V's Online Library

"It was a clear spring day, Monday, March 20, 1995, when five members of the religious cult Aum Shinrikyo conducted chemical warfare on the Tokyo subway system using sarin, a poison gas twenty-six times as deadly as cyanide. The unthinkable had happened, a major urban transit system had become the target of a terrorist attack.

In an attempt to discover why, Haruki Murakami, internationally acclaimed author of 'The Wind-up Bird Chronicle' and arguably Japan's most important contemporary novelist, talked to the people who lived through the catastrophe--from a Subway Authority employee with survivor guilt, to a fashion salesman with more venom for the media than for the perpetrators, to a young cult member who vehemently condemns the attack though he has not quit Aum. Through these and many other voices, Murakami exposes intriguing aspects of the Japanese psyche. And as he discerns the fundamental issues leading to the attack, we achieve a clear vision of an event that could occur anytime, anywhere. Hauntingly compelling and inescapably important, 'Underground' is a powerful work of journalistic literature from one of the world's most perceptive writers.

"Tsukuru Tazaki had four best friends at school. By chance all of their names contained a colour. The two boys were called Akamatsu, meaning ‘red pine', and Oumi, ‘blue sea', while the girls' names were Shirane, ‘white root', and Kurono, ‘black field'. Tazaki was the only last name with no colour in it.

One day Tsukuru Tazaki’s friends announced that they didn’t want to see him, or talk to him, ever again.

Since that day Tsukuru has been floating through life, unable to form intimate connections with anyone. But then he meets Sara, who tells him that the time has come to find out what happened all those years ago."

Haruki Murakami - After The Quake (Vintage International Edition)

Synopsis:

The Six stories in Haruki Murakami's mesmerizing collection are set at the time of the catastrophic 1995 Kobe earthquake, when Japan became brutally aware of the fragility of its daily existence. But the upheavals that afflict Murakami's characters are even deeper and more mysterious, emanating from a place where the human meets the inhuman.

An electronics salesman who has been abruptly deserted by his wife agrees to deliver an enigmatic package - and is rewarded with a glimpse of his true nature. A man who has been raised to view himself as the son of God pursues a stranger who may or may not be his human father. A mild-mannered collection agent receives a visit from a giant talking frog who enlists his help in saving Tokyo from destruction. As haunting as dreams, as potent as oracles, the stories in after the quake are further proof that Murakami is one of the most visionary writers at work today.

the front cover (vintage international edition)

Synopsis:

In this propulsive novel, one of the most idiosyncratically brilliant writers at work in any language fuses science fiction, the hard-boiled thriller, and white-hot satire into a new element of the library periodic table.

As he searches for a mysteriously vanished girlfriend, Haruki Murakami's protagonist plunges into a wind tunnel of sexual violence and metaphysical dread in which he collides with call girls; plays chaperon to a lovely teenage psychic; and receives cryptic instructions from a shabby but oracular Sheep Man.

Dance Dance Dance is a tense, poignant, and often hilarious ride through the cultural Cuisinart that is contemporary Japan, a place where everything that is not up for sale is up for grabs.

Secara keseluruhan, ketiga buku ini bercerita tentang perjalanan panjang Aomame dan Tengo yang karena suatu hal terlibat dan secara tak sengaja masuk ke dalam dunia lain yang secara kasat mata nampak sama namun kenyataannya berbeda dengan dunia nyata.

Di jilid pertama diperkenalkan tokoh utama sekaligus alur utama cerita, yaitu Tengo yang berprofesi sebagai pengajar matematika di tempat bimbel namun memiliki bakat sebagai seorang novelis dan Aomame seorang trainer spesialis otot tubuh namun juga berprofesi sebagai pembunuh bayaran dengan keahlian yang unik.

Di tahun 1984 ini Tengo yang memiliki kehidupan biasa-biasa saja, tiba-tiba kehidupan disekitarnya berubah sejak editornya memaksa Tengo untuk berkomplot menulis ulang novel karya seorang anak SMA bernama Fukada Eriko.

Semenjak menulis ulang novel tersebut, Tengo merasakan ada yang aneh dengan cerita dalam novel tersebut yang terkesan begitu nyata dan penuh imajinasi. Yang lebih aneh lagi adalah pengarang asli novel itu yaitu Fuka Eri yang mengidap disleksia dan memiliki kelakuan yang aneh.

Yes. Another Haruki Murakami's work :) finally finished reading this book. Different from others work, this book is not a fiction but more like a heart-telling or mind-telling from Haruki Murakami's other passion: Running.


Yes. Who would have thought that Haruki Murakami is addicted to run ^^ considering to writing a novel and being a runner is exactly much different like two different sides of the coin. But he does. He writes novels while he also runs marathons. a lot. even triathlon.

I have finished reading Haruki Murakami "Blind Willow Sleeping Woman" three months ago, a compiled book of Haruki Murakami's short stories. I've got this book through some "googling" on my search of another Haruki Murakami's masterpiece. Labeled me obsessed.

Fortunately I've got this book easily and this is the English version, but unfortunately it's not a brand new book. This is a second handed book and was not in a good condition. Well, called it a 60% condition. The paper of it was being yellow already and so much scratch on the cover.

"Tidak ada kalimat yang sempurna.Sama seperti tidak ada keputusasaan yang sempurna."

Dalam kisah ini, tokoh Aku pejantan tangguh tapi terobsesi dengan seorang penulis Amerika yang mati bunuh diri. Kekasih Aku gadis manis dan bersahaja tapi tak ragu-ragu menggugurkan janin dalam kandungannya, yang entah siapa ayahnya. Sobat kental Aku, Nezumi, anak hartawan tapi muak dengan kekayaan dan menenggelamkan diri dalam alkohol. Mereka bertiga melewati delapan belas hari yang tak terlupakan pada suatu musim panas di sebuah kota kecil di tepi laut.

Dengarlah Nyanyian Angin bercerita tentang anak-anak muda dalam arus perbenturan nilai-nilai tradisional dan modern di Jepang tahun 1960-1970-an. Dengan ringan, Haruki Murakami berhasil menggambarkan sosok kaum muda Jepang yang antikemapanan dan tak memiliki bayangan ideal tentang masa depan. Novel pertama Murakami ini memenangi Gunzo Literary Award tahun 1979.

Another favorite book coming from favorite author. Yes, he is my first choice for fiction genre novel, Haruki Murakami. For the first time I will review his novel titled "Sputnik Sweetheart". At the beginning when I start to read this book, I have no idea why the title is Sputnik Sweetheart and what's the relation between Russian satellite named Sputnik with Haruki Murakami's story? Well, along the story of this book you'll start to understand why the title is Sputnik Sweetheart and in the end you'll agree that Haruki Murakami is one of the genius novelists ever!! And so do I. ^^

Tip before reading Haruki Murakami's books:
Most of his stories are all about mental-minded problem and contain sexual adult content. Make sure you're ready and mature enough to understand the plot and the way he writes a story, because sometimes it doesn't make sense at all but that's the unique point of his typical.

Synopsis:
"Twenty-two-years-old Sumire is in love with a woman seventeen years her senior. But whereas Miu is glamorous and successful, Sumire is an aspiring writer who dresses in an oversized second-hand coat and heavy boots like a character in a Kerouac novel.

Surprised that she might, after all, be a lesbian, Sumire spends hours on the phone talking to her best friend K about the big question in life: what is sexual desire and should she ever tell Miu how she feels about her.

Frustated in his own love for Sumire, K consoles himself by having an affair with the mother of one of his pupils. Then a desperate Miu calls from a small Greek Island and asks for his help, and he discovers that something very strange has happened to Sumire."