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erikariehigano22 's review for:
Underground
by Haruki Murakami
The Tokyo Sarin Attack of 1995 has left a scar to the Japanese people to this day. You can say it was the source of inter generational trauma within its citizens of the country. But to what extent do these same people want to acknowledge it as a fact?
Haruki Murakami, as being a Japanese native who boldly provokes the status quo throughout his literary career, has gathered up the initiative to cover the perspectives of the victims themselves in Japan's worst terror attack since World War II. This was his form on attack on the mainstream Japanese media for only focusing on the infamous religious-now-considered as terrorist group, Aum Shinrikyo, when covering the tragedy.
Part I: Underground provided 34 comprehensive, thought-provoking personal accounts of the victims themselves before, during and after their experiences in the Sarin Attack on all 7 stations/lines impacted. Murakami's synthesis of the victims' interviews gives the reader the unfiltered nature of Japanese culture and psyche within their society even without the reader having to take basic lessons on Japanese culture. As an emotional person, some of these accounts had forced me to put down the book and recollect myself to finish reading. This is how I could imagine Murakami wanted to convey to the reader with the pain and suffering the victims had to endure, who most of them had no affiliation with the group at all.
Part II: The Place That Was Promised featured 8 accounts from former and current members of the said-cult. Similar to how Part I was presented, Murakami was able to depict these accounts by those who embraced the doctrine and sanctity of Aum Shinrikyo without a condescending light but with an unfiltered tone and portrayal into their experiences within their association with the cult.
This is a great book to read when researching about the 1995 Sarin Attack. It is also a book that would be recommended if one seeks to dive into the intricacies and dark side of Japanese culture, as it can be considered as social critique, one way or another.
Thus, this book requires mental and emotional endurance if you are empathetic. Yet, if one seeks knowledge about the social implications of a terror attack in post-war society, this book is highly recommended.
Haruki Murakami, as being a Japanese native who boldly provokes the status quo throughout his literary career, has gathered up the initiative to cover the perspectives of the victims themselves in Japan's worst terror attack since World War II. This was his form on attack on the mainstream Japanese media for only focusing on the infamous religious-now-considered as terrorist group, Aum Shinrikyo, when covering the tragedy.
Part I: Underground provided 34 comprehensive, thought-provoking personal accounts of the victims themselves before, during and after their experiences in the Sarin Attack on all 7 stations/lines impacted. Murakami's synthesis of the victims' interviews gives the reader the unfiltered nature of Japanese culture and psyche within their society even without the reader having to take basic lessons on Japanese culture. As an emotional person, some of these accounts had forced me to put down the book and recollect myself to finish reading. This is how I could imagine Murakami wanted to convey to the reader with the pain and suffering the victims had to endure, who most of them had no affiliation with the group at all.
Part II: The Place That Was Promised featured 8 accounts from former and current members of the said-cult. Similar to how Part I was presented, Murakami was able to depict these accounts by those who embraced the doctrine and sanctity of Aum Shinrikyo without a condescending light but with an unfiltered tone and portrayal into their experiences within their association with the cult.
This is a great book to read when researching about the 1995 Sarin Attack. It is also a book that would be recommended if one seeks to dive into the intricacies and dark side of Japanese culture, as it can be considered as social critique, one way or another.
Thus, this book requires mental and emotional endurance if you are empathetic. Yet, if one seeks knowledge about the social implications of a terror attack in post-war society, this book is highly recommended.