Kelly's comments (member since May 10, 2007)

Kelly's comments from the Murakami fans group.

Awesome! It looks like BBC took it off and it was also taken down from YouTube, but I did manage to find it on this Japanese video site: A Wild Sheep Chase

It loaded pretty slow for me but it's something!

Really enjoyed reading this Pamela, thanks for sharing! I love his reoccurring use of cats and the way the cats are often a gateway into something mystical. And other times they're a companion to a lonely character and a way to tap into that character's personality. And maybe other times, they're just...well, just cats. :)

Oh wow, I didn't realize Kafka on the Shore had been taken to the stage! I keep saying I have to visit Chicago, and now I MUST. :)

Interesting, I just came across the "Murakami 2009 Diary" on Amazon. Apparently it's a blank journal with Murakami quotes/snippets throughout, designed to inspire writing.

The concept sort of reminds of the Judy Blume and Ramona Quimby diaries I had back when I was a pre-teen, hehe. But I LOVED them and would fill them out from front to back.

This might be the coolest thing I've seen in a while! Will have to order.

I read Glass Soup by Jonathan Carroll recently, and the tone of magical realism reminded me of Murakami in a lot of ways. I heard that Glass Soup isn't his best though, so I'm going to look into more.

Let's post our favorite quotes (or excerpts, if you want) out of any Murakami writing. The challenge is to try to narrow it down to one quote per post. :)

This one was perfect for me:

"A story is not something of this world. A real story requires a kind of magical baptism to link the world on this side with the world on the other side." -Sputnik Sweetheart

Murakami has noted that he tends to rotate between writing short stories and novels. Do you prefer his shorter fiction or his novels?

I'm a much bigger fan of the novels, personally. They invest my imagination on a much deeper level. And it seems like a lot of his short stories are actually the beginning of novels.

Paige, I've read Kangaroo Notebook and I can see what you mean by Abe having similar traits to Murakami's writing. (Also started reading Face of Another but never finished.) Abe's writing is really cool conceptually, but maybe not as moving as I was hoping it would be.

Considering Chuck Palahnuik (not sure about my spelling either, hehe) is also one of my favorite writers, I think he shares a lot of the same fans as Murakami. I don't think his writing is as evocative, and it's definitely more grotesque, but there are certain likenesses. And I also saw a book jacket where Chuck P. was compared to Vonnegut!

The average-Joe narrators who experience surreal things that Murakami commonly uses remind me a lot of Paul Auster's narrators. Similar tone and subtle humor, too.

My first taste of Murakami was in a writing course in college where we read the story The Elephant Vanishes. I really liked the story, but didn't get completely hooked on Murakami until I read Kafka on the Shore a couple years later (it was my boyfriend's copy). That book engaged me unlike anything I'd read. He's been my favorite writer since!

Thanks for the notice! I had wondered if he was a musician first, since so many of his characters are so emotionally tuned with music.

Let's start a first discussion, Murakami fans!

An appropriate first question: What's your favorite Haruki Murakami work, and why?

Mine is Sputnik Sweetheart, mostly because I love the way it plays with the ideas of alternate realities. Obviously many of his books do this, but I thought the way it's presented in Sputnik Sweetheart is especially haunting and beautiful. I also love the narration style, and the book's unconventional love triangle.

Kafka on the Shore is the first runner-up.