Mr. I love Murakami! That is, if someone describes these stories one by one for me, I would say how cool. But when Murakami writes, he gets so involved in details, character portrayal and meaning that it's amazing. Then I experienced heartbreak here. Right here, in Godard's, when I realized that two stories from this collection were missing! I don't know which one I read, actually I listened to it. But still, the beautiful performance of dear Hossein Azadi alleviated my heartbreak. :D

I loved the story "Honey Pie" the most. I also loved the others and the good thing about this audiobook is that whenever you want, you can go back and listen again.

+ I initially gave it four stars but when two of its stories are missing, it's really too much! I'm giving it three stars as a sign of protest!

A collection of melancholy and gentle stories with a blurred but pregnant background: the 1995 Kobe earthquake.

Murakami is a master of creating cushioned and soundproof worlds, in which, however, pain manages to cut like a knife through this bubble of delicacy created between the reader and the characters. The last story, Honey Pie, is splendid. Splendid with this lightness that is all Murakamian and that stays inside you for whole hours.

His writing has a unique charm that draws you in and makes you feel as if you are part of the stories. The way he describes the emotions and the settings is truly remarkable. You can almost feel the tremors of the earthquake and the sadness that lingers in the air.

Murakami's works are not just stories, but also a reflection of life and human nature. They make you think and feel, and leave a lasting impression on your heart and mind.

I truly don't know how Haruki Murakami copes with the pressure of being my favorite writer. Does he have any inkling of the lofty pedestal I've placed him on? Does it perhaps cause him sleepless nights? I find myself constantly waiting to be let down by one of his books. After all, no one can be PERFECT, can they? Well, up until now, it hasn't occurred.

This slender volume of short stories, consisting of only six in total, all tenuously linked to the 1995 Kobe earthquake, didn't receive as much critical acclaim as some of his other works. And, to be frank, the initial couple of stories were just average - solid, but not what I would unhesitatingly label as "genius", which is my perpetual expectation from this author.

However, then I delved into the last two stories.

The first one, "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" (the title is rather self-explanatory), is the quirkiest of the lot. And the second, "Honey Pie", aligns with Murakami's more romantic and sentimental writing style (which my wife, also a Murakami enthusiast, always claims she enjoys more). Both of them completely blew me away.

And thus, seven or eight books into his body of work, this man remains flawless.

**Original Article**: This is a short article. It needs to be rewritten and expanded.

**Expanded Article**:
This is a rather concise article.

It indeed requires some rewriting and expansion to make it more comprehensive and engaging.

Perhaps we can add more details, examples, or explanations to enhance its content.

By doing so, the article will be able to provide a more in-depth understanding of the topic at hand.

Moreover, a well-expanded article is more likely to attract the attention of readers and keep them interested throughout.

So, let's get started on this task and transform this short article into a more substantial and valuable piece of writing. 4,5⭐️

The first couple of stories in this collection seemed rather flimsy to me.

It wasn't until I reached the final third that I came across two stories that I truly loved - Thailand and Honey Pie.

These stories better demonstrated the peculiar twists and turns of Murakami's imagination.

However, on the whole, I still preferred the two of his novels that I've read.

The novels seemed to have a more in-depth exploration of themes and characters, while the short stories, although interesting, sometimes felt a bit rushed or lacking in development.

Nevertheless, Murakami's unique writing style and his ability to create strange and wonderful worlds are still very much present in this collection.

Overall, it's a decent read, but not quite on par with his novels.

It was excellent.

It adhered after a long time.

This statement seems rather concise and perhaps a bit lacking in detail. We could expand on it to provide a more comprehensive description.

For example, we might say: "It was truly excellent. After a significant period of time had passed, it finally adhered. The process had been a long and arduous one, but in the end, the result was well worth the wait. The adhesion was strong and durable, and it promised to hold up well under various conditions.

We were extremely pleased with the outcome and looked forward to seeing how it would perform in the future."

This expanded version provides more context and details, making it a more engaging and informative piece of writing.

At first, I wanted to give the book three points.

However, the story "Honey Sweetness" was so sweet and charming that I decided to give it four points.

The narrative in the book was engaging from the very beginning. It took me on a journey filled with emotions and interesting characters.

The author's writing style was also quite captivating. The descriptions were vivid, making it easy for me to picture the scenes in my mind.

Overall, "Honey Sweetness" was a delightful read that I would recommend to others. It had a unique charm that kept me hooked until the very end.

Although it wasn't a perfect five-point book, it definitely deserved the four points I gave it.

I look forward to reading more works by this author in the future.

There is an anthology of short prose about the terrible earthquake in 1995 that shook the Kobe region in Japan. We have six stories, and the first one is "An OZN Lands in Kushiro". It seemed to me a strange incident about a guy named Kamura who is stalked by his wife after the earthquake. I didn't quite understand her motives and it seemed to me a childish gesture. Probably it's a "reaction" after the earthquake, because, as we well know, the wife must always have a reaction. After the separation, Kamura is asked by a friend to take a package to his sister in Hokkaido. There he meets Shimao. In the story, we also learn a rather interesting story about bears. The bear seemed to me the most memorable from all this incident.

The second story, "Landscape with Iron" reminds us of "The Fire" by Jack London. It has an unusual character, Miyake, who hates refrigerators, being afraid that he might die locked in one and is obsessed with making fires on the beach. The atmosphere and the described landscape reminded me of those models printed on T-shirts using an iron.

"All the Children of the Lord Dance" presents the story of Yoshiya, a young man who is believed to be the Son of God. We have the supernatural element with which Murakami has accustomed us in each of his works plus a series of sexual details with which Japanese literature has accustomed us.

In "Thailand", Murakami treats us with his knowledge of jazz. The action of the story is centered around Sabuki, an endocrinologist who travels to Thailand where he has a series of revealing experiences.

The fifth one is a fantasy story "The Frog Saves Tokyo" which presents a real, talking frog that proposes to a man to save Tokyo together from an imminent earthquake. There are many references to Nietzsche, Anna Karenina, Joseph Conrad, Dostoevski. I must admit that I'm not a fan of talking animals, being past the age when I would believe in such things.

The last one, "The Honey Pie" is the story of little Sara who dreams of Grandpa Earthquake and wakes up typing night after night, exhausted by this recurring nightmare. It's a pity to mention that I don't believe in Grandpa Earthquake either.

In conclusion, I attach a few quotes that seemed beautiful to me and that sound like this:

"The fire has a free form. And because of this, it can look any way, depending on what's in the heart of the one who looks at it."

"I don't think I could live with this man, she said. I couldn't penetrate his heart. But to die, I think I could die with him."

"Our hearts are not of stone. The stone can be shattered, it can be deformed, but the heart cannot be shattered. Whether good or bad, our souls can communicate with each other."

"To understand something and to translate that something into a visible form are two completely different things. If you manage to do both in equal measure, life becomes easier."

In my mind, I had long categorized this book in the same vein as "Underground." I expected it to be a non-fiction work filled with terrifying tales from earthquake survivors or the relatives of the deceased. However, to my surprise, I discovered a small collection of likable fictional short stories that were only loosely related to the earthquake. In fact, with the possible exception of one, the earthquake phenomenon didn't seem to have a significant impact on the protagonists, much like the news of a civil war in a distant country.

Looking back, I now think that the earthquake was rather meant to be a catalyst for the events in each story. My inner cynic argues that these things were bound to happen anyway, and the addition of the earthquake simply added a darker undertone to the stories.

This is the part where I would typically discuss the individual stories. However, since they are so short, I'm not sure I could do them justice without spoiling most of the plot. Suffice it to say that there is a blend of fantasy and realism in each story. "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" stands out with its intentionally trippy style. Personally, I enjoyed all of the stories.

If I were to offer a recommendation, I would likely target fans of the author. Die-hard short story enthusiasts might also find enjoyment in them, but others may be bored or left with a sense of incompleteness. To be honest, not much actually happens in any of the stories.

Score: 4/5 stars

In the end, the book's main allure lies in its magical atmosphere, which I have come to associate with this author. It gives each story a vaguely surreal feel. Then again, it's important to note that I am a huge Murakami fan, so perhaps I'm not the most objective judge.

Published in English as After the Quake.

I headed home, feeling dulled by work, the world around me, meaningless discourse, the apathy of others, and the drift that seemed to be pulling my mind away from its core.

As I approached the turn-off to the beach, I felt an irresistible pull, so I turned off.

Piano lessons awaited, my kids were waiting, and I needed to buy groceries. There was time, if I hurried, to spend with my love. But instead, I found myself in the sand, shoes off, striding north of the breakwater, lost in thought.

I noticed a piece of driftwood propped against a smooth sandstone. Suddenly, I was transported back to a time after an earthquake, standing on the beach in the dark, burning driftwood and watching the multi-coloured flames dance a midnight dance.

I hadn't read this book in a long time, but that piece of sun-bleached, salt-soaked driftwood brought me back to the pages that had captivated me a decade ago.

I managed to make it back in time for my lesson, but I missed out on spending time with my love. I'm sad about that, but I know the encounter with the driftwood was necessary. It's okay because the next time we're together, it will be all the richer for this unexpected detour.

If Six Was One (or Two Were 19)

This work, composed of short stories, is rather unremarkable and almost insubstantial. Each story's events have a tenuous connection to the 1995 Kobe earthquake. However, aside from that, each story can stand alone and be interpreted independently. There's nothing particularly captivating about any of the stories. They simply take a hodgepodge of Murakami-esque themes and weave them into a narrative. With each story being around 20 pages long, no single theme is explored in-depth. It's not the ideal starting point. To truly see Murakami's full potential, one must turn to his novels. It seems as if his talent doesn't have enough time to develop in the short form. At least on this occasion, it fails to resonate. As one critic put it, "...the work lacks both freshness and novelistic sweep." One might think they could do better with the same material, but that depends on one's motivation and what they aim to write. Murakami once said, "I want to write about people who dream and wait for the night to end, who long for the light so they can hold the ones they love." Maybe it's not as straightforward as it appears!



OPTIONAL CLASS PROJECT:

Here's a project for you: Select any four to six words or phrases from one of the lists below and write a short story in the style of Haruki Murakami.


HEADNOTES:

UFO IN Kushiro

Television - earthquake - disappearing wife - letter - trip - package with something in it - UFO - two girls - love hotel - tub - bear - bell - ding-a-ling - beginning

Landscape with Flatiron

Television - beach - driftwood - bonfire - moon - hard-on - earthquake - whisky - school - painting - refrigerator - empty - sleep - dream

All God's Children Can Dance

Hangover - missing clock - television - hot mother - son of God - prayer - doctor - earlobe - Super-Frog - huge penis - earthquake - pitcher's mound

Thailand

Conference - Bangkok - jazz - lap pool - sandwiches - free spirit - stone - inscription - earthquake - snake dream - polar bears

Super-Frog Saves Tokyo

Banker - giant frog - gigantic underground worm - rage - earthquake - dreams - dialectical un-Frog - unexpected things happen - expected things don't happen

Honey Pie

Bears - salmon - honey - trade - Earthquake Man - crazy box - stories - unrequited young love - bra trick - keep watch - in case - sky falls - earth cracks open - you don't get it - none of this seems real


"Time wobbled on its axis inside him, like curtains stirring in a breeze...It was as if nothing had changed since the time they were 19."

This is the twelfth book I have read by Murakami, and at this stage, it's fair to say I have a significant investment in the author. I think he is truly remarkable, well, at times. And here lies the issue. I just don't find his brilliance to be consistent. My opinion of this collection only serves to strengthen this point.

The title After the Quake immediately gives the impression that these are stories directly related to an earthquake. However, in reality, these are short stories written after an earthquake in Japan and are, at best, only loosely related to the actual quake. They vary widely in their themes, levels of optimism, purposes, and qualities. I view them as a rather random collection of stories that just happened to be written after a natural disaster that briefly makes an appearance in the pages. Was I overlooking something? I just don't quite feel that these stories all belong together or even in this collection.

Anyway, putting that aside, I really liked some of the stories in here a great deal. Others, unfortunately, lacked any real substance and were a bit dull. One story hinted at the possibility of great and transformative personal change brought about by the realization of how fleeting life can be, but it failed to develop further. Another seemed to be simply about people burning things on a beach as a form of catharsis. They all remained somewhat open-ended, as good short stories should be. Indeed, a great short story should have a lasting impact and linger in your mind, but not all of them were that engaging in terms of their content. Not all the characters were interesting enough to merit much thought.

If I seem critical of Murakami, it's because I am fully aware of how outstanding he can be. And for me, that greatness was only evident in one short story here. It was a story about a frog called “Super-Frog Saves Tokyo.” What makes this story so remarkable is the sense of uncertainty that pervades it; it feels both real and unreal simultaneously: it's as if reality has been distorted, and we're left wondering whether the narrator has lost his mind or not. The label of an unreliable narrator doesn't quite fit because he firmly believes that what he experiences is real, but we are left questioning the nature of his reality. It was a truly clever piece of writing.

For me, this was very much a mixed bag. This is often the case with short story collections, but I've never felt so divided about stories in the same book by the same author before. To use a cliché, he has really become a hit or miss for me. So I think I'm going to take a break from Murakami for a while. I will undoubtedly read more of his books in the future, but that future is likely to be some time away.

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