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After the Quake
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After the Quake - Murakami
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Dec 31, 2018 12:16PM
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I read this as my TBR May 2019 book.Murakami's novels are full of people who are unable to connect with others, or themselves or words capable of expressing this condition. These short stories contain that same essence with the added impact of the Kobe earthquake of 1995 framing the disconnect not only with others but with the very ground, the basis of all certainty. Rather than being little gems, as many short stories are, this collection adds up to a whole. Each one tells of a deep fear of emptiness. Each one has something like this sentence in it: "He had no idea what she was trying to say". All the stories have some reference to dreams. Some of the dreams foreshadow a dismal end and often touch on being contained in a dark space underground or a refrigerator or a box, again reflecting people trapped under the fallen buildings during the quake. The dream states are as meaningful as what happens to our characters during their waking states. As usual, Murkami is masterful without ever seeming to sum it all up in a way that I can say: "there that is done". Rather, I was left disturbed and wanting more.
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I was hooked from page one. I love Murakami's writing, I get sucked into what ever story he is telling. After the Quake is a compilation of six short stories the author wrote after the Kobe earthquake. First story UFO in Kushiro is about Komura and his wife who leaves him. Komura ends up going on an adventure. This story started magically for me but fizzled at the end. Next up Landscape with Flatiron is about a bonfire loving man and his friends, a story with a dark side. In All God's Children Can Dance Yoshiya's and his mother's story are told with an emphasis on religion. Thailand – Dr. Satsuki goes on vacation to Thailand in which she entrusts herself to her driver Nimit. I really enjoyed this one. Super-Frog Saves Tokyo. A story about Katagiri and Frog who divert an earthquake, how could you not love a story about super-frog. And finally, Honey Pie. Takatsuki, Sayoko, and Junpei become friends in college and the story follows their life-long friendship. The story of the honey bear Masakichi runs throughout. This was the most uplifting of the stories. Even though I prefer Murakami's long novels I still enjoyed these short stories.
Read Dec. 2019 for TBR challengeI really enjoyed these short stories by Murakami. I find his writing lyrical, clear and accessible - even with the magic realism. Mostly these stories are about small moments in the characters lives, and he makes them interesting and compelling. I think my favorite story was the one with Mr. Frog, "Frog" to his friends. 4.5*
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I really enjoyed these short stories by Murakami. I find his writing lyrical, clear and accessible - even with the magic realism. Mostly these stories are about sm..."
I liked Frog too.
I have not particularly enjoyed the books I've previously read by Murakami, but I enjoyed this collection of short stories more. His style just worked better for me in short doses. I enjoyed "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" and the Honey-Pie stories the best of the collection.
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This is a collection of six short stories where the 1995 Kobe earthquake plays indirectly a pivotal role in the life path of the protagonists. All the familiar elements of Murakami's writing are there: lonesome, at times isolated characters whom have had difficult relationships in the past or the present; sexual relationships described without a hint of a taboo; some magical realism (Super Frog Saves Tokyo, for example); open-ended conclusions (perhaps not for Thailand). Not his gripping best, but nonetheless agreeable tidbits.
I enjoyed most of these stories, even if I didn’t necessarily get the link between them. It was a quick and easy read after a month of ponderous and difficult books, so I’m grateful I picked it up. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Collection of short stories responding to the Kobe earthquake. The characters have been affected by the earthquake in some way, mainly indirectly, and it has triggered an awareness of loss or displacement or unresolved trauma.I enjoy the ambiguity and bending of reality that appear in Murakami’s writing, and his short stories are thoughtful and challenging. They provoke a variety of emotions - Super-Frog saves Tokyo was bizarre and comical, Landscape with Flatiron was bleak and poignant - that relate to the human condition.
In one sense an easy read (and an enjoyable one), in another sense not so easy as it demanded some deep thinking.
This is a collection of six short stories which examine how different characters respond to the earthquake in Kobe, although they are not directly involved. There are several motifs that occur in more than one story. There are bears, which represent fear of the unknown; being trapped in a small space, either a box or a refrigerator, with obvious references to people being trapped after the earthquake, and response to tragedy, whether it is the earthquake itself or personal trauma. The whole is a thoughtprovoking examination of death, relationships, love, loss, memory, isolation - all the important existentail questions about life. Absolutely stunning. Five stars.
All of Murakami's usual fascinations are here - heroism and sacrifice, sexual potency and magnetism (or lack of it), the effect of a desire for revenge on the soul - with a real life event instead of a speculative fictional one to disrupt character's complacencies but otherwise the earthquake is mostly background - less disruptive than many an event in the novels. So this may be more accessible to people who think he is otherwise too weird. But the brusk style didn't work as well for me in the short form as it does in the novels - there is too much that has to be told too quickly rather than by watching the characters act over time.
