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Haruki Murakami and His Early Work

The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Running Artist
Authors:
Publisher:
 2021

Summary

Haruki Murakami and His Early Work first discusses Murakami Haruki’s real-life activities and interests, such as his self-identity as a Japanese novelist, his position in the Japanese literary canon, music, translation and running. In this context, three short stories as pivotal to his early writing career are examined, including “The Second Bakery Attack,” “The Elephant Vanishes,” and “TV People.” Written in an easy style to read, and with the content full of references to select contemporary popular culture and consumer products, his fiction in general tends to invite criticism of irrelevance and frivolity. Against their nonsensical, even humorous appearance, however, the book’s close analysis reveals his persistent concern with the plight of today’s humanity in postindustrial reality. Through the bewildering stories, Murakami delivers a covert critique of aspects of the sociopolitical system, including unbridled consumerism, relentless pursuit of efficiency, and electronic media saturation, that brings people into total submission without their realization of the plight in which they are placed. In this respect, these short stories rival his acclaimed novels while showing his essential concerns and literary creativity more succinctly.

Keywords



Bibliographic data

Copyright year
2021
ISBN-Print
978-1-7936-3597-6
ISBN-Online
978-1-7936-3598-3
Publisher
Lexington, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
116
Product type
Book Titles

Table of contents

ChapterPages
    1. Contents No access
    2. Foreword No access
    3. Acknowledgments No access
  1. Chapter 1 Murakami’s Self-Conscious Ambivalence as a Japanese Writer No access Pages 1 - 6
  2. Chapter 2 Beyond National Canonicity No access Pages 7 - 12
  3. Chapter 3 Translation as a Beneficial Diversion for Murakami’s Fiction Writing No access Pages 13 - 18
  4. Chapter 4 “The Second Bakery Attack” No access Pages 19 - 38
  5. Chapter 5 “The Elephant Vanishes” No access Pages 39 - 56
  6. Chapter 6 “TV People” No access Pages 57 - 76
  7. Chapter 7 Televisual Appropriation and Fear in “TV People” and Ringu No access Pages 77 - 84
  8. Afterword No access Pages 85 - 88
  9. Appendix No access Pages 89 - 100
  10. Bibliography No access Pages 101 - 108
  11. Index No access Pages 109 - 114
  12. About the Author No access Pages 115 - 116

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