The Forbidden Worlds of Haruki Murakami

by Matthew Strecher

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

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

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

Genres: Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Japan, Writing, Criticism, Japanese Literature, Literature

296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2014

Reviews

[Petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: the discussions in this book use plot points from Murakami's most major works, leading to some major spoilers. If sensitive to being spoiled, read this book after reading Murakami's works.

That said, I think this book is more interesting if one has read a few of Murakami's works and knows the weird quirkiness of his stories.
Stretcher does a good job in exploring the major themes in Murakami's work and putting it into a solid object. Myself, when reading Murakami, I find the themes sometimes more nebulous. I get it but know I'm missing something, too. This exploration gave me a more concrete way of looking at Murakami's themes.
I really enjoyed the chapter on journalistic liturature; using literature to explore and comment on real-world situations to bring understanding or at least exploration of thoughts on a subject. This aspect leads to thinking about said subject and, in the end, (hopefully) following one's heart and not the mass mentality. The concept of standing by one's true self threads through most, if not all, of Murakami's works.
I didn't realize that Murakami is a translator in Japan. He translates Western, unknown-in-Japan authors into Japanese, exposing these authors to a new market. His translations keep the "Western" feel, it is said, as he tries to keep the original intent of the author. It makes me want to be able to read Japanese.
This book made me realize how many balls Murakami juggles in his works. He not only entertains and mystifies; he tries to make us see that our world isn't so black & white and concrete, that there may be sides to our world that are surreal and grey; that these sides are acceptable and perhaps as real as any other reality....and that maybe, just maybe, those who see the surreal and accept the unusual are not "crazy" but as sane as you & I; they just see the world differently.
In all, this book makes me realize more than ever that Murakami is one smart individual.

[Kate♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75/5stars

This was fine. I REALLY enjoyed the look into the worlds of Murakami and how language affects a lot of his works, and the "other world" concept the author really decides to latch onto. The author made some WONDERFUL points that I really liked, but he just simply didn't have enough to back up a lot of what he was saying. He didn't have many quotes at all from Murakami himself, and only a handful from his books. As well as the author would just go on long rambles about things I didn't think really affected anything.
But definitely an interesting look at Murakami's works and worlds.

[Doug H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well done, helped me to better appreciate "Colorless" and made me want to reread some of his earlier novels. WARNING: Don't read this unless you've already read most of his novels as it discusses major plot points in detail.

[Books on Asia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful look at what may be going on in the head of Murakami. I appreciated Strecher's theories as an avid Murakami fan as opposed to having an insider's view. I believe he interviewed Murakami just once, but for 3 hours, to write his thesis on him. I'd recommend reading this after Jay Rubin's Murakami and the Music of Words, which is an insider's view (as Rubin is one of Murakami's four major translators into English), but which also gives valuable background information on Murakami. Forbidden Worlds goes a step further into the mind, rationale and messages of Murakami's plots and themes. It shows us just how vast the writer's abilities really are.

[Chad Brock · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book that helped to put in to perspective a lot of my Murakami reading to date. It focuses mostly on his more recent novels (i.e The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Kafka On The Shore, 1Q84, Colorless Tsukuru...none of which I've read) though it does reference and discuss his earlier novels, as well as some of his non-fiction and short-form work. Strecher, not surprisingly, has a main thesis he wishes to convey (which I will not spoil but is clearly laid out in the Introduction, and to a lesser extent the title) and your enjoyment of the book may be contingent on whether you find yourself willing to go along with his various circumlocutions to this end. While there is some exposition on critical theory (and Freud, Jung, Campbell, Frazer, et al. make a number of appearances throughout), Strecher spends an admirable amount of time with the novels themselves, and the final chapter consists solely of a close reading of Murakami's most recently translated novel Colorless Tsukuru. Overall, I found some of his arguments convincing, while others left me a bit cold (possibly due to my limited exposure to Murakami's more "recent" work?). Despite the latter, it is a thought-provoking book, and has definitely set the course for my future reading of Murakami's work, which is not a bad outcome for a book of literary criticism.

[Charlotte Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting random used bookstore find! I think this got repetitive at times, but it also provided a lot of interesting new ways of understanding Murakami. The chapter on 'literary journalism' was unsurprisingly my favorite; very interesting info about how things like the sarin attack influenced his worldview. That quote about the eggs really does rule.

[Felix Nütz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative read and it explained a lot of things I didn’t understand in Murakami’s novels. Had to skip some chapters though to avoid spoilers.

[Agung Wicaksono · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pertama kali saya membaca karya Haruki Murakami yaitu pada 2017 silam, berjudul Norwegian Wood. Awalnya, saya mengira bahwa ia adalah pengarang cerita realis, ternyata ia lebih condong dan banyak menghasilkan cerita yang surealis. Lebih lanjut, ulasan singkatnya saya tulis di sini:
https://www.agungwicaks.com/2021/03/t...

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this.

As someone who has read every single Murakami book. This was an awesome read.

I found this book a very advanced analysis of Murakami's writing, with particular focus under the psychology and philosophy lens.

I found it excellent and very intelligent.

4.2/5

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd write a more detailed review of this one but I'll share my initial thoughts for now. Haruki Murakami has always fascinated me as an author of both fiction and non-fiction so this monograph by Matthew Strecher, one of only few dedicated Murakami scholars who write in English, evokes nostalgia and enlightenment to an avid reader of the Japanese writer.

Having read a majority of Murakami's fiction works, this book served as a trip down memory lane, featuring quite a number of the works skillfully broken down and analyzed by Strecher. His analyses are all well-grounded and easy to follow even for readers with no expertise in literary theory, myself included. That being said, I couldn't necessarily debate Strecher's theories but I do commend his efficiency in explaining his ideas and analyses--there are neither traces of repetitiveness nor dull moments throughout the monograph.

Strecher succeeds in introducing to readers his filter for viewing/reading the enigmatic fiction of Murakami. This engaging monograph has certainly enhanced my eye for literature and on the next occasion that I pick up one of Murakami's works (again or for the first time), I'll be reading with brand new eyes.

As a side note, I do hesitate to recommend this book to introductory readers of Murakami, given that there are very necessary spoilers of all the works analyzed here.

[Javier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a MUST-READ for any Murakami fan. However, make sure you've read most of his novels beforehand, otherwise you might spoil the plots. This is definitely the case with the longer novels that feature most prominently in this book - Wild Sheep Chase, Hard Boiled Wonderland, Wind Up Bird, Kafka on the Shore, 1Q84, and Colorless Tsukuru.

I loved how the book provided a 'big picture' view of the Haruki Murakami fictional universe, really developed on its major themes, and placed all the works in a timeline to see how those themes have evolved over time. This book is perfect before starting to read Murakami novels for the second time. Highly recommend.

[Thanawat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is like a companion book for past Murakami’s works.
The author briefly reviewed, analyzed and interpreted what Murakami intended to illustrate in his works.
Numbers of protagonists and plots from Murakami’s book appeared in the book. I had a nostalgic sense of missing them. I felt like I want to reread Murakami’s book afterward.
For serious readers who would like to appreciate Murakami's works, this book is for you.
Although it took me some time to finish this book but this book worth reading.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good (non jargon) dicussion discussion of Murakami's work with emphasis on his recent novels (including the latest) and his evolution of views about identity, reality and more

on the flip side at least one read of his major and recent works (Wind Up, Kafka, 1Q84) is required to profit from this book

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I wanted a little help understanding Murakami's fiction. Strecher points out some valuable threads and common themes among Murakami's novels but his revelations aren't ground breaking. I came to the realization as well that I prefer to make my own interpretations and discover Murakami from my perspective.
That is the genius of Murakami!

[Kate Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murakami is a master of magical realism and urban fantasy. Even if you're not engaged in literary criticism, Strecher's analysis of Murakami's work is informative, engaging, and will expand your understanding of Murakami's novel plots and characters.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s not easy to write about Haruki Murakami. Or, perhaps more accurately, it’s not easy to write coherently about Murakami. A few have managed it – David Karashima, Jay Rubin – and in this book Matthew Carl Strecher has also succeeded.

Stecher knows Murakami’s work intimately, speaking Japanese well enough to have read it all in the original. He’s also well versed in the vast area of Murakami criticism in Japan (to which most English speakers do not have access). Oh yeah – and he also conducted one of the most important interviews with Murakami as well.

This book is a study of Murakami’s work (both fiction and nonfiction). It covers much ground and often comes close to being too far reaching, but stays mostly within the titular region of “forbidden worlds.” By this, Stecher means “over there” or “the other side” – that sometimes vague notion of another realm that permeates almost all of Murakami’s work.

Stecher divides this book into five parts with sub-chapters examining different texts. The arrangement is a bit odd. Some of makes a lot of sense, such as examining gods and metaphysics and dreams… but then there’s a sudden divergence to study Murakami’s literary journalism and journalistic fiction. Whilst this was, for me, the most interesting and well written part of the book, it did seem rather out of place. Still, though, through this wide-ranging text, we are constantly brought back to the idea of another world and how Murakami deals with that.

I will make another small criticism here, for even though I loved this book, it does seem that the author reaches a little too far in applying his overarching theory regarding Murakami’s books. What I mean is that Murakami’s novels are complex and difficult to explain, as anyone – including Stecher – knows. Yet he appears to feel that he has some key that can unlock most of the mysteries. He makes a good case, but I was not wholly convinced. He seems to cherry pick examples in order to present a seemingly all-encompassing explanation for Murakami’s fiction, but I believe that there is no Murakami universe, no central rules governing his fiction.

That aside, this was a great book. It is slightly academic, and I loathe academic studies, but what sets it apart is that it is wonderfully accessible. Stecher is a good writer himself and does not let this book become bogged down in dull academic pontification. He sometimes takes off on seemingly unrelated tangents – about philosophy, religion, journalism – but these are, whilst not necessarily directly related to Murakami, fascinating and engaging.

Also, in spite of my criticism above, I did gain some real insight into various Murakami novels. I’ve read them all at least twice and thought I knew them about as well as I could, but Strecher’s insights have proven tremendously valuable. I strongly recommend this to anyone wanting to understand the complex (and allegedly forbidden) worlds of Haruki Murakami.

[Geek The World · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neste livro o autor vai explorar o universo de Haruki Murakami. Explicando as origens e as ideias de Murakami desde jovem, ficamos a saber como começou a escrever e a ganhar notoriedade.

A narrativa de Murakami tornou-se global, teve o papel de influenciado e influenciador, tendo em conta que chegou ao mercado literário mundial através das suas histórias criativas e imaginário inovador.

O mundo onde as histórias de murakami acontecem é real e ficcional, vai transitando entre ambos e depois está relacionado com o mundo físico no ponto em que o imaginário das personagens os faz navegar entre sonhos.

A escrita de murakami cria mundos novos, através das suas palavras. Tem poder para as passar para o imaginário do leitor e faz com que ele imagine.

As histórias dele nomeiam diversas culturas e revelam que a sua linguagem é única, motivando e interagindo com os leitores de uma forma dinâmica.

Estes mundos criados por Murakami fazem que as personagens possam viajar no espaço, consigam despreocupar-se dos pensamentosdo mundo real e tornaram-se alguém diferente, no ponto em que o que decidem fazer nesse mundo não ter a impacto, pelo menos à primeira vista na realidade.

Por outro lado, falamos de almas, que mesmo que possam ter passado para o além ou não, habitam estes mundos alternativos, para onde as personagens viajam e encontram "guias" para entenderem como circular ali ou seguir o seu caminho, ou mesmo até para encontrarem o que procuram.

Haruki Murakami faz uso dos espíritos como personagens, do seu significado e mensagens para criar histórias que guiam o leitor por um mundo alternativo ou realidade. São essas "personagens" que ajudam a criar uma história comovente, triste, entre outros sentimentos, que mostre o caminho da vida de cada um.

O papel do mundo metafísico nas relações entre as personagens, a amizade, colegasde trabalho e não só, a temática sexual relacionada com as personagens e a sua relação num mundo fora da realidade.

[Kevin]

Took this out of the library and as I'm always interested in anything Murakami was curious what this volume is about. In the first paragraph I came across the sentence "His first two books have been translated into English, but neither has been released outside Japan-according to popular rumor, because the author preferred it that way." Right away this set off alarm bells. Murakami had stated explicitly that he did not want his first two novels released internationally because they were immature works, his style was not fully developed yet. Use of the phrase "popular rumor" to describe something Murakami himself said was troubling, especially to come across such a misleading description at the very beginning of a 250 page book. How many more imprecise descriptions would be contained within? Luckily, I didn't have to worry long because as I flipped through the book reading passages at random I quickly realized this book is just one guy's intellectual/academic take/analysis of Murakami and I have no interest in that whatsoever. I'm glad others feel they got something out of this but it's not for me.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted a better understanding of Murakami’s novels and this book did provide that. However the author speculated a lot, even contradicting Murakami himself at times, so it partly came down to him writing about his interpretation of the texts. This was very academic, and at times diverged from Murakami to a broader discussion about literature. Overall it gave me what I wanted but it was not quite what I expected.

[Patrick Hanlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accessible scholarly book on Murakami's novels up to 2013's Colourless Tsukaru Tazaki. An enlightening read for those familiar with Murakami's work with insights on Murakami's techniques, tropes and themes that will make you want to read the novels again. Much of the book raises interesting questions about Japanese society, the use of mythologies and language in forming reality.

[Philip Chwistek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was slightly less dry than most Literary Criticism I’ve encountered because I have read so much of Murakami and have great interest in him as an author. My favorite chapter by far was Chapter 4, as it helped frame Murakami’s career and actions in Japan and elaborates on Murakami’s position in Japanese society. Good read if you’ve read as much Murakami as I have

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strecher effectively encapsulates much of Murakami criticism and offers some interesting insights, but a number of the ideas he presents are--even at his own admission--a bit of a stretch, if you'll excuse the pun. Nonetheless, I felt this book an effective introduction/summary for anyone interested in writing on Murakami.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a detailed analysis of Murakami’s themes, structures, and metaphors. Specifically, the author explores closely the “other world” prevalent in much of Murakami’s fiction. The author also examines some of Murakami’s contemporaneous work, providing context on characters, plot themes, and settings. This book was informative and educational; fans of Murakami’s work will enjoy it.

[Nancy Dardarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I alllllmost made it through this book, but it is just a bit too egghead for me. I love Murakami and really wanted to learn more about his style and the meaning of his more complicated themes... I learned a lot but then hit a wall.

[Robert Honour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written and incredibly in-depth. For a Murakami fan such as myself, I found Stretcher's analysis of the author's works fascinating. My only criticism is that I found certain passages fairly repetitive and the odd chapter a bit far-fetched. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it though

[Judah Nielsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thorough, never quite rises to the level of "interesting."

[Dave Schumacher · Rating 2 out of 5]

The intro was worthwhile, but the rest of it got way too esoteric

[Alya AlShaibani · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.80

[David Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lit crit with many themes and all of them plausible down to the Freudian Mandalas

[Julia D’Aprile]

very interesting content and engaging prose!!