try "After Dark" or "Kafka on the Shore" ("After Dark" is both shorter and I liked it better.).  Actually, after Wind-Up,  I'd say those two are my favorites, followed by A Wild Sheep Chase.   I wasn't too crazy about Norwegian Wood or the oral history, Underground.   Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is a good collection of short stories and probably the most dreamy and fantastical so far. 

Bekah


On Sep 21, 2011, at 12:02 PM, kelber at mindspring.com wrote:

> The only book I've read by Murukami is The Wind-up Bird Chronicle.  I thought it was a pale, overly cute attempt to copy Pynchon.  Are his other books substantially different from Wind-up?
> 
> Laura
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Bekah <bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net>
>> Sent: Sep 21, 2011 12:50 PM
>> To: Joseph Tracy <brook7 at sover.net>
>> Cc: "pynchon-l at waste.org" <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>> Subject: Re: Murukami
>> 
>> I'm game but, per Amazon, the book isn't available in the US until October 25.  With or without a group read, I'm definitely planning to read it at the first opportunity - like I'll have it in my hands on the day it's available.  I've read quite a lot of Murakami, novels, short stories, non-fiction, and am very curious as to what direction his work is going. 
>> 
>> Bekah
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Sep 21, 2011, at 10:30 AM, Joseph Tracy <brook7 at sover.net> wrote:
>> 
>>> Trying again. Is there a plan for group read  of IQ 84?
>