My favourite writer by light years, and possibly one of the coolest cult writers in the world, Haruki Murakami manages to create the most surreal worlds that are somehow familiar to all of us, regardless of where we live in the world.
I first entered the twilight zone of ‘Murakami mania’ as it’s called about 4 or so years ago when a good friend of ours left me his copy of Hard-Boiled Wonderland & The End Of The World when he went back to Germany. I read it, and then re-read it, and that was pretty much that. I only got more of his books this year though, and now I have The Wind-up Bird Chronicles, Norwegian Wood and Dance Dance Dance in my collection.
It’s almost impossible to describe Murakami if you haven’t been exposed to any of his books, but this article gives a good glimpse into his world…
10 Things You Need To Know About Haruki Murakami
My favourite points in there are these ones:
- He used to run a jazz club, but the emptiness and mindlessness of the drinking social scene got to him.
- He really likes cats, and cats play an integral theme in almost all of his books.
- He has never liked attention and fame, and fled Japan when his cult classic Norwegian Wood made him super famous.
- He loves running, and has competed in a number of marathons (his latest book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is probably the closest to an autobiography he’ll ever do)
- He loves music, and many of his books have a strong association with music, especially old rock.
Check out his Facebook page over here.
I think I could have a sake with Murakami and talk jazz and stuff, he looks like an interesting sort.
He’s way cool indeed.