- Library Binding: 336 pages
- Publisher: The Harvill Press (27 Mar 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1860469523
- ISBN-13: 978-1860469527
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,328,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Review
"If literature is dead, someone forgot to invite Haruki Murakami to the funeral" Jay Rubin; "He has been made the subject of breathless comparisons: Auster, Salinger, Chandler, Borges... His books sell in millions in Japan; now he is gaining large readerships worldwide. One day, his growing legions of supporters insist, he will win the Nobel Prize" Matt Thompson, Guardian
New York Times
A lively and eccentric new critical study
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bubbling enthuisam on Murakami's work,
By RevealingCurvyEars (Durham, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words (Paperback)
If you're a definite Murakami fan, and would like to delve into his books a little more, this is a great buy. It's not really meant to be a biography as much as an examination of Murakami's stories and their background, as well as the ways in which they've developed over his career, starting from his earliest and working up to The Wind Up Bird chronicle and beyond.
It looks at Murakami's writing style and some of the themes that crop up in his books, but it's very accessible and enjoyable, so please don't be put off or think that this is just for students. Jay Rubin's enthusiasm and knowledge really make the book, and although it might not lead you to read Murakami in a whole new light, it does put a fresh spin on his stories. You might just find yourself heading off to the bookshelf to dig out some old favourites.
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
non-scholarly criticism,
By A Customer
This review is from: Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words (Panther) (Library Binding)
Everyone who has read a novel of Murakami will agree that he is a very imaginative writer. Discussions about fiction, its meanings, functions and symbols, however, are often tough reading for most of us. Use of lingo, technical intricacies and obscure references often make literary critique something like 'the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns'. And that is a pity, for background reading can really enhance the literary experience.It is Jay Rubin's merit that he has written a very good introduction on one of the most intriguing and in my eyes original contemporary authors. Never writing for an elite club of intimi, he succeeds in presenting his reader with a glimpse of the author Haruki Murakami, while giving very accessible insights in the books Murakami has written. This book is interesting for everyone who wants to dive into the fantastical world of Haruki Murakami, and is an excellent introduction to start further exploration of this fantastical writer and his books. Rubin gives a good overview of central concerns and topics in Murakami's books, hinting at correspondences between the different novels. Indeed, Murakami seems to be writing together an oeuvre, not a number of individual novels and short story collection. By merely hinting at those correspondences, Rubin keeps his book accessible for all readers, not scaring non-professional scholars off by complex methodological and thematic discussions. That is the great merit of this book: it opens up the oeuvre of Murakami for everyone. I would even say that it could be an interesting starting point for professional critics who want to explore the dark undergrounds in Murakami's books. This book, according to me, opens the door for interesting scientific reasearch on Murakami...
4.0 out of 5 stars
The music of Words,
By
This review is from: Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words (Paperback)
Where this book does really well is in breaking down the tales of Haruki Murakami, as Jay Rubin says, that being a translator also means being a critic, and he does a really fantastic job of interpreting the novels and short stories, so much so that he has made me want to reread at least a couple of Murakami's books. But he kind of scrimps on the autobiographical detail, using just enough to flesh out the exploration of his subjects oeuvre, offering a skeletal history, most of which is either known, or is easily accessible - married whilst at University, opened jazz Bar (peter cat), escaped to America after early success etc. At first I was a bit disappointed with the meagre offerings on the personal side of one of my favourite authors, and yet it soon became irrelevant, I became fascinated as jay Rubin dissected the stories, offering up his diagnosis, his interpretation of a series of works that have mystified readers for a while now, and in doing so shone a light into the many levels of Haruki Murakami's novels.
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