Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words - Softcover

Rubin, Jay

3.86

1,874 ratings by Goodreads

9781860469527: Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1860469523 ISBN 13: 9781860469527

Publisher: The Harvill Press, 2002

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As a young man, Haruki Murakami played records and mixed drinnks at his Tokyo jazz club, "Peter Cat", then wrote at the kitchen table until the sun came up. He loves music of all kinds and when he writes, his words have a music all of their own, much of it learned from jazz. Besides being the distinguished translator of Murakami's work, Professor Rubin is a self-confessed fan. He has written a book for other fans who want to know more about this reclusive writer. He reveals the autobiographical elements in Murakami's fiction; explains how he developed a distinctive new style in Japanese; and how, on his return to Japan from America, he came to regard the Kobe earthquake (in which his parents' house was destroyed) and the Tokyo subway gas attack as twin manifestations of a violence lying just beneath the surface of Japanese life. In tracing Murakami's career, Rubin uses interviews conducted with the author between 1993 and 2001, and draws on insights and observations gathered from having collaborated with Murakami for more than a decade in preparing his works for an English-speaking audience.

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Review:

"If literature is dead, someone forgot to invite Haruki Murakami to the funeral" Jay Rubin; "He has been made the subject of breathless comparisons: Auster, Salinger, Chandler, Borges... His books sell in millions in Japan; now he is gaining large readerships worldwide. One day, his growing legions of supporters insist, he will win the Nobel Prize" Matt Thompson, Guardian

From the Back Cover:

As a young man, Haruki Murakami played records and mixed drinks at his Tokyo Jazz club, Peter Cat, then wrote at the kitchen table until the sun came up. He loves music of all kinds - jazz, classical, folk, rock - and has more than six thousand records at home. And when he writes, his words have a music all their own, much of it learned from jazz.

Jay Rubin, a self-confessed fan, has written a book for other fans who want to know more about this reclusive writer. He reveals the autobiographical elements in Murakami's fiction, and explains how he developed a distinctive new style in Japanese writing. In tracing Murakami's career, he uses interviews he conducted with the author and draws on insights and observations gathered from many years of collaborating with Murakami on translations of his works.

'A magical mystery tour through Murakami's spontaneous, improvised fictional world... Packed with bits of trivia about the author' Evening Standard

'Exciting and coherent... Illuminates with fluent intelligence' Independent

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