After the Quake: Stories
by Haruki Murakami
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Book Summary Information
Author: Haruki MurakamiTranslator: Jay Rubin
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-05-13
ISBN: 0375713271
Number of pages: 147
Publisher: Vintage
Book Reviews of After the Quake: Stories
Book Review: "Living And Dying Are, In A Sense, Of Equal Value"
Summary: 5 Stars
Murakami has a particular expertise in describing people's feelings, perceptions and needs. This book is no exception. In a series of 6 short stories, Murakami presents a panoply of effects resulting from the earthquake in Kobe, Japan. None of the stories concentrate on the actual earthquake itself. Rather, the stories concentrate on the effects on the people who were not in Kobe, but who suffered, primarily emotionally, as a result of that disaster.
In America, there is a similarity between the Kobe earthquake and the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. In both the Kobe quake and the 9/11 incident, people who were not directly affected were in fact shell-shocked by the occurrence. In this book, Murakami shows us that the effect is universal. His characters were all affected by the disaster, even though they were not in it.
The book concentrates on the psychological musings on life of Japanese people with augmentation regarding the manner in which the earthquake left a mark on their psyche. Yet the concentration is more on the day to day life decisions that the characters make, and why.
Two of Murakami's stories are allegorical. In the story, "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" the author tells a tale about a giant frog that teams up with one person to save Tokyo from the attack of the devastating "worm." The frog indicates that what he needs is the man's support and belief. The frog does all the fighting, but without others with true belief, the frog knows he cannot win.
The depth of understanding of internal psychological musings is explicitly expressed by Murakami. His character development is his forte. His writing style is highly understandable, yet brilliantly structured. The book is recommended for all lovers of supreme contemporary literature.
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