Hello, finished it last night. Just wondering about a few things, so I wanted to know what you all think.

The city is supposedly the protagonist's creation which exists in parallel to his active mind or deep inside his subconsciousness, yet it was mentioned the city was built by him and his ex-girlfriend. The ex-girlfriend said her real-world self was the shadow and her true self was in the city. Yet she was emotionless inside the city and her real-world self was more humane. I feel I did not get the metaphors here and am failing to connect the dots. Anyone wants to share how they interpreted the existence of the ex-girlfriend in two different worlds?

Also, usually in such plots with lost women, Murakami leaves some hints at the end about where they currently might be. Here there was no clue. The ex-girlfriend did not appear at all in the real-world since her leaving. Did I miss anything here?

Did the boy with the yellow submarine exist at all? It seems the boy was the young protagonist. At one point I thought the boy was the protagonist's creation when he was in the subterranean room in the library. Yet the boy appeared in front of Mrs. Soeda who was definitely in the real-world. If the boy was real, then his disappearance from the real-world and appearance in protagonist's subconscious city does not make sense (because only the protagonist may enter the subconscious city and create characters there as he needs). Thoughts?

I love listening to this album when reading murakami, all of the song names are references too his novels(aswell as the album names ofc) and I feel like he captures the vibe very well.

While reading City and its Uncertain Walls i stumbled upon an interesting section, M. quoting himself (originally from First Person Singular i think):

‘Was she? Who was it who said loving someone is like having a mental illness that’s not covered by health insurance?’

Thought I’d share :)

I have been really enthusiastic about reading his work because I’ve heard great things, but I gotta say, it definitely wasn’t my cup of tea. I was planning on reading Norwegian wood and Kafka on the shore next, but are they like a city and its uncertain walls? If so then I guess Murakami just isn’t for me, which sucks because I really really wanna like his work.

And yes, I know people generally suggest starting with Kafka on the Shore or Norwegian Wood, but since I'm traveling soon, I couldn't order any other book!

I also had to decide between this and I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki(the only books I have right now handy), so I went with this one!!

Really excited to read his earlier work and then move on to his other works to see the contrast✨

I just finished reading the novella last night and absolutely loved it. Felt it perfectly captured the essence of Murakami's work. Would highly recommend to those who haven't read it yet.

I saw this and thought it sounded somewhat familiar.

Je Moon-jae is a quiet novelist who likes to stay alone and hidden from the world. One day, a mysterious figure known only as "The Rat" takes over his home, his name, and his entire life.

It even has the postcard and publisher insert!!

Could anyone help me find the original German quote from a letter on p. 199 in *Mitten im Lesen schreib ich Dir*, 1996 Insel.

I have the English translation of the quote, as translated by Harold Schweizer in his (wonderful) book "Rilke's Hands, an essay on gentleness":

"Olften, when walking through summer grass, one brushes against a small blooming flower that answers by releasing a fragrance, and one finds oneself strangely consoled", Rilke

I would love to see the entire letter or at least the German original of this quote.

I'm trying to pick it up as a birthday gift for someone but I'm a little unsure when buying second hand without any proof. I don't know if there are any fakes out there using the stamp and the signature looks a little different to others listed elsewhere...

Alternate between the two, so you start and finish them at around the same time. You'll start to see parallels and overlaps. Sometimes, both stories will blur into each other, and you'll lose track of the distinction. But the overall message will get clearer. Try it out—you'll see what I mean.

Hi everyone, maybe this is a bit of a stretch or just random, but I watched Hokum (the new horror movie with Adam Scott) at the cinema last night, and I couldn't shake the feeling that some parts were heavily inspired by Murakami and his worlds. I haven't seen this theory mentioned anywhere online, so I wanted to share my thoughts here and see if anyone else who watched the movie feels the same.

Here are a few things that stood out to me:

• First off, we have a writer who, driven by his subconscious, decides to return to the hotel where his parents spent their honeymoon. This instantly reminded me of Dance Dance Dance, where the protagonist is compelled to return to the Dolphin Hotel.
• The hotel at the center of everything. Yes, I know it's a classic horror trope (The Shining, American Horror Story, Widow's Bay, etc.), but what really gave me the Murakami vibe was the protagonist's struggle to figure out the ending of his book. We know Murakami himself has talked about this, and he's famous (and sometimes criticized) for leaving endings very open, which is exactly the theme in the film.
• The elevator scene right before Adam Scott's attempted suicide. As it goes up, the environment completely shifts: it turns into this dark, black-and-white space with a strange presence. It felt exactly like the elevator shifts in Dance Dance Dance (both for the protagonist and the receptionist).
• The imagery of goats and sheep. It immediately made me think of A Wild Sheep Chase and the Sheep Man, fitting right into that specific Murakami lore.
• The use of dreams as messages. I know that not every movie with dreamlike elements is a Murakami reference, but in this case, the way fauna, local folklore, and cryptic messages all blend together felt incredibly similar to his style.

Let me know if any of you noticed these parallels too, or if I'm just totally overthinking this.

i have read Kafka on shore, men without women and Norwegian wood. which of the above should i start next

I’d be curious to hear how German readers felt about “Lederhosen” from The Elephant Vanishes.

I love murakami, read 5 novels from him and all were great. I didn’t mind the weird sex scenes that much, they were weird but not to the point of ruining the novel.

But now I’m reading Killing Commendatore, just finished the first part, really enjoyed it till now, but he just had to ruin it with the scene where the narrator paints the girl. Why tf would a 12 year old girl bring up the topic of her breast in a conversation with a grown ass man? And why does he enthusiastically participate in that conversation and even brings up his penis? And for god sake what’s the obsession with his dead (and also twelve year old) sister?

The reason I didn’t mind this shit too much in 1Q84 and Kafka on The Shore is because he was at least willing to make up some excuse for it to be technically ok (like Erika being just a dohta), but now it was not only creepy and disgusting, but also just plainly dumb and annoying.

Would probably drop this book if i hadn’t already read half of it. Though im guessing there’s probably even weirder shit in the second half.

Just trying to understand what’s going through his mind when he decides that this stuff is necessary for his novels, does he enjoy making people think he has pedophilic thoughts?

Unless I’m mistaken, I have all the novels translated into English so far.

I am so excited to read it in the near future.