Magical Realism

I really enjoy the magical realism aspects of Murakami’s writing. There are so many unexplainable coincidences in life; I think he weaves the magic into his stories very seamlessly. Murakami's magical realism is sometimes different from other stories I've read with magical realism, specifically Jorge Luis Borges. With Borges, his stories are a lot more explicit in their magical aspects. For example, there are infinite libraries that go on forever, books that never open to the same page twice, or knife fights that seem to repeat throughout history. These stories center themselves around the mythical or magical places/people/objects in them. Murakami on the other hand seems to weave in the magical aspects into mostly mundane settings. It's hard to even pinpoint the magic when reading stand-alone pieces. However, after reading so many of his stories back to back it becomes easier to point out the instances of magic. For example, I think music and magical realism often go hand in hand. There’s a certain quality of music that can’t be quite captured by the written word in the same way that magic cannot be easily conveyed. Magical realism, like music, can also enhance the feelings of the characters or their environment. For example, in The Ghosts of Lexington, the ghosts don't have any sort of explanation given to them so they can be interpreted in many ways. I think their presence heightens the loneliness the narrator feels but they could also symbolize the friends of the homeowner who might have died due to aids. The coincidences in Chance Traveler also feel slightly magical, especially when the narrator makes special notes on the ear mole. Murakami characters who have moles or disfigured body parts often have unique and magical qualities to them; it's like magic must need to manifest physically. 

Viv