A review by theeditorreads
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami

5.0

"Your work should be an act of love, not a marriage of convenience.

Synopsis:
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is a collection of twenty-four, some short, some – a little – long stories.
The stories are as follows:
1. Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (translated by Philip Gabriel)
2. Birthday Girl (translated by Jay Rubin)
3. New York Mining Disaster (translated by Philip Gabriel)
4. Airplane" Or, How He Talked to Himself as If Reciting Poetry (translated by Jay Rubin)
5. The Mirror (translated by Philip Gabriel)
6. A Folklore for My Generation: A Pre-History of Late Stage Capitalism (translated by Philip Gabriel)
7. Hunting Knife (translated by Philip Gabriel)
8. A Perfect Day for Kangaroos (translated by Philip Gabriel)
9. Dabchick (translated by Jay Rubin)
10. Man-Eating Cats (translated by Philip Gabriel)
11. A "Poor Aunt" Story (translated by Jay Rubin)
12. Nausea (translated by Jay Rubin)
13. The Seventh Man (translated by Jay Rubin)
14. The Year of Spaghetti (translated by Philip Gabriel)
15. Tony Takitani (translated by Jay Rubin)
16. The Rise and Fall of Sharpie Cakes (translated by Jay Rubin)
17. The Ice Man (translated by Philip Gabriel)
18. Crabs (translated by Philip Gabriel)
19. Firefly (translated by Philip Gabriel)
20. Chance Traveler (translated by Philip Gabriel)
21. Hanalei Bay (translated by Jay Rubin)
22. Where I'm Likely to Find It (translated by Philip Gabriel)
23. The Kidney-Shaped Stone That Moves Every Day (translated by Jay Rubin)
24. A Shinagawa Monkey (translated by Philip Gabriel)

Review:

If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.

The Introduction itself captivated me, as Murakami delved into the 'behind-the-scenes' of his journey of writing both novels and short stories.

You can create a short story out of the smallest details – it's like jazz improvisation, with the story taking me where it wants to.

And then I dove into the first story, title the same as that of the collection. When I started reading the book – my first read of Murakami's works – all I could say was, okay, it's a bit strange, a little mystic, bordering on absurdity, and much more.

Now, let me come to the 'much more' part. As the first story came to an end, I was like "What the hell did I just read?" A narration which shows the delicacy of human relations and the goings-on of everyday life. Reading Murakami's works is not an exercise in reading, but an experience, and a damn good one! Have you heard of an earlobe compared with a freshly-baked goodie? Well, it does get whacky sometimes.

No matter how far they go, people can never be anything but themselves.

The characters and characterisations can be weird. And some of the nameless, faceless characters can get to you, with their profound ordinariness. There is a reality of life and death, a sense of both loneliness and aloofness.

Cats and dogs are your run-of-the-mill type animals. Nobody's going to pay money to see them. Just look around you – they're everywhere. Same thing with people.

My favourite story out of the twenty-four is 'Where I'm Likely to Find It'. I could connect to it the most. Maybe because I am also searching for something.

Like mist in the breeze, his memories changed shape, and with each change they grew fainter.

Some books do that to you, as if a phenomenal, an elemental change has occurred, a change of such magnitude which you're not able to put into words. The writing has meaning, a meaning you have to find out for yourself. It can have many different interpretations.

My stories are like soft shadows I've set out in the world, faint footprints I've left behind.

I read this book for Delhi Fam Book Club's (https://www.instagram.com/delhifambookclub/) January Book of the Month in which we had to pick any book by Murakami (what with January being his birth month). This was the only book available in the library and it was a great introduction to his writing for me.

Originally posted on:
https://sassyshaina.wordpress.com/2019/04/27/blind-willow-sleeping-woman-by-haruki-murakami/