I think reading short stories over the past couple of days has given me a greater appreciation for Murakami's short stories. I used to think that Murakami should've stuck to writing longer novels such that they would have more substance, but I'm starting to think that he has great skill in creating scenarios or short segments. In the "First Bakery Attack," while not the most riveting or action packed story, the emotions and tension was clearly defined. In "Barn Burning," the mystery and confusion were not convoluted and were actually quite easy to understand. For "Samsa in Love," it is clear that the inspiration of the story is from Kafka's "Metamorphosis" but it puts an interesting spin on the relationship between the changed characters (bug vs man).
In reading some of Murakami's longer stories but in short chapters, I got a similar sense of for his writing. "Sputnik Sweetheart," the excerpts from "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle," and the previous stories we've read in the semester, all of these kept me super captivated during the readings, so well to the point after the semester is over and I plan on commuting to work, I'll have my mini reading list to read the stories in full. I'm thinking that I'll try to read Murakami's works in order as I had not know that there was a right way to read the novels.
Alexander Wen
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