It’s not often that I read Murakami and leave feeling as though I have gained something that Murakami intends us to gain. I find myself searching for themes or lessons across his works, and struggle with the idea that there isn’t a neatly packaged message for us to take. We often are faced with short stories that throw a message in our face – ones that are typically “life lessons” such as “don’t lie to others” or themes of that nature. The more I read and desperately search for these determinant points to cling on to, the more I’m convinced that there is no one specific message that Murakami intends to give us.
Murakami’s characters live in moments. They take in the scene as if in no rush to do anything else; their thoughts and interactions with settings and other characters are carefully described, as if forcing us into those ‘slow’ moments, too. This idea is perfectly exemplified in “A Perfect Day for Kangaroos” and “Where I’m likely to find it” (particularly in the latter’s extensive documentation of the stairwell). Following the reading, my thoughts wandered to Albert Camus and his work, “The Stranger” and “The Plague” which convey the absurdity of life as completely devoid of absolutes.
The function of absurdism in Murakami’s writing seems to extend far beyond his writing style. There is undoubtedly a coexistence of both the bizarre and the ordinary in A Wild Sheep Chase, which together undermine the reality and seriousness of life in true absurdist fashion. Moreover, his nonlinearity and ambiguity in the ending of WSC seem to mirror the contingency of life itself. However, the most interesting themes of absurdity seem to lie in the characters themselves – what I first interpreted as indifference in Boku in a WSC may actually be a type of existential angst associated with the quest to find meaning in absolute truths, only to be met with disappointment. Boku’s fascination with his girlfriend's ears seemed to have no rhyme or rhythm to it, yet now I think it’s not meant to. What I see is ultimately just the absurdity of human likes, dislikes and behavior. I see some parallels in A Long Goodbye as well, as Marlow forms an important relationship with Terry and I couldn’t quite pinpoint (and it seems neither could he) the reason why, but maybe that is just the absurdity of human connection – random and devoid of any true ‘why’.
- Emma Martin
Hi Emma,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the points you made in this blog post and was inspired! In addition to Camus and the absurdist argument, Murakami also reminds me a lot of Kafka. It is in his screen -play-esk description as well as his surreal bending of what reality is he emulates Kafka's style. Kafka to me has his own genre but it would definitely fall under the umbrella of absurdity. Both authors comment on the political and power regimes through outlandish and concrete commentaries. For example, in The Wild Sheep Chase, the company that contacts him about the sheep photo seems like this deity of the modern business world, unchecked and obnoxiously powerful. This paired with such an absurd outcome is reflective of Franz Kafka's The Trail and Metamorphosis.
Thanks for considering!