Start with Norwegian Wood. You won't be able to stop. My personal favourite is The Bird up Bird Chronicle. I've re - read all his books except this one. It was such an incredible experience for me that I'm concerned to break the spell with a second reading. I still remember entire passages of it and I read it when it was first published in the UK. Whenever one of his books is published in Japan, I wait impatiently for a couple of years for the translation to be available, then go to Foyles to get my copy the same day it lands on bookshops. I must say I was surprised when my favourite writer was beaten to the Nobel Price by my second favourite author (Kazuo Ishiguro ) I wasn't, expecting that...but I'm not complaining. Murakami is an exceptional story teller. It becomes an obsesion...
I love Murakami, my favourite author ever...I have the book on the podcast signed exclusively from him....I read 7 book and I am on killing Commendatory...which reads liken art piece....
I started with 1Q84, and I've only gone deeper into Murikami's wonderland since. Also just discovered Yukio Mishima's After the Banquet. Amazing literature with a similar feel of fabric without the fantastical elements found in Murikami.
His books are such a gift to me, but I agree that he is quite repetitive. Every book of his has a brooding, melancholic, precocious protagonist and the character journey is always quite similar. However, 1Q84 is just a masterpiece. It transcends his usual patterns and it's bigger, bolder and more satisfying than anything I have read before.
Hello! I discovered your podcasts today and I was just listening to this episode on Podcast (iTunes). I've recently started reading Haruki Murakami. Funny thing is, I am halfway through Sputnik Sweetheart.. it's the book I'm starting Haruki's works with. And Lee Matos suggested to start with the same book. I really hope to read more and more of Haruki Murakami's works. And I really enjoyed your podcast. I liked the discussions and it was really nice to listen to you two talking about the books and the author. 😁👍
Strangely, Sputnik Sweetheart is one of the very few Murakami's works that I haven't yet read. I have read almost all of his others, and am fascinated by his genius. I have re-read many of his novels, and always find more and more in them.
Great episode, but I differ on my opinion of the recommended first three Murakami reads. I suggest; 1 The Elephant Vanishes, 2 Kafka on the Shore, 3 The Rat trilogy.
@@castig Hey! Overall I really enjoyed it. As you said in the episode all the sentences are well crafted and smooth so it's very easy to read. I loved how meta the story is as it's very much about literature itself and at some point I got stressed out and almost expected to see two moons if I looked out of the window. By book three though I started to get a bit annoyed by all the exposition. There's allot of foreshadowing and mystery that simply gets explained right away a chapter later and I feel that makes it less fun if you pick up on details that and might reduce the joy of rereading it (though maybe I did miss allot) Characters were a bit too smart in figuring stuff out at the end, and it felt allot like a manga (like death note) where suddenly everybody is a genius at guessing other's intentions. Perhaps it's a bit rushed to tie up the story. And I'm really not sure what to make of all the weird sexual stuff. But overall it was a fun journey and I will revisit the author, though I'll probably not read every book haha.
I was also thinking how fun it must have been for the translators, given the subject of rewriting someone else's text is so prevalent throughout the story. Without being able to read the Japanese text, I felt they did a wonderful job translating the book.
I picked up colorless tsukuru by chance and I haven't stopped reading Murakami ever since...
Start with Norwegian Wood. You won't be able to stop. My personal favourite is The Bird up Bird Chronicle. I've re - read all his books except this one. It was such an incredible experience for me that I'm concerned to break the spell with a second reading. I still remember entire passages of it and I read it when it was first published in the UK. Whenever one of his books is published in Japan, I wait impatiently for a couple of years for the translation to be available, then go to Foyles to get my copy the same day it lands on bookshops. I must say I was surprised when my favourite writer was beaten to the Nobel Price by my second favourite author (Kazuo Ishiguro ) I wasn't, expecting that...but I'm not complaining. Murakami is an exceptional story teller. It becomes an obsesion...
I love Murakami, my favourite author ever...I have the book on the podcast signed exclusively from him....I read 7 book and I am on killing Commendatory...which reads liken art piece....
I started with 1Q84, and I've only gone deeper into Murikami's wonderland since. Also just discovered Yukio Mishima's After the Banquet. Amazing literature with a similar feel of fabric without the fantastical elements found in Murikami.
So did I. I read 1Q84 around 2-3 years ago and now he is my favourite writer.
Same! Started with 1Q84. Norwegian Wood isn't really my thing though.
His books are such a gift to me, but I agree that he is quite repetitive. Every book of his has a brooding, melancholic, precocious protagonist and the character journey is always quite similar. However, 1Q84 is just a masterpiece. It transcends his usual patterns and it's bigger, bolder and more satisfying than anything I have read before.
Such a great conversation. Love from turin
Hello! I discovered your podcasts today and I was just listening to this episode on Podcast (iTunes). I've recently started reading Haruki Murakami. Funny thing is, I am halfway through Sputnik Sweetheart.. it's the book I'm starting Haruki's works with. And Lee Matos suggested to start with the same book. I really hope to read more and more of Haruki Murakami's works. And I really enjoyed your podcast. I liked the discussions and it was really nice to listen to you two talking about the books and the author. 😁👍
Strangely, Sputnik Sweetheart is one of the very few Murakami's works that I haven't yet read. I have read almost all of his others, and am fascinated by his genius. I have re-read many of his novels, and always find more and more in them.
I agree with your assessment that a new reader should read Sputnik Sweetheart to get a realistic idea of what Murakami is like without overload.
love this conversation
What I find magical about Norwegian Wood is the ending.
I'm a hardcore beatles fan and this book made me feel so special all the way along.
Great episode, but I differ on my opinion of the recommended first three Murakami reads. I suggest; 1 The Elephant Vanishes, 2 Kafka on the Shore, 3 The Rat trilogy.
Nice! Just last week I read his memoir about running. His memoir writing style is markedly different from his style for writing novels. Fascinating.
Did you ever revisit this topic and discuss 1Q84? It's the only books I've read of his which I am just now done with.
Hi Erik! Actually we haven't discussed it yet. What's your take? How'd it go for you?
@@castig Hey! Overall I really enjoyed it. As you said in the episode all the sentences are well crafted and smooth so it's very easy to read. I loved how meta the story is as it's very much about literature itself and at some point I got stressed out and almost expected to see two moons if I looked out of the window. By book three though I started to get a bit annoyed by all the exposition. There's allot of foreshadowing and mystery that simply gets explained right away a chapter later and I feel that makes it less fun if you pick up on details that and might reduce the joy of rereading it (though maybe I did miss allot) Characters were a bit too smart in figuring stuff out at the end, and it felt allot like a manga (like death note) where suddenly everybody is a genius at guessing other's intentions. Perhaps it's a bit rushed to tie up the story. And I'm really not sure what to make of all the weird sexual stuff. But overall it was a fun journey and I will revisit the author, though I'll probably not read every book haha.
I was also thinking how fun it must have been for the translators, given the subject of rewriting someone else's text is so prevalent throughout the story. Without being able to read the Japanese text, I felt they did a wonderful job translating the book.