The Murakami Effect

Who is Murakami?

Perhaps, a younger self of mine would look back at the old days and wonder why I had known his name for so long but never bothered to read his early works – his majestic wonders that have defined fiction and storytelling in ways we never imagined.

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese author who has written best-selling fictional novels that were sold in millions both local and international and were even adapted into movies. He is the recipient of many writing accolades for his published works translated into different languages. Murakami’s masterpieces have impressed many readers worldwide, bringing him in the classic fusion of modern surrealism confounded with magical realism. 

Since 2016, I have been reading his writing. When I first read his novel, Norwegian Wood, Haruki became one of my favorites. I could only remember that I lamented in nostalgia and sadness rooted in remembering how to lose someone so close to me. The dramatic loss was written very concisely, vividly detailed, and described in more ways than one. 

I realized then that Haruki’s art is here to stay – the effect no one can pull apart.  

From Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, Sputnik Sweetheart to the most recent South of the Border, West of the Sun and Men Without Women, Murakami is a fairy tale storyteller, but the plot and setting in the real world satiated of mystery and disturbing strangeness that was vocally placed through evocative writing. 

He writes about raining cats, supernaturals, doppelgangers living in another world, mysterious abilities, and paintings coming to life. All part of a great magical realism to depict, nonetheless, the reality. In Murakami’s conversation about Sputnik Sweetheart, he mentioned that his inspiration in writing novels is that he likes “stories of abnormal things happening to normal people”. Characters are often found in a weird introspection – frequently dwelling on the relevance of existence – and with the discovery of their philosophies and beliefs in the most unexpected ways. Their minds wallow into figurative memories that were tragic but realistic. 

Murakami uses his characters to unearth sexuality, to place uncanny yet peculiar elements that portray symbolism, and to bring a larger picture of the life we live in silence. Murakami effect is more experiential and passionate. No, it cannot relate to everyone, but it can connect with the vast majority. 

My favorite line from Sputnik Sweetheart creates a lonely, sentimental figure that lurks beneath and within us – “Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why? Was the Earth put here just to nourish human loneliness?”   

If I were to interview him right now, I would have asked him where these people of his dreams go? Where do they travel, and what sort of adventures do they wield in these clouds of imagery and unlikely allegory? 

I wanted to decipher what goes inside the head of an iconic Haruki Murakami. Then and now, these questions whirled inside my head – fantasy meeting reality? Where do we draw the line?  

A quintessential author, Haruki Murakami’s works have been defined as truly exemplary and wonderfully written. He is a literary epitome that indulges in the plethora of his imaginings. His writings are like a Midas touch. He can write these odd phrases sensibly filled with deeper meaning while touching the reader’s senses that arise from his mastery.