confused but approving

[freckles_and_doubt]

Well. That was ... lateral. Have just finished Kafka on the Shore, and have to confess myself a somewhat bewildered Murakami fan. He nearly lost me around the disembowelling cats bit, which I still think was a bit gratuitous, but I got over it. I can't actually work out how much of the off-the-wall surreality is Murakami, and how much of it is simply inscrutable orientalism - I am eternally fascinated by the extent to which Eastern assumptions about narrative are madly, madly different to Western. Have been trying to find the right word to describe his storytelling. Occlusive? oblique? also adumbrated, implicit, abstruse, recondite and elisive. Anyway. Colour me scouring Cape Town for more of his writing.

Positive vibes on the book-revision front. Nicest Ex-Supervisor in the World came round yesterday to collect the revised Carter chapter in order to check it for hopeless incoherence. She seems to think that the airy wave of the hand with which I am dismissing semiotic narrative criticism and all its horrible ilk, is legit. Am currently struggling with how to implement the changes required in the Thurber discussion, since currently reading through the chapter is causing me to wail "but I do that already!" at intervals,in response to the examiner and editor suggestions. Woe. But the acquisitions editor approves the Ursula Vernon cover, yay!

Cape Town continues hot. Sigh.

Comments

Hardboiled Murakami

[strawberryfrog.livejournal.com]

Ha! Another one bites the Murakami. I wouldn't blame his style on inscrutable orientalism or other such sweeping notions, since he's well-travelled and - like his characters - thoroughly steeped in Western culture. According to this he has translated F. Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Carver and Truman Capote into Japanese, so probably knows what he's doing with a story-as-we-know-it.

His characters seem curiously grounded and mundane to me, which is a good thing when the going gets weird. In fact, I suspect that his main character is basically himself.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, which is practically Sci-Fi, are recommended by moi.

"Norwegian Wood" is also supposed to be good, but I haven't read it yet.

Re: Hardboiled Murakami

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

I certainly wouldn't say that his style is simply "oriental" - I think I'm trying to judge where on the scale the Eastern notions of narrative end and his own personal weirdness begins. I find the feeling of drift in his stories quite similar to a kind of shapelessness, by Western standards, that I get from anime. But, yes, I do see that he's also very Western-grounded. Fascinating read. Will have to track down Wind-up Bird and Hard-boiled Wonderland. In my copious free time.

Re: Hardboiled Murakami

[(Anonymous)]

I finished Wind-up Bird, the first of his I'd read, in a state of not only bewilderment but intense frustration - because the protagonist is indeed so ordinary, I kept expecting all the weirdness to get 'explained' at some point and instead I wound up without anything under my feet, in a narrative sense. Er. What horrible phrasing. Sorry.

But I liked it nonetheless, and found much the same thing with Hardboiled (thanks Strawbs!), except that I was prepared - and it ends up in a proper separate reality, rather than this reality minus any sense, which was a bit easier to deal with. And then with Kafka, I felt even less bewildered, because all the weirdness is (mostly) behind you, though not actually explained, and you're back in the real world. This is my impression; but I do wonder whether it's just me getting used to the Murakami Madness, or whether he is in fact mellowing. Huh.

robynn

Re: Hardboiled Murakami

[(Anonymous)]

i was gong to recommend those exact same two, for the simple reason that they are the only ones i've read. but that is because they are the ones stv had insisted i read, and he's a BIG fan (and has them all...)

enjoy!

jo

Um?

[(Anonymous)]

"Occlusive? oblique? also adumbrated, implicit, abstruse, recondite and elisive" Three of those I know. I am writing them down and shall look them up in the trusty COD at home....

wolverine_nun

Re: Um?

[(Anonymous)]

er... by "them" I mean the one's that I *don't* know...

w_n

Re: Um?

[(Anonymous)]

And I don't know where that apostrophe came from. Too many maths tuts, must go home...

w_n

Re: Um?

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

We forgive you your trespasses...

words not long but twisty

[strawberryfrog.livejournal.com]

"elisive" only gets 393 hits on google, and most seem to by typos for "elusive". This could be a form of the word "elide"

The others can be looked up, if you try hard enough. "Occlusive" is not in Webster 1913, but google will tell you, naturally, that it means "Occluding or tending to occlude" - so clearly, this story blocks one's view of stuff.

Google knows all.

Re: words not long but twisty

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that I more or less invented "elisive", from, indeed, "elide". Murakami's writing seemed to require such a coinage, mere everyday English being inadequate, and all. And, yes, it definitely obscures stuff. Mostly itself.

Re: words not long but twisty

[(Anonymous)]

Google? pah! I turn to the OED.

Elisive: not recognised by OED. Elide: (variously) to destroy, to annul, to suppress.
Occlusive: having the property of occluding something (well, yes). Occlude: to block so as to prevent anything passing in or out.
Adumbrated: "shadowed forth; represented faintly or in outline". Like that one.
Abstruse: concealed, hidden, secret. Also, "remote from apprehension or conception, difficult,recondite". hmmm
Recondite: "removed or hidden from view; kept out of sight" Rare, it says.
Now you, Marie of Roumania, clearly know what all these words mean, so this glossary is presented merely for the interest of your more ignorant witterers.

I have to think of a way of using "adumbrated" in casual conversation...

wolverine_nun

small world

[(Anonymous)]

Halfway across the world, and we're both listening to the exact same music... Makes it seem not so far away after all.

Love, Dayle

[(Anonymous)]

so you invented a word by occident... (ducks)

wince

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

Certainly not! I invented a word entirely on purpose!

and well may you remain nameless for that one...