Murakami

WOW. After reading the entirety of Zadie Smith's novels, I've been having a difficult time getting lost in a good book. That is, until I discovered the infamous novelist hailing from Japan, Haruki Murakami. If you haven't heard of him or opted to add him to your stack of summer reading, please, I strongly urge you to do so.

I picked up "Kafka On The Shore" on a whim, and was instantaneously transported to this mystical world of talking cats, drunken cowboys, rainy days, magical libraries, lost souls, and noodles. It's insane how connected I felt with the protagonist. How parallel our lives are. I also was mentally stimulated by the themes of time and the meaning of life brought up in this book as well.

Here are some quotes are really enjoyed:

“Time weighs down on you like an old, ambiguous dream. You keep on moving, trying to slip through it. But even if you go to the ends of the earth, you won’t be able to escape it. Still, you have to go there - to the edge of the world. There’s something you can’t do unless you go there.”

“Our responsibility begins with the power to imagine.”

It's hard to describe his craft, but it is so visual, intellectual, and imaginative. I love when an author can grab you physically, and displace you into the characters and their situations. Reading it reminded me of the Anime film, "Paprika" that deals with the science of dreams.

Since then, I've devoured:

1) Norwegian Wood (where I discovered the famous Beatles song)
2) Sputnik Sweetheart
3) After Dark

I'm currently diving right into "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" and I can't get enough of it. If I could write in Murakami's style, I'd be one happy talking cat.