Haruki Murakami is a Japanese novelist whose work blends realism with surreal and dreamlike elements. Books like Norwegian Wood and Kafka on the Shore explore loneliness, memory, and the search for identity. His style is simple yet lyrical, marked by rhythm and introspection. Music, coincidence, and quiet melancholy shape his narrative world.
The journey of Haruki Murakami from a jazz bar owner to a literary sensation began in 1978 when a moment of inspiration struck him during a baseball game. His debut novel, Hear the Wind Sing, garnered acclaim and set the stage for subsequent works like A Wild Sheep Chase and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. However, it was the 1987 release of Norwegian Wood that catapulted him to international fame, establishing his reputation as a bestselling author and introducing readers to his captivating and distinctive fictional world.
Tokyo, near future. A data war is raging. The system, the organization of the not-so-good eternally good, develops increasingly sophisticated encryption techniques, which are repeatedly cracked by the Factory, a kind of data mafia. A brilliant elderly scientist, the Professor, devises an absolutely secure coding method: he isolates the personality structure, the "psychocore," from a group of professional data washers, all employees of the system, and implants it into several test subjects as a Black Box that can be called up at any time via a code signal in their brains. Encryption and decryption can only occur in the subconscious, preventing any unwanted access to data. However, only the 35-year-old cool hero and first-person narrator survives the procedure and finds himself caught in the crossfire. On his parallel journeys through the more or less real Tokyo and the fantastic city in his mind, the brain-manipulated yuppie experiences wondrous adventures.
"A Wild Sheep Chase" - His life was like his recurring nightmare: a train to nowhere. But an ordinary life has a way of taking an extraordinary turn. Add a girl whose ears are so exquisite that, when uncovered, they improve sex a thousand-fold, a runaway friend, a right-wing politico, an ovine-obsessed professor and a manic-depressive in a sheep outfit, implicate them in a hunt for a sheep, that may or may not be running the world, and the upshot is another singular masterpiece from Haruki Murakami. "Dance Dance Dance" - High-class call girls billed to Mastercard; a psychic thirteen-year-old drop-out with a passion for Talking Heads; a hunky matinee idol doomed to play dentists and teachers; a one-armed beach-combing poet, an uptight hotel clerk and one very bemused narrator caught in the web of advanced capitalist mayhem; combine this offbeat cast of characters with Murakami's idiosyncratic prose and out comes "Dance Dance Dance". It is an assault on the senses, part murder mystery, part metaphysical speculation; a fable for our times as catchy as a rock song blasting from the window of a sports car.
A major new anthology of great Japanese short stories introduced by Haruki Murakami.This fantastically varied and exciting collection celebrates the great Japanese short story collection, from its origins in the nineteenth century to the remarkable practitioners writing today. Curated by Jay Rubin (who has himself freshly translated several of the stories) and introduced by Haruki Murakami this is a book which will be a revelation to many of its readers. Short story writers already well-known to English-language readers are all included - Tanizaki, Akutagawa, Murakami, Mishima, Kawabata, Yoshimoto - but also many surprising new finds. From Tsushima Yuko's 'Flames' to Sawanishi Yuten's 'Filling Up with Sugar', from Hoshi Shin'ichi's 'Shoulder-Top Secretary' to Yoshimoto Banana's 'Bee Honey', The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories is filled with fear, charm, beauty and comedy.
U ovom drugom tomu, Aomame i Tengo, sticajem neobičnih događaja, potvrđuju svoje sumnje da se nalaze u drugom vremenu - u godini 1Q84 - iz kojeg ne mogu da se vrate natrag u 1984. godinu i svoje realno vreme. Njihova ljubav, iako je čini samo stisak ruke u detinjstvu, jedina je istinska i prava u ovom romanu. Ona je pokretač svih dešavanja i jača uprkos njihovoj razdvojenosti, a oni se sve više približavaju jedno drugom. Murakami se u ovom nastavku produbljeno bavi filozofskim temama, odnosom dobra i zla, krivice i kazne i, pre svega, smislom života, stavom prema smrti, žrtvovanjem, ali i porodičnim vezama i, neizostavno, ljubavlju. „Ako u svetu nema ljubavi, sve je iluzija i imitacija." Autor nas upozorava da ljubav jeste glavni pokretač, ali je u modernom svetu često nema onde gde najviše treba da je bude - između muža i žene i roditelja i dece. Poznat, i zbog toga u Japanu često kritikovan, kao pisac koji unosi previše zapadnjačke tradicije u svoje romane, Murakami je ovu priču o univerzalnim temama zajedničkim za ceo svet, obojio više no ikad pre istočnjačkom filozofijom i japanskim načinom života, naročito kuhinjom, čiji nas sastojci omamljuju sa stranica ove knjige. Nastaviće se u trećem delu......
Enter the surreal and enchanting world of Haruki Murakami. Toru Okada's cat has disappeared. His wife is growing more distant every day. Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has recently been receiving. As this compelling story unfolds, the tidy suburban realities of Okada's vague and blameless life, spent cooking, reading, listening to jazz and opera and drinking beer at the kitchen table, are turned inside out. He embarks on a bizarre journey, guided by a succession of characters, each with a tale to tell. 'Mesmerising, surreal, this really is the work of a true original' The Times VINTAGE JAPANESE CLASSICS series - five masterpieces of Japanese fiction in gorgeous new gift editions.
Not since Yukio Mishima and Yasunari Kawabata has a Japanese writer won the international acclaim enjoyed hy Haruki Murakami. His genre- busting novels, short stones, and repodage, which have been translated into thirty-four languages, meld the surreal and the hard-boiled, deadpan comedy and delicate introspection.Vintage Murakami includes the opening cnapter of the international bestseller Norwegian Wood; •'Lieueenant Mamiya's Long Story: Parts I and II" from his monumental novel The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle; "Shizuko Akashi" from: Underground, his nonfiction book on the Toyko subway attack 1995; and the short stories "Barn Burning," and "honey pie."Also included, for the first time in book form, the short story "Ice Man."--back coverTable of Contents"Barn burning" from The Elephant vanished -- "Shizuko Akashi" from Underground -- "Honeypie" from After the Quake -- "Lieutenant Mamiya's long stories: Part I" from the Wind-up bird chronicle -- "Lieutenant Mamiya's long stories: Part II" from the Wind-up bird chronicle -- "Ice man."
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 1Q84 and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle comes a relentlessly inventive novel that dives deep into the very nature of consciousness. “Fantastical, mysterious, and funny . . . a fantasy world that might have been penned by Franz Kafka.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer Across two parallel narratives, Murakami draws readers into a mind-bending universe in which Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, a split-brained data processor, a deranged scientist, his shockingly undemure granddaughter, and various thugs, librarians, and subterranean monsters collide to dazzling effect. What emerges is a hyperkinetic novel that is at once hilariously funny and a deeply serious meditation on the nature and uses of the mind.
'A stunning work of art that bears no comparisons' the New York Observer wrote of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, 'and this is also true of this magnificent new novel, which is every bit as ambitious, expansive and bewitching. A tour-de-force of metaphysical reality, Kafka on the Shore is powered by two remarkable characters. At fifteen, Kafka Tamura runs away from home, either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister. And the aging Nakata,tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his highly simplified life suddenly overturned. Their parallel odysseys, as mysterious to us as they are to them, are enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerizing events. Fish tumble in storms from the sky; cats and people carry on conversations; a ghostlike pimp employs a Hegel-quoting prostitute, a forest harbors soldiers apparently unaged since World War II. There is a brutal murder, with the identity of both victim and perpetrator a riddle. Yet this, like everything else, is eventually answered, just as the entwined destinies of Kafka and Nakata are gradually revealed, with one escaping his fate entirely and the other given a fresh start on his own.
Alternate cover edition here.High-class call girls billed to Mastercard. A psychic 13-year-old dropout with a passion for Talking Heads. A hunky matinee idol doomed to play dentists and teachers. A one-armed beach-combing poet, an uptight hotel clerk and one very bemused narrator caught in the web of advanced capitalist mayhem. Combine this offbeat cast of characters with Murakami's idiosyncratic prose and out comes Dance Dance Dance.
When he hears her favourite Beatles song, Toru Watanabe recalls his first love Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend Kizuki. Immediately he is transported back almost twenty years to his student days in Tokyo, adrift in a world of uneasy friendships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire - to a time when an impetuous young woman called Midori marches into his life and he has to choose between the future and the past. 'Evocative, entertaining, sexy and funny; but then Murakami is one of the best writers around' Time Out 'Such is the exquisite, gossamer construction of Murakami's writing that everything he chooses to describe trembles with symbolic possibility' Guardian 'This book is undeniably hip, full of student uprisings, free love, booze and 1960s pop, it's also genuinely emotionally engaging, and describes the highs of adolescence as well as the lows' Independent on Sunday 'Catches the absorption and giddy rush of adolescent love... It is also, for all the tragic momentum and the apparently kamikaze consciousness of many of its characters, often funny and quirkily observed' Times Literary Supplement 'A heart-stoppingly moving story... Murakami is, without a doubt, one of the world's finest novelists' Glasgow Herald
A mesmerising, epic, utterly involving masterpiece from Haruki Murakami The year is 1Q84. This is the real world, there is no doubt about that. But in this world, there are two moons in the sky. In this world, the fates of two people, Tengo and Aomame, are closely intertwined. They are each, in their own way, doing something very dangerous. And in this world, there seems no way to save them both. Something extraordinary is starting. *PRE-ORDER HARUKI MURAKAMI'S NEW NOVEL, THE CITY AND ITS UNCERTAIN WALLS, NOW* '1Q84 has a range and sophistication that surpasses anything else in his oeuvre. It is his most achieved novel; an epic in which form and content are neatly aligned' Independent on Sunday
His life was like his recurring nightmare: a train to nowhere. But an ordinary life has a way of taking an extraordinary turn. Add a girl whose ears are so exquisite that, when uncovered, they improve sex a thousand-fold, a runaway friend, a rightwing politico, an ovine-obsessed professor and a manic depressive in a sheep outfit, implicate them in a hunt for a sheep. that may or may not be running the world, and the upshot is another singular masterpiece from Japan's finest novelist.
A charmingly idiosyncratic look at writing, creativity, and the author's own novels. Haruki Murakami's myriad fans will be delighted by this unique look into the mind of a master storyteller. In this engaging book, the internationally best-selling author and famously reclusive writer shares with readers what he thinks about being a novelist; his thoughts on the role of the novel in our society; his own origins as a writer; and his musings on the sparks of creativity that inspire other writers, artists, and musicians. Readers who have long wondered where the mysterious novelist gets his ideas and what inspires his strangely surreal worlds will be fascinated by this highly personal look at the craft of writing.
Growing up in the suburbs in post-war Japan, it seemed to Hajime that everyone but him had brothers and sisters. His sole companion was Shimamoto, also an only child. Together they spent long afternoons listening to her father's record collection. But when his family moved away, the two lost touch. Now Hajime is in his thirties. After a decade of drifting he has found happiness with his loving wife and two daughters, and success running a jazz bar. Then Shimamoto reappears. She is beautiful, intense, enveloped in mystery. Hajime is catapulted into the past, putting at risk all he has in the present. 'A story of love in a cool climate, intensely romantic and weepily beautiful...it is startlingly different: a true original' Guardian 'Casablanca remade Japanese style...It is dream-like writing, laden with scenes which have the radiance of a poem' The Times 'This wise and beautiful book is full of hidden truths' New York Times 'This book aches...an eloquent treatise on the vertiginous, irrational powers of love and desire' Independent on Sunday 'A beautiful, atmospheric novel sustained by Murakami's flair for philosophical mediation at its most human' Irish Times
You've just passed someone on the street who could be the love of your life, the person you're destined for - what do you do? In Murakami's world, you tell them a story. The five weird and wonderful tales collected here each unlock the many-tongued language of desire, whether it takes the form of hunger, lust, sudden infatuation or the secret longings of the heart. Selected from Haruki's Murakami's short story collections The Elephant Vanishes, Blind Willow Sleeping Woman, Men Without Women VINTAGE MINIS- GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS. A series of short books by the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us human Also in the Vintage Minis series- Love by Jeanette Winterson Psychedelics by Aldous Huxley Eating by Nigella Lawson Summer by Laurie Lee
The epic new novel from the internationally acclaimed and best-selling author of 1Q84. In Killing Commendatore, a thirty-something portrait painter in Tokyo is abandoned by his wife and finds himself holed up in the mountain home of a famous artist, Tomohiko Amada. When he discovers a strange painting in the attic, he unintentionally opens a circle of mysterious circumstances. To close it, he must complete a journey that involves a mysterious ringing bell, a two-foot-high physical manifestation of an Idea, a dapper businessman who lives across the valley, a precocious thirteen-year-old girl, a Nazi assassination attempt during World War II in Vienna, a pit in the woods behind the artist's home, and an underworld haunted by Double Metaphors. A tour de force of love and loneliness, war and art - as well as a loving homage to The Great Gatsby - Killing Commendatore is a stunning work of imagination from one of our greatest writers.
Haruki Murakami's best-loved stories finally available in graphic novel form!With their trademark mix of realism and fantasy, centering around Murakami's signature themes of loss, remorse and confusion, the two stories in this volume are: Scheherezade: a man named Habara is confined to his house and is visited by a nurse, Scheherezade, who brings him provisions and has sex with him. She tells Habara the story of a boy she had a crush on when she was young, whose house she repeatedly broke into. She tells him the story over several visits, and the story ends before Scheherezade finishes. Habara worries he may never see Scheherezade again. Sleep: recounts the life of a housewife with a regimented existence. But at night, she has her own life, as though she enters an extra-dimensional space. In this world she examines her own life and family and ponders the meaning of death.These new graphic versions of classic Murakami short stories will be devoured by his fans and will provide a new window onto his work for a new generation of readers not yet familiar with it!
Part romance, part detective story, Sputnik Sweetheart tells the story of a tangled triangle of uniquely unrequited love. Now with a new introduction from the author. K is madly in love with his best friend, Sumire, but her devotion to a writerly life precludes her from any personal commitments. At least, that is, until she meets an older woman to whom she finds herself irresistibly drawn. When Sumire disappears from an island off the coast of Greece, K is solicited to join the search party—and finds himself drawn back into her world and beset by ominous visions. Subtle and haunting, Sputnik Sweetheart is a profound meditation on human longing.
Included in this collection of stories is one in which a mirror appears out of nowhere and a night-watchman is unnerved as his reflection tries to take control of him, and another in which a couple's relationship is unbalanced after dining on exquisite crab while on holiday.
An intimate look at writing, running, and the incredible way they intersect, from the incomparable, bestselling author Haruki Murakami. While simply training for the New York City Marathon would be enough for most people, Haruki Murakami decided to write about it as well. The result is a beautiful memoir about his intertwined obsessions with running and writing, full of vivid memories and insights, including the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer. By turns funny and sobering, playful and phulosophical, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is rich and revelatory, both for fans of this masterful yet guardedly private writer and for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in athletic pursuit.
A New York Times #1 Bestseller A New York Times and Washington Post notable book, and one of the Financial Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Slate, Mother Jones, The Daily Beast, and BookPage's best books of the year Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the long-awaited new novel—a book that sold more than a million copies the first week it went on sale in Japan—from the award-winning, internationally best-selling author Haruki Murakami. Here he gives us the remarkable story of Tsukuru Tazaki, a young man haunted by a great loss; of dreams and nightmares that have unintended consequences for the world around us; and of a journey into the past that is necessary to mend the present. It is a story of love, friendship, and heartbreak for the ages.
Reality bends all the more acutely with lack of sleep in this stunning novel from the master of the surreal.Eyes mark the shape of the cityThe midnight hour approaches in an almost-empty diner. Mari sips her coffee and reads a book, but soon her solitude is disturbed: a girl has been beaten up at the Alphaville hotel, and needs Mari's help.Meanwhile Mari's beautiful sister Eri lies in a deep, heavy sleep that is 'too perfect, too pure' to be normal; it has lasted for two months. But tonight as the digital clock displays 00:00, a hint of life flickers across the television screen in her room, even though it's plug has been pulled out.Strange nocturnal happenings, or a trick of the night?
Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are vanishing cats and smoky bars, lonely hearts and mysterious women, baseball and the Beatles, woven together to tell stories that speak to us all. Marked by the same wry humor that has defined his…
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A GLOBE AND MAIL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • A REAL SIMPLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR From the author of Norwegian Wood and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World comes a poignant love story and quest, celebrating books and the libraries that house them. When a young man's girlfriend mysteriously disappears, he is heartbroken and determined to find the imaginary town where he believes she has gone. This lifelong search leads him into middle age and a job at a remote library filled with its own mysteries. He journeys between the real world and a shadowless city where unicorns roam and willow trees grow. There, he discovers his beloved working in a dream library, but she has no memory of their past together. As seasons change and the man grapples with the blurred lines between these two worlds, he must confront what he is willing to sacrifice. This narrative serves as a parable for our times, exploring themes of love, loss, and the transformative power of stories. "Truth is not found in fixed stillness, but in ceaseless change/movement. Isn't this the quintessential core of what stories are all about?” —Haruki Murakami, from the afterword.
The economy was booming. People had more money than they knew what to do with. And then the earthquake struck. For the characters in After the Quake, the Kobe earthquake is an echo from a past they buried long ago. Satsuki has spent thirty years hating one man: a lover who destroyed her chances of having children. Did her desire for revenge cause the earthquake? Junpei's estranged parents live in Kobe. Should he contact them? Miyake left his family in Kobe to make midnight bonfires on a beach hundreds of miles away. Fourteen-year-old Sala has nightmares that the Earthquake Man is trying to stuff her inside a little box. Katagiri returns home to find a giant frog in his apartment on a mission to save Tokyo from a massive burrowing worm. 'When he gets angry, he causes earthquakes,' says Frog. 'And right now he is very, very angry.'This new collection of stories, from one of the world's greatest living writers, dissects the violence beneath the surface of modern Japan.
An intimate conversation about music and creativity, between the internationally bestselling writer and a world-class conductor. 'My only purpose in this book was for me, as a music lover, to have a discussion of music with the musician Seiji Ozawa that was as open and honest as possible. I simply wanted to bring out the ways that each of us (though on vastly different levels) is dedicated to music.' Haruki Murakami's passion for music runs deep. Before turning his hand to writing, he ran a jazz club in Tokyo, and the aesthetic and emotional power of music permeates every one of his much-loved books. Now, in Absolutely on Music, Murakami fulfills a personal dream, sitting down with his friend, acclaimed conductor Seiji Ozawa, to talk about their shared interest. Transcribed from lengthy conversations about the nature of music and writing, here they discuss everything from Brahms to Beethoven, from Leonard Bernstein to Glenn Gould, from record collecting to pop-up orchestras, and much more. Ultimately this book gives readers an unprecedented glimpse into the minds of two maestros.
Haruki Murakami's beloved short stories are now presented in graphic novel form for the first time in English. This volume, the first of three, features four captivating tales from his bestselling collections, blending realism and fantasy while exploring themes of loss, remorse, and confusion.
In "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo," Katagiri encounters a giant frog promising to save Tokyo from another earthquake, leading him to question reality and confront his feelings of powerlessness. "Where I'm Likely to Find It" follows a woman whose missing husband prompts a detective to reflect on his own life amidst a Kafkaesque exploration of disappearance and coping.
"Birthday Girl" recounts a surreal encounter on a woman's twentieth birthday with her restaurant's owner, who grants her a wish. "The Seventh Man" tells the poignant story of a man haunted by the death of his childhood friend in a tsunami, capturing Murakami's signature emotional depth and surrealism.
This graphic adaptation offers a fresh perspective on Murakami's work, appealing to both dedicated fans and younger readers new to his stories. Recommended for ages 16 and up due to mature themes and graphic content.
When A Man'S Favourite Elephant Vanishes, The Balance Of His Whole Life Is Subtly Upset; A Couple'S Midnight Hunger Pangs Drive Them To Hold Up A Mcdonald'S; A Woman Finds She Is Irresistible To A Small Green Monster That Burrows Through Her Front Garden; An Insomniac Wife Wakes Up To A Twilight World Of Semi-Consciousness In Which Anything Seems Possible - Even Death. In Every One Of The Stories That Make Up The Elephant Vanishes, Murakami Makes A Determined Assault On The Normal. He Has A Deadpan Genius For Dislocating Realities To Uncover The Surreal In The Everyday, The Extraordinary In The Ordinary.
In spite of the perpetrators' intentions, the Tokyo gas attack left only twelve people dead, but thousands were injured and many suffered serious after-effects. The novelist Haruki Murakami interviews the victims to try and establish precisely what happen
In this enviable gathering, Haruki Murakami has chosen for his party some of the very best short story writers of recent years, each with their own birthday experiences, each story a snapshot of life on a single day. Including stories by Russell Banks, Et
"The international literary icon opens his eclectic closet: Here are photographs of Murakami's extensive and personal T-shirt collection, accompanied by essays that reveal a side of the writer rarely seen by the public. Considered "the world's most popular cult novelist" (The Guardian), Haruki Murakami's books have galvanized millions around the world. Many of his fans know about his 10,000 vinyl record collection, and his obsession with running, but few have heard about a more intimate, and perhaps more unique, passion: his T-shirt collecting habit. In Murakami T, the famously reclusive novelist shows us his T-shirts--including gems from the Springsteen on Broadway show in NYC, from The Beach Boys concert in Honolulu to the shirt that inspired the beloved short story, "Tony Takitani." Accompanied by short, frank essays that have been translated into English for the first time, these photographs reveal much about Murakami's multifaceted and wonderfully eccentric persona"--Publisher's description
She waited on tables as usual that day, her twentieth birthday. She always worked Fridays, but if things had gone according to plan on that particular Friday, she would have had the night off. One rainy Tokyo night, a waitress's uneventful twentieth birthday takes a strange and fateful turn when she's asked to deliver dinner to the restaurant's reclusive owner. Birthday Girl is a beguiling, exquisitely satisfying taste of master storytelling, published to celebrate Murakami's 70th birthday.
Centering around two young men--an unnamed narrator and his friend and former roommate, the Rat--these short works are powerful, at times surreal, stories of loneliness, obsession, and eroticism.
Hear the Wind Sing is Murakami's first novel, available for the first time in English outside Japan. In Hear the Wind Sing the narrator is home from college on his summer break. He spends his time drinking beer and smoking in Jâe(tm)s Bar with the Rat, listening to the radio, thinking about writing and the women he has slept with, and pursuing a relationship with a girl with nine fingers. The story of the narrator, the Rat and J continues in Pinball, 1973.
Pinball, 1973 is Murakami's second novel, available for the first time in English outside Japan. With a new introduction by the author. Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973 are Haruki Murakamiâe(tm)s earliest novels. They follow the fortunes of the narrator and his friend, known only by his nickname, the Rat. Pinball, 1973 picks up three years after the events of Hear the Wind Sing. The narrator has moved to Tokyo to work as a translator and live with indistinguishable twin girls, but the Rat has remained behind, despite his efforts to leave both the town and his girlfriend. The narrator finds himself haunted by memories of his own doomed relationship but also, more bizarrely, by his short-lived obsession with playing pinball in Jâe(tm)s Bar. This sends him on a quest to find the exact model of pinball machine he had enjoyed playing years earlier: the three-flipper Spaceship.
A dual-language edition of Japanese stories—many appearing in English for the first time This volume of eight short stories, with parallel translations, offers students at all levels the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of contemporary literature without having constantly to refer back to a dictionary. The stories—many of which appear here in English for the first time—are by well-known writers like Haruki Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto, as well as emerging voices like Abe Kazushige, Ishii Shinji, and Kawakami Hiromi. From the orthodox to the cutting-edge, they represent a range of styles and themes, showcasing the diversity of Japanese fiction over the past few decades in a collection that is equally rewarding for beginning, intermediate, and advanced students of English or Japanese. Complete with notes, the stories make excellent reading in either language.
In 1984, Aomame, a woman with two differently sized ears, commits an assassination during a rendezvous with a wealthy oil dealer, seeking to right a past wrong. Meanwhile, Tengo, an aspiring writer, is tasked with rewriting a novel by the eccentric 17-year-old Fukaeri to help her win a literary prize. Though the story is highly original, it is poorly written, making this a risky endeavor. Aomame begins to question why her crime has not been reported in the news and wonders if she has entered a parallel world. To distinguish this eerie realm from her ordinary life in 1984, she names it 1Q84. The narrative intertwines the lives of Aomame and Tengo as they navigate their respective journeys, exploring themes of reality, identity, and the nature of existence.
An ode to George Orwell's "1984" told in alternating male and female voices relates the stories of Aomame, an assassin for a secret organization who discovers that she has been transported to an alternate reality, and Tengo, a mathematics lecturer and novice writer.
Главная литературная сенсация нового века, "магнум-опус прославленного мастера" и "обязательное чтение для любого, кто хочет разобраться в японской культуре наших дней", по выражению критиков. Действие книги происходит не столько в тысяча девятьсот восемьдесят четвертом году, сколько в тысяча невестьсот восемьдесят четвертом, в мире, где некоторые видят на небе две луны, где ключом к вечной любви служит Симфониетта Яначека, где полицейских после всколыхнувшей всю страну перестрелки с сектантами перевооружили автоматическими пистолетами взамен револьверов, где LittlePeople — Маленький Народец — выходят изо рта мертвой козы и плетут Воздушный Кокон.
Tokió külvárosában egy Okada Toru nevű munka nélküli fiatalember először csak felesége elveszett macskája keresésére indul, idővel aztán rádöbben, hogy a felesége is elhagyta. A város békés felszíne alatt rejtőző föld alatti világba keveredve különös ismeretséget köt egy testvérpárral, akik a görög szigetvilág két tagjáról kapták a nevüket. A szomszédban lakó bolondos lány révén beavatást nyer a parókakészítés rejtelmeibe, egy nyugalmazott tiszt pedig a mandzsúriai háború tapasztalatait osztja meg vele. A zenekedvelő és rezignált Toru titokzatos állást vállal az inkognitójukat messzemenőkig őrző Szerecsendiónál és Fahéjnál, s eltűnt háziállatának és házastársának felkutatása miatt szó szerint sötét és mély kútba kell alászállnia. Murakami valóságot és misztikumot ötvöző regényének felzaklató történeteit az elbeszélés szenvtelen nyugalma ellensúlyozza, feszült kíváncsiságot ébresztve az olvasóban, aki az események sodrásának engedve képtelen letenni a könyvet. A lapok közül pedig minduntalan kihallatszik a világ mozgásban tartásáért felelős, láthatatlan kurblimadár hangja: gíííííííí...
"Призраки Лексингтона" - один из самых известных сборников рассказов классика современной японской литературы Харуки Мураками. Автор популярных во всем мире романов "Охота на овец", "Дэнс, дэнс, дэнс" и "Хроники заводной птицы" предстает в нем как мастер короткой прозы. Рассказ "Тони Такитани" был перенесён на киноэкран режиссёром Дзюном Итикавой с великим японским актёром Иссеем Огатой в главной роли.
소설 "태엽감는 새"는 세계에서 가장 인기 있는 작가 중 한 명인 하룬키 무라카미의 작품으로, 진정한 조이스적 규모를 지니고 있다. 제2차 세계대전의 공포와 현대 일본인의 운명, 편지, 신비로운 꿈, 기억, 잡지 기사, 암호화된 파일 등으로 구성된 이 작품은 믿을 수 없는 사건들, 섬세한 아이러니, 그리고 하룬키 무라카미 특유의 독창적인 어조로 엮인 완전한 서사이다. "태엽감는 새. 3: 새잡이꾼 편 I"는 "태엽감는 새"의 세 번째 부분이다.
Художник, способный уловить тайны, скрывающиеся за лицами людей, которых он рисует. Запутанная картина, найденная спустя десятки лет на чердаке дома. Шорох в лесу, окруженном странными соседями. И колокол с его величественным и печальным звоном проникает между деревьями леса в сердце ночи. Роман о созидательной силе искусства и разрушительной силе насилия; о способности превращать нашу хрупкость в золото, как бы мрачными ни казались наши дни. Как всегда, Муараками очаровывает нас своим раскрытием сверхъестественного в нашей рутине, находя магию в деталях нашей повседневной жизни. В "Убийстве Командора" гениальность Муараками мастерски движется между реальностью и бредом.
Четыре года спустя после "Охоты на овцу" Мураками наш герой снова оказывается в отеле "Дельфины", где его манят странные сны. Встреча с загадочным Человеком-Овцой приводит к необычным встречам с привлекательной, но нервной рецепционисткой, одноруким американским поэтом, капризной подростком, разочарованным актером, очаровательной проституткой и самодовольным писателем (Хираку Макимура!). Затем появляется Майкл Джексон в роли абиссинского принца и Бой Джордж, спускающийся с небес. Как они все связаны? И почему число жертв продолжает расти? Игра на грани между сном и реальностью, поиск человеческого контакта в гиперкапиталистическом обществе и проницательные музыкальные анализы составляют ингредиенты этого романа, который, по словам Харуки Мураками, ему было особенно приятно писать. Продолжайте танцевать, пока играет музыка.
Eine melancholische Geschichte über eine Dreiecksbeziehung, das Schreiben und zwei Bären. Junpei ist Schriftsteller, seine Spezialität: Kurzgeschichten über unerwiderte Liebe. Das Thema seines Lebens. Seit der Uni ist er in Sayoko verliebt, die seinen besten Freund geheiratet hat. Trotz allem hat die Freundschaft zwischen den dreien Bestand, anders als die Liebe von Sayoko und Junpeis bestem Freund: Sie bekommen eine Tochter namens Sara, trennen sich aber kurz darauf. Mit den Jahren wird Junpei zu einer Art Ersatzvater für Sara. Nach einem schrecklichen Erdbeben leidet sie unter Albträumen. Nur Junpei kann sie beruhigen – mit seinen Geschichten über einen Bären und seinen besten Freund. Und er ist fest entschlossen, für immer über Sayokos und Saras Schlaf zu wachen … Haruki Murakami ist ein Meister der kurzen Form. In ›Honigkuchen‹ offenbart er sein großes Herz für alle Zögernden und Zaudernden. Kat Menschik hat die warmherzige Geschichte des wichtigsten japanischen Autors unserer Zeit in unvergessliche Bilder gegossen.
Эта книга рассказывает о людях, которые внезапно потеряли важные для них вещи, и о том, как они попадают в мир, полный случайностей и удивлений. «Случайный путешественник» ведет нас к поиску слабого света, который возникает в душе одинокого настройщика пианино. Рассказ «Ханарейский залив» описывает жизнь матери, потерявшей сына-серфингиста. В этом привычном нам мире существуют моменты, когда мы не замечаем очевидного. Эти пять историй повествуют о невероятных судьбах тех, кто внезапно исчез. Как нам справиться с болью и тоской по утраченной любви? Будучи матерью, как можно не ощущать присутствия сына, который является самым близким человеком? Одинокая мама Сачи, владелица пиано-бара, получает известие из Гавайев о том, что ее сын Тэкаши погиб в результате атаки акулы во время серфинга. На протяжении следующих десяти лет Сачи будет приходить к этому морю в день памяти сына, чтобы провести время в раздумьях. Однажды, встретив двух серфингистов из Японии, она невольно вспоминает о сыне, но также узнает от них о серфингисте на одной ноге с красной доской. Жив ли ее сын или это дух покойного сына?
Akcja Kroniki ptaka nakręcacza, podobnie jak w większości książek Haruki
Murakami jest bardzo skomplikowana, ale nie ona jest najważniejsza. Jeden z
recenzentów streścił ją tak: Toru Okada traci najpierw pracę, potem kota,
potem żonę a w końcu - rozum. O ile w pierwszych trzech punktach można
recenzentowi przyznać rację, o tyle z tym rozumem sprawa jest nieco bardziej
złożona. Życie Toru Okady po stracie pracy jest monotonne i pozbawione
ambicji. Żona zarabia wystarczająco dużo na utrzymanie ich obojga, a Toru
prowadzi dom. Ten harmonijny układ zostaje jednak pewnego dnia zburzony, kiedy
to znika im kot. Toru wyrusza na poszukiwanie zwierzątka i tak zaczyna się
wielka historia jego spotkań z różnymi najdziwniejszymi osobami, prowadząca do
całkowitej przemiany duchowej, nieomal buddyjskiej iluminacji. Gdy odejście
żony pozbawia go środków do życia i nie może sobie pozwolić na bezczynność,
jest już innym człowiekiem, gotowym zacząć nowe życie.
Tokió külvárosában egy Okada Toru nevű munka nélküli fiatalember először csak felesége elveszett macskája keresésére indul, idővel aztán rádöbben, hogy a felesége is elhagyta. A város békés felszíne alatt rejtőző föld alatti világba keveredve különös ismeretséget köt egy testvérpárral, akik a görög szigetvilág két tagjáról kapták a nevüket. A szomszédban lakó bolondos lány révén beavatást nyer a parókakészítés rejtelmeibe, egy nyugalmazott tiszt pedig a mandzsúriai háború tapasztalatait osztja meg vele. A zenekedvelő és rezignált Toru titokzatos állást vállal az inkognitójukat messzemenőkig őrző Szerecsendiónál és Fahéjnál, s eltűnt háziállatának és házastársának felkutatása miatt szó szerint sötét és mély kútba kell alászállnia. Murakami valóságot és misztikumot ötvöző regényének felzaklató történeteit az elbeszélés szenvtelen nyugalma ellensúlyozza, feszült kíváncsiságot ébresztve az olvasóban, aki az események sodrásának engedve képtelen letenni a könyvet. A lapok közül pedig minduntalan kihallatszik a világ mozgásban tartásáért felelős, láthatatlan kurblimadár hangja: gíííííííí...
Tokió külvárosában egy Okada Toru nevű munka nélküli fiatalember először csak felesége elveszett macskája keresésére indul, idővel aztán rádöbben, hogy a felesége is elhagyta. A város békés felszíne alatt rejtőző föld alatti világba keveredve különös ismeretséget köt egy testvérpárral, akik a görög szigetvilág két tagjáról kapták a nevüket. A szomszédban lakó bolondos lány révén beavatást nyer a parókakészítés rejtelmeibe, egy nyugalmazott tiszt pedig a mandzsúriai háború tapasztalatait osztja meg vele. A zenekedvelő és rezignált Toru titokzatos állást vállal az inkognitójukat messzemenőkig őrző Szerecsendiónál és Fahéjnál, s eltűnt háziállatának és házastársának felkutatása miatt szó szerint sötét és mély kútba kell alászállnia. Murakami valóságot és misztikumot ötvöző regényének felzaklató történeteit az elbeszélés szenvtelen nyugalma ellensúlyozza, feszült kíváncsiságot ébresztve az olvasóban, aki az események sodrásának engedve képtelen letenni a könyvet. A lapok közül pedig minduntalan kihallatszik a világ mozgásban tartásáért felelős, láthatatlan kurblimadár hangja: gíííííííí...
Een zesendertigjarige pas gescheiden portretschilder neemt zijn intrek in een oud atelier in de bergachtige omgeving ten zuidwesten van Tokio. Behalve door liefdesperikelen wordt hij geplaagd door een painter’s block, een onvermogen om te schilderen. Hij hoopt in het afgelegen atelier tot rust te komen, en zijn inspiratie terug te vinden, maar het zal anders gaan. Een mysterieus schilderij op de zolder van zijn verblijf lijkt tot leven te komen, vanuit een heuvel in het bos achter het huis klinkt ’s nachts het geluid van een bel. Een meisje verdwijnt, en de hoofdpersoon gaat haar zoeken – een zoektocht die hem afvoert naar de wereld der metaforen, waar hij met zijn diepste angsten wordt geconfronteerd.
Впервые на русском языке - новая книга самого знаменитого мастера современной японской литературы, сборник колонок, написанных им для модного женского журнала "Ан-ан"
Никто не скажет о предлагаемой вашему вниманию книге лучше, чем сам автор — наиболее знаменитый мастер современной японской литературы: «Ультракороткие рассказы (вероятно, это странноватое название, но другого мне не приходит в голову) этого сборника, на самом деле были написаны для серии журнальной рекламы. Первая часть — для марки одежды “J. Press”, вторая — для перьевых ручек «Паркер». Хотя, как видите, содержание рассказов совершенно не связано ни с одеждой, ни с перьевыми ручками. Я просто написал их по собственному вкусу, Андзай Мидзумару сделал для них иллюстрации, а рядом с ними в журнале как-то виновато опубликовали рекламу товара. Серия рассказов для “J. Press” печаталась в журнале “Men’s Club”, серия для ручек — в журнале “Тайё”. Не знаю, насколько эффективными они оказались с точки зрения рекламы, — и, честно говоря, даже думать об этом не хочу».
La suite de l'épopée de Murakami qui déstabilise encore un peu plus son lecteur. Une exploration des obsessions humaines au sein d'une histoire onirique et artistique. Au Japon, de nos jours. Une jeune fille a disparu. Le narrateur avait entrepris de faire son portrait. Il va rendre visite au vieux peintre Tomohiko Amada. Dans la chambre d'hôpital, le Commandeur apparaît. Le narrateur écoute le Commandeur : ce dernier est une idée ; une idée multiforme, chacun peut y projeter ce dont il a besoin. Il est prêt à offrir sa vie pour que la jeune fille soit retrouvée. Il faut faire revivre la scène du tableau, le Commandeur doit être poignardé. Le narrateur lui plante un couteau dans le coeur. Une trappe s'ouvre dans un coin de la chambre. Un personnage étrange en surgit qui invite à entrer dans le passage souterrain. C'est le début d'un périple qui va le conduire au-devant des forces du mal..
Содерж.: TV-люди ; Самолет, или Как он разговаривал сам с собой стихами ; Фольклор нашего времени. Ранний период эпохи развитого социализма ; Кано Крита ; Зомби ; Сон
Ein Bankangestellter bekommt in seiner Wohnung Besuch von einem Riesenfrosch, der Tokyo vor der Zerstörung durch einen Wurm retten will; eine Wahrsagerin sieht tief in die hasserfüllte Seele einer Ärztin, die nach einem Kongress in Bangkok zu sich finden will – nachdem ein Mann ihre Lebenshoffnungen zerstört hat; am zwanzigsten Geburtstag arbeitet sie wie jeden Freitag Abend als Kellnerin, an diesem Abend aber beschert ihr der Zufall die Erfüllung eines geheimnisvollen Wunsches.
Содерж.: Предисловие. Ничья на карусели ; Ледерхозен ; Мужчина в такси ; У бассейна ; Почившей принцессе ; Рвота 1979 ; Укрытие от дождя ; Бейсбольное поле ; Охотничий нож
A las voces de Aomame –la enigmática instructora de gimnasia y asesina– y de Tengo –el profesor de matemáticas y escritor–, se suma, en este tercer volumen de la novela 1Q84 , la de un nuevo personaje, un detective llamado Ushikawa. Su última misión, encargada por Vanguardia, el misterioso culto religioso, consistió en comprobar si Aomame era digna de confianza para trabajar para el líder. Ushikawa dio el visto bueno a la joven, pero ésta los traicionó a todos, cometió un nuevo asesinato y luego desapareció. Si el detective no logra encontrarla, la venganza de la secta se abatirá sobre él. Entretanto, Aomame y Tengo, cada uno a su modo, siguen deseándose en la ausencia, buscándose –en el más puro estilo de Murakami– casi sin moverse de su sitio, aislados, quizás a punto de experimentar un giro radical en sus vidas y esperando un reencuentro que los redima... en el mundo de 1984, o en el de 1Q84, ese fantasmagórico universo con dos lunas.
Prošlost - kakva je možda bila - izranja na ogledalu senka sadašnjosti - drugačije od onoga što je bila? Hipnotičko i uznemirujuće delo, roman avanture, priča o ljubavi, dva bića povezana tajnim paktom. U stvarnom svetu 1984. i u opasno privlačnom svetu 1Q84, sudbina Tengo-a i Aomame-a će se ispreplesti...
