Haruki Murakami’s Novels Are Worth Your Time
He’s the J.J. Abrams of novelists — for better or worse, but he’s worth the read.
Scroll further down for the authors’ best and worst works.
Murakami at a glance
“What I think is this: You should give up looking for lost cats and start searching for the other half of your shadow.” — Kafka on the Shore
Haruki Murakami is a badass, pure and simple. If I’d read none of his books and just knew his life story then I would think the same.
The lore of Haruki Murakami is as follows:
Murakami wrote his first piece of fiction at age 29 — he decided he would at a baseball game. He started that night, finished ten months later, submitted the book to a literary contest, and won first prize. He’s been writing novels to critical acclaim ever since.
Murakami appears to be the modern Japanese renaissance man. He’s an avid marathon runner (and has written a book on the topic), jazz and classical music aficionado (and has written a book on the topic), and a very successful author (with at least 35 authored books). He is a man with a depth of knowledge in a variety of subjects.
I didn’t like Murakami’s books at first, though. I read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle in three days. I sped through it and I found the ending extremely unsatisfying. Loose ends weren’t tied up.
This is why I call Murakami the JJ Abrams of novelists; the literary device of the mystery box is absolutely core to the draw of his stories. Think of Lost — there was always some mystery that was dangled in front of you, such that you couldn’t wait for the next episode. This is an extremely effective device in storytelling, but in worst-case scenarios can borderline on a gimmick.
Since then I’ve read five or six of his novels, and I’ve read a little more about his writing process. The short of it is that he doesn’t plan the ends of his stories:
“It’s no fun writing a story if I already know how it’s going to end, because the very person who is writing doesn’t know what happens, I think readers would also share the anticipation and enjoy the thrill while reading.” — Murakami
Murakami has become one of my favorite novelists since embracing this aspect of is writing because the lesson is a good one: the journey is what matters most, not the ending.
And the journeys are pretty wild rides. They are filled with lovable and earnest characters in, oftentimes, psychedelic worlds. Worlds of shades and spirits that are somewhere in between fantasy, sci-fi, and magical realism.
One more thing unique to Murakami’s writing style: I’ve read that he writes his novels in English and then translates them to Japanese. For English versions, he will later translate that Japanese version back to English (or someone else will). The result is a unique and easy-to-read writing style with short and concise sentences. Murakami’s books are indeed easy to read. When I haven’t read in a while, his are some of the books I turn to to get back into reading again, as they are easy to get through.
Best — Norwegian Wood (1987, 307 pages)
“I was always hungry for love. Just once, I wanted to know what it was like to get my fill of it — to be fed so much love I couldn’t take any more. Just once. ”
This is a good intro to Murakami’s works. Unlike his other books, this one does not contain fantasy elements and is an exception to the mystery box paradigm. Instead, what you get is a hypnotic, sublime story.
The story is played out via the protagonist Toru Watanabe’s reflection of and nostalgia for his youth and early romantic relationships. It deals with love and suicide in a time of the very real student-lead riots and eventual occupation of the University of Tokyo.
This one will pull at your heart-strings.
Best — Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (1985 417 pages)
“Deep rivers run quiet.”
Reading this book is like falling headfirst into a David Lynch movie. Or show. Think twin peaks dream sequences.
It contains two parallel storylines (a device you will see in Kafka on the Shore as well), one with sci-fi elements, and one with dream-like/fantasy aspects. They interweave in theme and the whole read you will wonder what the hell is going on — how do they connect?
Explaining the plot of this book would be like trying to explain The Matrix to someone who had never seen a movie or heard of the internet.
Dive into it if you want a bit of a wild ride. And keep an eye on your shadow.
Best — Kafka on the Shore (2002, 450 pages)
“Every one of us is losing something precious to us. Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back again. That’s part of what it means to be alive.”
Some books inspire you to do some research.
Reading this one will inspire you to learn more about Franz Kafka, Greek mythology, and Japanese history. This book reeks of allegory but not in a way that you feel like you’re missing something crucial.
It’s the type of book that ends twice: once when you finish the last page — and another time when you research the symbolism and allegorical references. Each ending is satisfying to the reader, and you get something a little different out of each.
Like Hard-Boiled Wonderland and…, this one has parallel stories that switch chapter to chapter. You’ll meet the young and Oedipal-fearing Kafka, as well as the mentally handicapped Nakata — the latter of which can speak to cats.
Worst — 1Q84 (2009, 928 Pages)
“Even if we could turn back, we’d probably never end up where we started.”
This is likely a controversial opinion.
This book is a tome — it’s almost 1000 pages. If you plan to invest the time in reading it you will have to commit. But it’s a book that will prevent you from reading other books. Don’t get book-blocked.
The amount of time you have to invest in the book is not quite worth what you get out of it. It’s nice and easy reading, so it may be worth the experience of a low-key read — but for inspiration, intrigue, and new ideas, I just don’t think there is a high level of content there. Perhaps 200–300 pages worth.
If you are new to Murakami, I’d start with one of the books above instead.
Honorable Mentions
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1994, 607 pages)
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (2007, 193 pages) (a must-read for any runners).
Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa (2011, 292 pages)
There are for sure other works of Murakami’s worth reading. Let me know what I’m missing!
