What I Learned From Reading Murakami
Haruki Murakami is one of those unusual writers who is appreciated by both ordinary people and literary critics. If, for example, we look at a list of the latest Nobel Prize winners in literature, many people will not recognize the authors. Murakami has not received a Nobel Prize yet, but it has really been appreciated to read Murakami nowadays.
He chooses titles that few publishers had chosen, which shows how much effort he puts into the details of his books. He also manages to paint a portrait of his characters better than many other writers.
Japanese culture is a very integral part of his short stories. The ceremonial aspect that the Japanese emphasize in relationships, where they really trust each other, is an aspect that becomes especially important. Another thing that is also a very integral part of the stories, among both young and old, is sadness. The sadness and loneliness.
In his short stories, it seems that company is something that happens by chance and that loneliness is the characters’ natural state. This can also have a lot to do with the author’s character, who claims to be a very introverted person.
A person who spends all day exercising his willpower has chosen the wrong path in life. Murakami approaches this topic, when it comes to training, from an interesting perspective. Many people who exercise daily are seen as people who have an enormous willpower. This may be true for some, but for most people who have trained for years, it does not do so out of pure willpower.
They do it because it is easier for them, more fun and more motivating than other alternatives. They prefer one hour of training instead of one hour of meetings or Spanish lessons. They prefer it over other activities. However, some other people would not have suffered this “torture” if they were not forced to do so for health reasons.
Another example from reading Murakami: let’s say there is a young boy who loves to stay home on Saturday nights and read. For him, a nightclub had been a test of his willpower. He forces himself to go there due to the pressure of his friends, but he returns home as soon as he can.
It seems that everything healthy and good must also be unpleasant. The opposite seems to be temptation and abundance. But this is often not the case, and here we may be confused when it comes to willpower. We may therefore spend time swimming against the current, but such a life has no meaning.
There are two types of people: those who eat as much as they want but still do not get fat, and those who have a special ability to assimilate every calorie that enters their body. The first group is envied for the most part by the second. Have you ever heard that this jealousy has gone the other way?
But this type of genetic injustice also has another side. People with a greater tendency to gain weight tend to think more about what they eat. They think about eating a more varied diet and not torturing their metabolism with large meals. It is therefore not uncommon for an overweight person to eat healthier than a lean person, as evidenced by blood tests.
People who are sensitive to weight changes have an “internal alarm” that will be triggered much more easily if they notice health problems. In fact, it is an advantage that we often ignore. This is just another example of how we see the negative in a situation without seeing the positive.
The exponential globalization that we have seen in recent years mixes cultures, but also homogenises them to some extent. Our competition-oriented world also has such a great lack of creativity that its price has soared. So we all want in a certain way to have our own voice, our own style. But at the same time, we want the groups we identify with to accept us. It is the paradox of wanting to be different.
By reading Murakami, we understand that no two people are alike. The price we pay for our differences is quarrels and misunderstandings. Yes, the things we dislike so much. Just like you and me, Murakami’s characters are very different and like their differences, and have to pay the same price as us.
No one deserves to carry that weight or hold that privilege in their hands. Since we have grown up, no one and nothing deserves it. Not even if it’s a person you admire or a job you love. Not only because your freedom is a privilege that is only yours (within the limits of the law of course), but also because if you give someone or something your freedom, you will also envy yourself at the same time.
You may be okay with this at first, but sooner or later you will regret that it is something you have given away. It will probably end or break the relationship. You will probably stop feeling interested in the job that you used to enjoy so much.
There is nothing better than the author’s own words to explain his reflections. Love has a strong chemical part, but also a strong physical part. To give up one of these two aspects is to hurt your own self-love until it dies.
It is to judge yourself to a disappointment that will soon kill you. We may conceptually be able to separate the soul and the body, but love requires that they be like a fine-tuned orchestra.
If you read Murakami’s work, you will come to your own conclusions. His characters do not talk much, but his books are fertile fields for reflection and personal development… and above all pleasure.
