Murakami’s Genius Philosophy
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- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2024
- In this video I will discuss the Japanese novelist, Haruki Murakami's writing style and storytelling techniques. Haruki Murakami has been writing for 40 years. Non-stop. If writing is a battle, Murakami is a very disciplined, regimented and successful soldier. His themes are wide-ranging from suicide, water well, death, consciousness, love, loss of mother or lover, and life’s choices.
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Just reading Norwegian Wood and I get why he is so famous. The way he describes every subtle detail, the way he paints each scene makes me feel to be living with the characters.
I have understood this while reading Kafka on the Shore
This video really helped me understand 1Q84. After reading Kafka on the Shore I kept looking for a similar meaning in 1Q84 but like you said I got frustrated when I could barely even remember the plot. Once I returned to the book and read it just to enjoy it scene by scene and moment by moment I finally realized what made the book so compelling. When you let the strange and lucid world of Murakami play out in front of you and evoke your own feelings you walk away with a thousand personal meanings entirely irrelevant to the book itself.
Awesome. Thanks
@@Fiction_Beast k
Great comment, totally agree!
Funny, I loved Wind Up Bird but got bored of 1Q84, mainly because of the lesbian sex scenes. Nothing against that sort of thing, but written by a heterosexual cis-male it felt a little icky, but also like what does he know about this? Colorless Tsukuru was a great one-day read, and I think Kafka is on the shore with Wind Up Bird. My lesbian friend seemed to enjoy 1Q84 when I gave it to her though, so maybe it's just me that couldn't relate to it!
I love him. He's been my preferred writer for the last, I think, 6 years. No one can rival the atmosphere he creates in his books. From Russia, Saint Petersburg with 💚
Terrific perspective, well put. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of winning a Nobel than Murakami. His voice is singular.
Great job, this was a good and competent summary. He's been my favorite writer for years, but I noticed I never tried to actually categorize his writing in some way
Thank you so much!
Magical Realism? Cats are a clue. Written like music, wow.
@@emmanuelmacute6921was present at a live Q&A with him today and when he was asked if his stories were magical realism, he said no. "My books are Murakamianism." He pointed out the Western need to categories so that people "know" what something is. He simply just writes what he likes to write. Doesn't have to be anything specific. I like that sentiment, though I myself before the Q&A also thought to myself: "his books are magical realism, right?"
He was also asked about cats. A lot
Wind Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore are both utterly fantastic, meandering, masterpieces. He really nails the feeling of a dreamlike narrative. Things are utterly strange and alien, but somehow always follow a logic that makes impeccable sense in the moment, but then trying to recapitulate the true weight and fullness of meaning in the narrative when you 'wake up' is equally difficult.
Wind up bird chronicle is the only book of his I've read and it made me feel like I was in a lucid dream or having a psychedelic experience of a sort. Even the way that book got brought to my attention was surreal.
Two of my all time favorites, particularly WUBC. A masterpiece by any measure.
I found Wind Up Bird Chronicle by total chance in the English section of a bookshop in Florence... I felt like my conscious brain was reading words that didn't really make sense but somehow made total sense to my subconscious... it was a weird but wonderful experience. I am waiting for 1Q84 to arrive (crossing fingers for tomorrow), feel like I NEED to read Marukami... My furst ecperience was Kafka on the Shore which I also loved.
I found Wind Up Bird Chronicle by total chance in the English section of a bookshop in Florence... I felt like my conscious brain was reading words that didn't really make sense but somehow made total sense to my subconscious... it was a weird but wonderful experience. I am waiting for 1Q84 to arrive (crossing fingers for tomorrow), feel like I NEED to read Marukami... My furst ecperience was Kafka on the Shore which I also loved.
Fantastic persepctive on Murakami. I'm quite new to books and I was initially conflicted to pick which one is the best book to start. One of my friends recommended Murakami and I started with Wind-up Bird Chronicle. It was a daunting task at first for me to read a 500+ page book, literally never done that in my whole life. But after I started to read, it was really hard to stop. I simply love how he writes about life, how even a thing as simple as making a coffee in the morning can make you appreciate the little things as you move on with bigger things in life. We are so caught up with this rapidly changing world that gets more complicated everyday, but there is always beauty in simplicity. His writing style of not using bombastic words is something I appreciate. I've also finished reading Kafka on the Shore which were equally brilliant and I look forward to read more of his work!
Thank you so much for this video, I learned a lot about one of the writers that I love so much, this is the first video I've seen from you and I got to tell you from the first minute to the end of the video I didn't feel bored at all, your way of talking and choosing words is what made me completely comfortable through out the video without even noticing, definitely going to check the rest of your videos, thanks again.
Thank you for a hands-on, coherent story about one of my favourites. When I think about his writing, I picture a person, who easily could be myself but in a dream, being in some everyday, concrete reality, maticulously described, but suddenly glimpsing the other, random, surreal realms that are equally real, but just in the wonderful world of true imagination; unfiltered dreamscapes. And lo and behold, it becomes even more real than just the normal, possibly superficial way of experiencing this fantastic world. Fun too, in many cases, and very poetic. It’s as if he invites true but hidden parts of who we are to come out and play.
I love your take on the magic and power of imagination.
Although Murakami was born in Kyoto, he was raised in Kobe and spent most of his childhood there, not Kyoto. Kobe was a busy port and so there were many Americans coming in and out of the city. Book stores would therefore stock books in English and that's where he got his introduction to Western literature.
Thank you for your down to earth, thoughtful analyses. Your work invites the person who has left literature behind (myself) to reenter and explore new/old worlds. Your love of literature and your care for your work is evident.
Thank you so much for such a kind comment.
I've stopped LOOKING for anything in murakami's books. I simply read to friggin enjoy and COOK delicious meals and probably sip some wine(cheers to all the dining table scenes from his books).
I've been reading 1q84 for the past few months, and unending mf story, but still continuing it cuz i enjoy it knowing fully that the end won't be satisfactory.
Awesome video man, I loved the content along with everything running the background.
Thank you! I totally agree! With Murakami it is mostly about the journey, not so much about destination. He used to write shorter novels in the 70s and 80s, then in the 90s he started writing long winding novels, like Tolstoy and other 19th century novelists.
1Q84 is great! Still my fave to this day, got so many new cooking ideas and learned a lot about how to kill cult leaders, valuable life lessons if nothing else!
@@rutab4086 one hundred percent!
I loved your perspicacious analysis of Murakami's writing style !
I can't thank you enough for this video❤️... Totally Loved it
i like your reviews and description of Haruki Murakami, i felt as though finally somebody understood how likeable and an amazing author he is ❤️ thank you so much
Thanks for the summary that gave me a very good insight into the style and content of the author. In terms of details, he reminded me of Anita Desai where in her novels not much goes on except for the minute description of characters and places.
Thank you! I haven’t read any by Anita Desai. I’ll look her up. Murakami doesn’t describe the characters much. Except a few insightful details but his focus is more on the actions and thoughts of the first person narrator. It feels like his narrators’ adventures are the authors own adventures. What’s unique about Murakami is that he keeps your attention for a long time. Not many novelists can do that.
I wholeheartedly agree that Murakami works are for everyone. I'm not quite a reader, but I wanted to try something new and my first "big book" or hard-to-read book was Murakami's Hard-boiled Wonderland and The End of The World. I was blown away by his lifelike writing. For the first time ever I sat down and finished a 600+ pages book. Quite an achievement for me. The disorienting parallel narrative and the perplexing concepts pushed me away but the story and the characters pull me right back in. The whole journey felt like a film noir that focused on some random side character yet I couldn't help but to follow along him and his misadventure.
Same my friend, same.
Even tho the book was my second book of his. I read Norwegian wood in JPN n ENG.
Enjoyed your summary immensely, also now have a place to return for a list of his works to get through ❤
Thanks so much for this. Extremely informative and interesting 🙏
I think the point of reading Murakami’s novels is to not look for a point, but to let the characters and stories evoke your emotions and curiosity.
I always likened reading his novels to listening to a music album. While his works are musical indeed, I also think that when you’re listening to music, most times you’re not necessarily looking for the “point.” You’re just opening yourself up to the experience. When I finish reading a Murakami novel, I’m filled with a lot of emotions, but usually not some new insight about society or the human condition.
I think that’s maybe also why the Nobel prize has eluded him. If his novels do not have a prominent social impact or display some technical mastery/innovation, what do you give him the prize for? For being incredibly good at somehow evoking feelings in a lot of people? But that’s also why I don’t really think a Nobel is not really necessary for Murakami either.
This is a good introduction to Murakami. His work was introduced to me by a friend. Tony Takatani and Wind Up Bird. Through Murakami I discovered other writers like Pablo Amarna, Kazuo Isheguro, Taichi Yamada, and Bulgakov.
this video is really amazing. i enjoyed every moment of it like I enjoy every moment of a Murakami novel :)
Glad you enjoyed it!
This was a very good essay... Very well researched
Such an awesome analysis of my favourite author! Thank you :)
Thank you! He’s great!
I was searching a lot about him and found this video.
Thank you 😊
Glad I could help!
I’m glad I found your channel. Thank you for your work on these videos.
Thank you
You are amazing! Thank you for this wonderful video❤
You are so welcome!
Great post - love Murakami and I appreciate your insights!
Glad to hear it!
I'm reading Norwegian Wood and I'm just delighted, love his writing style. Best regards from DR. ❤🇩🇴
I enjoy reading Haruki Murakami because he has a different viewpoint and perspective about ideas that to me are interesting to read and to discover. I have learned a lot of new things from his writing like the different periods in Japanese History, the different wars that took place, etc. He is a good writer because he makes me see things from a different angle.
I totally agree!
The video was on point. I simply cannot escape from liking Murakami, as his style comes across to me as deeply honest and yet mesmerizing...
Thank you, Matt. Another great video. I've read "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle" once and "Kafka on the Shore" twice. A few times, I remember stumbling over words trying to convey to friends why I like Murakami so much. One thing I love is how much culture his books are infused with. Kafka reading the Burton edition of 1001 Nights (and a Night) is only one of myriad examples. And any author tipping his hat to this specific edition reminds me of Borges. Where Borges is super rational in his approach to the intersection of the finite and the infinite, Murakami, in my humble opinion, reaches further in infusing his stories with higher-than-rational mind consciousness, not an easy task. His work in the little I've read, reminds me a bit of what David Lynch attempts with his films. Since I read "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle" in '05, I've suspected that he will be due for a Nobel in Literature.
Thank you for a wonderful comment. You’re totally right, Murakami is similar to Borges whom I love. Both borrow ideas or give reference to other cultures, myths and stories and often them together. Borge is a bit more globally inclusive while Murakami is like a Japanese envoy to the west. You rarely find non western non Japanese references unless those are well known in the west like 1001 nights. Borges however often introduces obscure things from all over the world. I agree Borges is methodical while Murakami is a bit wild and random.
Great video! As a south american, I would add the influence of magical realism to your explanation of murakami's style
💯
Keep going, you deserve more subscribers. The content is great.
Thank you so much!
Beautifully explained with points. Thank you so much.
Glad it was helpful!
I have read most of his works. Wonderful works. My favorite.
Wow the last line of your summary is very deep and meaningful.
a salute to your essay video to Murakami writings!
This was very well done, thank you.
Awesome.
A fine job and excellent survey of this writer’s work.
Thank you!
A really interesting analysis that will inform my re reading of his novels I think Im overdue a re reading of 1Q84! Thanks
H.Murakami translated his favourite American novels too. He has always written his own world and all the world loves him.
Hi, thanks for this insight into Murakami. I read 'The Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki' and enjoyed it. It was followed by 'Kafka on the Shore'. I realised that what I enjoyed so much was the small details that alight on the page like a butterfly and then are gone before you quite know what they are.
How wonderful is this; thank you.
Thank you too!
Gorgeous explantion!
Earned a subscription! Great essay
Thank you.
I love this guy. I just finished After The Quake. Very good collection of short stories.
Glad you enjoy it!
Superb summary analysis of one of the greatest writers of his generation.
great content. crisp
I return to rewatching this video periodically as I get my hands on another Murakami novel, right now with the anticipation of The City and Its Uncertain Walls being translated into English
Maurakami.s style practical and beautiful explained! 🙏🙂
Great job!! I recently finished wind up bird chronicles 😁
thank you! I think that's his best work.
amazing analysis!
Thank you!
This was sooooo good.
That’s fantastic to hear. Thank you so much!!
Your insights put a nice frame of context and perspective on the Murakami vision. Especially the music analogy and the reminder of the stifling social culture of rich tradition. I think of wabi sabi as more about the appreciation or contemplation of imperfection, impermanence that is forever never overcome.
Great video, thanks!
For everybody who likes Murakami, I suggest Serbian writer Zoran Živković - they both leave you wondering about not just the book you read, but also your life and it's wonders.
Cheers!
Very good explication! I read murakamy and i just can say that he is a fantastic writter and i recomend him! 😊
Totally agree!
Murakami is what you get when trying to depict logical, rational world with the Ghibli-esque randomness and happenstances throughout your story. His novels most do not have resolutions so you really need to enjoy what to read and not build a list of mysteries that you hope will be solved later. For example, if his character suddenly is able to speak to a cat, then that is. Do not think that he will give a coherent explanation about that later.
It’s magical realism
Another author I'm enjoying reading after Paulo Coelho. Genius stuff. Attention to detail is a very Javanese thing. Love it!
You are underrated, underviewed, but thank you.
I appreciate that!
For me his novels and stories especially invoke almost a religious feeling exactly because of “lack” of emotions or rather presence of temperance is what makes his writing appealing to me.And I can sense in the undertow a sort of nostalgia for innocence, beauty and peace. Yes there is a sense of meaninglessness and absurdity of life but it is not hopeless. There’s peace in the knowledge that we can do only as much as we can.❤
Murakami has been on my radar for a while but I haven't picked him up. I think I'm going to soon.
Will be back soon, Murakami rocks ☘
Thanks for this video on Murakami. I recently purchased Kafka on the Shore.
Glad you enjoy it! Let me know what you think once you finished it.
I still hope that Murakami will one day, soon, be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Many think he deserves it, and I do too.
I am not holding my breath. The Nobel Prize for Literature is now heavily biased towards authors that produce "politically laudable" works or deal with "worthy" subjects. They like obscure authors who write stories about downtrodden or oppressed people, contemporary polemical and social issues, refugees and wars, feminism - everything that apparently Murakami should, but does not write about. They think his work doesn't show enough "political rectitude" and his take on women and sex is also, according to them, "problematic" - I think they also hate the fact that his characters are basically fairly well-off, wear cool clothes and listen to Western music - not Asian enough for them. I have stopped paying attention to the Nobel Prize since they are now completely politically driven.
Excellent , thank you
Thank you!
...so beautifully narrowed, Matt... I was, like so many others, completely hooked into Murakami for years... had to read one book after the other, almost like a sugar addiction, where you can't stop... its particularly his attention to 'small' and the unexpected magic, that you feel lurking behind every next bend of the story, that forces you to continue breathlessly til the end is reached... the end then is more often then not quite flat, as if he ran out of letters, and had to stop... and so you stop together with him, and start fingering already his next novel...
When I saw the title, I thought that Murakami is connecting to Victor Frankl’s book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning. Frankl is an Austrian neurologist who survived the Holocaust camps and the book reflects his philosophy of life. Well, your video reflects Murakami’s philosophy of life.
Fantastic encapsulation of his books. Thanks.
I actually didn’t know Man’s Search for Meaning. Thanks for making the connection. Murakami is a discovery writer whose novels are mostly search for someone or something missing. I guess all our lives are about a search for meaning.
@@Fiction_Beast I stopped searching and just trying to enjoy what I have.
@@sharontheodore8216 I think that's a great philosophy to live by.
It is quite rewarding to get to know more about my dear friend, my brother Murakami, in what you would call "Real" time...
Recomendo mil vezes literatura japonesa pós-segunda guerra. A visão que o Brasil tem do Japão é mais exótica. É bem parecido com a gente na questão pós-guerra.
Eles se isolaram em outros conflitos futuros. Acertaram bastante.
Thank you for this video. Murakami is one of my favourite authors and an interesting personality.
You’re welcome.
im big fan of haruki murkami and i have a collection of his book with english and persian translation ....
Thank you
As a fan every year I await to see if he is on the Nobel Prize list, then sigh when he's not called out again.........
My friend brought me a book ( a wild sheep chase ) my friend a scavenger found this book at the trash. This he gave it to me and this is my first murakamis book I fall in love. A wild sheep chase. I'm encourage to read all murakamis books.
Very direct about the obscure life where achievements is like Kafka, A Joke. Where life based on the dependence on life's high emotional values are perceived as passing clouds. JamesWhiskey
A Wild Sheep is his best one, in my opinion. Great video, anyway!
His most enjoyable one was South Of The Border।
Thank you! A Wild Sheep Chase and Windup Bird Chronicle are my favourites.
Murakami has been one of my favorite authors since i was a teenager. However, i honestly feel that he could've skipped every soft core porn scene in each of his novels, and they would not be any worse for it 😅
Thank you. I think I understand Murakami better now and I like very much so your remarks on unique features of his writing. I'm in the middle of Killing Commendantore, previously read 5 or 6 previous novels and some short stories. I find I like novels better, as they give more room for the story to tell itself, unravel, unfold, flow somewhere. I am curious about one painting of a corridor used in about the middle of the film. Can I have a title or the author, please?
i dont recall. can you find the timestamp so i can see it?
@@Fiction_Beast it's at 10:55, but as I've seen it again it might not be a painting at all:)
That’s a photograph of a place in kyoto called Fushimi Inari shrine
Actually I took that photo myself. 😀
@@Fiction_Beast Very beautiful sight :)
i read sputnik sweetheart and certain lines made me stop and reflect myself. i still cant say i have actually thoroughly understood the whole book
Murakami is great
thank-you.
Welcome!
Kafka on the shore is a bit small but it burns well on the fireplace
life gives us meaning. Everything else is our refusal to accept reality.
He's an underrated author.
Gotta love all the discussions of Murakami Haruki by people who have never read a word of his prose, only the translations of Jay Rubin et al. Murakami has written some material in English, but...
Translation is great! Murakami loves Jay too
Interesting.
9:05
Interesting
13:00
Interview other people to make a book around it
A favorite --
This was great. Thanks for making it. But one small thing - he does NOT write whilst listening to music. He has explained in interviews that he listens to music most of the time but then stops and just writes. No music.
He says he learnt writing from music but i assume he listens whilst writing. Now what kind of music for writing? I think he listens to classical music.
@@Fiction_Beast Yeah, he listens to a lot of classical and jazz, but he has an eclectic taste. He just turns the music off when I starts to write so that he can create his own music through words.
Just out of curiosity, do you remember when he said he listens to music while writing (around 5:28)?
In this Interview (ruclips.net/video/lA5R68o9wTI/видео.html) he claims that he used music as a tool, but not while writing (around 1:04 in the linked video). I´m NOT trying to nitpick, I´m just curious about the writing process of different writers and the atmosphere they write in. Great Video overall, I really enjoyed it!
Wabi Sabi is not about ‘simple is beautiful’ but rather, about accepting life’s imperfections and transience.
when there's chinese bg music playing in a video about a japanese novelist:
so true about not being too intelligent. Most of the people who own Infinite Jest never finished it. You can be smart and still be accessible to most people.
I did, and while it was a struggle, involving multiple elastic bands as bookmarks, it was absolutely worth it. Infinite Jest is an *incredible* book. Accessibility is not a necessity of good literature.
Great video! Thank you! Have to say, in the circumstances, a little jazz might have been more suitable maybe?
You got a good point. I’ll keep it in mind for my next Murakami video.
Interesting……it’s like everyone can write like Murakami, isn’t it? it’s what’s flowing inside of us and we bring it to the surface with the pen. To this sense, it flows like music. However, the music is structured and has its set of principles to compose. I wondered what it is like to Murakami’s writing as to the music, can I guess as I haven’t read his work: New Age, Modern? Jazz? Or the sound of Nature, classical, soothing? Or mysterious……
12:00-13:00 is a fantastic view! But it’s not a part of Kyoto, is it?
Mount Fuji.
I've never been able to get into or finish the colourless tsukuru tazaki
It’s not his best work in my opinion but many of his readers love it.
Try visiting the town of Chillingbourne for meaning.
I have read a lot of his books, and each time I promise I won’t read any more of them. I have only enjoyed the novellas. The longer works are tediously silly.
Great essay can you make a video about Indian authors like Salman Rushdie or anyone you like