The Elephant Vanishes (bookring)
11 journalers for this copy...
The world of Haruki Murakami is a very normal world where strange things can happen, because, as we all know, much of life is truly unknowable.
In "Sleep", a young woman suddenly finds she no longer needs it. The protagonist of "The Second Bakery Attack" notices that his wife has a gun and ski masks in their car, even though neither of them had ever skied. In "The Elephant Vanishes", an elephant disappears with its keeper from the enclosure where it has been kept. The "Dancing Dwarf" takes place in a factory that manufactures elephants. "TV People" are human reduced by twenty to thirty percent. And "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning" is just one of the best, most beautiful and sad short stories I've ever read.
This was my first book from Haruki Murakami but not my last.
In "Sleep", a young woman suddenly finds she no longer needs it. The protagonist of "The Second Bakery Attack" notices that his wife has a gun and ski masks in their car, even though neither of them had ever skied. In "The Elephant Vanishes", an elephant disappears with its keeper from the enclosure where it has been kept. The "Dancing Dwarf" takes place in a factory that manufactures elephants. "TV People" are human reduced by twenty to thirty percent. And "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning" is just one of the best, most beautiful and sad short stories I've ever read.
This was my first book from Haruki Murakami but not my last.
And now, a bookring...Shipping order (changes are possible, if needed)
1. tho Portugal - no preference
2. BlossomU Portugal - no preference
3. bookmanu Portugal - no preference
4. dodau U.K. - no preference
5. Auglaise U.K. - U.K. prefered
6. arturogrande U.K. - no preference
7. geishabird Canada - no preference
8. karenZero U.S.A. - prefers to ship within U.S.
9. danadoodle U.S.A. - prefers to ship within U.S.
10. affinity4books U.S.A. - prefers to ship to USA or Canada
11. dospescados U.S.A. --- book is here!
12. sqdancer Canada - no preference
13. juicy-comrade Canada - no preference
14. katayoun Irão - no preference
15. Katcolorado Switzerland - Europe prefered
16. Virgulina Portugal
17. Syrin Portugal - prefers to be the last
- Please make a journal entry when you receive the book, then read, enjoy, review and release the book within one month of receiving it, to keep it going.
- When ready to release the book, send a PM to the next person on the list asking for their address.
- When the last person on the list receives the book, please PM me for my details, to return the book.
Sent to tho. Enjoy it!
Received yesterday :-) Will start reading ASAP ...
This collection of short stories is a pleasure to read :-) Once more, Murakami's words cannot fail but touch you while describing the strangest situations ... each story is like a dream where the unexpected always happens. Of course, being a true romantic at heart, my favourite story is "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning" - just perfect ...
(my second favourite was the Kangaroo Communiqué, I really enjoyed that as well .. and also I kept wondering, why are several of the characters named Noboru Watanabe?)
Will be passed to BlossomU at today's BC meeting.
(my second favourite was the Kangaroo Communiqué, I really enjoyed that as well .. and also I kept wondering, why are several of the characters named Noboru Watanabe?)
Will be passed to BlossomU at today's BC meeting.
Noboru Watanabe is the hero on The Windup Bird Chronicle, strange! Ok, as seen from this JE book is now with me, I started reading it on the subway but the very first story seems to be the first chapter of the WindUp Bird Chronicle ( which I have read and liked though am sure I did not totally understand) so i skipped it. Am already reading it and as before, i do like Murakami´s writing very much. I have other rings/rays here so I will be alternating these short stories with other books. Thanks quico!
Finished reading it last night and really enjoyed it - I thought perhaps the more recent stories in After the Quake might have an edge over this collection. There is this quality to these stories, they are impossible to describe in having a point or sometimes a plot, they seem to speak more directly to the reader, echoing unnamed feelings in us. Marvelous.
On a little note, I thought the barn-burning story was the only Murakami where I really got the feeling I was understanding something the author planned and the main character did not - chilling. Tho, you totally right about N Watanabe, wish I knew why!
Book was shipped to bookmanu today. Thanks quico!
On a little note, I thought the barn-burning story was the only Murakami where I really got the feeling I was understanding something the author planned and the main character did not - chilling. Tho, you totally right about N Watanabe, wish I knew why!
Book was shipped to bookmanu today. Thanks quico!
Thanks Quico and BlossomU! It was waiting for me when I got home last night.
It's my first venture into Japanese literature.After reading the previous JEs I'm sure I won't be disappointed.
Like BlossomU before me, I intend to alternate reading these stories with other books I'm busy with at the moment.
It's my first venture into Japanese literature.After reading the previous JEs I'm sure I won't be disappointed.
Like BlossomU before me, I intend to alternate reading these stories with other books I'm busy with at the moment.
Arrived yesterday but didn't get online to journal it. Next to be read
Journal Entry 10 by dodau at To the next participant in Bookring/Bookray, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Canada on Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Released 18 yrs ago (7/19/2005 UTC) at To the next participant in Bookring/Bookray, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Canada
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Journal Entry 11 by arturogrande from Coalville, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Friday, July 22, 2005
I absolutely love Murakami. Thanks for making a ring of this book, as it's been on my wishlist for quite a while.
I've got another bookring ahead of this one, but I should be finished with that in a couple of days. I'll hurry, as I'm really looking forward to reading this.
I've got another bookring ahead of this one, but I should be finished with that in a couple of days. I'll hurry, as I'm really looking forward to reading this.
Journal Entry 12 by arturogrande from Coalville, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Saturday, August 6, 2005
Haruki Murakami is one of the most poetic writers of prose around. Every sentence is a joy, which really ought to be read two or three times, relished and savoured.
I thought at first that the longer form of the novel was better suited to Murakami's surreal style, but after I got into the rhythm of the short stories, I saw that this form works beautifully as well.
None of the stories tie up into a happy resolution - in fact, many of them have no resolution at all. But that's not a flaw of Murakami's work, as it gives a sense of lives continuing to be lived 'off the page'.
I also like the device of giving a number of the characters the same name, Norubu Watanabe.
I don't think Murakami was trying to say this was the same character, I think he was illustrating the universal experience - this is something that could happen to anyone.
I was sorry when I came to the end of this volume.
Thanks so much, quico, for starting this ring.
It's now on its way to geishabird in Canada.
I thought at first that the longer form of the novel was better suited to Murakami's surreal style, but after I got into the rhythm of the short stories, I saw that this form works beautifully as well.
None of the stories tie up into a happy resolution - in fact, many of them have no resolution at all. But that's not a flaw of Murakami's work, as it gives a sense of lives continuing to be lived 'off the page'.
I also like the device of giving a number of the characters the same name, Norubu Watanabe.
I don't think Murakami was trying to say this was the same character, I think he was illustrating the universal experience - this is something that could happen to anyone.
I was sorry when I came to the end of this volume.
Thanks so much, quico, for starting this ring.
It's now on its way to geishabird in Canada.
Received today; thank you! Very good timing - I have *just* finished Murakami's "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" and am still in an appropriately surreal state of mind...
Should be able to start on this in the next day or two.
Should be able to start on this in the next day or two.
A very enjoyable collection. As quico said, Murakami's world is a very normal world where strange things can happen -- and they very often do. I like the variety in this volume; short vignettes and longer narratives all jumbled together, just like the events within them. Favourites would have to be: "Lederhosen" -- a very funny and sharply honed little tale; "Barn Burning" -- quite disturbing and unsettling; "A Slow Boat To China" -- great character sketches; "The Last Lawn Of The Afternoon" -- a very touching and poignant story about finding a place in the world; and "Silence" -- probably the most straightforward story in the book, and I felt that the last few pages were eerily reminiscent of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle which I recently finished -- Aoki is rather like Noboru Wataya, the soul-sucking "villain" in that novel. (Murakami certainly seems to like the name Noboru.) I'm not always quite sure where Murakami is going when I start reading him, but I'm always willing to go along for the ride.
Mailing to KarenZero tomorrow.
Mailing to KarenZero tomorrow.
Just mailed...enjoy!
Will read ASAP!
09/27/05: sorry for the delay, I've been caught up with quite a few bookrings. I hope to ship this out by the end of the week!
09/27/05: sorry for the delay, I've been caught up with quite a few bookrings. I hope to ship this out by the end of the week!
This was my first Murakami book and I enjoyed it a lot! I am not usually one for short stories, but I enjoyed many of these. Murakami is really able to write about the mundane elements of a typical existence in an interesting way. I am looking forward to reading other Murakami books, especially "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle". Thanks for sharing the book, quico!
Journal Entry 18 by KarenZero at Controlled Release in Controlled Release, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Released 18 yrs ago (10/10/2005 UTC) at Controlled Release in Controlled Release, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Popped in the mail yesterday (although it will probably go out today because of Columbus Day). It shouldn't take too long to get there!
Popped in the mail yesterday (although it will probably go out today because of Columbus Day). It shouldn't take too long to get there!
recieved in the mail yesterday from karenzero.
robert-walker had recommended this book, so will give it a go. its my first murakami.
robert-walker had recommended this book, so will give it a go. its my first murakami.
Safely arrived in Texas! I've enjoyed some of Murakani's longer works, so I am looking forward to trying some of his short stories~ Thanks for sharing.
I enjoyed this collection. I spaced the stories out so I could take each one in on its own and not run them together. I was intrigued by the first story, so I'll definitely put The Wind-up Bird novel on my Wishlist. Some of my favorites were The Dancing Dwarf, set at the factory where they manufacture elephants (how creative~ I never would have come up with that setting!), Barn Burning, and Sleep. Sleep makes an interesting counterpoint to Banana Yoshimoto's short stories about similar themes in her book Asleep (I reccommend her work if you like Murakami~ not as off-the-wall but still surreal). I didn't like the ones that seemed to have a paranoid or horror-movie feel to them, such as TV People and The Little Green Monster. These two also seemed to not have much point? I don't know, maybe I didn't "get" them. Overall I am glad I read this book and will continue to look for more by Murakami in the future. Thanks for sharing!
Released 17 yrs ago (6/5/2006 UTC) at
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
mailed by media mail
mailed by media mail
I've spent the past few weeks reading this, reminding myself that I really don't like the short story format much, even if I really love the author. I don't really like Murakami as a short story writer either. Some of the stories I did enjoy but others were just "WTF?!?!" I'll say The Dancing Dwarf was my favorite just cos it was a wonderfully horribly twisted fairy tale, of course, as only Murakami could've written it.
It'll be off to sqdancer this week.
It'll be off to sqdancer this week.
