The forbidden worlds of Haruki Murakami

Strecher (Winona State Univ.) provides extensive plot summaries of Murakami's work and references myriad characters, and he considers the themes on which Murakami elaborates-for example, reality and identity, the metaphysical world, mythology, dreams. The book's insights are interesting, but it would have benefited from greater distance between the author and his subject: the book straddles the fine line between biographical criticism and hagiography. One problem is Strecher's failure to historicize the novels until three-fourths of the way through the book, when he discusses Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, which includes details that so resemble a real incident in Japan that not mentioning historical context would have been remiss. As it is, the separation of historical background from the analysis in an earlier chapter is disorienting. In addition, the principle of organization is unclear: the first three are on themes, the fourth considers literary realism, and the last is devoted to one novel, which employs another theme, "flesh spirit separation." Be that as it may, this book is useful for providing frames through which to read Murakami and for a detailed overview of his work. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; general readers. --Leslie Winston, independent scholar

As a Haruki Murakami devotee it's difficult to be objective about a new book of criticism. This work by Strecher (Japanese, Winona State Univ.; Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Reader's Guide) is sure to satisfy both Murakami fans and critics alike. Rather than tackle the novelist's work as a whole, Strecher here provides an in-depth examination of "the other world" aspect of Murakami's writing. Some might think of this as the play of the subconscious or psyche in both his fiction and nonfiction. The approach taken to explore this world is not via psychological theory but the internal narrative of the individual, consisting of language and memory. Although this scope is narrower than that of Jay Rubin's Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words, it is not limited and brings the reader up to Murakami's latest novel. Strecher uses the conventional Japanese naming mechanism and original Japanese titles of works referenced, which lead the reader deeper into Murakami's world. VERDICT This is an intellectual book, but it will be easily grasped by anyone who's reading Murakami. With his ever-rising popularity in the West, it will be a solid addition to collections that hold his other titles.-Elizabeth Heffington, Lipscomb Univ. Lib., TN (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.