What do you think?
Rate this book
The Elephant Vanishes
Translation of ZOU NO SHOUMETSU— A Collection of Short Stories
807 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 1993
4152 people are currently reading
47522 people want to read
About the author
Haruki Murakami
611 books133k followersHaruki Murakami (村上春樹) is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been best-sellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Gunzo Prize for New Writers, the World Fantasy Award, the Tanizaki Prize, Yomiuri Prize for Literature, the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, the Noma Literary Prize, the Franz Kafka Prize, the Kiriyama Prize for Fiction, the Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Fiction, the Jerusalem Prize, and the Princess of Asturias Awards.
Growing up in Ashiya, near Kobe before moving to Tokyo to attend Waseda University, he published his first novel Hear the Wind Sing (1979) after working as the owner of a small jazz bar for seven years. His notable works include the novels Norwegian Wood (1987), The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1994–95), Kafka on the Shore (2002) and 1Q84 (2009–10); the last was ranked as the best work of Japan's Heisei era (1989–2019) by the national newspaper Asahi Shimbun's survey of literary experts. His work spans genres including science fiction, fantasy, and crime fiction, and has become known for his use of magical realist elements. His official website cites Raymond Chandler, Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan as key inspirations to his work, while Murakami himself has named Kazuo Ishiguro, Cormac McCarthy and Dag Solstad as his favourite currently active writers. Murakami has also published five short story collections, including First Person Singular (2020), and non-fiction works including Underground (1997), an oral history of the Tokyo subway sarin attack, and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (2007), a memoir about his experience as a long distance runner.
His fiction has polarized literary critics and the reading public. He has sometimes been criticised by Japan's literary establishment as un-Japanese, leading to Murakami's recalling that he was a "black sheep in the Japanese literary world". Meanwhile, Murakami has been described by Gary Fisketjon, the editor of Murakami's collection The Elephant Vanishes (1993), as a "truly extraordinary writer", while Steven Poole of The Guardian praised Murakami as "among the world's greatest living novelists" for his oeuvre.
Growing up in Ashiya, near Kobe before moving to Tokyo to attend Waseda University, he published his first novel Hear the Wind Sing (1979) after working as the owner of a small jazz bar for seven years. His notable works include the novels Norwegian Wood (1987), The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1994–95), Kafka on the Shore (2002) and 1Q84 (2009–10); the last was ranked as the best work of Japan's Heisei era (1989–2019) by the national newspaper Asahi Shimbun's survey of literary experts. His work spans genres including science fiction, fantasy, and crime fiction, and has become known for his use of magical realist elements. His official website cites Raymond Chandler, Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan as key inspirations to his work, while Murakami himself has named Kazuo Ishiguro, Cormac McCarthy and Dag Solstad as his favourite currently active writers. Murakami has also published five short story collections, including First Person Singular (2020), and non-fiction works including Underground (1997), an oral history of the Tokyo subway sarin attack, and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (2007), a memoir about his experience as a long distance runner.
His fiction has polarized literary critics and the reading public. He has sometimes been criticised by Japan's literary establishment as un-Japanese, leading to Murakami's recalling that he was a "black sheep in the Japanese literary world". Meanwhile, Murakami has been described by Gary Fisketjon, the editor of Murakami's collection The Elephant Vanishes (1993), as a "truly extraordinary writer", while Steven Poole of The Guardian praised Murakami as "among the world's greatest living novelists" for his oeuvre.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,340 reviews
February 18, 2024
You too can write like Murakami. Just remember these simple rules -
1) Think of something weird. Multiply the weirdness by 10.
2) Give it an erotic angle
3) Make it as intriguing as possible.
4) Never commit on anything. Obfuscate as much as possible.
5) Don't come to any point. Let the reader decide what he/she makes out of it.
I was just kidding. I really don't think I can write ever like Murakami. After all he is going to get that Nobel, sooner or later, isn't it?
I was little frustrated to read similar writing pattern in all his books. When I first read Murakami I became his fan. I wanted to read more by him. But slowly as I am reading more of his writings, I am losing interest. I don't know if I will read one of his book again. May be I will. I don't know. Definitely not soon.
1) Think of something weird. Multiply the weirdness by 10.
I haven't slept for last 16 nights and 17days. Today is the 17th night. I couldn't sleep. I tried. But failed. I typed in Google Search "Insomnia". It took me to the Christopher Nolan's movie. I didn't watch that movie. I like Christopher Nolan, though. So does my cat. My cat doesn't watch any TV. But whenever a Christopher Nolan movie comes he gets glued to the TV. We all have something in common. We all love darkness.
2) Give it an erotic angle
As I can't sleep, I took a walk. I walked in the dark alleys. I normally don't go to the strip club. But there was something on the neon display that attracted me. I went inside. There were two other customers. A couple. They were sitting on the corner. There was a strip dancer performing on the stage. The couple seemed not interested in the dance. They were talking to each other. I took a chair. A topless waitress came to take order. Her breasts were little saggy. Probably, when a stripper becomes old, she becomes a waitress.
3) Make it as intriguing as possible.
The waitress asked me if I wanted a drink or a lapdance. I said, both. She took me to a room. The room had orange light. There was a stripper sitting on the bed. As soon as I sat on the bed, she started performing. I was not interested in her dance. I looked around. The wall had photos of naked women. There was a photo lying on the table in the corner. A man. From the attire, he looked like some sort of a king. He was a wearing a crown and a big moustache. I asked the stripper about the photo. She looked at me and started sobbing.
4) Never commit on anything. Obfuscate as much as possible.
I didn't ask her why she was crying. It's not that I didn't want to know. But I didn't want her to stop crying. It was like she was letting out her emotion. I sat there for a long time. The stripper crying her heart out holding the photo. I was terribly thirsty. But I didn't ask her about my drink. I don't know what time it was. I had lost track of time. I was not sure if I was hungry. Probably I was.
5) Don't come to any point. Let the reader decide what he/she makes out of it.
After a long time, she said, "You know. I don't belong here." Her voice was sweet. "I know" was all I managed to say. I don't know why I said that. Probably, I didn't want to hurt her. She smiled at me and left. I lied down on the bed. And I slept. My 17 days and 17 nights insomnia had come to an end. But I didn't sleep for long. I woke up in 5 minutes. I don't know why I woke up. I just woke up. But the sleep I had in those 5 minutes was deep.
I was just kidding. I really don't think I can write ever like Murakami. After all he is going to get that Nobel, sooner or later, isn't it?
I was little frustrated to read similar writing pattern in all his books. When I first read Murakami I became his fan. I wanted to read more by him. But slowly as I am reading more of his writings, I am losing interest. I don't know if I will read one of his book again. May be I will. I don't know. Definitely not soon.
April 25, 2013
Some authors excel at writing novels. Others excel at the short form. A few are equally adept at writing novels and short stories. From my reading of The Elephant Vanishes, Haruki Murakami is not one of those people. Here’s why:
Murakami’s novels are lush affairs. By that I mean that his proto-typically lazy character has time. Time to develop interests, time to contemplate deeply, time to be affected, to become . . . something. The short form, by its very nature, does not allow the same luxuries. So when Murakami’s prototypical ambivalent protagonist shows in a short story (which they often do, in this collection), the results are unspectacular. What one might consider “breathing space” in a Murakami novel, a place where the reader can coast through the reading before returning to the more meaty, idea-heavy sections, becomes a void in his short work. Unfortunately, once in the void, there are two options: float silently away into space or explode as the vacuum’s pressure differential kicks in. More often than not, these types of stories simply fade away into an unsatisfying whisper. I can appreciate the difficulty in transitioning from one form to another. I started off as a short story writer, then pushed my way through novellas, then novels. It’s not an easy task to switch from one mode to another, and I’ve failed myself, many times. My notebooks are full of half-finished longer work and ideas that never really coalesced into full-formed novels. Murakami seems to have the opposite problem, soaring in his novels while stuttering in his short stories.
Thankfully, there are exceptions.
The collection starts off well enough with “The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday's Women,” an ethereal tale about a loveless marriage and a strange encounter in the lot of an abandoned house. This literary dream is the sort of thing Murakami is famous for, and rightfully so. This is a story that wraps itself around your head and doesn't let go.
“The Second Bakery Attack,” incidentally, the second story in this volume, is a downright wacky escape from responsibility, one of those adventurous, spur-of-the-moment, nearly psychotic events that you've always wanted to orchestrate, but never had the guts to carry out. It's a rampage, of sorts, but a darkly funny rampage.
The story “Sleep,” about a woman who loses the ability to sleep and seems to be none the worse for wear because of it, could have been brilliant. But the ending was terrible. It was just too abrupt and jarring, like the evil twin of deus-ex-machina descending out of an unseen trapdoor in the ceiling to drop on the reader with an unwarranted assault of the intellect. Reading this ending, I felt insulted. So much wasted potential!
“Barn Burning” had the tone of The Great Gatsby, but nowhere near the same depth of substance. A good story, but not great.
My favorite story of the collection was “A Window”. This one blew my socks off. It is one of the shortest works in the volume, and the most powerful. The main character is a young man who is hired to read and edit letters sent to him by women who want to become better writers. There's little to excite in the plot itself, but the emotion is deep and often poignant. Absolutely the most moving story in the book. This is one that should be anthologized for the sake of the next generation of readers.
“The Dancing Dwarf” came in a close second. It is a modern fairy tale, replete with spiritual possession, diabolical contracts, and the dire consequences of living up to such a contract. This one pushes beyond magic realism into the realm of fabulism. Its mood is different than any other story in this collection, truly horrific, and I wonder if Murakami couldn't fit this into a collection of darker work. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
The title story is a very interesting tale, ostensibly about a vanishing elephant, though I suspect that the impetus for the story came from questions about quantum mechanics, probability, and scientific observation. But those philosophical underpinnings lie beneath many folds of pachyderm skin. As the elephant vanishes, the implications grow. A fitting ending to a short-story collection, no?
While the stories I've mentioned are strong and would have made an excellent collection on their own, the others detract from the “oomph” I like in short story collections. I'm a bit disappointed, to be honest, but the stronger stories hold the overall product up at an acceptable level. Don't bust the bank to purchase a copy, but do seek it out at your local used book store or library. It's worth that much, as well as a few hours of your time (if you're a slow reader like me). Recommended, with reservations.
Murakami’s novels are lush affairs. By that I mean that his proto-typically lazy character has time. Time to develop interests, time to contemplate deeply, time to be affected, to become . . . something. The short form, by its very nature, does not allow the same luxuries. So when Murakami’s prototypical ambivalent protagonist shows in a short story (which they often do, in this collection), the results are unspectacular. What one might consider “breathing space” in a Murakami novel, a place where the reader can coast through the reading before returning to the more meaty, idea-heavy sections, becomes a void in his short work. Unfortunately, once in the void, there are two options: float silently away into space or explode as the vacuum’s pressure differential kicks in. More often than not, these types of stories simply fade away into an unsatisfying whisper. I can appreciate the difficulty in transitioning from one form to another. I started off as a short story writer, then pushed my way through novellas, then novels. It’s not an easy task to switch from one mode to another, and I’ve failed myself, many times. My notebooks are full of half-finished longer work and ideas that never really coalesced into full-formed novels. Murakami seems to have the opposite problem, soaring in his novels while stuttering in his short stories.
Thankfully, there are exceptions.
The collection starts off well enough with “The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday's Women,” an ethereal tale about a loveless marriage and a strange encounter in the lot of an abandoned house. This literary dream is the sort of thing Murakami is famous for, and rightfully so. This is a story that wraps itself around your head and doesn't let go.
“The Second Bakery Attack,” incidentally, the second story in this volume, is a downright wacky escape from responsibility, one of those adventurous, spur-of-the-moment, nearly psychotic events that you've always wanted to orchestrate, but never had the guts to carry out. It's a rampage, of sorts, but a darkly funny rampage.
The story “Sleep,” about a woman who loses the ability to sleep and seems to be none the worse for wear because of it, could have been brilliant. But the ending was terrible. It was just too abrupt and jarring, like the evil twin of deus-ex-machina descending out of an unseen trapdoor in the ceiling to drop on the reader with an unwarranted assault of the intellect. Reading this ending, I felt insulted. So much wasted potential!
“Barn Burning” had the tone of The Great Gatsby, but nowhere near the same depth of substance. A good story, but not great.
My favorite story of the collection was “A Window”. This one blew my socks off. It is one of the shortest works in the volume, and the most powerful. The main character is a young man who is hired to read and edit letters sent to him by women who want to become better writers. There's little to excite in the plot itself, but the emotion is deep and often poignant. Absolutely the most moving story in the book. This is one that should be anthologized for the sake of the next generation of readers.
“The Dancing Dwarf” came in a close second. It is a modern fairy tale, replete with spiritual possession, diabolical contracts, and the dire consequences of living up to such a contract. This one pushes beyond magic realism into the realm of fabulism. Its mood is different than any other story in this collection, truly horrific, and I wonder if Murakami couldn't fit this into a collection of darker work. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
The title story is a very interesting tale, ostensibly about a vanishing elephant, though I suspect that the impetus for the story came from questions about quantum mechanics, probability, and scientific observation. But those philosophical underpinnings lie beneath many folds of pachyderm skin. As the elephant vanishes, the implications grow. A fitting ending to a short-story collection, no?
While the stories I've mentioned are strong and would have made an excellent collection on their own, the others detract from the “oomph” I like in short story collections. I'm a bit disappointed, to be honest, but the stronger stories hold the overall product up at an acceptable level. Don't bust the bank to purchase a copy, but do seek it out at your local used book store or library. It's worth that much, as well as a few hours of your time (if you're a slow reader like me). Recommended, with reservations.
October 3, 2022
Seventeen short stories by the Japanese master. With titles like 'Lederhosen', The Dancing Dwarf' and 'Sleep' there are some truly wonderful tales here, and each of them has 'deeper' meanings and open up emotive issues by way of their characters and plots. My personal favourite is 'Silence' where a student is 'sent to Coventry' by his entire school, including teachers for six-months on the basis of a rumour spread by his 'popular' nemesis, and the ending is a superb work of storytelling and nothing like one would expect.
The 'voice' of Murakami is heard well and loud throughout these tales as each story grabs you and places you in a world so close to ours but with that magical realist feel, yet still with enough substance to touch me the reader, at a emotional and philosophical level. 8 out of 12, Four Star read.
2010 read
The 'voice' of Murakami is heard well and loud throughout these tales as each story grabs you and places you in a world so close to ours but with that magical realist feel, yet still with enough substance to touch me the reader, at a emotional and philosophical level. 8 out of 12, Four Star read.
2010 read
December 16, 2025
أصبح الشاب الذي لم نعرف اسمه أبدا رهين الإختيار ما بين أن تمسكه الشرطة و تقطعه أربا أو أن يسمح للقزم الراقص باحتلال جسده فيظل يرقص في الغابة إلى الأبد.
مر ما يقرب من شهر الأن و أنا أهرب من غابة لأخرى. أقتات على التوت و الحشرات و أشرب المياه من النهر لأبقى حيا.
يأتي القزم إلى أحلامي كل ليلة و يطلب مني السماح له باحتلال جسدي
هكذا نحن أيضا و ان لم نملك رفاهية الاختيار. فنحن نسمح لكل الكائنات و حتى المشاعر باحتلال أجسادنا و مع ذلك نظل في النهاية نرقص في الغابة إلى الأبد هاربين من كلاب الشرطة التي ستمزقنا إربا إن توقفنا عن الركض المصحوب بالرقص.
غرائبية أخرى من غرائبيات موراكامي المعبرة عن الواقع النافية له في الوقت نفسه
November 2, 2008
apathetic
Every protagonist in Murakami's books (though, I've only read this and 'Norwegian Wood') are apathetic. They just float through their lives, never really caring about what is happening, or if there is anything they can do to fix it.
I think to some readers this could be quite tedious, but there is something real about these characters because of their apathy. Through the bizarre situations the characters face, the reader can relate on some level.
The first few stories did annoy me, as many of them didn''t seem to end properly. However I soon appreciated these stories for not being complete 'Disney-like' narratives where every story has to have a villain, and a happily-ever-after ending. Murakami finishes his story when he has nothing left to say. The characters flit through their lives, and Murakami flits through their stories. No need to ponder if you don't want to. Just take it or leave it. The perfect book for reading on a crowded bus, i thought.
The one thing that did bug me about this book was Alfred Birnbaum's translations. Some sentences I had to re-read in order to understand. The first few times I thought this was just due to the bumpy bus i often read this book on, but when it occurred only when I read his translations, I stopped blaming myself. Some sentences seemed like they weren't quite finished: the words were in English, but the sense was convoluted. He also occasionally uses 'trendy' words that, frankly, aren't all that trendy. I got the impression Birnbaum is not one who would often ride the bus to get places.
Whereas Murakami does take the bus, and quietly reads over your shoulder.
Every protagonist in Murakami's books (though, I've only read this and 'Norwegian Wood') are apathetic. They just float through their lives, never really caring about what is happening, or if there is anything they can do to fix it.
I think to some readers this could be quite tedious, but there is something real about these characters because of their apathy. Through the bizarre situations the characters face, the reader can relate on some level.
The first few stories did annoy me, as many of them didn''t seem to end properly. However I soon appreciated these stories for not being complete 'Disney-like' narratives where every story has to have a villain, and a happily-ever-after ending. Murakami finishes his story when he has nothing left to say. The characters flit through their lives, and Murakami flits through their stories. No need to ponder if you don't want to. Just take it or leave it. The perfect book for reading on a crowded bus, i thought.
The one thing that did bug me about this book was Alfred Birnbaum's translations. Some sentences I had to re-read in order to understand. The first few times I thought this was just due to the bumpy bus i often read this book on, but when it occurred only when I read his translations, I stopped blaming myself. Some sentences seemed like they weren't quite finished: the words were in English, but the sense was convoluted. He also occasionally uses 'trendy' words that, frankly, aren't all that trendy. I got the impression Birnbaum is not one who would often ride the bus to get places.
Whereas Murakami does take the bus, and quietly reads over your shoulder.
December 6, 2022
Many great stories and some of them are hard to digest.
I may read it again next time.
Overall, I enjoyed reading the story " A slow boat to China".
I may read it again next time.
Overall, I enjoyed reading the story " A slow boat to China".
July 1, 2025
Strange, strange, strange — and even if I said it a thousand times, I still wouldn’t manage to describe just how strange each of these stories is.
I’ve heard it said about Murakami that you either love him or hate him — there’s no middle ground. I wouldn’t say I’m in the middle either; it’s more accurate to say I feel both at the same time.
So what does this collection of short stories offer?
Let me start with the story that made me pick up this book: “On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning”. I highly recommend it, even if you only read this one — it’s just about 8 pages. What’s it about? Well, the main character is busy trying to come up with the best pickup line ever invented (my new dream is to try it myself 😄), but things don’t stop there. As readers, we’re left to figure out for ourselves whether what the main character says is true or not — and in true Murakami style, it’s completely up to us to decide.
The string of unanswered questions continues in every other story too. At times, he plunges us into a psychological thriller or strange concepts. There’s a story that could practically be a great ad for McDonald’s — the characters have to eat 30 hamburgers.
Or imagine what it would be like not to sleep for 17 days. Well, in one story, that’s exactly what happens to the main character, and she fills her sleepless time reading Leo Tolstoy. Honestly, to get through War and Peace, losing sleep might actually be necessary.
The story I want to focus on most is “The Elephant Vanishes.” The reason I chose this one is because the book bears its title, and I think the same analysis applies to every other story in the collection.
“The Elephant Vanishes” is a wonderful example of how the author blends reality and fantasy to reveal deep truths about human nature. Murakami uses the symbol of the vanished elephant and the strange circumstances surrounding it to explore themes of alienation, the invisibility of the individual in society, and the fragility of order in the world.
The central image of the elephant mysteriously disappearing without a trace along with its keeper serves as a metaphor for what we can neither control nor fully understand. The elephant — large, heavy, a symbol of stability and tradition — turns out to be capable of slipping out of reality as easily as meaning slips away in a world where logic often yields to absurdity. In this way, Murakami questions the stability of the order and rules we create to make sense of life.
The narrator is a typical Murakami character — lonely, introverted, observant, but powerless to change anything. His helplessness in the face of the elephant’s disappearance reflects the modern person’s helplessness before the illogical nature of life and the loss of connection with the world. His relationship with the world is like a shadow — he can see it but not touch it, he senses the absurdity but can’t resist it.
Murakami’s language is clear and calm, even when describing the most unusual events. This creates a sense of surreal calm that makes the story all the more unsettling. The world seems normal, but beneath the surface lurks the chaos of the inexplicable.
What I saw as a big plus — the fact that the stories don’t really have endings — I think could actually be a big minus for some readers.
Pre_read:
One of my favorite short stories is “On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning” (5 stars). I’ve read it over 20 times. I stumbled upon it completely by chance years ago, but just earlier today, when I decided to read it again, I finally got curious about who the author actually was :D — and I was amazed to find out it was Murakami.
From past experience, I haven’t had the most positive opinion of him, and I also saw that the story is part of the collection *The Elephant Vanishes*, which made me wonder if I’d enjoy the other pieces in it just as much.
I’ve heard it said about Murakami that you either love him or hate him — there’s no middle ground. I wouldn’t say I’m in the middle either; it’s more accurate to say I feel both at the same time.
So what does this collection of short stories offer?
Let me start with the story that made me pick up this book: “On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning”. I highly recommend it, even if you only read this one — it’s just about 8 pages. What’s it about? Well, the main character is busy trying to come up with the best pickup line ever invented (my new dream is to try it myself 😄), but things don’t stop there. As readers, we’re left to figure out for ourselves whether what the main character says is true or not — and in true Murakami style, it’s completely up to us to decide.
The string of unanswered questions continues in every other story too. At times, he plunges us into a psychological thriller or strange concepts. There’s a story that could practically be a great ad for McDonald’s — the characters have to eat 30 hamburgers.
Or imagine what it would be like not to sleep for 17 days. Well, in one story, that’s exactly what happens to the main character, and she fills her sleepless time reading Leo Tolstoy. Honestly, to get through War and Peace, losing sleep might actually be necessary.
The story I want to focus on most is “The Elephant Vanishes.” The reason I chose this one is because the book bears its title, and I think the same analysis applies to every other story in the collection.
“The Elephant Vanishes” is a wonderful example of how the author blends reality and fantasy to reveal deep truths about human nature. Murakami uses the symbol of the vanished elephant and the strange circumstances surrounding it to explore themes of alienation, the invisibility of the individual in society, and the fragility of order in the world.
The central image of the elephant mysteriously disappearing without a trace along with its keeper serves as a metaphor for what we can neither control nor fully understand. The elephant — large, heavy, a symbol of stability and tradition — turns out to be capable of slipping out of reality as easily as meaning slips away in a world where logic often yields to absurdity. In this way, Murakami questions the stability of the order and rules we create to make sense of life.
The narrator is a typical Murakami character — lonely, introverted, observant, but powerless to change anything. His helplessness in the face of the elephant’s disappearance reflects the modern person’s helplessness before the illogical nature of life and the loss of connection with the world. His relationship with the world is like a shadow — he can see it but not touch it, he senses the absurdity but can’t resist it.
Murakami’s language is clear and calm, even when describing the most unusual events. This creates a sense of surreal calm that makes the story all the more unsettling. The world seems normal, but beneath the surface lurks the chaos of the inexplicable.
What I saw as a big plus — the fact that the stories don’t really have endings — I think could actually be a big minus for some readers.
Pre_read:
One of my favorite short stories is “On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning” (5 stars). I’ve read it over 20 times. I stumbled upon it completely by chance years ago, but just earlier today, when I decided to read it again, I finally got curious about who the author actually was :D — and I was amazed to find out it was Murakami.
From past experience, I haven’t had the most positive opinion of him, and I also saw that the story is part of the collection *The Elephant Vanishes*, which made me wonder if I’d enjoy the other pieces in it just as much.
March 6, 2021
Siempre me cuesta tomar el impulso de empezar a leer libros de relatos, porque me cuesta mucho luego evaluar su conjunto. E incluso tratándose de Murakami, que es mi autor favorito, suelo tardar mucho más en leer sus colecciones, que sus novelas o ensayos. Además, una cosa que me ha descolocado a mitad del libro ha sido darme cuenta de que no había un hilo conductor que guiara los relatos, algo que sí encontré con "Después del terremoto" u "Hombres sin mujeres". Por eso a la hora de valorarlo me ha costado mucho más. Así que he decidio valorar cada relato por separado y hacer una media para saber como votarlo.
Con los libros de relatos ya se sabe, no todos nos pueden gustar por igual y es muy difícil mantener el nivel, así que ha habido un poco de todo: algunos me han encantado, otros no han estado mal y un par de ellos se han quedado con un "ni fu ni fa". Así que voy a hablaros por encima de cada uno de ellos.
- El pájaro que da cuerda y las mujeres del martes: Realmente este relatito fue el inicio de lo que luego acabó convirtiéndose en una de sus novelas más famosas "Crónica del pájaro que da cuerda al mundo". Es tan potente y peculiar, que se entiende la buena acogida que siempre tuvo la novela. Me han dado ganas de volver a leerla. 4,5 estrellas
- Nuevo ataque a la panadería: Una joven pareja recién casada despierta en plena madrugada con una hambre voraz. Pero no tienen nada de comida, así que tomarán una drástica decisión. Me ha gustado muchísimo este relato. Es muy loco, muy surrealista, muy Murakami. Y esta es una de las cosas que más amo de él. 4 estrellas
- El comunicado del canguro: Un hombre le envía una extraña "carta" a alguien. A estas alturas del partido, y después de tantos años leyendo a Murakami, aún puedo decir que tiene la habilidad de sorprenderme y perturbarme muchísimo, como lo ha hecho con este relato mostrando otro registro, pese a que no me haya conquistado al completo. 3 estrellas
- Sobre el encuentro con una chica cien por cien perfecta en una soleada mañana del mes de abril: El título del relato no deja mucho a la imaginación, pero es uno de los que ya conocía de antes y que había leído varias veces. Me sigue gustando tanto como la primera vez. 4,5 estrellas
- Sueño: En su día ya leí este relato, porque se publicó por separado en una edición ilustrada. He tenido una sensación similar de desconcierto al acabarlo. La historia nos habla de una mujer que de pronto deja de poder dormir y lejos de sentirse cansada, cada vez tiene más energía. El final siempre me sugiere algo muy opresivo. 4 estrellas
- La caída del imperio romano, La revolución de India...: Este capítulo de título interminablemente largo, es precisamente de los más cortos. En este relato vemos a un joven que está poniendo al día su agenda con una extraña fijación por la hora exacta. 3,5 estrellas
- Lederhosen: A la vuelta de un viaje por Alemania, una mujer abandona a su marido. Interesante, pero quizás de los que menos huella me ha dejado. 3 estrellas
- Quemar graneros: Nos habla de la relación entre un extraño trío de personas. Peculiar y perturbador. Podría haberse convertido perfectamente en un relato más largo, quizás en una novela como pasó con el primer relato. Mi favorito de toda la colección. 5 estrellas
- El pequeño monstruo verde: Una mujer pasa la tarde aburrida mirando el jardín de su casa, de pronto ve algo aparecer. Me ha gustado mucho ese giro y lo que he sentido que quería expresar con él, aunque es demasiado breve. 3,5 estrellas
- Asunto de familia: Este relato nos va mostrar la extraña, pero a la vez cercana relación entre un hermano y una hermana. Es el relato que menos me ha gustado, principalmente porque el hermano me ha parecido un personaje especialmente desagradable y encima es el narrador. La hermana tampoco me ha entusiasmado. 2,5 estrellas
- Una venta: Un joven trabaja recibiendo y analizando cartas de personas. Muy interesante, pero es quizás en el que más he notado que le faltan páginas para estar desarrollado completamente. 3,5 estrellas
- La gente de la televisión: Uno de los relatos más perturbadores. ¿Quiénes son esas personas que llevan una tele? ¿Por qué nadie parece verlos? Muy muy interesante. Me hubiera gustado que estuviera desarrollado en un relato más largo, porque seguro lo hubiera disfrutado incluso más. 4 estrellas
- Un barco lento a China: Un hombre recuerda diferentes momentos de su vida en los que conoció a personas chinas y lo que le insipiraron. Me ha gustado, pero se me ha quedado algo cortito. 3,5 estrellas
- El enano bailarín: El protagonista trabaja en una extraña empresa. Tiene un toque distópico y toquesillos de terror. Muy bueno. 4 estrellas
- El último césped de la tarde: Un joven al que lo acaba de dejar su novia reflexiona sobre las razones mientras trabaja cortando el césped de una clienta. Muy evocador. 3,5 estrellas.
- Silencio: En este relato un hombre cuenta una difícil situación que vivió en el instituto y como le afectó. Quizás de los más emocionales y el que más me ha hecho reflexionar. Otro de mis grandes favoritos. 4,5 estrellas
- El elefante desaparece: Un día un elefante y su cuidador desaparecen. Nuevamente nos encontramos ante una historia con el surrealismo típico de Murakami. Me ha gustado, pero me ha faltado un poquito más. 3,5 estrellas
Así que con una media de 3,8, lo voy a dejar en las 4 estrellas. Lo he disfrutado, aunque no todos mantienen el nivel, pero los que me han gustado lo han hecho mucho. Algunos como "Quemar graneros", "La gente de la televisión", o "Silencio" creo que son tan buenos, que podrían convertirse en novelas más largas como pasó con "El pájaro que da cuerda y las mujeres del martes". La peguita es que, claramente, disfruto mucho más los relatos donde haya un hilo conductor que los una, aunque sean diferentes historias. Por lo demás, es Murakami y siempre es un disfrute.
Con los libros de relatos ya se sabe, no todos nos pueden gustar por igual y es muy difícil mantener el nivel, así que ha habido un poco de todo: algunos me han encantado, otros no han estado mal y un par de ellos se han quedado con un "ni fu ni fa". Así que voy a hablaros por encima de cada uno de ellos.
- El pájaro que da cuerda y las mujeres del martes: Realmente este relatito fue el inicio de lo que luego acabó convirtiéndose en una de sus novelas más famosas "Crónica del pájaro que da cuerda al mundo". Es tan potente y peculiar, que se entiende la buena acogida que siempre tuvo la novela. Me han dado ganas de volver a leerla. 4,5 estrellas
- Nuevo ataque a la panadería: Una joven pareja recién casada despierta en plena madrugada con una hambre voraz. Pero no tienen nada de comida, así que tomarán una drástica decisión. Me ha gustado muchísimo este relato. Es muy loco, muy surrealista, muy Murakami. Y esta es una de las cosas que más amo de él. 4 estrellas
- El comunicado del canguro: Un hombre le envía una extraña "carta" a alguien. A estas alturas del partido, y después de tantos años leyendo a Murakami, aún puedo decir que tiene la habilidad de sorprenderme y perturbarme muchísimo, como lo ha hecho con este relato mostrando otro registro, pese a que no me haya conquistado al completo. 3 estrellas
- Sobre el encuentro con una chica cien por cien perfecta en una soleada mañana del mes de abril: El título del relato no deja mucho a la imaginación, pero es uno de los que ya conocía de antes y que había leído varias veces. Me sigue gustando tanto como la primera vez. 4,5 estrellas
- Sueño: En su día ya leí este relato, porque se publicó por separado en una edición ilustrada. He tenido una sensación similar de desconcierto al acabarlo. La historia nos habla de una mujer que de pronto deja de poder dormir y lejos de sentirse cansada, cada vez tiene más energía. El final siempre me sugiere algo muy opresivo. 4 estrellas
- La caída del imperio romano, La revolución de India...: Este capítulo de título interminablemente largo, es precisamente de los más cortos. En este relato vemos a un joven que está poniendo al día su agenda con una extraña fijación por la hora exacta. 3,5 estrellas
- Lederhosen: A la vuelta de un viaje por Alemania, una mujer abandona a su marido. Interesante, pero quizás de los que menos huella me ha dejado. 3 estrellas
- Quemar graneros: Nos habla de la relación entre un extraño trío de personas. Peculiar y perturbador. Podría haberse convertido perfectamente en un relato más largo, quizás en una novela como pasó con el primer relato. Mi favorito de toda la colección. 5 estrellas
- El pequeño monstruo verde: Una mujer pasa la tarde aburrida mirando el jardín de su casa, de pronto ve algo aparecer. Me ha gustado mucho ese giro y lo que he sentido que quería expresar con él, aunque es demasiado breve. 3,5 estrellas
- Asunto de familia: Este relato nos va mostrar la extraña, pero a la vez cercana relación entre un hermano y una hermana. Es el relato que menos me ha gustado, principalmente porque el hermano me ha parecido un personaje especialmente desagradable y encima es el narrador. La hermana tampoco me ha entusiasmado. 2,5 estrellas
- Una venta: Un joven trabaja recibiendo y analizando cartas de personas. Muy interesante, pero es quizás en el que más he notado que le faltan páginas para estar desarrollado completamente. 3,5 estrellas
- La gente de la televisión: Uno de los relatos más perturbadores. ¿Quiénes son esas personas que llevan una tele? ¿Por qué nadie parece verlos? Muy muy interesante. Me hubiera gustado que estuviera desarrollado en un relato más largo, porque seguro lo hubiera disfrutado incluso más. 4 estrellas
- Un barco lento a China: Un hombre recuerda diferentes momentos de su vida en los que conoció a personas chinas y lo que le insipiraron. Me ha gustado, pero se me ha quedado algo cortito. 3,5 estrellas
- El enano bailarín: El protagonista trabaja en una extraña empresa. Tiene un toque distópico y toquesillos de terror. Muy bueno. 4 estrellas
- El último césped de la tarde: Un joven al que lo acaba de dejar su novia reflexiona sobre las razones mientras trabaja cortando el césped de una clienta. Muy evocador. 3,5 estrellas.
- Silencio: En este relato un hombre cuenta una difícil situación que vivió en el instituto y como le afectó. Quizás de los más emocionales y el que más me ha hecho reflexionar. Otro de mis grandes favoritos. 4,5 estrellas
- El elefante desaparece: Un día un elefante y su cuidador desaparecen. Nuevamente nos encontramos ante una historia con el surrealismo típico de Murakami. Me ha gustado, pero me ha faltado un poquito más. 3,5 estrellas
Así que con una media de 3,8, lo voy a dejar en las 4 estrellas. Lo he disfrutado, aunque no todos mantienen el nivel, pero los que me han gustado lo han hecho mucho. Algunos como "Quemar graneros", "La gente de la televisión", o "Silencio" creo que son tan buenos, que podrían convertirse en novelas más largas como pasó con "El pájaro que da cuerda y las mujeres del martes". La peguita es que, claramente, disfruto mucho más los relatos donde haya un hilo conductor que los una, aunque sean diferentes historias. Por lo demás, es Murakami y siempre es un disfrute.
January 29, 2022
REVIEW (MARCH 2021): This is my third time reading this short story collection and I still love it a lot but since I had to reread it for a paper that I'm writing it wasn't the most fun reading experience ... took me a solid six days of reading and rereading every single story and writing down twelve pages of quotes and thoughts ... and the paper still isn't finished yet lmao. So, I still love it a lot but this time around it was also hella exhausting to read.
REVIEW (JANUARY 2020): This is my new favourite book of all time. There, I said it. This short story collection is such a mind fuck and I am so glad that we discussed this at university because it broadened my horizon so much and nothing is the same ... and life is beautiful and I am pretty overwhelmed. I read The Elephant Vanishes in 2016 and didn't think much of it ... it was a good short story collection but I didn't properly engage with it. I read it within the span of two days and that was it. Oh, my sweet summer child ... you were so oblivious back then.
I love reading (I think most of us on this website do). I've been reading my whole life but something has really shifted for me in these past five years when I started reading more and more thoroughly. Reading is not just reading. Reading needs to be learned. Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying there is a right and a wrong way to read something, but as you grow as a reader, your ability to access a text and analyse it on different levels develops. Reading is a skill. Like a muscle, it needs to be trained.
The Elephant Vanishes is a brilliant short story collection by Murakam which makes us question reality and the interlocking of fiction/imagination and truth/reality. All of the stories are intertwined. Heck, I would even go as far as to say that they are all about the same person. Murakami hammers in the notion of "simultaneous existence" – the concept that two things can be true at the same time. This is what The Elephant Vanishes is about, in my humble opinion: the fact that in literature the lines between reality and fiction can blur; that two things can be true at the same time; that we are all getting older; that we are all hungry for life; we want to fill the void.
All of the stories can, of course, stand on their own, and they're all quite brilliant. You guys know that "The Bakery Attack" used to be my favorite short story for a long time ... but nowadays I don't think there's much sense in looking at each story individually ... of course, we can still learn a lot, but it gets more interesting when you see the bigger picture and all the reoccurring themes that run through this collection. It's a collection about loss and about looking for things that aren't there - whether it's a missing cat, a vanishing elephant or a woman that disappears - we only see what we want to see; maybe we have just forgotten that all of these things weren't there in the first place. Like a writer we are constructing our own reality.
"Life is a mystery," says the protagonist, and so is this short story collection. I am convinced that upon every reread I will find more gems, more passages that show that every story is interconnected. I adored this short story collection. I will come back to it for many years to come.
REVIEW (JANUARY 2020): This is my new favourite book of all time. There, I said it. This short story collection is such a mind fuck and I am so glad that we discussed this at university because it broadened my horizon so much and nothing is the same ... and life is beautiful and I am pretty overwhelmed. I read The Elephant Vanishes in 2016 and didn't think much of it ... it was a good short story collection but I didn't properly engage with it. I read it within the span of two days and that was it. Oh, my sweet summer child ... you were so oblivious back then.
I love reading (I think most of us on this website do). I've been reading my whole life but something has really shifted for me in these past five years when I started reading more and more thoroughly. Reading is not just reading. Reading needs to be learned. Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying there is a right and a wrong way to read something, but as you grow as a reader, your ability to access a text and analyse it on different levels develops. Reading is a skill. Like a muscle, it needs to be trained.
The Elephant Vanishes is a brilliant short story collection by Murakam which makes us question reality and the interlocking of fiction/imagination and truth/reality. All of the stories are intertwined. Heck, I would even go as far as to say that they are all about the same person. Murakami hammers in the notion of "simultaneous existence" – the concept that two things can be true at the same time. This is what The Elephant Vanishes is about, in my humble opinion: the fact that in literature the lines between reality and fiction can blur; that two things can be true at the same time; that we are all getting older; that we are all hungry for life; we want to fill the void.
All of the stories can, of course, stand on their own, and they're all quite brilliant. You guys know that "The Bakery Attack" used to be my favorite short story for a long time ... but nowadays I don't think there's much sense in looking at each story individually ... of course, we can still learn a lot, but it gets more interesting when you see the bigger picture and all the reoccurring themes that run through this collection. It's a collection about loss and about looking for things that aren't there - whether it's a missing cat, a vanishing elephant or a woman that disappears - we only see what we want to see; maybe we have just forgotten that all of these things weren't there in the first place. Like a writer we are constructing our own reality.
"Life is a mystery," says the protagonist, and so is this short story collection. I am convinced that upon every reread I will find more gems, more passages that show that every story is interconnected. I adored this short story collection. I will come back to it for many years to come.
February 13, 2022
هاروكى الوحيد الذى انهى قصصه و يتركنى فى حالة من التشتت , قدرته العجيبة على جعل القارئ يذهب بخياله لتفسيرات غريبة و عوالم عجيبة , تجد نفسك تحاول ان تفهم المغزى من قصصه و الرمزيات التى بين السطور و التفسيرات الممكنة ف تذهب لفكرة معينة تستحوذ عليك , ف تعتقد انك كسبت الرهان و فهمت مغزى القصة و تبدا فى كتابة مراجعاتك و عند انتهائك منها , تذهب قبل نشرها لقراءة بعض من مراجعات اصدقائك , تبدا المفاجأت ترى كل صديق فهم مغزى مختلف للقصة و تفسير مختلف للاحداث و الرمزيات ف تدرك على الفور كم رائع موركامى و كم رائعة قصصه.
القزم الراقص قصة خيالية اشبه ب قصص هانسل وغريتل فى الفنتازيا الخيالية , عن شاب يعمل فى مصنع لتصنيع الافيال و فى نومه يحلم ب قزم راقص ياتى فى حلمه يتركه فى تساؤلات عند انتهاء حلمه , ف يذهب الى عمله فى اليوم التالى و يجد ان القزم ليس مجرد حلم بل ان القزم حقيقى , و عندما يهب للرحيل يجد عاملة جديدة جميلة فى المصنع ف يحاول ان يتعرف عليها �� تصده كما تصد الجميع لكن عند نومه مرة اخرى يرى القزم الذى يقيم معه اتفاق غريب عجيب مع القزم فى محاولة لاثارة اعجاب الفتاة و عندها تاخذ القصة منحنى اخر فى حكاية اخرى رائعة من حكايات هاروكى .
قصة بها كثير من الرمزيات و رسائل قوية مثل الحرية و الرغبة البشرية فى التحكم و ايضا يمكن ان يكون تحليلى خاطئ و لكن هذا ما يميز موركامى , يجعلك فى حالة من النشوة حتى لو لم تفهم المغزى من قصته .
القزم الراقص قصة خيالية اشبه ب قصص هانسل وغريتل فى الفنتازيا الخيالية , عن شاب يعمل فى مصنع لتصنيع الافيال و فى نومه يحلم ب قزم راقص ياتى فى حلمه يتركه فى تساؤلات عند انتهاء حلمه , ف يذهب الى عمله فى اليوم التالى و يجد ان القزم ليس مجرد حلم بل ان القزم حقيقى , و عندما يهب للرحيل يجد عاملة جديدة جميلة فى المصنع ف يحاول ان يتعرف عليها �� تصده كما تصد الجميع لكن عند نومه مرة اخرى يرى القزم الذى يقيم معه اتفاق غريب عجيب مع القزم فى محاولة لاثارة اعجاب الفتاة و عندها تاخذ القصة منحنى اخر فى حكاية اخرى رائعة من حكايات هاروكى .
قصة بها كثير من الرمزيات و رسائل قوية مثل الحرية و الرغبة البشرية فى التحكم و ايضا يمكن ان يكون تحليلى خاطئ و لكن هذا ما يميز موركامى , يجعلك فى حالة من النشوة حتى لو لم تفهم المغزى من قصته .
November 6, 2012
Not only was the book amazing (I truly believe he can do no wrong), but one of my best friends and I saw an actual play of it several years ago at Lincoln Center. We had seats in the very front row. The play (as required, I'm sure) was balls-out crazy, all in Japanese, with a ticker doing subtitles at the the top of the stage. My memory sucks, but I think I recall a bunch of people with static-spewing TVs for heads, and some crazy shit with sideways sleeping people. Probably I should reread the stories and much more will come back to me.
It was one of those incredible New York nights, me and Joe and Murakami madness, all dressed up because we could, and then after the play it was raining, but not too hard, and it was spring and we were only about fifty blocks and crosstown from home, and our heads were so filled with that crackly, delirious intensity you get after experiencing something purely astonishing, so we walked, him in a bit of a suit and me in as close as I get to heels, these like hemp platform sandals which I still have and are tinged with mold from how soaked we got that night, slipping into each other and going over and over everything we had just seen, eyes huge and brains sizzling and rain everywhere and bliss.
It was one of those incredible New York nights, me and Joe and Murakami madness, all dressed up because we could, and then after the play it was raining, but not too hard, and it was spring and we were only about fifty blocks and crosstown from home, and our heads were so filled with that crackly, delirious intensity you get after experiencing something purely astonishing, so we walked, him in a bit of a suit and me in as close as I get to heels, these like hemp platform sandals which I still have and are tinged with mold from how soaked we got that night, slipping into each other and going over and over everything we had just seen, eyes huge and brains sizzling and rain everywhere and bliss.
August 13, 2020
3.8
The wind-up bird and Tuesday's women: ****
The second bakery attack: *****
The kangaroo communique: ***
On seeing the 100% perfect girl one April morning: *****
Sleep: *****
The fall of the roman empire, the 1881 Indian Uprising, Hitler's invasion of Poland, and the realm of raging winds: **
Lederhosen: ***
Barn burning: ****
The little green monster: ****
Family affair: ***
A window: ***
TV people: *****
A slow boat to China: ****
The dancing dwarf: ****
The last lawn of the afternoon: ***
Silence: ***
The elephant vanishes: ****
The Elephant Vanishes and so did my brain cells with this collection by Haruki Murakami. The more I read the guy, the more I come to understand what his stories are all about. The main theme of his work is how different people deal with certain situations, like marriage and their place in it, changes in the world, dysfunctional human relationships etc. Thing is, you have to train your brain to interpret his symbolisms. See, with Murakami, it's all about symbolisms.
Some of the stories in this book are perfect (Sleep and TV People had me screaming, for instance). Others are just good. None of them is bad. All of them left me wondering if there's ever gonna be a time when I won't praise Murakami. : /
The wind-up bird and Tuesday's women: ****
The second bakery attack: *****
The kangaroo communique: ***
On seeing the 100% perfect girl one April morning: *****
Sleep: *****
The fall of the roman empire, the 1881 Indian Uprising, Hitler's invasion of Poland, and the realm of raging winds: **
Lederhosen: ***
Barn burning: ****
The little green monster: ****
Family affair: ***
A window: ***
TV people: *****
A slow boat to China: ****
The dancing dwarf: ****
The last lawn of the afternoon: ***
Silence: ***
The elephant vanishes: ****
The Elephant Vanishes and so did my brain cells with this collection by Haruki Murakami. The more I read the guy, the more I come to understand what his stories are all about. The main theme of his work is how different people deal with certain situations, like marriage and their place in it, changes in the world, dysfunctional human relationships etc. Thing is, you have to train your brain to interpret his symbolisms. See, with Murakami, it's all about symbolisms.
Some of the stories in this book are perfect (Sleep and TV People had me screaming, for instance). Others are just good. None of them is bad. All of them left me wondering if there's ever gonna be a time when I won't praise Murakami. : /
February 10, 2016
One cloudy night in April, in a habitual relay of stalking the profiles of strangers on GR, I found The 100% Perfect Girl.
To be truthful, she wasn't especially beautiful in her profile picture. Nor did any particular part of her profile jump out at me. Her bookshelves were all over the place, and she didn't seem to be that active on GR any more. She hadn't written many reviews either. However, the moment I clicked on 'Compare Books', I knew. She is The 100% Perfect Girl for me. When I saw that our tastes are 100% similar for the 1000+ books we had both rated, my heart shook as if the earth rumbled beneath my feet, and my mouth went as dry as a desert.
It might be that you have certain types of girls you like. For example, girls who are into the classics, girls who write witty reviews, or girls who love Dostoyevsky, or for some obscure reason, girls whose average book rating is below 3.00. Of course, I too have certain preferences. I've even once printed out all of the 'Favourite Quotes' of a girl whose profile I fell head over heels for, and stuck them on my wall.
However, it's impossible for anyone to typify The 100% Perfect Girl. Unfortunately, there's no way that I can recall where she was from. Hell, I don't even remember her name. All I can remember is that her profile wasn't especially enticing. Things are strange sometimes.
'You know, I found The 100% Perfect Girl last night', I might say to someone.
'Oh?' he answers. 'Was she beautiful?'
'No, not especially.'
'But she was your type.'
'The thing is, I don't remember. I can't even remember what colour her hair was, or whether she was smiling in the picture.'
'Strange.'
'Yeah, it is.'
'So...' he drawls, sounding bored. 'What did you do, did you send her a message, or send her a friend request?'
'Nope, didn't do anything.' I said. 'All I did was stumble upon her profile.'
She was online in one part of the world, while I was online in an airport of another, using up my quota of free Internet on a computer in the terminal before boarding my flight. I like being one of the last passengers to board so I don't get stuck in a slow-moving queue.
I think, how nice would it be to exchange messages with her, even one? I'd want to find out what kind of person she is, and I'd certainly hope that she asks about my life. And more than anything else, I'd want to unravel, say, the hands of fate leading to us finding each other on this humble website on a cloudy night in April, 2015. There must be a warm secret lying beneath the covers there, like an old typewriter from bygone days.
We would exchange pleasantries like those, and then get to the more personal questions. The flow of messages accelerates each day, and eventually we add each other on Skype. If things go smoothly, we might even talk about meeting in person. Possibilities knock on the doors of my heart.
I've already clicked on 'send message'.
How should I begin the conversation?
'Hey, how's it going! I hope you don't mind me sending this message :)'
No, that would be too casual. It could be the start of a lifelong love.
'Excuse me for intruding, but I happened to notice you are fond of the very same authors as me.'
No, this sounds too awkward - better sound familiar than frigid.
Maybe I should just come out with the truth. 'Hello there. You are The 100% Perfect Girl for me.'
No, that won't do, how creepy do I want to sound? Even if she sees the 100% match, she might not be that keen on talking to me. Even if I'm The 100% Perfect Girl for you, you aren't The 100% Perfect Guy for me, I'm sorry, but - she might reply. That's entirely plausible. And if I were to have such a reply thrust upon me, I would be hopelessly confused. I might never get over the shock. I'm 23, and before I know it, I'll be fondly reflecting over my student years - such a retort is part and parcel of growing up and entering the real world.
Nonetheless, I type up a dignified, yet stylish message, and I'm looking over it for typos and mistakes. The repercussions of this implicit love letter flash before my mind's eye. We'll get married, live in a cosy house, and have a big room just for books. The cursor hovers over the 'send' button. This is it.
As my finger starts to descend on the mouse's left click, I hear my name boom out of the terminal speakers. 'Mr. Junta _____, your flight is waiting for you. Please board the flight at Gate 17 immediately. This is the last announcement.' I panic, and look over at the gate where the airline staff are looking around for me, frowning.
'Shit!', I say as I physically and mentally curse myself for losing track of time over the message. I have to just send this message off and run.
I look back at the screen. The one hour time limit is up, and I've been redirected to the homepage. I hear voices from the direction of the gate, 'There he is!', and quickly approaching footsteps.
Of course, now I know what I should have typed in my message to her, how I should have begun my acquaintance with her. But it's such a long message, maybe I wouldn't have made it inside the one hour anyway. Just like in this story, the things I come up with are always impractical.
Anyway, the message begins with 'Once upon a time', and ends with 'Don't you think that's a sad story?'
*********************************************************
To read the second half (and actual first half, where he meets her on the street) of the original story, On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning, get your hands on The Elephant Vanishes or another one of Murakami's short story collections which includes this piece.
I've always liked reading, but for some reason or other, I didn't read too many novels through my teenage years. A friend got me back into it in my second year of university, and Murakami was the first author I really got hooked on then, going through all of his novels in the following 12 months.
My first favourite was Kafka on the Shore. Then, A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance. I would read his novels and short stories in Japanese and English (sometimes both), and went onto his other works, including non-fiction.
A few years later, my love for reading is at its peak, and I look back fondly at the times when I was captivated by his novels. After some re-reads over the years, Kafka has been demoted to 4-star, while AWSC/DDD was also demoted for a while.
The Elephant Vanishes, although it is entirely different to his novels as a short story collection, I've felt quite safe in maintaining the 5 stars. I haven't read the English translation, and I'm sure the Japanese original cannot be beaten, but I recommend this short story collection to people new to Murakami. Not all of the included short stories (there are 17) are amazing, but many of them are great, pleasant reads. My favourites are
The kangaroo communique
The aforementioned story
A window
Barn burning, and
The elephant vanishes.
I occasionally pick this book off my shelf, and re-read one of the stories, not to look for anything new or necessarily follow the story, but more to enjoy the language and writing. As much as his novels can be thrilling, this anthology is where I come back to time and time again to enjoy Murakami's portrayal of everyday life, magical realism, dialogue modern Japanese in spirit, and the adventures, large and small, of the mediocre, apathetic and indifferent people any one of us could be.
May 1st, 2015
To be truthful, she wasn't especially beautiful in her profile picture. Nor did any particular part of her profile jump out at me. Her bookshelves were all over the place, and she didn't seem to be that active on GR any more. She hadn't written many reviews either. However, the moment I clicked on 'Compare Books', I knew. She is The 100% Perfect Girl for me. When I saw that our tastes are 100% similar for the 1000+ books we had both rated, my heart shook as if the earth rumbled beneath my feet, and my mouth went as dry as a desert.
It might be that you have certain types of girls you like. For example, girls who are into the classics, girls who write witty reviews, or girls who love Dostoyevsky, or for some obscure reason, girls whose average book rating is below 3.00. Of course, I too have certain preferences. I've even once printed out all of the 'Favourite Quotes' of a girl whose profile I fell head over heels for, and stuck them on my wall.
However, it's impossible for anyone to typify The 100% Perfect Girl. Unfortunately, there's no way that I can recall where she was from. Hell, I don't even remember her name. All I can remember is that her profile wasn't especially enticing. Things are strange sometimes.
'You know, I found The 100% Perfect Girl last night', I might say to someone.
'Oh?' he answers. 'Was she beautiful?'
'No, not especially.'
'But she was your type.'
'The thing is, I don't remember. I can't even remember what colour her hair was, or whether she was smiling in the picture.'
'Strange.'
'Yeah, it is.'
'So...' he drawls, sounding bored. 'What did you do, did you send her a message, or send her a friend request?'
'Nope, didn't do anything.' I said. 'All I did was stumble upon her profile.'
She was online in one part of the world, while I was online in an airport of another, using up my quota of free Internet on a computer in the terminal before boarding my flight. I like being one of the last passengers to board so I don't get stuck in a slow-moving queue.
I think, how nice would it be to exchange messages with her, even one? I'd want to find out what kind of person she is, and I'd certainly hope that she asks about my life. And more than anything else, I'd want to unravel, say, the hands of fate leading to us finding each other on this humble website on a cloudy night in April, 2015. There must be a warm secret lying beneath the covers there, like an old typewriter from bygone days.
We would exchange pleasantries like those, and then get to the more personal questions. The flow of messages accelerates each day, and eventually we add each other on Skype. If things go smoothly, we might even talk about meeting in person. Possibilities knock on the doors of my heart.
I've already clicked on 'send message'.
How should I begin the conversation?
'Hey, how's it going! I hope you don't mind me sending this message :)'
No, that would be too casual. It could be the start of a lifelong love.
'Excuse me for intruding, but I happened to notice you are fond of the very same authors as me.'
No, this sounds too awkward - better sound familiar than frigid.
Maybe I should just come out with the truth. 'Hello there. You are The 100% Perfect Girl for me.'
No, that won't do, how creepy do I want to sound? Even if she sees the 100% match, she might not be that keen on talking to me. Even if I'm The 100% Perfect Girl for you, you aren't The 100% Perfect Guy for me, I'm sorry, but - she might reply. That's entirely plausible. And if I were to have such a reply thrust upon me, I would be hopelessly confused. I might never get over the shock. I'm 23, and before I know it, I'll be fondly reflecting over my student years - such a retort is part and parcel of growing up and entering the real world.
Nonetheless, I type up a dignified, yet stylish message, and I'm looking over it for typos and mistakes. The repercussions of this implicit love letter flash before my mind's eye. We'll get married, live in a cosy house, and have a big room just for books. The cursor hovers over the 'send' button. This is it.
As my finger starts to descend on the mouse's left click, I hear my name boom out of the terminal speakers. 'Mr. Junta _____, your flight is waiting for you. Please board the flight at Gate 17 immediately. This is the last announcement.' I panic, and look over at the gate where the airline staff are looking around for me, frowning.
'Shit!', I say as I physically and mentally curse myself for losing track of time over the message. I have to just send this message off and run.
I look back at the screen. The one hour time limit is up, and I've been redirected to the homepage. I hear voices from the direction of the gate, 'There he is!', and quickly approaching footsteps.
Of course, now I know what I should have typed in my message to her, how I should have begun my acquaintance with her. But it's such a long message, maybe I wouldn't have made it inside the one hour anyway. Just like in this story, the things I come up with are always impractical.
Anyway, the message begins with 'Once upon a time', and ends with 'Don't you think that's a sad story?'
*********************************************************
To read the second half (and actual first half, where he meets her on the street) of the original story, On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning, get your hands on The Elephant Vanishes or another one of Murakami's short story collections which includes this piece.
I've always liked reading, but for some reason or other, I didn't read too many novels through my teenage years. A friend got me back into it in my second year of university, and Murakami was the first author I really got hooked on then, going through all of his novels in the following 12 months.
My first favourite was Kafka on the Shore. Then, A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance. I would read his novels and short stories in Japanese and English (sometimes both), and went onto his other works, including non-fiction.
A few years later, my love for reading is at its peak, and I look back fondly at the times when I was captivated by his novels. After some re-reads over the years, Kafka has been demoted to 4-star, while AWSC/DDD was also demoted for a while.
The Elephant Vanishes, although it is entirely different to his novels as a short story collection, I've felt quite safe in maintaining the 5 stars. I haven't read the English translation, and I'm sure the Japanese original cannot be beaten, but I recommend this short story collection to people new to Murakami. Not all of the included short stories (there are 17) are amazing, but many of them are great, pleasant reads. My favourites are
The kangaroo communique
The aforementioned story
A window
Barn burning, and
The elephant vanishes.
I occasionally pick this book off my shelf, and re-read one of the stories, not to look for anything new or necessarily follow the story, but more to enjoy the language and writing. As much as his novels can be thrilling, this anthology is where I come back to time and time again to enjoy Murakami's portrayal of everyday life, magical realism, dialogue modern Japanese in spirit, and the adventures, large and small, of the mediocre, apathetic and indifferent people any one of us could be.
May 1st, 2015
May 7, 2025
„След като птиците си летят преспокойно, необременени от имена, нека и моите спомени се реят без дати.“
Много симпатичен сборник! Мураками е далеч по-добър в писането на романи, тъй като в тях мащабно развихря своите удивителни послания и въображение... но все пак разказите му не са лоши, и доставят приятно книжно преживяване. Обожавам неговата „Хроника на птицата с пружина“, затова ми беше доста любопитно да проследя, чрез някои от историите тук, зараждането впоследствие на тази великолепна книга! Любимите ми разкази от сборника са „Бавен кораб към Китай“, „Сън“ и „Прозорец“.
„Предишната ми същност бе проумяла миниатюрен фрагмент от книгата, но погледът на новата ми същност проникваше в сърцевината със съвършено разбиране. Знаех точно какво е искал да внуши великият Толстой, какво е искал да извлече от тази книга читателят. Виждах как посланието му се е превърнало в роман, а също какво в този роман бе надраснало самия автор.“
„Много са нещата, които така и не проумяваме, независимо след колко години, независимо от натрупания опит. Мога само да вдигна очи от влака към прозорците на сградите, в които може би живее тя. Всеки от тези прозорци може да е нейният, така ми се струва понякога, а друг път си мисля, че нито един не е нейният.“
„Старата позната меланхолия, която обзема жителите на града най-редовно, като дата на паричен падеж, мътна като умствено желе. Мръсните фасади, безименните тълпи, несекващият шум, претъпканите влакове в пиковите часове, сивото небе, билбордовете, запълнили всеки свободен сантиметър, надеждите и примирението, раздразнението и вълнението. И навсякъде – безкрайни възможности, безкрайни варианти. Безкрайност и същевременно празнота. Опитваме се да загребем всичко с длани, а получаваме шеп�� празнота. Това е градът.“
Много симпатичен сборник! Мураками е далеч по-добър в писането на романи, тъй като в тях мащабно развихря своите удивителни послания и въображение... но все пак разказите му не са лоши, и доставят приятно книжно преживяване. Обожавам неговата „Хроника на птицата с пружина“, затова ми беше доста любопитно да проследя, чрез някои от историите тук, зараждането впоследствие на тази великолепна книга! Любимите ми разкази от сборника са „Бавен кораб към Китай“, „Сън“ и „Прозорец“.
„Предишната ми същност бе проумяла миниатюрен фрагмент от книгата, но погледът на новата ми същност проникваше в сърцевината със съвършено разбиране. Знаех точно какво е искал да внуши великият Толстой, какво е искал да извлече от тази книга читателят. Виждах как посланието му се е превърнало в роман, а също какво в този роман бе надраснало самия автор.“
„Много са нещата, които така и не проумяваме, независимо след колко години, независимо от натрупания опит. Мога само да вдигна очи от влака към прозорците на сградите, в които може би живее тя. Всеки от тези прозорци може да е нейният, така ми се струва понякога, а друг път си мисля, че нито един не е нейният.“
„Старата позната меланхолия, която обзема жителите на града най-редовно, като дата на паричен падеж, мътна като умствено желе. Мръсните фасади, безименните тълпи, несекващият шум, претъпканите влакове в пиковите часове, сивото небе, билбордовете, запълнили всеки свободен сантиметър, надеждите и примирението, раздразнението и вълнението. И навсякъде – безкрайни възможности, безкрайни варианти. Безкрайност и същевременно празнота. Опитваме се да загребем всичко с длани, а получаваме шеп�� празнота. Това е градът.“
February 11, 2017
نظرا لانى رغبت بشدة فى قرائتها ولم اجد لها نسخة الكترونية لكنى وجدتها اخيرا وقراتها فورا ولانى استمتعت بها رعبت ان اشاركها معكم
https://www.facebook.com/mostafa.elym...
https://www.facebook.com/mostafa.elym...
February 2, 2018
كانت جميلة بشكل لايصدق. كان شعرها طويل ومجعد، وكانت عيناها عميقة كالمحيط.
لا شك أن موراكامي يمتلك الوصفة السحرية لمزج الواقع بالخيال فينتج منهما المتعة , تلك لعبة يلعبها موراكامي بمهارة فائقة .
أدوات مميزة يعتمد عليها موراكامي في بناء قصصه و رواياته , لكن أكثرها سحرًا على الإطلاق هو حسِّه الموسيقي البديع الذي يُضفي به على أعماله لمسات رائعة تربط القصة في ذهن القارئ بما لازمها من مقاطع و سيمفونيات.
هذة القصة تنتمي للمدرسة البسيطة الرقيقة على خلاف عادة موراكامي الذي تعد رواياته من الروايات المعقدة لما يضعه فيها من اللامنطقية , الوضع هنا لم يكن على هذا النمط بل كان سير القصة متماسك و متجانس من البداية للوسط للنهاية برغم عنصر الخيال .
نجح موراكامي جدًا في تكوين قاعدة عريضة له من القراء في شتى أنحاء العالم , وقد لمسني بسحره منذ أول عمل قرأته له "كافكا على الشاطئ" و من يومها قد سرتُ في ركاب قافلة المحبين .
تجربة أخري لطيفة و ناجحة مع أعمال الروائي الياباني و كنتُ أتمنى لو طالت أكثر قليلا ليستمر السحر و تستمر المتعة .
شكرًا جزيلًا لصديقتي ندى خالد على الترشيح المميز :))
تمت
10-2-2017
لا شك أن موراكامي يمتلك الوصفة السحرية لمزج الواقع بالخيال فينتج منهما المتعة , تلك لعبة يلعبها موراكامي بمهارة فائقة .
أدوات مميزة يعتمد عليها موراكامي في بناء قصصه و رواياته , لكن أكثرها سحرًا على الإطلاق هو حسِّه الموسيقي البديع الذي يُضفي به على أعماله لمسات رائعة تربط القصة في ذهن القارئ بما لازمها من مقاطع و سيمفونيات.
هذة القصة تنتمي للمدرسة البسيطة الرقيقة على خلاف عادة موراكامي الذي تعد رواياته من الروايات المعقدة لما يضعه فيها من اللامنطقية , الوضع هنا لم يكن على هذا النمط بل كان سير القصة متماسك و متجانس من البداية للوسط للنهاية برغم عنصر الخيال .
نجح موراكامي جدًا في تكوين قاعدة عريضة له من القراء في شتى أنحاء العالم , وقد لمسني بسحره منذ أول عمل قرأته له "كافكا على الشاطئ" و من يومها قد سرتُ في ركاب قافلة المحبين .
تجربة أخري لطيفة و ناجحة مع أعمال الروائي الياباني و كنتُ أتمنى لو طالت أكثر قليلا ليستمر السحر و تستمر المتعة .
شكرًا جزيلًا لصديقتي ندى خالد على الترشيح المميز :))
تمت
10-2-2017
November 18, 2024
مش قادر اصنف اللي قراته واقعي سحري ؟
فانتازيا؟
رعب؟
مشهد الفتاة كان مريع بحق الوصف مقزز بلا حدود
انا وضعت القصة دي في قائمة ما اريد ان اقراه من كام يوم
مكنش في الحسبان خالص اني هقراها قريب بس حصل و انا برشحها لاحدهم فتحتها و قراتها
حتي الان لم اقرا لهاروكي سوي بعض القصص القصيرة
و دائمًا ما يبهرني هذا الكاتب ان الابداع الحقيقي هو ان تكتب قصة قصيرة جدًا و تجعل القارئ يندمج في عالمها و مع شخوصها بهذا الشكل
12 صفحة
5792 كلمة
و لكنهم اجمل من الكثير من الروايات التي تتخطي حاجز ال 45 الف كلمة
و ساظل دائمًا اراقب ما يقراه اصدقائي و اتمني قراءة كل ما كتبه هاروكي فلقد آمنت به من بعض القصص البسيطة
فانتازيا؟
رعب؟
مشهد الفتاة كان مريع بحق الوصف مقزز بلا حدود
انا وضعت القصة دي في قائمة ما اريد ان اقراه من كام يوم
مكنش في الحسبان خالص اني هقراها قريب بس حصل و انا برشحها لاحدهم فتحتها و قراتها
حتي الان لم اقرا لهاروكي سوي بعض القصص القصيرة
و دائمًا ما يبهرني هذا الكاتب ان الابداع الحقيقي هو ان تكتب قصة قصيرة جدًا و تجعل القارئ يندمج في عالمها و مع شخوصها بهذا الشكل
12 صفحة
5792 كلمة
و لكنهم اجمل من الكثير من الروايات التي تتخطي حاجز ال 45 الف كلمة
و ساظل دائمًا اراقب ما يقراه اصدقائي و اتمني قراءة كل ما كتبه هاروكي فلقد آمنت به من بعض القصص البسيطة
February 11, 2017
في مقابلة لموراكامي مع مجلة قال:
«أعتقد أننا نعيش في عالم، لكن ثمة عوالم أخرى بالقرب منا، فإذا ما حدتكم الرغبة حقاً،
بإمكانكم عبور السور، والولوج إلى كون آخر، بمعنى آخر بالإمكان التحرر من الواقع، وهذا ما أسعى إلى تحقيقه في كتبي».
لم أقرأ لموراكامي عملًا لم يصنع يومي.
«أعتقد أننا نعيش في عالم، لكن ثمة عوالم أخرى بالقرب منا، فإذا ما حدتكم الرغبة حقاً،
بإمكانكم عبور السور، والولوج إلى كون آخر، بمعنى آخر بالإمكان التحرر من الواقع، وهذا ما أسعى إلى تحقيقه في كتبي».
لم أقرأ لموراكامي عملًا لم يصنع يومي.
July 23, 2019
Μουρακάμι: το δικό μου απαραίτητο ανάγνωσμα παραλίας για ένα ακόμα σουρεάλ καλοκαίρι
February 19, 2022
Murakami is a writer who can suck me into a story like no other, his unparalleled imagination and the way he is able to weave banal everyday actions and straightforward and almost dull characters into tales involving the totally surreal can prove to be something approaching hypnotic. The books I’ve enjoyed the most have been his longest stories: The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Kafka on the Shore and 1Q84. But much as l love his bigger pieces, his short fiction can sometimes pass me by. I’ve read quite a number of his short stories and probably only about half of them have grabbed me.
This collection is a case in point, they range from the wildly imaginative to the plain tedious and though a number of them really pricked my interest a similar number missed the mark. There are a few here I’d come across before and some of these were amongst my favourites. For me the highlights included a tale about a barn burning man and another concerning a student who cut lawns to earn some cash. However, in both of these, as is Murakami’s way, he disguises the message of the story to the point that it simply boiled down to the fact that I found the characters and the narrative sufficiently engaging that I was able to ignore the total lack of resolution. I think it was the atmosphere and the rhythm of both that captured me. A less conventional piece involved a dwarf who was determined to take over the body of a man who had desires for a work colleague – strange, yes, but engagingly so.
I think with this writer you’ve got to be prepared for things that you don’t always understand and to take what you can from what’s presented. If some stories seem instantly forgettable then the next one might stay with you for years – as has happened with one of the stories I experienced here for the second time: it involved young man and a young woman who meet very briefly and yet both instantly decide that the other is one hundred percent their perfect partner. Yet they agreed that if it was truly the case that they are destined to be together forever then they must also be destined to meet again, so they part agreeing that when they next met they’ll be partners for life. I won’t disclose what happens from this point but for me it did kick off a process of working through a mental list of people I’ve met in the past – opportunities taken and those missed too – I guess we’ve all done a bit of that.
For seasoned readers of this author this collection will probably be pretty much what you’d expect from him. But if you’re new to Murakami then I’d implore you to take the big leap and go for one of the three books I’ve listed above. It’ll be an adventure, I can assure you of that.
This collection is a case in point, they range from the wildly imaginative to the plain tedious and though a number of them really pricked my interest a similar number missed the mark. There are a few here I’d come across before and some of these were amongst my favourites. For me the highlights included a tale about a barn burning man and another concerning a student who cut lawns to earn some cash. However, in both of these, as is Murakami’s way, he disguises the message of the story to the point that it simply boiled down to the fact that I found the characters and the narrative sufficiently engaging that I was able to ignore the total lack of resolution. I think it was the atmosphere and the rhythm of both that captured me. A less conventional piece involved a dwarf who was determined to take over the body of a man who had desires for a work colleague – strange, yes, but engagingly so.
I think with this writer you’ve got to be prepared for things that you don’t always understand and to take what you can from what’s presented. If some stories seem instantly forgettable then the next one might stay with you for years – as has happened with one of the stories I experienced here for the second time: it involved young man and a young woman who meet very briefly and yet both instantly decide that the other is one hundred percent their perfect partner. Yet they agreed that if it was truly the case that they are destined to be together forever then they must also be destined to meet again, so they part agreeing that when they next met they’ll be partners for life. I won’t disclose what happens from this point but for me it did kick off a process of working through a mental list of people I’ve met in the past – opportunities taken and those missed too – I guess we’ve all done a bit of that.
For seasoned readers of this author this collection will probably be pretty much what you’d expect from him. But if you’re new to Murakami then I’d implore you to take the big leap and go for one of the three books I’ve listed above. It’ll be an adventure, I can assure you of that.
September 17, 2022
Desde hace tiempo escuchaba lo bueno que era Murakami relatando, por lo que terminé cediendo y elegí uno de sus libros de cuentos como primer acercamiento. ¿Es tan bueno como dicen? La verdad que no, pero tampoco está nada mal.
Acá tenemos diecisiete cuentos dispares que relatan desde cosas cotidianas a otras más fantásticas, entre las qué destaco "Quemar graneros", de un pirómano que disfruta quemar graneros y admirar la quema desde la distancia. "Sueños", de una mujer que descubre que ya no necesita dormir. La divertida "Nuevo ataque a la panadería", de unos recién casados que asaltan una panaderia por hamburguesas debido a una superstición. O la misma a la que se le debe el título del libro "El elefante desaparece", donde un hombre se obsesiona con la inexplicable desaparición de un elefante y su cuidador.
Si tuviera que situar en algún género los cuentos de Murakami, tal vez una mayoría entraría en el realismo mágico, aunque otros no sabría definirlos bien. Como ejemplo, el primero de ellos nunca lo terminé de entender, un hombre busca un gato y termina hablando con una vecina en su patio trasero. No hay nudo, o conflicto, o resolución. Ni siquiera podría pasar como anécdota, pareciera el retrato de un día extraño en la vida de un personaje trivial. O el mismo "Quemar graneros" ya antes mencionado, pese a lo bien contado que está, y lo ambiguo de su final, pareciera carecer de una verdadera resolución, dejándote con cierta sensación extraña de haber quedado a medio camino.
Aunque, pese a lo anterior mencionado, destaco que no hay ningún mal relato, todos logran entretener o hacerte pasar el rato en mayor o menor medida.
En fin, un buen libro de cuentos, pero no más que eso. Pese a que hubo varios de ellos que me gustaron bastante, me quedó esa sensación de que Murakami está algo sobrevalorado. A lo mejor a la próxima debería probar con una de sus novelas... tal vez. Aunque de momento lo dejo en veremos.
¡Entretenido!
Acá tenemos diecisiete cuentos dispares que relatan desde cosas cotidianas a otras más fantásticas, entre las qué destaco "Quemar graneros", de un pirómano que disfruta quemar graneros y admirar la quema desde la distancia. "Sueños", de una mujer que descubre que ya no necesita dormir. La divertida "Nuevo ataque a la panadería", de unos recién casados que asaltan una panaderia por hamburguesas debido a una superstición. O la misma a la que se le debe el título del libro "El elefante desaparece", donde un hombre se obsesiona con la inexplicable desaparición de un elefante y su cuidador.
Si tuviera que situar en algún género los cuentos de Murakami, tal vez una mayoría entraría en el realismo mágico, aunque otros no sabría definirlos bien. Como ejemplo, el primero de ellos nunca lo terminé de entender, un hombre busca un gato y termina hablando con una vecina en su patio trasero. No hay nudo, o conflicto, o resolución. Ni siquiera podría pasar como anécdota, pareciera el retrato de un día extraño en la vida de un personaje trivial. O el mismo "Quemar graneros" ya antes mencionado, pese a lo bien contado que está, y lo ambiguo de su final, pareciera carecer de una verdadera resolución, dejándote con cierta sensación extraña de haber quedado a medio camino.
Aunque, pese a lo anterior mencionado, destaco que no hay ningún mal relato, todos logran entretener o hacerte pasar el rato en mayor o menor medida.
En fin, un buen libro de cuentos, pero no más que eso. Pese a que hubo varios de ellos que me gustaron bastante, me quedó esa sensación de que Murakami está algo sobrevalorado. A lo mejor a la próxima debería probar con una de sus novelas... tal vez. Aunque de momento lo dejo en veremos.
¡Entretenido!
March 23, 2022
"One impossible day, of an impossible month, of an impossible year."
"All I wanted was to get back to my book."
"In my own way, I'd like to believe I've got my own morals."
A collection from the writer which I found quite good with the kind of writing that would hook the reader until the last page. A good collection of honest writing, genuine characters, relatable stories and lines I feel I would never get tired of reading a book by the author.
*Contents:
1. The Wind-up Bird and Tuesday's Women
3 🌟
*Wives have some kind of 6th sense that senses EVERYTHING
*Life doesn't go as planned
*School life is totally different from real life
*A mystery phone call from a mysterious woman, another mysterious girl
2. The Second Bakery Attack
4 🌟
A good story. Liked it. Yes, it's about hunger, a gun and what follows.
3. The Kangaroo Communiqué
3 🌟
"What on earth would it feel like to be a kangaroo?"
It's like he's babbling about most things. Liked it as it's weird. "6.36 commas for every period." Yes, he counted the commas in a letter. Expect such topics.
4. On Seeing the 100 % Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning
3 🌟
Obsessed with a girl, are we?
*How to approach a girl and the overthinking that follows.
5. Sleep
5 🌟
*Sleep problems of a woman
(Relatable, eh?!)
And he wrote so many pages about it, a story follows about a woman and her married life.
*Creepy
*That line on Anna Karenina is me. I am going to read it soon. I am sure I will feel the same about it.
6. The Fall of the Roman Empire, the 1881 Indian Uprising, Hitler's Invasion of Poland, and the Realm of Raging Winds
3 🌟
*I felt like the title is longer than the actual story
And yes, do not expect much from the story other than some description of a normal daily life
7. Lederhosen
3 🌟
*A story about marital difficulties, a broken family and the weird reason behind it
8. Barn Burning
4 🌟
*An almost affair and an unforgettable character, another weird character
*Substance abuse
*Loved the discussion in the story
9. The Little Green Monster
4 🌟
Exactly what the title says but the psychological thrill! A reflection of our thoughts I feel.
10. Family Affair
4 🌟
*What happens when you have a complicated relationship with your sibling
*Too much information from the characters I feel
11. A Window
4 🌟
*This one made me hungry. And yes to more awesome stories with letters
*Encouragement for writing
*A fanmeeting done well
12. TV People
4 🌟
*Analysing the TV people starting from their appearance, build and everything else
*Apart from this, some lines are quite relatable
*How we ultimately get easily influenced
"I don't like Sunday evenings."
Same I would say!
13. Slow Boat to China
4 🌟
*Unforgettable characters, good story
14. The Dancing Dwarf
4 🌟
*A story in a dream or is it?
Quite fascinating!
*Detailed, almost gothic
*Liked how the relationship has been presented. It's realistic.
*The dwarf vs the revolution. Good discussion there.
*The most fascinating read in this collection
15. The Last Lawn of the Afternoon
2 🌟
We are being cynical about life here.
Here's a guy who's unhappy about everything.
Not comfortable with descriptions of private parts and reading the narration of a 24x7 judgemental character
*Least favourite in the collection
16. The Silence
5🌟
*Love this story
*Sports, boxing
*School life
"You loathe someone for no reason whatsoever. I'm not the type to have blind hate, but I swear there are people who just sets you off. It's not a rational thing. But the problem is, in most cases, the other guy feels the same way toward you."
17. The Elephant Vanishes
4 🌟
*Beautiful story
*Exactly what the title says and what's behind it
*I cringed everytime whenever he uses the word "ugly" for men and women, the way he's more interested towards sexual descriptions when it comes to women and girls. You can expect it every now and then whenever you read his books. Just don't try my patience.
"To every meaningful act, its own system. Whether the wind blows or not, that's the way I love."
"All I wanted was to get back to my book."
"In my own way, I'd like to believe I've got my own morals."
A collection from the writer which I found quite good with the kind of writing that would hook the reader until the last page. A good collection of honest writing, genuine characters, relatable stories and lines I feel I would never get tired of reading a book by the author.
*Contents:
1. The Wind-up Bird and Tuesday's Women
3 🌟
*Wives have some kind of 6th sense that senses EVERYTHING
*Life doesn't go as planned
*School life is totally different from real life
*A mystery phone call from a mysterious woman, another mysterious girl
2. The Second Bakery Attack
4 🌟
A good story. Liked it. Yes, it's about hunger, a gun and what follows.
3. The Kangaroo Communiqué
3 🌟
"What on earth would it feel like to be a kangaroo?"
It's like he's babbling about most things. Liked it as it's weird. "6.36 commas for every period." Yes, he counted the commas in a letter. Expect such topics.
4. On Seeing the 100 % Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning
3 🌟
Obsessed with a girl, are we?
*How to approach a girl and the overthinking that follows.
5. Sleep
5 🌟
*Sleep problems of a woman
(Relatable, eh?!)
And he wrote so many pages about it, a story follows about a woman and her married life.
*Creepy
*That line on Anna Karenina is me. I am going to read it soon. I am sure I will feel the same about it.
6. The Fall of the Roman Empire, the 1881 Indian Uprising, Hitler's Invasion of Poland, and the Realm of Raging Winds
3 🌟
*I felt like the title is longer than the actual story
And yes, do not expect much from the story other than some description of a normal daily life
7. Lederhosen
3 🌟
*A story about marital difficulties, a broken family and the weird reason behind it
8. Barn Burning
4 🌟
*An almost affair and an unforgettable character, another weird character
*Substance abuse
*Loved the discussion in the story
9. The Little Green Monster
4 🌟
Exactly what the title says but the psychological thrill! A reflection of our thoughts I feel.
10. Family Affair
4 🌟
*What happens when you have a complicated relationship with your sibling
*Too much information from the characters I feel
11. A Window
4 🌟
*This one made me hungry. And yes to more awesome stories with letters
*Encouragement for writing
*A fanmeeting done well
12. TV People
4 🌟
*Analysing the TV people starting from their appearance, build and everything else
*Apart from this, some lines are quite relatable
*How we ultimately get easily influenced
"I don't like Sunday evenings."
Same I would say!
13. Slow Boat to China
4 🌟
*Unforgettable characters, good story
14. The Dancing Dwarf
4 🌟
*A story in a dream or is it?
Quite fascinating!
*Detailed, almost gothic
*Liked how the relationship has been presented. It's realistic.
*The dwarf vs the revolution. Good discussion there.
*The most fascinating read in this collection
15. The Last Lawn of the Afternoon
2 🌟
We are being cynical about life here.
Here's a guy who's unhappy about everything.
Not comfortable with descriptions of private parts and reading the narration of a 24x7 judgemental character
*Least favourite in the collection
16. The Silence
5🌟
*Love this story
*Sports, boxing
*School life
"You loathe someone for no reason whatsoever. I'm not the type to have blind hate, but I swear there are people who just sets you off. It's not a rational thing. But the problem is, in most cases, the other guy feels the same way toward you."
17. The Elephant Vanishes
4 🌟
*Beautiful story
*Exactly what the title says and what's behind it
*I cringed everytime whenever he uses the word "ugly" for men and women, the way he's more interested towards sexual descriptions when it comes to women and girls. You can expect it every now and then whenever you read his books. Just don't try my patience.
"To every meaningful act, its own system. Whether the wind blows or not, that's the way I love."
December 7, 2022
Pensé que esta colección de cuentos podía ser una buena puerta de entrada al universo Murakami. Su creación de ambientes poéticos y misteriosos, que al mismo tiempo son de una cotidianeidad aplastante, está ahi. Son ambientes regados por la música, la bebida y el sexo. También hay gatos. También interviene el azar y el absurdo.
Es el pájaro que se posa en los árboles del barrio todas las mañanas para dar cuerda a las cosas. Al mundo tranquilo al que pertencemos.
Puedo entender todo el mérito que tiene este mundo intrigante y único y la razón por la que hay tantos fans-lectores de Murakami. El problema es que yo - a falta de leer más de su obra, que siempre me da pereza - no acabo de conectar. En general los relatos no me han entusiasmado y en algunos momentos - ¿me atreveré a decirlo? - me han aburrido.
Quemar graneros el mejor, para mi gusto.
3,5* (casi 4)
Es el pájaro que se posa en los árboles del barrio todas las mañanas para dar cuerda a las cosas. Al mundo tranquilo al que pertencemos.
Puedo entender todo el mérito que tiene este mundo intrigante y único y la razón por la que hay tantos fans-lectores de Murakami. El problema es que yo - a falta de leer más de su obra, que siempre me da pereza - no acabo de conectar. En general los relatos no me han entusiasmado y en algunos momentos - ¿me atreveré a decirlo? - me han aburrido.
Quemar graneros el mejor, para mi gusto.
3,5* (casi 4)
Read
December 22, 2022هذا الكاتب يحتوى على 17 قصة قصيرة ل هاروكى معظمها مترجم , و نظرا لان الموقع مسجل النسخة العربية منه على قصة القزم الراقص فقط ف حتى يتم تصحيح الخطأ , سوف اضيف مراجعات كل قصة قصيرة اقراها من هذا العمل هنا فى محاولة لتجميعهم .
حرق حظيرة : 4 نجوم
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
القزم الراقص : 4 نجوم
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
الليدرهوزن: 3 نجوم
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
غارة المخبز الثانية : نحمتين
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
قريباً سوف اضم القصة الخامسة :)
حرق حظيرة : 4 نجوم
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
القزم الراقص : 4 نجوم
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
الليدرهوزن: 3 نجوم
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
غارة المخبز الثانية : نحمتين
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
قريباً سوف اضم القصة الخامسة :)
December 22, 2017
There were some good stories, but overall I don't think Murakami is someone I would go to for short stories. He is terrible at conclusions for them, and only 1 or 2 stories left me wanting more. He is very very hit or miss with me and I'm finding a lot of misses with him lately. He has a very distinct style that shines through every novel he writes, but weirdly, I only like it sometimes.
February 10, 2017
نهرب من الجنون بالجنون.
http://mostafa-elymane.blogspot.com.e...
http://mostafa-elymane.blogspot.com.e...
September 16, 2018
Това ми е първи опит да чета разкази от Мураками и смея да кажа, че е доста успешен. Независимо дали пише романи, съчинения или кратки новели, той отново проявява своята ексцентрична абстрактност, която толкова много харесвам. Мураками "говори" със символи, които всеки разпознава и тълкува индивидуално, точно като в сънищата. Интересното при символиката е, че тя провокира различни емоции у всеки, според зависимостта символ--спомен - състояние. Основното нещо, върху което акцентира Мураками е индивидуалността и как отделните хора се справят с предизвикателствата и нещата от живота.
Сборникът съдържа 17 разказа, които носят своите сюрреалистични нюанси.
1) Птицата с пружина и жените във вторник - 4 звезди- предполагам, че идеята за романа " Хроника на птицата с пружина" е тръгнала именно от този разказ и впоследствие Мураками го е наградил в самостоятелно произведение.
2) Второто нападение в пекарната - 4 звезди
" Неправилният избор понякога води до правилен резултат и обратно."
3) Кенгурско комюнике - 3 звезди
4) Да видиш 100% идеалното момиче в красива априлска сутрин - 4 звезди
5) Сън - 5 звезди-- един от любимите ми разкази
" Върховете на пръстите ми само лекичко докосваха периферията на съня. И през цялото време съзнанието ми беше съвсем будно. Усеща съвсем лека сънливост, но съзнанието ми си беше там, в своята стая, от другата страна на прозирната стена, и ме наблюдаваше.
Физическата ми същност се носеше в бледата утринна светлина и през цялото време усещахкак съзнанието ми се взира, как диша току до нея. Бях едновременно тяло на прага на съня и съзнание, решено да остане будно. "
6) Крахът на Римската империя, индианското въстание от 1881, нахлуването на Хитлер в Полша и царството на бурния вятър - 3 звезди
7) Lederhosen - 4 звезди
" Вярно е, че късметът отчасти управлява човешкия живот и хвърля разпокъсана сянка върху територията на съществуването ни, но има ли желание- дори много по- слабо от волята да преплуваш трийсет дължини или да пробягаш двайсет километра, - има и начин да превъзмогнем повечето проблеми с помощта на наличните опори. "
8) Горящият хамбар - 4 звезди
" Някои неща са толкова близо до нас, че дори не ги забелязваме. "
9) Малкото зелено чудовище - 3 звезди
10) Семейни дела - 5 звезди--разказът е свързан с Птицата с пружина.
11) Прозорец - 3 звезди
"...реалността не е нещо, което предаваш на хората, а нещо, което създаваш. Така се ражда смисълът. "
12) TV хора - 5 звезди
13) Бавен кораб до Китай - 5 звезди
" Всеки има различна памет. С различен капацитет, с различна ориентация. Понякога паметта ти помага да мислиш, друг път ти пречи. Което не я прави добра или лоша, а вероятно означава само, че не е толкова важна."
14) Танцуващото джудже - 5 звезди. Този разказ ми е сред фаворитите.
" Никой не може да променя неща, които вече са решени. "
15) Последната морава следобед - 5 звезди
16) Мълчанието - 5 звезди
" Ако стигнеш до дъното на дълбочината, загубата няма значение- нищо не може да те засегне."
" Хората, преживели нещо толкова мъчително, се променят, независимо дали го искат- променят се към по- добро или към по- лошо."
17) Изчезването на слона -5 звезди. Хубав завършек на сборникът с разкази. Има някаква връзка към книгата" Хроника на птицата с пружина" , както и с идеята в разказа " TV хората".
Харесвам Мураками, най- вече заради усещанията, които провокира в мен. Имам чувството, че с начина, по който пише, сякаш отключва всичките ми сетива.
Сборникът съдържа 17 разказа, които носят своите сюрреалистични нюанси.
1) Птицата с пружина и жените във вторник - 4 звезди- предполагам, че идеята за романа " Хроника на птицата с пружина" е тръгнала именно от този разказ и впоследствие Мураками го е наградил в самостоятелно произведение.
2) Второто нападение в пекарната - 4 звезди
" Неправилният избор понякога води до правилен резултат и обратно."
3) Кенгурско комюнике - 3 звезди
4) Да видиш 100% идеалното момиче в красива априлска сутрин - 4 звезди
5) Сън - 5 звезди-- един от любимите ми разкази
" Върховете на пръстите ми само лекичко докосваха периферията на съня. И през цялото време съзнанието ми беше съвсем будно. Усеща съвсем лека сънливост, но съзнанието ми си беше там, в своята стая, от другата страна на прозирната стена, и ме наблюдаваше.
Физическата ми същност се носеше в бледата утринна светлина и през цялото време усещахкак съзнанието ми се взира, как диша току до нея. Бях едновременно тяло на прага на съня и съзнание, решено да остане будно. "
6) Крахът на Римската империя, индианското въстание от 1881, нахлуването на Хитлер в Полша и царството на бурния вятър - 3 звезди
7) Lederhosen - 4 звезди
" Вярно е, че късметът отчасти управлява човешкия живот и хвърля разпокъсана сянка върху територията на съществуването ни, но има ли желание- дори много по- слабо от волята да преплуваш трийсет дължини или да пробягаш двайсет километра, - има и начин да превъзмогнем повечето проблеми с помощта на наличните опори. "
8) Горящият хамбар - 4 звезди
" Някои неща са толкова близо до нас, че дори не ги забелязваме. "
9) Малкото зелено чудовище - 3 звезди
10) Семейни дела - 5 звезди--разказът е свързан с Птицата с пружина.
11) Прозорец - 3 звезди
"...реалността не е нещо, което предаваш на хората, а нещо, което създаваш. Така се ражда смисълът. "
12) TV хора - 5 звезди
13) Бавен кораб до Китай - 5 звезди
" Всеки има различна памет. С различен капацитет, с различна ориентация. Понякога паметта ти помага да мислиш, друг път ти пречи. Което не я прави добра или лоша, а вероятно означава само, че не е толкова важна."
14) Танцуващото джудже - 5 звезди. Този разказ ми е сред фаворитите.
" Никой не може да променя неща, които вече са решени. "
15) Последната морава следобед - 5 звезди
16) Мълчанието - 5 звезди
" Ако стигнеш до дъното на дълбочината, загубата няма значение- нищо не може да те засегне."
" Хората, преживели нещо толкова мъчително, се променят, независимо дали го искат- променят се към по- добро или към по- лошо."
17) Изчезването на слона -5 звезди. Хубав завършек на сборникът с разкази. Има някаква връзка към книгата" Хроника на птицата с пружина" , както и с идеята в разказа " TV хората".
Харесвам Мураками, най- вече заради усещанията, които провокира в мен. Имам чувството, че с начина, по който пише, сякаш отключва всичките ми сетива.
March 17, 2024
Short stories that were included in my edition:
- "The Wind-up Bird and Tuesday's Women" → 1 ☆
- "The Second Bakery Attack" → 2 ☆
- "Sleep" → 4 ☆
- "The Fall of the Roman Empire, the 1881 Indian Uprising, Hitler's Invasion of Poland, and the Realm of Raging Winds" → 1 ☆
- "Barn Burning" → 3 ☆
- "A Slow Boat to China" → 3 ☆
- "The Elephant Vanishes" → 1 ☆
Now why this low rating for a Murakami book? (2.5 ☆ maximum)
Well... Because the only short story that I actually really enjoyed and that managed to grab my attention was "Sleep", while the other narrations did not manage to captivate me and left me "cold" or indifferent. The 3 ☆ ones were fun to read as a "one time experience", however, I would not consider rereading them, while I know exactly that I will be rereading "Sleep" at some point in my life!!
Overall, I must add that I really like Haruki Murakami's writing style and how "flowy" the sentences are. One emerges from the other and they're nicely interlinked. A weird thing to say buttt: If reading a river would be a thing, I could imagine it would read itself like a Murakami story/book.
- "The Wind-up Bird and Tuesday's Women" → 1 ☆
- "The Second Bakery Attack" → 2 ☆
- "Sleep" → 4 ☆
- "The Fall of the Roman Empire, the 1881 Indian Uprising, Hitler's Invasion of Poland, and the Realm of Raging Winds" → 1 ☆
- "Barn Burning" → 3 ☆
- "A Slow Boat to China" → 3 ☆
- "The Elephant Vanishes" → 1 ☆
Now why this low rating for a Murakami book? (2.5 ☆ maximum)
Well... Because the only short story that I actually really enjoyed and that managed to grab my attention was "Sleep", while the other narrations did not manage to captivate me and left me "cold" or indifferent. The 3 ☆ ones were fun to read as a "one time experience", however, I would not consider rereading them, while I know exactly that I will be rereading "Sleep" at some point in my life!!
Overall, I must add that I really like Haruki Murakami's writing style and how "flowy" the sentences are. One emerges from the other and they're nicely interlinked. A weird thing to say buttt: If reading a river would be a thing, I could imagine it would read itself like a Murakami story/book.
October 6, 2014
To Murakami's fans, I must apologize, because although I liked this collection of stories, I didn't love it. And from what I've heard, to read Murakami is to fall in love with him. However, if his novels mirror the dazzling, freakish, and surprising plot of Sleep,or have the tension that builds when you must follow outlandish characters, like the ones in The Second Bakery Attack, I'll read a Murakami novel again and again. Yet while I do admire the fragmentary poignancy of the narratives in this collection, as well as the bizarre trajectory of these stories, I found myself lost in some of the translation (Jay Rubin's translations were my favorites). And then there was the annoying issue of voice--one "voice" seemed to hover over all of these stories, creating the allusion of a novel of different stories. Yes, yes, this all sounds trivial when talking about a beloved Murakami piece, so to offer reprieve, I will simply say this, I do believe I started with the wrong title.
June 28, 2025
Не съм точно разочарован, но и не очаквах тези разкази на Мураками да са остарели толкова безвъзвратно.
Допаднаха ми само "Птица с пружина и жените във вторник" и "Мълчанието", въпреки че не харесах въобще книгата, в която се е превърнал първия разказ.
От останалите мога да отлича като интересни само няколко фрагмента, което по стандартите които имам за творчеството на Мураками е крайно недостатъчно.
Много повторения в сюжетите и доста дразнещи пукнатини/пропасти в завършека им развалят удоволствието от прочита, фантастичните елементи втъкани в част от текстовете също не ми се понравиха особено.
Закъсняло е издаването им на български, а и се чудя, доколко е добре да бъде превеждан през английски автора.
P.S. По един от разказите е направен чудесен корейски филм - "Burning".
Допаднаха ми само "Птица с пружина и жените във вторник" и "Мълчанието", въпреки че не харесах въобще книгата, в която се е превърнал първия разказ.
От останалите мога да отлича като интересни само няколко фрагмента, което по стандартите които имам за творчеството на Мураками е крайно недостатъчно.
Много повторения в сюжетите и доста дразнещи пукнатини/пропасти в завършека им развалят удоволствието от прочита, фантастичните елементи втъкани в част от текстовете също не ми се понравиха особено.
Закъсняло е издаването им на български, а и се чудя, доколко е добре да бъде превеждан през английски автора.
P.S. По един от разказите е направен чудесен корейски филм - "Burning".
Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,340 reviews