After the Quake marks my initial encounter with the works of Haruki Murakami. It is a compilation of six stories that unfold in the wake of the 1995 Kobe earthquake.

“Super-Frog Saves Tokyo” truly stands out as the gem of the collection. It is a nightmarish piece of magical realism that oscillates between humor, gravity, and the grotesque. Frog, a polite and eloquent being, is given to philosophical ponderings and literary allusions. Throughout the story, he references Nietzsche, Conrad, Tolstoy, Hemingway, and Dostoevsky. His sense of humor is also quite charming. I particularly love his indignation when imagining someone denying his froghood: “Anyone claiming I am not a frog would be a dirty liar. I would smash such a person to bits” (94).

The other five stories didn't immediately capture my interest upon the first reading. It was only after delving into “Super-Frog Saves Tokyo” that I could understand their significance within the context of the collection. While “Frog” can be enjoyed independently, the other five stories rely on the overall narrative. Together, they create a backdrop for “Frog” - a world shattered by the earthquake, a people confronted with the harsh reality of impermanence and the existential fear of meaninglessness.

All the characters in this book are broken individuals. None of them are particularly likable, with the possible exception of Miyake from “Landscape With Flatiron.” However, he too is not really likable. He is vulnerable, and my sympathy for him makes me like him a little. But whether likable or not, they are all human beings. And that is what matters. Katagiri, who wonders why he was chosen to assist Frog, describes himself as a short, balding, pot-bellied, nearsighted forty-year-old man with no wife, no children, no friends, no social skills, and no respect from anyone. And Frog replies: “Tokyo can only be saved by a person like you. And it’s for people like you that I am trying to save Tokyo” (104).

Reading these stories as a whole reminds me of the atmosphere in NYC after the 9/11 attack. The word'surreal' has never been more fitting. Those of us who were not directly impacted were still affected. As we witnessed the towers collapsing repeatedly on our televisions, our perception of what was possible and impossible was forever altered. When we gazed at the Manhattan skyline, a gaping wound stared back at us. We were all damaged individuals. Perhaps that is why I feel a sense of sympathy for the fragile Miyake and his phobia of refrigerators.

But life persists, just as it does in Murakami's stories. Although the skyline still appears amiss to me.

A Fascinating Collection of Stories by Haruki Murakami
The book contains six stories, and the 1995 Kobe earthquake affects the lives of the characters in the stories in a certain way.
I read the translation by Ali Haj Qasem published by Negah, which had no description, and the story "All God's Children Can Dance" was not included in this book.
If I were to give a separate score to each story, the result would be as follows:
"The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday's Women" 2.5
"A View of the Hills with the Sun in Your Eyes" 3.5
"Thailand" 3.5
"The Giant Frog That Saved Tokyo" 4
"Honey Pie" 5
The average is 3.7, and I subtract 0.7 points from it because the story "All God's Children Can Dance" is not included.

This collection of stories by Murakami offers a diverse range of narratives that explore different themes and emotions. Each story has its own unique charm and style, captivating the reader from start to finish. The absence of the mentioned story may be a disappointment for some fans, but overall, the book still provides an enjoyable reading experience. The translations by Ali Haj Qasem seem to have done justice to Murakami's original works, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the author's imaginative world. Whether you are a long-time fan of Murakami or new to his writing, this collection is definitely worth checking out.

After the Kobe earthquake in Japan, lives change.

Murakami has described these lives in several short stories.

The theme of most of Murakami's stories is a kind of surreal and illusory concept.

Murakami is a good writer, but there is one thing about his work that puzzles me. I feel that at the end of many stories, the question "so what?" is raised. However, undoubtedly, while reading, you will enjoy it and it will attract you.

I had previously read the stories "The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday's Women" and "Honey Pie", and I don't remember where I read the first one, and the second one was in the collection of stories "Underground".

In my opinion, the best stories in this collection were "Thailand" and "Honey Pie".

In several stories, it seems that the subject of the earthquake was forcibly inserted into the text, and there was not much connection between the events in the text of the stories and the earthquake incident.

By the way, we are not facing a good translation in this edition.

In conclusion.

This is a collection of stories that are closely related to each other. All of them are about earthquakes. Reading these stories is enjoyable, and I recommend you to read them.

The list of stories in this book includes: "The Bird in the Storm in Kushiro", "A Scene with a Steam Locomotive", "Thailand", "The Giant Frog Saves Tokyo", and "Honey Candy".

These stories likely offer different perspectives and experiences related to earthquakes, perhaps exploring the emotions, actions, and consequences that occur during such natural disasters.

By reading these stories, readers can gain a better understanding of the impact of earthquakes and the various ways in which people and nature respond.

Additionally, the diverse settings and characters in each story add to the overall richness and variety of the collection.

Whether you are interested in learning about earthquakes or simply enjoy reading engaging stories, this book is worth checking out.

**After the Quake, Haruki Murakami**

After the Quake is a collection of 6 short stories penned by the renowned Japanese author Haruki Murakami between 1999 and 2000.

First published in Japan in 2000, it was later released in English as After the Quake in 2002. The stories in this collection offer a unique exploration of the human condition in the aftermath of a major earthquake.

The contents include "UFO in Kushiro," where strange phenomena occur after the quake. "Landscape with Flatiron" presents a different perspective on the post-quake world. "All God's Children Can Dance" delves into the lives of people dealing with the aftereffects. "Thailand" takes the reader on a journey with a character facing personal and external challenges. "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" introduces a fantastical element as a giant frog attempts to save the city. And "Honey Pie" rounds out the collection with its own story of love and loss.

Murakami's writing in After the Quake is known for its vivid descriptions and deep exploration of emotions. The stories capture the sense of dislocation and uncertainty that often follows a disaster, as well as the resilience and hope that can emerge in such difficult times.

Overall, After the Quake is a thought-provoking and engaging collection that showcases Murakami's talent as a storyteller. It offers readers a chance to experience the impact of a major event on the lives of ordinary people and to reflect on the power of human connection and the ability to find meaning in the face of chaos.

Whether you are a fan of Murakami's work or simply interested in stories that explore the human experience, After the Quake is a must-read.

I didn't understand the meaning of some of the stories, but they all gave me a very good feeling.

Definitely, I will read more than Morakami.

Morakami's works often have a unique charm. His writing style is full of mystery and fantasy, which can easily draw readers into his fictional world.

Although I didn't fully understand some of the stories, I could still feel the emotions and thoughts conveyed by the author.

Each story seems to have its own hidden meaning, waiting for readers to explore and discover.

I believe that as I read more of his works, I will have a deeper understanding and appreciation of his writing.

Therefore, I am looking forward to reading more of Morakami's works and experiencing the wonderful world he creates.

So far, as I am writing this review, I have only had the opportunity to read a few short stories by Murakami, and I must say that all of them, without exception, have created a shared feeling within me. The loneliness of human beings.

The heroes of Murakami's stories are always alone. Even if they are surrounded by a crowd, friends, partners, and colleagues, there is always a place within them that cries out for loneliness.

The difference between this collection of short stories and the other collections of Murakami's stories lies in the examination of the impact of a single event (the great earthquake in Kobe) on the lives of several people in several separate stories. For me, who doesn't have much connection with short stories, this collection was neither a masterpiece nor memorable, but reading it was not without charm.

Murukami's stories are truly a fertile ground for pastiche and parody. They are filled with an array of tropes and characters that seem to exist only within the confines of his fictional world yet constantly make their appearance. There are the lackadaisical loners, tortured artists, the disaffected and the deranged, talking animals, and convoluted plots.

When read all at once, these elements can perhaps grate on the reader. However, when taken in small doses, they serve to emphasize the magic of Murukami's imagination. His mind is resplendent with the weird and wonderful, a testament to his unrivalled storytelling abilities.

Among the collection, my favorite story is 'Super Frog Saves Tokyo'. Here, an erudite giant frog, when not quoting Dostoevskii and Nietschze, is busy planning to fight a giant worm that threatens to destroy Tokyo in a manner similar to how Anna Karenina fought a train. This entire tale is told through the eyes of a rather diffident debt collector who may or may not have imagined the whole thing. But the wonder lies in being caught up in this dream, in Katagiri's frog-man fantasies. After all, fiction is make believe, and whether Katagiri made up super-frog or not is beside the point. What matters is the storyteller's ability to capture and captivate the reader, and Murukami is at his best when he lets his imagination run wild.

The other stories in the collection are dominated by the characters who typically populate a Murukami novel. There are the waifs and strays, the losers and loners who inhabit the worlds he creates. Whether it's the fridgophobe Miyake in 'Landscape with Flirtation' or the lachrymose writer Junpei in 'Honey Pie', Murukami delves into the varying reasons for their isolation. It is usually intertwined with feelings of loss, be it romantic rejection or the breakdown of a friendship. Murukami is able to sensitively navigate the emotions and histories of these characters whose lives have led them down a path of solitude and seclusion. His stories are a paean to pathos, subtly exploring the different and individual ways of being human and dealing with pain and loss.

I can barely recall now hearing about the news of the Kobe earthquake back in 1995.

I had to go to Wikipedia for a recap to realize just how high the loss of life actually was, not to mention the level of destruction.

I pondered on 1Q84, but after reading Gravity's Rainbow, I just don't think I could handle another brick-sized novel right now, so I opted for this instead.

I don't know why, but I always thought this was a book of non-fiction not a collection of short stories. I think I got this mixed up with Underground, Murakami's book about the The Tokyo subway sarin attack, which also occurred in 1995.

Not a great year for Japan.

These six stories are only loosely connected to the aftermath of the earthquake. Murakami probes its reverberations indirectly from inside his own metaphysical world.

He looks at a complacent salesman who has just been dumped by his wife, a doctor facing up to the neglected life she led whilst holidaying in Thailand, a young woman drawn towards a suicidal artist, a writer reworking his own shortcomings into a bedtime story for a young girl, a bittersweet fantasy tale involving a giant frog, and the bewildering relationship between a slacker and his parents.

For me, it's a good book but nothing more. You can feel the emotional effects within his characters, and it's all very accessible. However, whilst Murakami's ground here did tremor for me, it didn't knock me off my feet with astonishment.

3/5

I realized recently that whenever I bother to put books on my "currently reading" shelf, they invariably turn out to be books that are unbearably boring to me.

As a result, they just sit there, gathering dust and languishing forever. Meanwhile, I find myself distracted by other reads, all in an attempt to avoid feeling guilty for not reading what I initially said I would.

The latest distraction for me was "After the Quake." I chose it for two reasons. Firstly, its length was short enough to deceive myself into thinking that I would quickly return to the "to be read" shelf once I finished this book. Secondly, its author, Murakami, has never let me down.

I truly don't understand how Murakami is able to write things that are simultaneously full of clarity and mystery. But he manages to do so with great finesse. I absolutely loved these stories. They had a unique charm and depth that kept me engaged from start to finish.

Murakami's writing style is like a magical spell that draws you in and makes you forget everything else. His ability to create vivid characters and captivating storylines is truly remarkable. I can't wait to explore more of his works in the future.

Murasaki easily and smoothly penetrates into the human heart and describes its story. It leads you to the depth of its personality in such a way that you can touch the moments of its life with skin, flesh, and bones.

I really liked the stories of Otoyo in the perspective of honey-like sweetness and Thailand.

Murasaki's works have a unique charm that allows readers to immerse themselves in the complex emotions and lives of the characters.

The detailed descriptions and vivid portrayals make it仿佛 you are experiencing those moments along with the characters.

Whether it's the delicate relationships or the inner struggles, Murasaki presents them all in a way that is both engaging and thought-provoking.

Her writing style is like a gentle breeze that blows through your heart, leaving a lasting impression.

Overall, Murasaki's works are a treasure trove of literary beauty and human wisdom.

I am not sure why, but this collection of six short stories that occurred after the Kobe earthquake simply did not leave as much of an impression on me as his Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman did last month. Perhaps it is because five out of the six stories lack the fantasy elements such as the talking cat, leeches falling from the sky, a TV zooming automatically at the sleeping you, or the actual appearance of a UFO.

These 6 short stories are mostly pure drama, with the usual disappearances, leaving without saying goodbye or providing a reason, staring endlessly at a TV or into nothingness, and so on. I also thought that some, if not all, of the stories would be about people surviving the Kobe earthquake. However, that was not the case. In fact, references to the Kobe earthquake were only made in passing and could have been removed without any impact on the stories.

The stories are so different from what I read and enjoyed in Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. Particularly the last story, "Honey Pie," it seems as if the narrator is Haruki himself writing like Nicholas Sparks. There is a male character who marries his friend's wife after her husband, who happens to be the character's best friend, abandons his family. Since the Philippines imports a large number of telenovelas from Korea and sometimes Japan, this storyline is rather uninteresting to me. The character Junpei seems to be making an excuse on behalf of Murakami by saying: "I want to write stories that are different from the ones I've written so far", which opens the last paragraph of the book.

Okay, I am still a Murakami fan, but this book does not possess what I used to love about his writing.

One promising story is the fifth one, though. It is titled Super-Frog Saves Tokyo. However, the message is not at all thought-provoking. In fact, it has been the message of countless stories: that it is in the imagination where winning or losing truly matters. Well, even Stephen Covey included this in one of his seven habits: "Begin With the End in Mind" or the power of visioning or the power of the mind. This After The Quake was first published in Japanese in 2000 (and in English in 2002), while Covey's 7 Habits was released in 1989. I know that even Covey was not original in this regard. So, obviously, Murakami wasn't either.

The other four stories just don't make much sense to me, and I will not discuss them further (but you can read my updates if you are interested).

This is my sixth book by Murakami: Kafka on the Shore (5 stars), The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles (4 stars), Sputnik Sweetheart (5 stars), After Dark (4 stars), Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (5 stars). I guess I am reaching a plateau when it comes to Murakami's short stories. I desired to be surprised by a different approach. I expected to be enthralled once again by his thoughts, words, and characters. This book simply failed to do that for me.

Hopefully, this will not be the case with his novels, as there are still a couple of others in my to-be-read pile. I still hope that there is more to Murakami than just those fantasy, loneliness, and aloneness themes. I still believe that Murakami is one of those authors who do not repeat themselves.

His attempt to write differently here did not succeed for me. Sorry.