래플스 호텔

by Ryū Murakami, 정윤아 (Translator), 무라카미 류

무라카미 류의 영화 '래플스 호텔'을 소설로 재구성했다. 싱가포르에 실재하는 래플스 호텔을 배경으로 여주인공 혼마 모에코가 겪는 환상이 각기 다른 세 사람의 입장에서 전개된다. 2000년에 출간된 <눈부시게 찬란한 내 안의 블랙홀>의 개정판이다.

카리야 토시미치는 베트남전에서 종군기자로 활동하다 일본에 돌아와 사진 작가로 활동하고 있다. 어느 날 자신 앞에 나타난 여배우 혼마 모에코에게 강한 이끌림을 느끼지만, 카리야는 시간이 갈수록 모에코의 광기가 두려워진다.

둘의 관계를 끝내기로 마음먹은 카리야는 싱가포르에 가서 자신의 내부에 있는 블랙홀의 실체를 알아보겠노라고 거짓말을 한다. 2년의 시간이 지나 싱가포르를 찾은 모에코는 부와 권세를 얻고 그 속에 찌든 카리야를 발견한다. 모에코는 학살 현장에서 죽은 베트콩을 위해 카리야의 죄값을 받아내겠다고 결심한다.

Genres: Japan, Fiction, Novels, Roman

228 pages, Hardcover

Published April 10, 2004

About the author

Ryū Murakami (村上 龍) is a Japanese novelist and filmmaker. He is not related to Haruki Murakami or Takashi Murakami.

Murakami's first work, the short novel Almost Transparent Blue, written while he was still a student, deals with promiscuity and drug use among disaffected Japanese youth. Critically acclaimed as a new style of literature, it won the newcomer's literature prize in 1976 despite some observers decrying it as decadent. Later the same year, Blue won the Akutagawa Prize, going on to become a best seller. In 1980, Murakami published the much longer novel Coin Locker Babies, again to critical acclaim.

Takashi Miike's feature film Audition (1999) was based on one of his novels. Murakami reportedly liked it so much he gave Miike his blessing to adapt Coin Locker Babies. The screen play was worked on by director Jordan Galland. However, Miike could not raise funding for the project. An adaptation directed by Michele Civetta is currently in production.

Murakami has played drums for a rock group called Coelacanth and hosted a TV talk show.

Reviews

[josee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story concept .looking forward to reading more of this author's other books .

[Mary Goodnight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Les premiers chapitres installent une ambiance qui évoque les films de Wong Kar Wai. Pas étonnant d'ailleurs que le roman Raffles Hotel ait été écrit par Murakami Ryu en même temps qu'il tournait le film... son écriture très cinématographique emporte le lecteur dans un monde onirique où la réalité même des personnages peut être mise en doute. La description des rues de Singapour et du Raffles Hotel, batisse coloniale perdue au milieu d'une forêt de tours, est remarquable. L'atmosphère surannée de l'hôtel colle à la peau de Moeko, troublante actrice au centre de cette histoire remarquablement bien écrite.

[Philippe Malzieu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light and serious book at the same time. A pofondor not attends at Murakami (Ryu). A love history between a photograph and an actress. Third carchters Takéo plays the rôle of chœur like in greek tragedy. Curiously, Moroke resembles a little to Juliette,the heroin of my book. All the actresses are a little crazy.

That finish badly, Moroke try to kill Kariya. Construction is interresting. In each chapter, a carachter explain his point of view. The account evolves under the glance of each one what gives to the narration a particular relief.

But we are destabilized. It is a too normal novel. Murakami (Ryu) had accustomed us to border line characters.

[Pauline B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Court livre assez sympa, même si j'avoue que j'ai rien capté la fin..

[Inès · Rating 4 out of 5]

C'est un roman de Murakami qui s'inspire de son propre film. Trois personnages, on alterne avec leur point de vue (on est terriblement dans leur tête).

C'est un peu fouillis mais très captivant tout de même, l'ex soldat torturé est attachant et l'ex actrice qui est la star de l'intrigue est mystérieuse jusqu'à la fin.

Moeko Honma l'ex actrice a sombré dans la folie et vie en jouant des rôles constamment à la perfection, elle n'a l'air d'avoir jamais eu conscience de la réalité et des codes sociaux. C'est tristement drôle une femme comme cela qui navigue dans une société aisée.

En bref l'auteur laisse place à l'imagination du lecteur dans une histoire plutôt étrange.

[Nickolai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Своеобразная история про femme fatale. Необычная, но достаточно оригинальная. Понравился подход к отображению одних и тех же событий глазами их участников. Поражает, насколько мы можем делать неверные выводы о поступках других людей.

[Marie-paule · Rating 3 out of 5]

A photograh, Kariya, obsessed by his time in Vietnam during the war meets an actress Maeko that is obsessed by the photo, selfie we would say today, taken by a dying actress. Do they love each other? not sure but they are hanted by each other. The actress wants a picture of her from this photograph because she's seen an amazing war photo from him, and the photograph is attracted, frightened by this strange surrealist talented beautiful scary women. The story is a succession of chapter presenting the view from the different charater perspective, so often the same sentences appear, either spoken by its main character or related by an other. It's kind of unusual but very common in real life when you recall a scene and rewind things that were said. Anyway, there is some suspense, the two main characters are definitely a bit crazy. Is this real or just a dream ? Orchidees play a big role too. The story takes you from New York to Singapore Raffles Hotel then Malaysia jungle, with japanese characters mainly, including the young Takeo tourist guide and his girlfriend Matt, danser. Murakami produced a movie at the same time, same title that I am curious to see now.

[LaFleurBleue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bien écrit, l'ambiance particulière est très bien campée.
Cependant il ne se passe rien, je me suis ennuyée à lire ce livre pourtant court.
Je n'aime pas ce style / cette tendance de certains auteurs de vouloir démontrer la vacuité de notre mode de vie à travers des exemples de personne sans personnalité, sans caractère, juste perdus et vides.

[Alice Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author often treats disturbing themes. I love those books.

[Steve Bolduc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voilà une bonne histoire, plutôt légère, qui donne vie, en arrière plan, à un endroit mythique de la cité de Singapour: le Raffles Hotel.