The Forbidden Worlds of Haruki Murakami

by Matthew Carl Strecher

Overview

In an “other world” composed of language—it could be a fathomless Martian well, a labyrinthine hotel or forest—a narrative unfolds, and with it the experiences, memories, and dreams that constitute reality for Haruki Murakami’s characters and readers alike. Memories and dreams in turn conjure their magical counterparts—people without names or pasts, fantastic animals, half-animals, and talking machines that traverse the dark psychic underworld of this writer’s extraordinary fiction.

Fervently acclaimed worldwide, Murakami’s wildly imaginative work in many ways remains a mystery, its worlds within worlds uncharted territory. Finally in this book readers will find a map to the strange realm that grounds virtually every aspect of Murakami’s writing. A journey through the enigmatic and baffling innermost mind, a metaphysical dimension where Murakami’s most bizarre scenes and characters lurk, The Forbidden Worlds of Haruki Murakami exposes the psychological and mythological underpinnings of this other world. Matthew Carl Strecher shows how these considerations color Murakami’s depictions of the individual and collective soul, which constantly shift between the tangible and intangible but in this literary landscape are undeniably real.

Through these otherworldly depths The Forbidden Worlds of Haruki Murakami also charts the writer’s vivid “inner world,” whether unconscious or underworld (what some Japanese critics call achiragawa, or “over there”), and its connectivity to language. Strecher covers all of Murakami’s work—including his efforts as a literary journalist—and concludes with the first full-length close reading of the writer’s newest novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452943060
Publisher:	University of Minnesota Press
Publication date:	10/01/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	296
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Matthew Carl Strecher is associate professor of Japanese language, literature, and culture at Winona State University. He is the author of Dances with Sheep: The Quest for Identity in the Fiction of Haruki Murakami and Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Reader’s Guide.

Table of Contents

Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Power of the “Story”

1. New Words, New Worlds
2. Into the Mad, Metaphysical Realm
3. Gods and Oracles, Fate and Mythology
4. Murakami Haruki as Literary Journalist
5. Forbidden Dreams from “Over There”

Epilogue: The Roads Not Taken

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

10/01/2014
As a Haruki Murakami devotee it's difficult to be objective about a new book of criticism. This work by Strecher (Japanese, Winona State Univ.; Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Reader's Guide) is sure to satisfy both Murakami fans and critics alike. Rather than tackle the novelist's work as a whole, Strecher here provides an in-depth examination of "the other world" aspect of Murakami's writing. Some might think of this as the play of the subconscious or psyche in both his fiction and nonfiction. The approach taken to explore this world is not via psychological theory but the internal narrative of the individual, consisting of language and memory. Although this scope is narrower than that of Jay Rubin's Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words, it is not limited and brings the reader up to Murakami's latest novel. Strecher uses the conventional Japanese naming mechanism and original Japanese titles of works referenced, which lead the reader deeper into Murakami's world. VERDICT This is an intellectual book, but it will be easily grasped by anyone who's reading Murakami. With his ever-rising popularity in the West, it will be a solid addition to collections that hold his other titles.—Elizabeth Heffington, Lipscomb Univ. Lib., TN

Library Journal

" In a masterful synthesis, Matthew Strecher delves deeply into questions of language, religion, mythology, psychology, and the boundaries between literature and journalism to demonstrate with great clarity and concreteness how Murakami belongs in the company of such writers as Pynchon, Eco, and Rushdie." —Jay Rubin, author of Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words

"This guide clearly synthesizes the inner world enshrining Haruki Murakami’s characters."—World Literature Today

"Strecher’s latest book is erudite without being overly academic. A lively and engaging read."—The Japan Times

"Strecher neatly maps out the impression the young Murakami made on the hidebound world of Japanese literature and its overarching literary guild, one entrenched by respect, routine, and what literature ought to do."—Pop Matters

"An original and insightful book—a genuine pleasure to read."—H-Net

"Useful for providing frames through which to read Murakami and for a detailed overview of his work."—CHOICE

"This well-researched monograph not only contributes to deepening our understanding of Murakami’s work, but, more importantly, Strecher reaffirms the bottomless possibilities to enjoy reading this author’s stories."—Asian Studies Review

"Like its subject, Strecher’s book does not offer an overall master map to this world but rather presents us with a variety of intriguing ideas to ponder and to provoke us toward our own interpretations of this tantalizing, multifaceted author."—Journal of Japanese Studies

From the Publisher