Discovering Murakami....

Just been reading around for more info on Murakami,when I came across these snippets about writing from him.

"I can pinpoint the exact moment when I first thought I could write a novel," Murakami recalled in a memoir. "It was around one thirty in the afternoon of April 1, 1978. I was in Jingu Stadium that day, alone in the outfield drinking beer and watching the game." It was a beautiful spring day, not a cloud in the sky, a warm breeze blowing.

"The crack of bat meeting ball right on the sweet spot echoed through the stadium. (The batter) easily rounded first and pulled up to second. And it was at that exact moment that a thought struck me. You know what? I could try writing a novel. I still can remember the wide open sky, the feel of the new grass, the satisfying crack of the bat. Something flew down from the sky at that instant, and whatever it was, I accepted it."

"As I write I think about all sorts of things. I don't necessarily write down what I'm thinking; it's just that as I write I think about things. As I write I arrange my thoughts. And rewriting and revising takes my thinking down even deeper paths. No matter how much I write though, I never reach a conclusion. And no matter how much I rewrite, I never reach the destination. Even after decades of writing, the same still holds true. All I do is present a few hypotheses or paraphrase the issue. Or find an analogy between the structure of the problem and something else."

Fading memory ...the dreams of yore!!

"Even so, my memory has grown increasingly dim, and I have already
forgotten any number of things. Writing from memory like this, I
often feel a pang of dread. What if I've forgotten the most important
thing? What if somewhere inside me there is a dark limbo where all
the truly important memories are heaped and slowly turning into mud?
Be that as it may, it's all I have to work with. Clutching these faded,
fading, imperfect memories to my breast, I go on writing this book
with all the desperate intensity of a starving man sucking on bones."
-Haruki Matukami ,Norwegian Woods


I too used to dream...of a day when i would go for work...



"............
I used to go to work…dunno what I was working on …it was not that important ..well atleast then …I would wear those full sleeve official attire…while shirts mostly….and I had a room…the big one with a thick wooden door …polished teak…with a big auto door closer…..There I had a big table …a glass sheet covering the entire length…There would be glass paper weights…abstract art on their own term.

The tables would be closed on three sides ,including the side facing the door…there is enough space for person to sneak in through the other side…yes this was a very specific requirement….

And then there would be a lady in the same building….same floor.. …don’t remember what she used to wear…guess was Indian attire…chudidars mostly ….Did she have a face….No…..Did I have a face….never needed one

We walked…..a long walk …during the evening…Never felt uncomfortable or tired…must be the evening…You never see a doctor in a dream.The visit is reserved for nightmares.I remember a swing…a bench on the park…..And there was debate and there were discussions…what was discussed I dunno….never tried to know…but was articulate….was serious and important…...Nothing personal

And then the sun sets .And we walk back .and start all  over again.......

....................."

And yes ,now I have read a Marukami !!

A few months back Marukami for me , was just a Japanese writer with a huge fan following,one among the many writing superstars I never read and thought i would never need to too.
Too self imersed was i ,that I always had a aversion to translated works in english , because I was sure I cannot connect to alien culture and of course there was the fear of things getting lost in translation.

But the experience of reading "The Legends of Khasak",has gone a long way in proving my fears wrong.I was more confident when i picked up the "A Wild Sheep chase" earlier this month.
Now that I have finished with it ,i can say confidently that my fears were totally unfounded.

The story is told in first version POV .The narrators name is never revealed.felt it helps one personalize the narrator's experiences .A name ,i normally feel detaches the reader from the protagonist and provides a slightly distanced view of what is happening.

The protagonist ,I am told ,as is often the case ,is goalless youth wandering aimlessly in life, a drifter,who ends up in a search for a elusive and mysterious sheep .A mysterious girlfriend ,a ear fetish,a mafia boss on his deathbed,and professor whose obsession lead him onto a lonely life ,a friend who withdraws to hide his weakness are just a few people who come along the way.


As the hunt begins the books moves slightly onto the detective genre (if there is one) which makes it a fast paced read.

Of all the passages,somehow ,the one that caught my fancy the most was his exchange with his recently divorced ex wife ,quite early in the novel.There was something in those lines between the 2 characters,seeing through their relationship quite cordially .Quite comfortable in each others presence all the same.


In the end it would be wrong to say I completely get what Marukami what saying in this books?What does the sheep symbolize.Who was his girlfriend? and many more.
Maybe another day when I am more educated I may be able to comprehend all this.And if that day never comes ,maybe i will never.But one thing is for sure,this wont be the last Murakami book I would have read.

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