Number9Dream seems to reference Murakami in a manner similar to how Murakami himself draws from his inspirations. While reading it, the author’s voice felt so distinct that I had difficulty actively identifying possible allusions to Murakami. To me, it was more reminiscent of In the Miso Soup because of its grittiness and how explicitly it dealt with sex and drugs, or “Johnny Mnemonic” with the nonchalant yet chaotic voice of the narrator. In a work like “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” I couldn’t help but think “Oh, she’s Reiko!” during my reading. Being ambiguously referential allows for a more cohesive work while still giving a nod to the inspirational author.
With the comparison to Norwegian Wood, identifying Eiji as a Watanabe figure and Daimon as Nagasawa, Eiji is also going through a major sexual event on a twentieth birthday. Granted, it is his own birthday rather than a woman’s, but it still stands that he has been abandoned in the aftermath by someone he has put his trust in. Like Watanabe, he seems a solitary figure, celebrating his birthday alone before being taken under the wing of a suave, financially endowed, and morally scrupulous person like Nagasawa. The themes from Norwegian Wood of isolation and coming of age seem to appear in a similar form in Number9Dream, though, naturally, are not exclusive to either. Eiji lying about his age and claiming he has smoked "ever since [his] twentieth birthday" warp age and time somewhat similarly to how Watanabe does in his reflections on alternating back and forth between ages forever. As a more tenuous connection, Eiji also buys Marlboros, which are only a brand of cigarette, but immediately brings to mind Chandler for me in the context of Murakami. The fact these connections are all more speculative speaks to a restrained approach to referencing, dropping little "Easter eggs" as Sarah has put it for readers familiar with the inspirations works rather than recontextualizing the narrative beat for beat.
-Kate Waldron
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