Murakami's Female Protagonists - Krisha

Having read and discussed the female protagonists from the 4 short stories we read, I am legitimately surprised and delighted at how interesting they were. Having witnessed the women in other Murakami stories, I was not expecting too much which is why these stories were almost all such a fascinating read.

Almost. "Creta Kano" was a stupidly violent affair but the mythical references were too hard to resist. There are aspects of the labyrinth and the Minotaur and the Greek myth parts are fun to try to take apart. That's about it for that story though, it is just a little too violent to really enjoy the myth.

"Sleep" is by far the champion. The protagonist's descent into sleeplessness is such a fascinating journey. Watching her turn her back on a family that won't ever quite get her, watching her rediscover and devour Russian literature, all of that was really fun to take part in as the reader. You could feel the emotions of excitement and acceptance when it comes to sleeplessness. Instead of making this a story of dread or fear (until the very end but that ending is a whole other beast), "Sleep" gives a women trapped in an average life a chance to do what she wants to do and its so refreshing.

"The Ice Man" was not that interesting for my first read but that was on me as the reader. I was way too bogged down by details of the South Pole. Rereading it after class discussion helped me to better understand what it was bringing to the table. There is loss of self that comes with living your home for a partner, no matter how neat or cool the partner is, and that loss of self only gets worse when you become the outlier. What a life, trapped in the South Pole with no connections and a family to drag her down. Certainly a depressing lens to marriage and immigration, but a very powerful one.

"Little Green Monster" slaps. I know there is a lot of evidence to point to the monster being Midori's youthful/free spirited personality but man it was fun to just watch her rip the creature apart. Reading the story as Midori's inner turmoil does add evidence to the argument that Murakami writes about 70s-80s Japanese consumerism at the expense of the self. She traded her chaotic identity for a nice house, a nice kitchen, and a nice husband.