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Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 99 votes)
5 stars
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99 reviews
April 26,2025
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Mekurayanagi to Nemuru Onna = Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, Haruki Murakami

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is a collection of 24 short stories by Japanese author Haruki Murakami.

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman: An unnamed adult narrator and his younger teen-aged cousin wait for a bus to take them to the hospital so the cousin can have his ear problem examined, an ailment he has had since he was young due to being hit in the ear by a baseball.

While waiting, the cousin inquires deeply about the narrator's watch. The bus ride takes them through much hilly terrain and gives the narrator time to think about how he developed a close bond with his cousin. After the cousin checks in, the narrator reminisces on what happened the last time he visited a nearby hospital. ...

Contents:
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman,
Birthday Girl,
New York Mining Disaster,
Aeroplane: Or, How He Talked to Himself as If Reciting Poetry,
The Mirror,
A Folklore for My Generation: A Prehistory of Late-Stage Capitalism,
Hunting Knife,
A Perfect Day for Kangaroos,
Dabchick,
Man-Eating Cats,
A 'Poor Aunt' Story,
Nausea 1979,
The Seventh Man,
The Year of Spaghetti,
Tony Takitani,
The Rise and Fall of Sharpie Cakes,
The Ice Man,
Crabs,
Firefly,
Chance Traveller,
Hanalei Bay,
Where I'm Likely to Find It,
The Kidney-Shaped Stone That Moves Every Day,
and A Shinagawa Monkey.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و چهارم ماه نوامبر سال2014میلادی

عنوان: درخت بید کور و دختر خفته (مجموعه داستان)؛ اثر هاروکی موراکامی؛ مترجم مونا حسینی؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، قطره، سال1391، در89ص، شابک9786001195938؛ کتاب از متن انگلیسی اثر ترجمه شده، چاپهای سوم و چهارم سال1392؛ موضوع داستانهای کوتاه از نویسندگان ژاپن، سده21م

کتاب مجموعه داستان‌های کوتاه ژاپنی سده بیستم میلادی، با موضوعات اجتماعی و انسانی ست؛

داستان‌ها: «راننده تاکسی خون‌ آشام»، «شهر او»، «جشنواره شیر دریایی»، «درخت بیدکور و دختر خفته»، «آینه» و ... .؛

چکیده داستان «درخت بیدکور و دختر خفته»: پسر جوانی، به دلیل موقعیت ایجاد شده، مجبور به ترک کار خود، در یک شرکت تبلیغاتی کوچک، در «توکیو» شده، و به زادگاهش بازمی‌گردد؛ در همان سال، رابطه ی او با نامزدش، به هم خورده، و مادربزرگش نیز فوت می‌کند؛ پسر جوان، به خواست عمّه ی خود، پسرعمّه‌ اش را، که ده سال از او کوچک‌تر است، نزد پزشک گوش می‌برد؛ پسر جوان، در طول مسیر بیمارستان، به یاد داستان دوست دبیرستانی خود (درخت بیدکور باعث ناشنوایی دختر زیبایی شده و مردی برای نجات او به بالای تپّه می‌رود) و مرگ ناگهانی دوستش می‌افتد؛ او، پسرعمّه ی خود را، درگیر بیدکوری می‌بیند، که گرده هایش به گوش پسرک، نفوذ کرده و کم‌ کم او را ناشنوا می‌کند

نقل از متن: (شهرِ او: اولین برفِ سال، در خیابانهای «ساپورو»، واقع در شمال «ژاپن»، شروع به باریدن کرده بود؛ ابتدا با دانه های باران شروع شد؛ سپس تبدیل به برف شد، و چیزی نگذشت، که دوباره باران شد؛ هرچند در خیابانهای «ساپورو» بارش برف، آنقدرها هم غریب نیست، و از آن همچون خویشاوندی منفور، استقبال میشود؛ امروز جمعه، بیست و سومِ ماه اکتبر است؛ وقتی «توکیو» را، با یک هواپیمای747، از فرودگاه «ناریتا» ترک کردم، فقط یک بلوز آستین کوتاه تنم بود، و قبل از اینکه گوش کردن به نوار کاستِ نود دقیقه ایم به اتمام برسد، برف شروع به باریدن کرد؛ دوستم خطاب به من گفت: «اینجا این چیزا عادیه، همیشه اولین برف سال، همین وقتا میاد، و بعد از اون هوا دیگه سرد میشه.»؛

ـ بدجور سرد میشه، نه؟

ـ آره سرماش شوخی نداره.؛

ما در محلی کوچک و ساکت، در «کوبه»، واقع در غرب «ژاپن»، بزرگ شدیم؛ خانه هایمان چیزی حدود پنجاه متر، از هم فاصله داشت، و دوران راهنمایی و دبیرستان را، همکلاسی بودیم؛ در اردوهای مدرسه، همیشه وقتمان را، با هم میگذراندیم؛ بعد از اتمام دبیرستان، در دو دانشگاه مختلف قبول شدیم. من به «توکیو» رفتم، و او به سمت شمال، عازمِ شهر «هوکایدو» شد

من با یکی از همکلاسیهای «توکیو»ئیم ازدواج کردم، و او هم با یکی از همکلاسیهایش که اهل «اوتارو» در «هوکایدو» بود، ازدواج کرد؛ در واقع این همان رسم زندگی است؛ ما همچون دانه هایی در باد، از هم جدا شدیم؛ اگر او هم به دانشگاهی در «توکیو» آمده بود، یا من به دانشگاهی در «هوکایدو» میرفتم، زندگیمان، کاملاً متفاوت از چیزی که هست، میشد؛ شاید من در یک آژانس مسافرتی کار میکردم، و دور دنیا را میگشتم؛ او هم نویسنده ای در «توکیو» میشد؛ اما سرنوشت، اینگونه خواسته بود، که من رمان نویس شوم، و او کارمند آژانس هواپیمایی، و هنوز خورشید، به تابیدن خود ادامه میدهد

دوستم، یک پسر شش ساله، به نام «هوکوتو» دارد، و همیشه سه تا از عکسهای او، در کیف پولش همراه اوست؛ «هوکوتو»، در حال بازی کردن با یک گوسفند در باغ وحش، «هوکوتو» در حالیکه لباس جشنواره ی پاییزه «شیچی گوسان» را پوشیده است، «هوکوتو» در زمین بازی، با راکتی در دست؛ قبل از اینکه، عکسها را به او برگردانم، به هر عکس، سه بار نگاه کردم، یکی پس از دیگری؛ نوشیدنیم را برداشتم، و با کمی از «رویبه» یخزده، غذای لذیذ «هوکایدو ییها»، خوردم

از من پرسید: «راستی از پ چه خبر؟»؛

جواب دادم: «خوبه، یه روز تو خیابان دیدمش؛ طلاق گرفته، و در حال حاضر، با یه خانم جوان زندگی میکنه.»)؛ پایان نقل

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 04/11/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 10/09/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
April 26,2025
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"Ar yra šiame pasaulyje kas nors baisiau žmogui už jį patį?"
Po šitos knygos nevalgysiu krabų.
April 26,2025
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If I had to think a way to define this book ... I cannot think otherwise than as a "Short story Matryoshka" (Cultural information: matryoshkas are those typical russian wooden dolls of different sizes placed one inside the other). Because as the reading progresses you'll find stories inside other stories, maybe this is part of the originality of the writer.

His style stands out even from the way he entitled the stories, the titles are as imaginative as: The year of spaguetti, A perfect day for kangaroos or The kidney-shaped stone that moves every day (???!!!). The funny thing is that when you finally feel that you understand where the writer wants to bring to you with his storytelling, it suddenly takes a twist and transform.

Even some stories left me wondering why some of them don't have any explicit end, maybe Murakami thought that leaving the tale inconclusive, the story never ends ... as if the failure to reach a conclusion or denouement, allows the story continues living (or maybe reading this book has affected my good sense).

It’s been a while since a writer made me mad, there are sometimes that he left me in complete ignorance, in which I finished the story without even knowing what it was about, but there are some that make you understand the "magical realism" in a different form, because they transmit you so much (as were for my Chance Traveller, Hanalei Bay, among others)... some of them were like horror short stories for me, like a psychological terror, riddled with a dark magic but at the same time wonderful; as I remember fragments from The mirror, The seventh man, and even the Man-Eating cats.

The only advice that I could give to anyone who has not read anything from this author, is that when he/she feels that don’t manage to connect with the history, must close the book and wait a little bit ... it is necessary to give another opportunity to Murakami; his writing style is very versatile and for the same reason in occasions it is charming and in others its distressing; but undoubtedly deserves a second chance and, why not? .....even a third one.
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Si tuviera que pensar una manera de definir este libro... no se me ocurre otra forma que como una "matrioska de cuentos" (Dato cultural: las matrioskas son esas típicas muñequitas rusas de madera que se van guardando una dentro de otra). Y es que conforme la lectura avanza te vas encontrando cuentos dentro de los cuentos, probablemente es parte de la originalidad del escritor.

Su estilo destaca desde la forma en que titula las historias, son encabezados tan imaginativos como: El año de los spaguettis, Un día perfecto para canguros o La piedra en forma de riñón que se desplaza día tras día (???!!!) . Lo divertido es que por más que sientas que vas entendiendo a donde quiere llevarte el escritor con su narración, de repente da un giro y el cuento se transforma.

Incluso algunos relatos me dejaban pensando que no tenía final; tal vez Murakami pensó que al dejar la narración abierta, el cuento no termina... me deja pensando que el hecho de no poder encontrar una conclusión o desenlace, permite que la historia continué viva (o tal vez el leer los cuentos haya afectado un poco mi cordura).

Hace tiempo que un escritor no me hacía enojar, y es que en ocasiones siento que me dejaba en completa ignorancia, vamos que terminaba de leerlo sin siquiera saber de qué se trataba, sin embargo existen unos que te ayudan a entender el “realismo mágico” , porque te transmiten tanto (como lo fueron para mi Viajero por azar, Hanalei Bay, entre otros más)...algunos me parecían cuentos de terror, un terror psicológico, envueltos en una magia oscura pero al mismo tiempo maravillosa; por recordar fragmentos del El espejo o El séptimo hombre, e incluso Los gatos antropófagos.

El único consejo que se me ocurre darle a cualquiera que no haya leído algo de este autor, es que cuando sienta que no logra conectarse con la historia, cierre el libro y espere un poco... a Murakami hay que darle segundas oportunidades; su narración es muy versátil y por lo mismo en ocasiones encanta y en otras desespera; pero sin duda merece una segunda oportunidad y ¿por qué no? .....incluso una tercera :)
April 26,2025
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I really like this book. For some reason, I feel a connection to the stories Murakami writes. I decided to review every story individually, keeping it short and simple, sometimes with just a quote or nothing at all.

Highlight review:
5/5 "Chance Traveller": I once had a chance traveller encounter myself while reading a Murakami book. I started reading "Kafka On the Shore" at the airport while waiting to board my flight to Valencia two years ago. As I was comfortably reading on a bench, a girl showed up out of the blue and sat next to me with the exact same copy of "Kafka On the Shore". We chatted briefly but eventually had to board separate flights – me to Valencia and she to her home.

Other story reviews:
4/5 "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman": For some odd reason, I really enjoyed how the bus ride felt different for the protagonist than it used to.

5/5 "Birthday Girl": I loved this story. It made me wonder what I would wish for if granted one wish. I still don't know.

3/5 "New York Mining Disaster": The story is quite depressing if you think about it. But I felt the connection between the New York Mining Disaster and the story was just too far-fetched.

3/5 "Aeroplane: Or, How He Talked To Himself as If Reciting Poetry": A nice short story, not much to comment on. However, maybe one day I will talk like I am reciting poetry when talking to myself.

5/5 "The Mirror": This reminded me of the movie "Mirrors" for some reason, but with a Murakami twist. An amazing written story.

5/5 "A Folklore for My Generation: A Prehistory of Late-Stage Capitalism": One of my favourite short stories. I felt I could relate to it for some reason, even though there isn't a good reason why.

5/5 "Hunting Knife": Made me wonder how often strangers notice me and what they would think if something about me changed.

2/5 "A Perfect Day for Kangaroos": I didn't feel much for this story.

5/5 "Dabchick": It feels like a surrealistic dream I once had and will have again.

3/5 "Man-Eating Cats": An interesting story, not much else to comment on.

4/5 "A 'Poor Aunt' Story": I liked this story. I don't know why, but it is a nice one.

4/5 "Nausea 1979": Guilt.

3.5/5 "The Seventh Man": "They tell us that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself; but I don’t believe that. The fear is there, all right. It comes to us in many different forms, at different times, and overwhelms us. But the most frightening thing we can do at such times is to turn our backs on it, to close our eyes. For then we take the most precious thing inside us and surrender it to something else. In my case, that something was a wave."

5/5 "The Year of Spaghetti": "'I'm sorry,' I said again, 'but I'm cooking spaghetti right now.' 'Come again?' 'I said I'm cooking spaghetti,' I lied. I had no idea why I said that. But that lie was already part of me - so much so that it didn't feel like a lie at all."

4/5 "Tony Takitani": "Once the mountain of records had disappeared from his house, Tony Takitani was really alone."

4/5 "The Rise and Fall of Sharpie Cakes": Note to myself: Don't get involved in the sharpie cake cult.

3/5 "The Ice Man": We all have times when we feel just like the Ice Man, don't we?

2/5 "Crabs": Not biting this time, also not eating crab any more after reading this story.

4/5 "Firefly": "Maybe the problem wasn't with the light, but with my memory. Maybe the fireflies' light wasn't that bright after all. Was I just imagining it was? Or maybe, when I was a child..."

4/5 "Hanalei Bay": A nice story, it gave me a good laugh.

5/5 "Where I'm Likely to Find It": I feel like searching for a door like the detective in our story is trying to find. Maybe one day we will find it hidden somewhere in a shape that's not like a door.

4/5 "The Kidney-Shaped Stone That Moves Every Day": I met 1 out of 3. Two more to go? Or one more? I don't know, but time will tell.

5/5 "A Shinagawa Monkey": Maybe one day I will meet the Shinagawa monkey. He seems like a chill monkey to talk to.
April 26,2025
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It very hard not to love Murakami's writing. His texts, especially short ones, are so soothing, flowing, subtle and surreal. He can make even most ordinary things dream-like. That's what I love about him -nothing is ordinary.
April 26,2025
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Reading Murakami (Haruki) is kind of like dreaming. This was a book of 24 of his short stories. What I noticed is that unlike some short story collections I've read, Murakami has the talent of writing a few first lines that just grab you and make you rush on with the story. But then what seems straightforward, say a simple love affair, ends up being just a firefly stuck in a jar or an endless trip to the south pole; the end sometimes has no relation to the beginning or no apparent relation. Some of the stories lack resolution or obvious resolution. They leave you thinking... the last few lines of text radiating ever wider and overlapping like ripples in a pond. It's like when you dream and all of these seemingly unrelated people and things and places interact and you wake-up thinking 'wow' that was a cool dream. Although the dream made no sense when you woke up, you can't help but think about it, and sometimes tell your best friend. That was this book. My alarm clock is going off now...
April 26,2025
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This is probably the best book of short stories I've ever read. I had intended to read a couple here and there but I found I couldn't stop reading them. Just about every story had me thinking about their meaning long after I read them. I had no idea his short stories were so incredible.

There are some common themes through out. One character will have a parallel with another character and there are many themes in regard to family members, spouses, and old friends who are not as close they normally would be. Some of them have surreal elements that are absolutely mind bending. The Hunting Knife was particularly....bending. They are all grounded in the real world though which gives them their deeper meanings.

He says in the introduction that his editor and publisher always tell him to write more short stories and I can see why, the guy is a genius.

April 26,2025
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Este libro consta de 24 relatos muy diferentes entre sí. Me ha encantado que el libro empiece con un prólogo escrito por el propio Murakami donde cuenta cosas tan interesantes como la inspiración que fueron algunos de estos relatos para ser convertidos en historia, o en qué se inspiró a la hora de crear cierto relato.

Encontramos un relato relacionado con "Sputnik, mi amor". También con otro relacionado con "Tokio blues". Otro lo creo a raíz de un sueño que tuvo su mujer... Y también explica que los últimos cinco relatos se publicaron en Japón en un solo tomo y fue llamado "Cuentos extraños de Tokio". No tienen ningún orden, por lo que se pueden leer todos los relatos (tanto estos cinco que digo, como los demás) en el orden que se prefiera. De hecho, jugando con la información que da Murakami en dicho prólogo, yo fui saltando a los que más me apetecían en cada momento y cuando me quedé sin referencias, iba salteando los relatos igualmente, excepto los 5 últimos que si que los he leído seguidos ya que quise leerlos en el orden en que se publicaron originalmente en Japón.

En este libro marqué 13/24 relatos que me gustaron tanto que me gustaría que se desarrollaran como historias más largas (o con más desarrollo). Creo que más de una tendría mucho potencial para seguir conociendo a los personajes, o ver más extensamente lo que ocurre... Sé que esto, muy probablemente, no ocurra, pero sé que los relatos que marqué serán los que más ganas tendré de releer en un futuro y ver qué me parecen después de olvidarlos casi por completo.

Enumero estos que os digo que fueron mis favs:
✨Sauce ciego, mujer dormida
✨El espejo
✨El folclore de nuestra generación (...)
✨El cuchillo de caza
✨Los gatos antropófagos
✨Náusea, 1979
✨El séptimo hombre
✨Conitos
✨El hombre de hielo
✨Viajero por azar
✨Hanalei Bay
✨La piedra con forma de riñón (...)
↗️(Creo que mi favorito de este libro)
✨El mono de Shinagawa

He de decir que marqué (en el índice, al igual que estos) el prólogo como algo que también me gustó mucho, y es que me encantaría saber en qué se basa, que inspira, de qué elementos, personas o situaciones saca inspiración Murakami a la hora de crear los relatos. Sería genial, aunque no sea en profundidad, conocer qué le mueve a la hora de escribir cada relato que encontramos publicado.

Sin más, recomiendo Sauce ciego, mujer dormida para aquellos que ya hayan leído algo de Murakami anteriormente. Opino que sus relatos son pequeños regalos para la gente que ya necesitamos en nuestra vida a Haruki Murakami ❤️
April 26,2025
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I love Murakami’s characters and their loneliness, the silent suffering they go through and the fact that you are never really sure whether they are daydreaming, dreaming, having superpowers or are just being highly sensitive. Yet again, loneliness is one the main topics in Murakami’s work and this book is no exception – “Can you imagine how astonished the Italians would be if they knew that what they were exporting in 1971 was actually loneliness ?”, or the final paragraph of “The Year Of The Spaghetti”, is one of the nicest rhetorical questions I have ever encountered. “The Ice Man” is a sad and cold story showing the desolation of a young woman and to be honest, it doesn’t’ take reaching the South Pole to feel the way the heroine of the story does. You could be visiting a zoo or having nausea for 40 days as well…

The book itself goes through many topics – sickness, death, society, capitalism, routine, guilt, dreams, relationships, family, broken marriages, self-esteem, etc. Nevertheless, it doesn’t feel like rushing through them but rather like describing them; not giving a solution but offering a different point of view in case you needed it; in case you didn’t you could just enjoy a nice story.

Murakami’s short stories are far easier to read, to follow and to comprehend, especially compared to some of his books which may take you months to digest and in the end, you never really know if you got the main idea or if there was actually one. As Murakami himself points into the introduction, some of the short stories in the book have later been used as a base for few of his books – “Norwegian wood”, “Kafka on the shore”, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle”, “Sputnik Sweetheart”. Reading or having already read those books could give you a nice sense of how an idea develops and grows into something bigger and much more complicated. I did enjoy following the stories even if there were a few weak spots but hey, even Fitzgerald and Chekhov had them. Still, probably it would take you to be more or less a Murakami fan to fully enjoy the book which is not such a bad thing after all.
April 26,2025
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Nemėginsiu pateisinti Harukio Murakamio. Jam tikrai geriau sekasi rašyti ilgus romanus nei apsakymus. "Rašyti apsakymą, jo paties žodžiais tariant, tai - kaip sodinti sodą, o rašyti romaną – kaip auginti mišką." Jis laiko save romanistu, kartais norinčiu pabėgti nuo šio žanro. Dėl to kartais rašo apsakymus.
Iš Murakamio esu skaitęs beveik viską, kas išversta į lietuvių kalbą. Ir, nors tuo metu trumpų apsakymų nenorėjau skaityti (norėjau miško, o ne sodo), ėmiausi šio rinkinio tik dėl to, kad kaip kolekcionierius negalėjau praleisti ir šios knygos. Ji būtų nedavusi man ramybės. Būtų žvelgusi iš lentynos savo didele akimi. Būtų persekiojusi sapnuose. Turėjau atsidaryti , pereiti per visus tuos kalnuotus siužeto sodelius, kad galėčiau uždaryti ir žinoti - pamatyta dar viena Murakamio pasaulio dalis. Ir kas svarbiausia, žinojau, kad negaliu nusivilti jo rašymu. Jis nuoseklus ir atpažįstamas rašytojas. Todėl ir vertinimas šios knygos nedaug kuo skirtųsi nuo kitų jo trumpų apsakymų:
Jei trumpai, patiko:
Peizažai. Jis moka sukurti aplinką, atstumą tarp personažų, izoliuoti kurį nors ir leisti stebėti iš toli.
Siužeto vingiai. Visai normalu, kad pasakojimo pradžioje lauki su pusbroliu autobuso, o jo gale leidiesi į miegančios moters ausį.
Trumpi sakiniai. Kompaktiška ir aiški kalba. O ko daugia gali reikėti skaitytojui. Kažkuo užburiantis tas balsas.
Nepatiko:
Personažų seklumas. Jie kaip popieriniai, be dvasios gilumų, permatomi.
Kad ima ir dingsta. Čia jau Murakamio senas triukas, kuris visada suveikia, bet ilgainiui nusibosta. Šioje knygoje be perspėjimo dingsta vardai, žmonės, akmenys, „tas kažkas“.
Todėl duodu 3.5/5
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