I’ve been trying to do a lot more reading recently-- fiction to be exact. I usually like to read books on complicated/crazy topics like shamanism, drug literature, metaphysics, and other heavy things because they’re sort of like mental beef jerky--something for my brain to chew on and roll back and forth between my brain’s teeth-- even if I don’t end up understanding it all.
Needless to say, my mind is nicely exhausted after a read like that. After a while that type of book begins to weigh on the old brain so I figured fiction might be a nice break because although fiction gives your mind a workout, you don’t really need to apply what you read or spend much time processing it other than for what it is: a good story.
An author I’ve been reading recently is from Japan, named Haruki Murakami. His first book came out in 1987 and he’s still writing today. From what I’ve seen so far his writing is really interesting because it swings back and forth from really mundane observations about really small details (the way someone crinkles the celophane from a cigarette package) to really surreal situations with body-stealing dwarfs-- often seamlessly. Some of the cultural references are a little foreign to me because of how heavily his writing deals with Japanese post-war culture but that actually makes it more interesting and fresher to read.
The book I just finished reading is called The Elephant Vanishes- a collection of short stories. Keeping in mind that I’m nowhere near a literary expert, I think you have to approach his books like you would a Salvador Dali painting. At first glance, you really have to just appreciate it for what you can absorb-- the brush strokes, the color, the mood, the way it makes you feel. Murakami’s writing, especially his short stories aren’t for everyone. If you want a neatly wrapped story with an ending that makes you feel warm and fuzzy and right, you might want to look elsewhere. His stories are neatly wrapped but the the way they progress isn’t always with the rhythm you may be used to...and they’re more neat like a square watermelon would be than a box of chocolates. Some stories end really suddenly, offering nothing on the surface that would suggest anything is resolved. But that’s not really why I like his writing anyway.
This book has a wide range of subject matter, from stories about sociopaths who burn barns because they are “waiting to be burned” to stories about weird, dreamlike and diminutive “TV People”, to the aforementioned body-snatching dwarf. The thread running through all these stories is Murakami’s deadpan, affable a-hole tone. Through his characters, he matter-of-factly describes infidelity, alcoholism, disappearing elephants, and arson while somehow making it all sound like a quiet afternoon. He goes on tangents sometimes...maybe about a bug walking on a blade of grass-- but you actually want to follow him. His rhythm is unique and memorable and almost have a diary-like tone. Each time I finished a story in this book, I would hold the book out in front of me and say, “Huh...” His is a very unique writing style and I highly recommend reading one of his books, including this one.
Get the book here
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