Love & Pop

by Ryū Murakami, Sylvain Cardonnel (Translator)

Hiromi, lycéenne de la classe moyenne, et ses trois amies dînent souvent avec des inconnus. Un jour pour se payer une topaze impériale elle accepte d'aller seule à deux rendez-vous... Récit sur une forme de prostitution propre au Japon, celles de jeunes filles qui pour se payer des produits de luxe acceptent des rendez-vous avec des inconnus par le biais de messageries téléphoniques.

Genres: Japan, Japanese Literature, Fiction, Novels, Asia, Roman, France

189 pages, Paperback

First published December 25, 1997

About the author

Ryū Murakami (村上 龍) is a Japanese novelist and filmmaker. He is not related to Haruki Murakami or Takashi Murakami.

Murakami's first work, the short novel Almost Transparent Blue, written while he was still a student, deals with promiscuity and drug use among disaffected Japanese youth. Critically acclaimed as a new style of literature, it won the newcomer's literature prize in 1976 despite some observers decrying it as decadent. Later the same year, Blue won the Akutagawa Prize, going on to become a best seller. In 1980, Murakami published the much longer novel Coin Locker Babies, again to critical acclaim.

Takashi Miike's feature film Audition (1999) was based on one of his novels. Murakami reportedly liked it so much he gave Miike his blessing to adapt Coin Locker Babies. The screen play was worked on by director Jordan Galland. However, Miike could not raise funding for the project. An adaptation directed by Michele Civetta is currently in production.

Murakami has played drums for a rock group called Coelacanth and hosted a TV talk show.

Reviews

[Philippe Malzieu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cosplay fascinate me. It is the summit of the regression. I remember at Laforêt store in Harajuku. I was in their home. I saw them spending of insane sums to acquire a costume. I always look at people in the eyes. There nothing.
A total metaphysical void, like after a line of coke in a pale morning after one sleepless and agitated night.
Murakami (Ryu, not Haruki) draws up a terrible statement of these young women. It acts of young high-school girls. They are ready for anythink to acquire a bag, a perfume or a dress. The things are simple. They sell their body to buy signs, totems.
Wanting to be other and being nobody. The world reduced to impulses of purchase, as if the reptilian brain occupied all skull. Too many desires and no pleasure.
It is a Balzac chronicle “Splendours and miseries of the cosplay.”. And of course, that finishes badly.
Is Hiromi able to evolve? I'm in doubt. The Cosplay standard is too strong for her..

[Violet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book and the writing; but I think the French translation I have read could have been better. It did not bother me for the most original pages - the lists, the radio scripts, the songs - but when it came to the story and the dialogues, the translation did not feel real enough. In a way, the translation was too clean and maybe too precise, a bit old-fashioned, for that text.

Otherwise, a very good read on a difficult topic that I know very little of.

[Manon「マノン」 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, at least now I know what enjo kōsai (援助交際) is. I thought that the subject would prevent me from enjoy the book and that I will end up hating it, but I actually really enjoy it. It is my first time reading Murakami Ryu and it definitely won’t be the last.

The writing style is really peculiar, and it felt like a stream of consciousness. You are reading the protagonist's thought or a dialogue and suddenly without warning, you will be reading what she is hearing such as radio speeches or voicemails.

Overall, I enjoy reading it but I won’t recommend this book to everyone.

[Victoria Grandjean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plutôt 2,5 étoiles.

Je pense que je n'étais pas le bon public pour ce livre...

En fait j'ai trouvé le thème très intéressant, très bien abordé alors que c'est un sujet difficile, et le travail de recherche derrière est aussi très bien mené.

Par contre j'ai eu du mal avec le style, ça m'a bloquée tout le long de ma lecture. C'est trop lourd et dur de s'y retrouver, les énumérations qui reproduisent le "bruit" de la vie/ville prennent toute la place et n'en laissent plus aucune au développement réel du personnage.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eighth Murakami I’ve read in my life and I was rather… Surprised? Let down? It’s difficult (and let’s be honest, boring) to follow the story at times because it reads like a movie, in the sense that we do not strictly follow/learn about the main character but everything she sees and heard, every background noises (the radio, the people chatting around her, the cashier, the TV, the people leaving messages on the answering machine…). It feels like Hiromi is drowning in the noises and it is enhanced by the fact that she so clearly struggles to find her voice, to form her own opinion or to act. She is extremely passive most of the novel, she cares about what people think of her and makes it her entire personality. Hence, when she decides to finally take agency, do something by herself to get the thing that she wants, she ends up putting herself in danger. I don’t know if it was meant to be portrayed like that, it might. However, it takes so long to get to that point where you realise “oh that’s where it was going” that you’re kind of already bored. In my opinion, this novel would have been much more efficient as a novela or a short story. The first half is way too long when the other half, while descent, could have made way more sense by itself. Actually, if the novel had followed each girl/different characters with their perspective (similar to the structure of Murakami’s Lines) it might have felt more complete by the end. Because, as it is, the end of the novel feels like it could have just been one sentence instead of +200 pages. “enjokousai is bad and we should not normalise it.” Which we already know. What we don’t know is the various ways it truly impacts the girls who choose to do jt or the people who help them or buy their ‘services’. And yeah having Hiromi’s perspective is nice but as detached as she is, to only have her perspective is reductive, especially at the end when Murakami states that he talked to several girls and researched the subjects thoroughly. It feels like we missed out on so much more information that what we got.
So yeah, I usually enjoy his work and this one is no my necessarily an exception… I just feel like it could have been more than what it is with a better structure I guess.

[Laetitia H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plongée au plus près des adolescentes japonaises qui frôlent la prostitution pour assouvir leurs envies de shopping. Un sujet troublant servi par une écriture immersive : on entend tout ce que Hiromi perçoit : bribes de conversations, radio, chansons au karaoke, annonces, sujets du journal, titres de films, et ces fameux messages téléphoniques bien glauques. Le roman est court, monte en crescendo.
L'auteure précise en postface que ce livre fait suite à des recherches sur le terrain, à Shibuya, auprès d'adolescentes concernées.
On est loin de la Papeterie Tsubaki mais le Japon, c'est ça aussi.

[Izabel ✨️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Le sujet est intéressant ( celui de la prostitution chez les jeunes au Japon) et honnêtement il avait du potentiel, c'est d'ailleurs pour ça que j'ai eu envie de le lire. Mais ce qui m'a dérangé c'est les tyle de Ryû Murakami et ça me fait peur car j'ai un autre de ses livres dans ma PAL (miso soup). Le roman est rempli d'énumérations, parfois sans but, elles sont juste là pour remplir le roman j'ai l'impression. Je parle oui de toutes les commandes mcdo, sérieusement qu'est-ce que ça avait à faire là ??

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

C'était un bon livre.

Les annonces de rencontres m'ont rappelé le casting d'Audition.

Il ne s'est pas passé grand-chose dans ce livre, mais c'était une lecture amusante et légère.

3.1 / 5

[Lausbiana · Rating 1 out of 5]

ya por la portada tendría que haber previsto que no me iba a gustar...¿cómo vas a poner una cosa tan pastelosa en un libro que habla sobre la problemática que fue la prostitución de adolescentes en Japón en los 2000?

por no hablar de la traducción al francés (la única disponible)...ved la peli, eso es lo que haré yo

[Arina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, an incredible novel from Ryû Murakami.
I don't know how he can shift from horrible moments to the most sad and beautiful scenes.
I'm not sure this book is for everyone, but it won't leave you indifferent.

[Noémie Courtois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Instructif, mais pas vraiment ce à quoi je m’attendais. Les personnages ne sont pas attachants, il y a peu de détails et l’histoire est un peu simple... Je m’attendais à mieux.

[Aliks Pendragon · Rating 1 out of 5]

honnêtement j'ai déteste oops. ce style d'écriture c'est vraiment pas pour moi.

[Lulutatane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Le sujet principal (les « rendez-vous arrangés » des jeunes filles japonaises) est très intéressant est n’est pas abordé de façon vulgaire.
Mais je n’ai pas trop accroché au style d’écriture, notamment aux énumérations qui ont lieu à plusieurs reprises.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5 stars.

[Klo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murakami a fait un vrai travail de recherche: les rendez-vous arrangés à Tokyo exposent de jeunes femmes/lycéennes à des situations dangereuses. A la recherche d'argent facilement gagné pour s'acheter des objets de marque, ces jeunes filles acceptent de rencontrer des hommes en échange d'une rétrubition monnétaire. Le rdv peut prendre la forme d'une simple balade 'en amoureux' mais virent parfois au drâme. Dans ce livre, l'hérione de Murakami accepte deux rendez-vous arrangés pour s'offrir une bague de marque. Elle se fait embarqué dans des abus sexuels qui lui laisseront un gout amère dans la bouche.
J'ai lu ce livre lors de notre voyage familial à Tokyo. Apres avoir lu le livre 1Q89 (véritable déception), j'ai voulu comprendre pourquoi on avait fait de l'auteur Murakami un canon de la littérature japonaise. Même si je n'aime pas son style littéraire (dans ce cas si, à la Andy Warold, sans ponctuation), on reconnait le véritable travail d'investigation derriere le livre.

Key words: travail de recherche, 'documentaire' (sur faits réels), histoire située à Tokyo, auteur japonais,

[Ashlaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book mostly because I liked the main character. If she had been different, it would maybe just have been really disturbing. She is very sweet and resilient and I cared for her, I thought she had a sort of poetic/symbolic way of seeing the world and I could somewhat relate.
If you're reading it because you're interested in the subject, it's mainly a speculation on the author's part about why teenagers might get into sex work.
The main issue is that one particular part of the book, or rather a few but this one specifically, reminded me of really gross stuff in my life even though I'm French amongst other differences, so keep your sensibilities in mind. This book is full of very gross dudes.

TWs, even just mentions:
Sex work
Rape & sexual assault
Murder, death (it doesn't happen, but it's a threat)
Child sexual abuse implied
Ableist language (IDK if it's the French version only and a translation thing or not)

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un Ryu Murakami que j'ai bien aimé. On est ici entre la fausse légèreté de 1969, et le - parfois dur- récit de la réalité de la jeunesse japonaise. Les personnages sont assez fades et se démarquent pas vraiment les unes des autres, mais c'est pas très important dans la mesure ou ici ce sont les faits et la manière dont ils sont racontés qui sont intéressants.
On suit une jeune fille et son groupe de copines. Elle veut s'offrir une jolie bague avec une pierre précieuse. Pour avoir rapidement l'argent, elle décide d'aller à des rendez-vous arrangés, un genre d'escort.

Pas de jugements dans le récit de Ryu Murakami, toujours les faits ; c'est ce que j'apprécie dans ses romans.

On ne rit pas vraiment en le lisant, ce n'est pas triste, mais on ne peut pas s'empêcher d'être pris dans le récit, en se demandant ou ça mène.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Murakami Ryû, definitely. Unfortunately, "Love & Pop" is a part of the few books which left me with a feeling of unfinished satisfaction. I'm not talking about the long beginning, I'm not even talking about the numerous 'cuts' (advertisings, small talks between random people, orders at restaurants, phone messages,...) -which are not really necessary, but make us dive into a kind of everyday life in a noisy city. The subject of this 'typical' prostitution sounded interesting, but I feel that Murakami didn't really manage to complete what he had started. I was also a bit annoyed by the wannabe moral at the end of the book, not convincing (the message itself is nice, but the notion of respect of oneself could have been more developped then for the moral to find its right place into the content). "Love & Pop" is okay, but nothing more.

[Shanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ce n'est probablement pas le meilleur roman pour s'initier a murakami ryu. Repute pour son style trash, ce n'est pas du tout le cas dans Love & pop. Il decrit une realite que nous connaissons moins du Japon. Ces jeunes filles capables d'a peu pres tout pour se procurer le nouveau sac Prada a la mode. Un sujet interessant suivi d'une belle lecon de vie.
La ou ce court recit perd ses points a mes yeux est avec la forme d'ecriture. Les paroles d'une chanson, un dialogue, la radio, un dialogue et ainsi de suite. J'ai ete surprise a la lecture des premieres pages. Je pensais vite m'y habituer mais ce ne fut pas le cas. Certains passages sont incomprehensibles.
Bref, une lecture que je risque tout de meme de conseiller pour en connaître davantage sur une realite souvent oubliee du Japon moderne.

[AllisonWonder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love & Pop was the first book that I read by Murakami Ryū. As I am fascinated by japanese literature and japanese culture, I liked the subject right away ( I picked the book mainly fir the subject). Teenage 'prostitution' is not a subject widely spread in german or french literature, therefor it was really interesting reading about the Telefon-clubs that seem to be a part of 'every day' Japan. Furthermore, I liked the writing style inspired by Andy Warhol's artistic style. The book also ends on a moral, an idea which concerns directly these young japanese teenage girls (and boys) who use prostitution to be able to buy some items from famous and expensive brands such as Chanel.
I liked this book a lot and I'm surely gonna read in the future another books by Murakami Ryū.

[Pauline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Je trouve le sujet de ce livre très intéressant (le phénomène de prostitution chez les jeunes japonaises), et la façon dont il est traîté originale, sans vulgarité. Cependant, je n'ai pas aimé le style de l'auteur : les longues énumérations sans importance en parallèle de l'histoire, était-ce vraiment nécessaire? Ajoutez à cela quelques belles erreurs de traduction. J'ai fait une pause de quelques mois dans ma lecture avant de le finir, les pages contenant toutes les commandes du Mac Do ayant finit de me décourager...

[Helena]

I was unaware this existed in translation until I just found it here. It's been a favorite of mine since college. Of course, I got into it through the movie directed by Anno Hideaki, as I am pretty much still to this day a huge Anno fangirl, but I fell in love with Ryu through this book. It's incredible. I have not read the translation, so I cannot speak to it, but the original is masterful. And the movie is just plain fucking cool. And weird. And cool.

[Min Trong Suốt・透明みん · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tiểu thuyết dị kiểu cách viết của ông Ryu cực ảo, liên tục lặp lại các câu từ như thần chú. Còn bản phim chuyển thể thì ảo ở góc quay và âm nhạc, nói chung là một kiểu đổi mới dị hợm kỳ quặc trong sáng tươi mát.

Vừa đọc vừa ghi lại bản dịch sang tiếng Việt, được một nửa nhưng mà lười làm tiếp quá nên dừng việc này lại. Ban đầu nghĩ nếu dịch xong định gửi Báh Việt xem có được xuất bản không, nhưng lúc đọc xong thì cảm giác tiểu thuyết kiểu này chắc đố nhà xuất bản nào dám mạo hiểm đem về.

[Helena · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Murakami Ryu and one of my favorite books. It's a real shame it hasn't been translated into English. But I think the movie based on it (directed by Hideaki Anno) was released stateside? Strange movie though...but then again, strange book.

[Priscilla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ce livre n'était pas fait pour moi. Le style "à la Warhol" ne m'a pas convaincue, les litanies de marques de parfum sur trois pages non plus. En revanche l'histoire était intéressante, mais impossible de s'attacher aux personnages.

[lovelylouve R · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first put off by the very original writing style (if Andy Warhol's work was a book) I gradually enjoyed it, and it helped me live the story through the characters' eyes. Well done

[Helene]

A bit complicate to follow

[Bouilloire · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

[Sissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

La fin m'a vraiment marquée. Je n'ais pas apprécié l'insertion des dialogues autre que ceux des protagonistes même s'il aidait à prendre conscience de l'environnement.