1.20.2004
Vintage Murakami update
Well I haven't gotten the Vintage Murakami I ordered yet, but I had an hour to kill yesterday in Umeda so I hung out in Kinokuniya and checked it out (yeah they had it).
Yes, it's a reprint of existing works. Whatever. Except, that is, for a short story which is the last inclusion. So I stood there and read "Iceman" in the store. There aren't--or I haven't seen--bookstores like B&N or Book People here. But people do seem to stand in the aisles and read quite a bit, so...why not?
"Iceman" was published in the New Yorker recently, if I'm not mistaken. It's worth the price, even if you've read everything else in the book. Why? Murakami is a master of the short, but this is one of his best--at least if you tend to the chilling emotional aspects of Murakami.
I'm currently reading The Dying Animal by Philip Roth and among other things, his professor protagonist bemoans his son being:
"Iceman" on the other hand, is good story-telling--a tragedy where the fatal flaw is nothing more than the narrator following her heart. If I see a personal significance, it's in going out on a limb and doing something a bit off without really considering, or in full denial of, the consequences.
Besides how could anyone *not* relate to a Murakami narrator? They feed the cat, always have a beer in the fridge, make excuses to do what they want, have regrets, and are constantly trying to get to the bottom of something that's eluding them. That's how everybody feels, right?
Anyway it gave me the shivers.
Yes, it's a reprint of existing works. Whatever. Except, that is, for a short story which is the last inclusion. So I stood there and read "Iceman" in the store. There aren't--or I haven't seen--bookstores like B&N or Book People here. But people do seem to stand in the aisles and read quite a bit, so...why not?
"Iceman" was published in the New Yorker recently, if I'm not mistaken. It's worth the price, even if you've read everything else in the book. Why? Murakami is a master of the short, but this is one of his best--at least if you tend to the chilling emotional aspects of Murakami.
I'm currently reading The Dying Animal by Philip Roth and among other things, his professor protagonist bemoans his son being:
...one of those overheated kids for whom whatever he reads has a personal significance that eradicated everything else germane to literature.Not that I don't see his point, but his character is a hypocritical twit anyway, and...um...well I took this a little personally. I like books that communicate something I can recognize or relate to. I like a little subtlety, and above all good story-telling, all of which is why I'm hating this Roth book. If this is "Literature", it can go take a flying leap. Mind you I have to finish the book. I'm hoping an unsubtle act of vengance is inflicted on the main character at wich point I'll sing its praises and start touting the morality tale.
"Iceman" on the other hand, is good story-telling--a tragedy where the fatal flaw is nothing more than the narrator following her heart. If I see a personal significance, it's in going out on a limb and doing something a bit off without really considering, or in full denial of, the consequences.
Besides how could anyone *not* relate to a Murakami narrator? They feed the cat, always have a beer in the fridge, make excuses to do what they want, have regrets, and are constantly trying to get to the bottom of something that's eluding them. That's how everybody feels, right?
Anyway it gave me the shivers.
