paperback, 256 pages
Published May 3, 2016 by Vintage.
"The debut short novels--nearly thirty years out of print-- by the internationally acclaimed writer, newly retranslated and in one English-language volume for the first time, with a new introduction by the author. These first major works of fiction by Haruki Murakami center on two young men--an unnamed narrator and his friend and former roommate, the Rat. Powerful, at times surreal, stories of loneliness, obsession, and eroticism, these novellas bear all the hallmarks of Murakami's later books, giving us a fascinating insight into a great writer's beginnings, and are remarkable works of fiction in their own right. Here too is an exclusive essay by Murakami in which he explores and explains his decision to become a writer. Prequels to the much-beloved classics A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance, these early works are essential reading for Murakami completists and contemporary fiction lovers alike"--
Not one, but two novels dating back to Murakami’s first writing days. Both experimental, tentative. To me, one of these experiments a glorious succes, the other an equally glorious failure.
Why so glorious? Well, this is where we see a new voice finding itself, struggling to break out, and succeeding.
Surreal and mystical.
This is the first time I have read anything by Murakami and I found it to be pretty good, he might be a popular author one day. :)
His writing style is pretty interesting, I think he wrote these in Japanese, translated into English and then wrote that translation back into Japanese, at least it were something like that. The result ends up being lots of short sentences and small amounts of speech. The one thing I don't get about these two books is they are the "Rat stories" the character known as the rat only features in small bits here and there.
Wind is the début novel and you can tell that, its a bit rough around the edges but still an interesting read. Pinball is much better, the obsession for the pinball machine and psychology behind it was really well written, I did manage to get caught up …
This is the first time I have read anything by Murakami and I found it to be pretty good, he might be a popular author one day. :)
His writing style is pretty interesting, I think he wrote these in Japanese, translated into English and then wrote that translation back into Japanese, at least it were something like that. The result ends up being lots of short sentences and small amounts of speech. The one thing I don't get about these two books is they are the "Rat stories" the character known as the rat only features in small bits here and there.
Wind is the début novel and you can tell that, its a bit rough around the edges but still an interesting read. Pinball is much better, the obsession for the pinball machine and psychology behind it was really well written, I did manage to get caught up in the hunt for the elusive machine.
A good start, looking forward to reading more of his work.
Blog review here: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/01/21/wind-pinball-by-haruki-murakami/
