This post by Stephen Emms caught my eye because it's about a Japanese author I enjoy, Haruki Murakami:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/nov/27/falling-out-of-love-with-murakami.
Emms is basically suggesting that though he once loved Murakami's fantastical stories, he's now grown disinterested in the prolific writer. I'm a Murakami fan, but have read only three out of his massive 40+ collection of books. His writing (all in translation, of course, though it would be incredible to read them in Japanese) is strange and exquisite. Most of his novels feature parallel plots: the real world intersecting with a gloriously bizarre dream universe. I'm not a science fiction fan at all, and that's not how I would classify Murakami's writing - but it's not realistic like most of my preferred novels.
I understand Emms' complaints, and sort of agree with his statement below:
It's not the ever-modest Murakami's fault – his flight from Japan after the success of Norwegian Wood makes you wonder if he himself considers himself a little over-rated. It's just that his surreal tales about lost souls, with their inevitable choices between two different women, rather blur together.
The only thing is, I don't mind that his novels blur together in my head. Sure, it's embarrassing when I can't recollect if a particular plot point is from Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the Universe or (my favorite Murakami novel) Kafka on the Shore, but that doesn't mean I like Murakami's writing any less because of it. I tend to respect that writers perfect certain niches. If they're doing them well, I don't mind slight repetition of themes throughout their works. It's my choice to read a Murakami novel when I'm in the mood for one. He is incredible at painting unbelievable scenes of crazy alternate worlds that speak to the truth of humanity in moving terms. And when that's what I want to read, that's where I go.
It's not that Murakami's range is even that limited. The first novel I ever read of his was a realistic novel - Norwegian Wood - and, at age 15, I loved it for its explicit love scenes and adult treatment of romance and sex. Murakami's writing can be tough to wade through, but I think it's rewarding when you're in the mood for a mind-blowing challenge.
It's not that Murakami's range is even that limited. The first novel I ever read of his was a realistic novel - Norwegian Wood - and, at age 15, I loved it for its explicit love scenes and adult treatment of romance and sex. Murakami's writing can be tough to wade through, but I think it's rewarding when you're in the mood for a mind-blowing challenge.
I don't know if this has anything to do with Murakami's writing style, but if you're in the mood for a mind blowing challenge try Borges. We're reading him for my American Lit class, and he's really great once you crack his code and get into his writing style. He sometimes uses labyrinth settings to tell his stories, where alternate realities may or may not be going on at the same time as the story being told. (Here I'm referring to "Garden of Forking Paths." ) You might like him if you haven't already checked him out.
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