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This is one of my favorite books of all time, to be honest. I read it in high school and have read it so many times in the 3 years since. There's just something about the mystery of it all, and what the other side really is. I don't really know what else to say about it but I just love it so much.
im so glad you made a video on sputnik sweetheart it's my favourite murakami book! the subject of alternate universes is extremely interesting to me and i think the way murakami went about exploring it was amazing, especially in one of the final scenes where K almost loses himself in the forest, i almost lost myself in the description of the words. and yeah classical music has presented itself in literally all of the murakami books i've read so far. i recommend 1Q84 (it's about soulmates and stuff and the writing is gorgeous), kafka on the shore (if you want a more surrealistic book) and colourless tsukuru tazaki (it's his most realistic novel along with norwegian wood. if you can relate to the experiences of depression, it deals heavily with it)
I took Japanese Literature and this was one of the books assigned. Absolutely love the style of Japanese authors. Completely different writing. The Key by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki is a good read as well.
I picked up this book because of this video and i want to thankyou for introducing Marakami into my life, i can't remember the last time a book resonated with me so deeply, it was absolutely brilliant. :)
Ah, Murakami is one of my favourite authors! Sputnik Sweetheart is the first book I ever read by him at the age of 15. I definitely need to reread it again, since I have forgotten so much of it. This video is a great encouragement to pick up this book again :)
This has made me realise how few books I read that were originally written in a different language; definitely something to think about to branch out with my reading! Wonderful, insightful video as always
I feel like IQ84 is the exception, because the narration in the chapters switches between the perspective of the male and the female character respectively. I really enjoyed that one, especially Aomame's (the female main character's) chapters, because she was so badass.
This is my first video of yours, and I love the way you discuss things! I recently read Wild Sheep Chase, my first Murakami experience, and it also takes you on this literally wild and strange and mysterious journey, and leaves you with no answers effectively. But I actually love that, I never would've thought I would before that book, but it's powerful in a way. I'm excited to read more of his works, and was glad to hear your take on what you've read of his so far!
Thanks to your review I read "Sputnik, my love" and now I want to read more from Murakami. He's cleary an amazing writer that leaves you living inside his books.
Very interesting interview there, thanks for including it. Def convinced me that I need to check Murakami out! (Also, I recently began reading Japanese books -translated too- and really have been thoroughly enjoying the difference in style and atmosphere. So refreshing somehow. I found the sortof unsatisfying end thing present in Osamu Dazai's 'No Longer Human' as well. And the emphasis on the mundane. )
I read Sputnik Sweetheart the other day and it blew me away, I definitely feel like I must read all his work as he is just such an interesting writer. What one are you planning on reading next?
I'm actually reading The Girls at the moment, I watched your video on it and I couldn't find it for ages but I finally found it in an airport last week on my way to Italy. I found the Italian version of Norwegian Wood and the Wind Up Bird Chronicle :3 I think you'd like The Elephant Vanishes, I studied it for an English class before I left school and I had mixed feelings about it. It's a collection of short stories which, as you can guess, never really have much meaning and don't seem to be written for any particular reason unless you look for the meaning. I think there are only 2 stories of all of them with female protagonists, so you're right about the male presence in a lot of his work. I feel like with some of the stories the mundanity (if that's a word) gets a bit much if it feels like the story isn't going anywhere or you just can't see why it should mean anything, but then others are really interesting for similar reasons. I don't know, it's a very mixed bag but I still really enjoyed it. :) I've not actually read Sputnik Sweetheart or gotten round to finishing Norwegian Wood. I sometimes find it difficult to get through his longer works just because my mind needs to be occupied and I get agitated after a while when nothing that exciting happens. It's odd how you wait for so long for something to happen with the monotony of the story that as soon as even the slightest thing comes up it seems so poignant.
I read one of his books and I just didn't get it but you got me interested in this book. I'll give it a try. Last time, after you talked about Carmilla, I got curious about it and I really liked it! Also, what you've said about Murakami's writing reminded me of A Hundred Years Of Solitude (maybe you'd like to read it :) if you haven't )
I've only read 1Q84 and half of The Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki by Murakami and loved both! 1Q84 is still one of my all time favourite books, it's amazing and dreamy and weird. Tazaki is a bit more rooted in reality as far as I remember but also incredibly interesting. *swoon*
It always interested me to as to why his books feature one male protagonist and a female 'lover' to some sort. I think the obvious fact that he is a man is a given, but I feel as though it goes back to your culture and where you grow up. Japan is a very heteronormative society as a whole if I were to stereotype, and women play a different role culturally compared to western countries. And the one story which I read that has a female protagonist for some of the overall story is, well, I can't explain that :D just read the boook!
I'd also like to add that whilst in some cases I may not agree with the roles of his characters and the male centric nature of his stories, in a way I have become accustomed to it sorry im a lil bit high just getting it out. However, with that being said, the childish style sexual fantasies are as far as I know, quite commonplace and only express the experiences/appeal to a demographic of Japanese men. His work is so weird, sometimes I am amazed by his writing but at times, apart from being bored, I don't particularly enjoying reading borderline paedophilic fantasies. 1Q84 was quite a shock 'to the system' :) Highly recommend getting a taste of his work. Some will like his work, some may not particular enjoy it. Just try one and go from there
1Q84 has Aomame as a protagonist. She is one of my all time favourite female characters. You will understand him to a complete different level with 1Q84. And I really apreciate and adore you for making this review. Also, as a translation student thanks for mentioning the translators. Now you need to read some Isabel Allende if you like magical realism.
I LOVE MURAKAMI! He writes wonderful surrreal stories. I feel like his books have a common theme they always feature music and cats and also weird sex lol. He used to own a jazz bar and owns like 10,000 vinyls and said that he always listens to music while writing so that's why his books have music in them. I would highly recommend 1Q84 and Hard-boiled Wonderland, they are two of my favourites. I recently bought Wind/pinball which is Murakami's first two novels combined. I'm so excited to read it ^^ Oh, btw Colorless Tsukuri Tazaki has some parts that take place in Finland, and 1Q84 has both female and male POVs.
After I watched the first few minutes I wanted to comment that every time you mentioned the book "Norwegian Wood" I had to think of the Beatles song and then I looked it up and realised the title is actually a reference to the song haha
When Owen McCafferty gave a lecture on his play "Scenes From the Big picture" I asked him about the role of women and his answer was remarkably similar! Ever since I've been fascinated by the potential problems and benefits of using women in books as mediums for storytelling. I am about to start "Nowegian Wood" myself and I'm glad I have a few thoughts to go in with :)
I'm currently kinda sorta obsessed with Murakami's writing... I've only read 2 of his books, the first one being After Dark which ironically has a female protagonist... I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on Norwegian Woods!
Murakami is on my to-read list since at least 5 years but somehow when I feel like reading I never pick up any of his books. But I have 3 free weeks before my internship starts so I plan to read LOADS. And I would love to hear your opinion on The Cursed Child! Personally I'm not going to read it because I don't want to risk ruining "my" Harry Potter, but I'm curious to know what is it about.
This is a literature nerd from Japan, thanks for your good review of Sputnik Sweetheart By the way, if you like this, I highly recommend to hit South of the Border, West of the Sun Also I wanna hear your review for this book Anyway, thanks for your youtube clips which make my holiday smoother
I was interested in his books until goodreads reviewers said there was no definite ending to his books. Speaking of authors in other languages, have you ever tried any of Khaled Hosseini's books ? I find them marvelous :) And btw, how is England treating you ? Have you gotten used to your new house yet ?
I want to know your opinions about Cursed Child, but at the same time I'm currently at overload with opinions, so I would say maybe wait a few weeks? I feel like I'm going down a never ending spiral of love and hate for Cursed Child and I just need a breath of fresh air - like your video about Murakami, so thank you.
I am reading Madame Bovary at the moment, you may have heard about it. It's an interesting book to think the life from the eyes of a 19th century woman who desires more or different things. I'm almost over and I like it a lot. Sometimes I get Angry with Emma she has her flaws and bad parts of her personality but she is just another woman in that place .
I am a big fan of Murakamis work and also plan to read all of it some day ^^ I really like the atmospheres he creates and the vibe of his storytelling is always very calming to me. I also noticed that he mostly uses women as a medium for his male characters (especially after I had read some feminist things between reading Norwegian Wood while I was blissfully unaware at 19 and his latest novel about a year ago at 23) and I think one can really critisise that. but I think the type of magical dream girl characters he creates are not as bad as the classical ones, also because his male main characters are always somehow obviously unusual and flaunted and as a smart reader you will notice that the stories are told from their point of view and you can't really take their thoughts on these women as absolute truth. Or maybe I just like murakami so much that I try to justify his faults in portraying female characters. I wonder how much a Japanese person or someone who knows more about the culture there than me would say that his writing reflects their culture. also recurring themes in murakami are jazz music and cats ^^ (edited due to horrible typing-on-the-phone-mistakes)
I just finished The Cursed Child and I honestly don't know how I feel about it! If you would like to do a review style thing on it, you should! The script was published for people to read and we should have an opinion based on it without seeing the play! My next read is Jane Eyre! :)
I just finished Kafka on the Shore by Murakami that (among a lot of other things) has an interesting view on gender and even directly speaks about feminism. It gives interesting critic and at the same time made me think more deeply about the statements the characters posed. Something I definitely love when reading books is when i wholly or slightly disagree with a character. It gives me insight to a point of view I couldn't really have thought of my self because i haven't meet it in any way before. I can really recommend Kafka on the Shore!
Hi! Is there anyway you could do a video on your university experience with English? Like did it change your opinion on reading for pleasure and did it make you resent reading in any way? I love reading and literature but I dislike reading and analysing the books assigned for my English A Level, I have to decide on a university course soon and I'm so torn as to what to choose! Would love to hear your take on it all!
I'm really conflicted as to whether or not I like him and it's so frustrating! I've only read one book though and am interested to eventually read another so I guess that's a good sign.
While you're reading Murakami, it's sometimes good to not expect a proper conclusion or an ending. While everyone is open to interpret Murakami's writing, I personally felt Sumire never returned back. The longings of her and the loneliness experienced by K was inevitable. And it was only in his dreams where the reality he wanted ( to have Sumire by his side) was possible. So I feel, it's just the same half moon that reminds him, makes him dream that Sumire and K are still close together in an alternative world. :)
@@rounakpatra6691 Wait , I thought exactly same . Cause if I think she came back , it's just doesn't feel right . Instead if it's K who entered in dream or in that different world to get her back , is more making sense to me . And I was so happy to see it was an open ended story , cause happy or sad ending wouldn't go with it.
I love Murakami's novels but my favorite book of his (from what I've read so far) is actually a short story collection, The Elephant Vanishes. He has female protagonists there which is interesting. I think Sputnik Sweetheart is my least favorite, though I still enjoyed it.
I find that there are three factions of Murakami readers: those who hate him out o the gate, those who love him from the start and all the way through the bibliography, and the third sect who love him but grow to hate him more than the first bunch over time.
Absolutely agree with Eileen. It is an absolutely magnifiscent book and my introduction to both Murakami and Magical realism. He made it all seem normal somehow. Please do pick it up.
As someone who has read all Murakami's books I can say that, for me at least, he is not an author you can read by trying to rationalize and find clear cultural influences and stuff like that. He's very oniric so *everything*, not only gender has to be read in an oniric way. So as he said women are mediums, and also sex is a sort of - pass me the term - mystic experience, and really everything is. Also in 1Q84 there is the PoV of a woman, Aomame (and it's an awesome story btw). Sorry for my english
Haha, I came here expecting to hear about the possible interpretations of the surreal experience that the trio has and what's your take on it, and instead you waste 3 minutes wondering why the most of his protagonists are men instead of women. What a waste of a review though.
