Welcome to Litsy!

Six short stories loosely connected by the aftermath of the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Murakami‘s writing has been described as mesmerizing and visionary, mysterious and familiar. I agree. There‘s a dream like, metaphysical quality to his stories. I loved them all.

There was an announcement: *Lettuce angel men. We aren't countering some tah bulence.*

#firstlinefridays

So Masakichi got his paws full of honey---way more honey than he could eat himself---and he put it in a bucket, and do-o-o-wn the mountain he went, all the way to the town to sell his honey.

#firstlinefridays

Meditative, both sad to follow, as well as inspirational and hopeful ultimately in its humanity and grace. What stands out w/Murakami is his sense of dynamic life and relationships, causality, serendipity, and whirlwind of discovery of the unexpected with just meeting people, even if just briefly for transient resonance. The value of the fleeting and of the moment. This was full of heart. Bill Murray's Lost in Translation accomplished this, too.

'Some things your brain can't help you with. It's not easy being young.'
...
'I saw the look on your face. And you know what you once told me, about how people's eyes have something honest about them when they're watching a fire.'

[A] fire can be any shape it wants to be. It's free. So it can look like anything at all depending on what's inside the person looking at it. If you get this deep, quiet kind of feeling when you look at a fire, that's because it's showing you the deep, quiet kind of feeling you have inside yourself.

It was the first time that Junko felt a certain 'something' as she watched the flames of a bonfire: 'something' deep down, a 'wad' of feeling, she might have called it, because it was too raw, too heavy, too real to be called an idea. It coursed through her body and vanished, leaving behind a sweet-sad, chest-gripping, strange sort of feeling.
...
'[I]t's like all of a sudden you get very clear about something people don't usually notice...'

Premonitions can stand for something else sometimes. And the thing they stand for can be a lot more intense than reality. That's the scariest thing about having a premonition.
...
'But there's such a thing as a way of living that's guided by the way a person's going to die.'
'Is that how *you're* living?'
'I'm not sure. It seems that way sometimes.'

I have not particularly enjoyed the previous books I‘ve read by Murakami, but this one was a bit better to me. He has an interesting style that I think worked better for me in short story form. I enjoyed “Super-Frog Saves Tokyo” and the “Honey Pie” stories the best.

#1001books #audiobook #translated #shortstories
#Reading1001 #TBRTakedown August 2021

#QuotsyFeb21 Day 20: #Fire

I love Japanese literature, I strongly dislike this Murakami.

A short story collection loosely based around the events of the 1995 Kobe earthquake and the Tokyo subway attack. It was everything I hate about Murakami distilled into tiny bits over and over again, without the magical realism!

Nope, no more I'm done with Haruki Murakami forever.

I finished this right before the fall semester started and I‘m glad I did. I breezed through this and had a good time doing it! I think Superfrog was my favorite. It‘s definitely worth a re-read, to me. 😊 186/1,001 #1001Books

Collection of short stories by Murakami. Enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would, but still not a pick of mine. Well written never the less!

Set after the 1995 Kobe earthquake, this collection of short stories are weird, interesting, and beautiful. Enjoyed the quirky characters and the realistic portrayal of their actions and thoughts. #EasterExtravaganza

Thank you for the tag and the questions @TheSpineView

📚Reading the tagged one. Read a bunch of Haruki Murakami and Fredrik Backman for #AuthorAMonth Also downloaded some translated works by other authors.

📚 I used to read in Bengali, my native language and in Hindi. Now, I don‘t get much of an opportunity to do so

Miy favorite stories from this collection was the third to last and the last one! 3.5/5📚

The 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan, was real. But these stories are fictional figments of Murakami‘s fantastical fluid imagination, some of which are enjoyable!
#authoramonth2020
@Soubhiville

#weekendreads
@rachelsbrittain

1️⃣ tagged

2️⃣ Knockout, K. A. Holt

3️⃣ my grand-littles in the poppies

Oh Murakami, you weird wonderful man.
But of a rollercoaster ride from giant frogs and worms that cause earthquakes to death.

#QuotsyFeb20 Day 28: I don‘t think me want to be a #polar bear at all.

I was hooked from page one. I love Murakami's writing, I get sucked into what ever story he is telling. After the Quake is a compilation of six short stories the author wrote after the Kobe earthquake. I really enjoyed Thailand. Super-Frog Saves Tokyo, how could you not love a story about super-frog. Even though I prefer Murakami's long novels I still enjoyed these short stories. #1001books

I enjoyed these short stories! Fewer disturbing sex scenes than other Murakami I‘ve read which freed up my mind to enjoy the style, the slow musical rhythm of the surrealist plots, and the original ideas. Why can‘t more of his be like this?? A frog and worm doing battle in a banker‘s dream to prevent an earthquake, wonderful; the weird rapey vibes in other boons, less wonderful. I recommend if you‘ve found the same things frustrating as me

"You know, Jun," he said, "a fire can be any shape it wants to be. It's free. So it can look like anything at all depending on what's inside the person looking at it. If you get this deep, quiet kind of feeling when you look at a fire, that's because it's showing you the deep, quiet kind of feeling you have inside yourself. You know what I mean?"

From the short story 'landscape with flatiron'

@CBee Thank you so much for After The Quake. I love Murakami. It arrived at the perfect time. I will be starting it after I finish my current book. The ARC arrived today too. A great book mail day.
#DeweysReadathon

In February and March of my #tbrexplode project, where I started at the beginning of my "want to read" list in Goodreads from 2009 and decide whether I still want to read those books, I hit a wall of Murakami. This book of short stories made the cut, all slightly related to the Great Hanshin, or Kobe, Earthquake that occurred in 1995. I did not understand the Frog story but was very moved by Thailand.⤵️

Finished this book and was a big fan. The stories are so captivating and beautiful. I think my favorite was Thailand. These stories are set at the same time as the 1995 Kobe earthquake which was devastating to Japan so a lot of the stories are very dark or have dark undertones. So if you are easily triggered I'd pass on this book.
#bookreview #triggerwarning

Congrats @TheReadingMermaid for reaching such a follower milestone! I'd love to give any fiction, sci-fi or fantasy novels you have a new home 😆

Again, congrats!
#repost #150kgiveaway

#currentread, #1001.

#CrimesAgainstCovers

Day One: Most Wrecked Book

I have some of my books from childhood that are in worse shape, but this is probably my most wrecked book that I didn‘t buy this way...There was a HUGE sticker on the front. I tried to get it off and dang near took the whole front cover off with it...😩😩😩 I fixed it the best I could, but...🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

I really enjoyed this little short story collection that centers around the 1995 earthquake in Kobe. So many of the usual Murakami fantastical elements, but also fairly grounded. I would say that this is a pretty good introduction to his stuff if you've never read him before.

Big pre-birthday book haul! I'm really excited for all of these, more than half of which I #blameonLitsy. 😂😂😂

... me too, Mr Frog!
A collection of six unrelated short stories, but with a common point - an earthquake. For me, the short story is perfect when it is on just a few pages content of the entire novel. Closest to this is the story Thailand, which has a comprehensive content and interesting protagonist. What I value the most in Murakami works is his sense for alienated characters, and in-depth characterization, which is in these stories ... 👇

#GirlOnTheTrain Today is going to be a long day ...

Some Murakami that I (think) I haven‘t read yet came in the mail today! 🐸 I‘m waiting for his newest novel to be translated into English. I was in Japan on the day it came out in February, but resisted buying the original version. Now, I wish I would‘ve bought it, even though I couldn‘t read it.

Dinner and thesis reading before going to a Dungeons and Dragons themed improve show with some friends #currentread #happybirthdaytome #philly

I'm in need of some of Murakami's magical realism.

After the Quake consists of six short stories, losely related to the earthquake in Kobe. What all stories share is the fact that they are about people whose worlds have been moved lately. I liked the last one best. But I guess I did read a bit too much Murakami. Am a bit fed up with him I guess. #1001books

I don't know what I'm going to do when I run out of Murakami books to read.

One of my favorites. I love these stories, they hit from all angles. Strange and familiar all at once. So many of the stories are like a gasp for air.

I've long wanted to read Murakami, and I'm glad I finally did! This seems like a good introduction to his work. It provides good insight into contemporary Japanese culture and is at once creative, fantastic, and accessible. Thanks to the B&N employee who recommended this.

This is my first time reading Murakami. His books at first look, intimidate me, but this book of short stories listened to thru Scribd was a great way to get my feet wet. I found the stories very well written and enjoyable to read. Plan to pick up another Murakami book soon.

In true quirky Murakami style, these short stories will make you laugh, cry, cringe, and long for a lengthier escape from reality (it'll only take a day to finish this book.)

And then he goes and just makes you want to dance under the stars 😍

Sometimes I wish this weren't so true. Murakami always knows how to hit you hard, emotionally. Still love him, though #BookQuote