The Murakami Universe

The Murakami Universe

I had just completed my Standard 12th Board Examinations, and on a recommendation of one of my favorite teachers, I first lay hand on a book titled “Kafka on the Shore” and was baptized immediately and was a new entrant to the Murakami universe and a to be devout follower of the cult of Haruki . Now, that was about five years back, and in this span I have read, enjoyed and danced to the music of his words in a number of his novels and short stories.

  I had never been an avid reader in my school days, apart from the chunk of literature one reads in school curriculum which ranges from Dickens to Shakespeare to Ruskin Bond. However, that was more of an academic pursuit rather than an indulgence in the pleasure of reading. Murakami, truly was my gateway drug, my magic pill which allowed me to enter and explore the various beautiful contours hidden and portrayed in words since time immemorial by various men and women of many different nationalities, castes, creed, sexual preferences, eating habits, et al. I remember reading a quote once, Learning can be done either by reading or by experiencing. Attesting to the belief that we have such finite time in this world with infinite stories and opportunities, Literature is truly a drug, and works of Murakami definitely being one of the most psychedelic of the lot. I am always ready to peddle or be the pimp for Murakami, and none of my customers ever complain but are eager for more shots of Murakami.

I often wonder what that quality is which has made Murakami into a global cult phenomenon, Is it is reference to Popular Culture, or a definitive musical playlist that often occurs, or is it those strange/weird characters which appear (remember the Sheep Man), or those metaphors, or that poetic prose which he writes or those powerful imagery or the list just can go on and on. Can we call Murakami a truly epitome of a post-modern writer. I have been personally drawn into Murakami due to his lucid style of writing and a plot which is truly engaging and also very visceral.

Haruki Murakami is not only arguably one of the most experimental modern novelist but also a very popular one among various age groups, contrasting with his contemporaries. His works inhabit the liminal zone between realism and fable, whodunit and science fiction: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, for example, features a protagonist who is literally of two minds. His books are like Japanese cuisine — a mix of the delicate, the deliberately bland and the curiously exotic. Reading Murakami can change your brain. His world-view has inspired Sofia Coppola (director of Lost in Translation starring Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansen (here), the author David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas fame here) and American bands such as the Flaming Lips ( here is their cover of Pink Floyd’s Us and Them).He has won a number of literary prizes and has been one of the most favorite contenders for the Nobel Prize in the past few years.

Of Murakami, I am done about roughly 70% of his entire works. And these are the five things what I have learnt about him:

                                                          

1.He really (really) loves music.

Murakami’s novels have some great musical reference to guide us through his plots ranging from Clapton’s Reptile to Morrison’s People are Strange to the Thieving Magpie to the Coltrane to the Stones. Jazz is perhaps, his greatest passions. One may say that his musical taste is quite suave and sexy. (here) and (here) you can find the songs mentioned in his works.

2.He loves cats.

Cats are key to Murakami. The jazz bar he once ran was called Peter Cat, and Murakami himself is catlike: aloof and independent, fastidious yet dreamy. Cats are frequent characters in Murakami novels too--and the more cats, the better. Cats disappear, they talk, they prophesize….Well, Cats and Murakami. (here)

3.Murakami runs.

 Anything close to a resemblance to his autobiography would be “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” , In this extended monologue, Murakami reminisces about his life as seen through the prism of the sport. He runs marathons and always wants to improve his timings.

4.Food and Haruki

“It's good when food tastes good, it's kind of like proof you're alive.” (Norwegian Wood)

 Spaghetti, tofu, root beer, etc. Food is an essential part of Murakami’s works. And his ideal meal

“My favorite meal is when you have no idea what to cook and you open the refrigerator and find celery, egg, tofu and tomato. I use everything and make my own dish. That is my perfect food. No planning.”

  

5.Sex and Murakami

 Murakami often indulges in a frank exploration of the complexities of sex and desires, which often draw readers towards his works. And it is quite weird.

  “Sex is a key to enter a spirit... Sex is like a dream when you are awake; I think dreams are collective. Some parts do not belong to yourself,” Murakami told The Guardian’s Matt Thompson.

P.S. His recent work IQ84, has been nominated for the Bad Sex Word.(Read here)

Here is a documentary on Murakami.

Here is the 15 titles new design using a circle as a central motif, with a palette limited to the colors red, black and off-white of covers of Murakami's works.

Here is a short story, "Tony Takitani" published in New Yorker, also a movie.(here)

Thanks, Sajid Ahmed and Prabin Moktan.