Dream world

I’ve read every Haruki Murakami book I can get my hands on. I’ve been reading his work since the 90’s and I have more of his books than any other author’s. So, it’s very strange that I’ve owned his book The City and Its Uncertain Walls for about two years now and I haven’t read it. Especially since it’s related to my favorite Murakami novel, A Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. A dream world introduced in that book reappears in this book, so I’m interested to see if/how they relate to each other.

I’m finally reading the new-ish book and it reminds me how much I love Murakami’s prose style. It feels very relaxed. It lingers in the moment, almost like he’s developing a point to be made. I always feel like the author has no idea where the story is going, and that matches what I’ve heard of his writing process. It doesn’t have the drive of other novels. It’s more like curiosity is at work pulling me forward. It’s a weaker force, but feels refreshing.

It’s time I catch up though. He has a short book coming out in English this month called Abandoning a Cat which is an autobiographical essay about his father. He’s in his 70’s now, but he keeps writing. His most recent book (in Japanese) is The Tale of KAHO which might take another year or two to get released here, so I have something to look forward to.