Unbearable Lightness of Being and Norwegian Wood made it to the top bestsellers. Whoddathunk? Although for the life of me, I don’t know why NW is the one Murakami’s novel that made it. (Unbearable, I can understand, but I’d rec Hard-boiled Wonderland and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle over NW anyday.) Then again, bestseller list never makes sense.

Still, can’t help but noticing the growing popularity of Japanese novels (and of course manga/anime, and films, and music, and food, and architecture, and gift wraps, and, well, basically everything except for the most crucial: green tea pocky) lately in English-speaking world. Currently some of the most famous names: Murakami (Haruki, and Ryuu to a lesser extent), Banana Yoshimoto, Koji Suzuki, Koushun Takami (must be the film–Battle Royale is another one on the best-seller list). The following are some that I’m familiar with.

Haruki Murakami

One read and I was hooked–simple language, simple everyday angles with bizarre twist, very detached narrator, and abundant reference of Western pop culture. It almost feels as if there’s more Western reference in Murakami’s novels than in contemporary Western lit, but as the saying goes, ‘Americans are the least American people’. Bloody addictive toilet read.

One obvious flaw from Murakami (if you could call it such) is that the main character (usually, the narrator) retains the same characteristics from novel to novel: adult Japanese male (not that homogeneous in his short stories), detached, nonchalant, very limited social contacts, doesn’t watch TV, hardly read magazines, goes out only to buy the barest necessities, read ‘literature’, broad taste in music, and ultimately, very lost as to what s/he wants in life. Well educated, well off, well read. Self-insert? You can just imagine Murakami being the narrator in each one of his novels despite the ostensibly different characters (and his denial). This, though, is one of the main attractions (at least, for me)–it’s just too easy to relate to the narrators. Minus the broad taste in music (and the penis, I guess), reading his novels feels like peeking into my own general, one-dimensional autobiography, and I’m quite sure that plenty of his fans share the lonely sentiments.

My favourite is Hard Boiled Wonderland and The End of the Worldand The Wind Up Bird Chronicle–the more ’surreal’ ones. A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance would be the next to grab if you like those two, but not as great frankly. Norwegian Wood is probably the most conventionally attractive in the kind of coming-of-age, love story (even Thom Yorke loves that book…), and the least detached out of all Murakami’s works, but personally I won’t really recommend it (like I said, I don’t understand bestseller list). I’m not so keen on South of the Border… (too predictable) and Sputnik Sweetheart (started out rather well, but wavered quite badly). And to think it was the only one that doesn’t stay within the annoyingly heterosexualistic realm.

The Elephant Vanishes is highly recommended if you’d like to start on Murakami (in fact, sometimes I think short stories suit him better). After The Quake might be another short story collection, but I don’t think it quite captures the Murakamiesque feeling of his works. And Exorcising Ghost has some translations of his short stories. Translators for Murakami’s works: Although Jay Rubin sometimes could be a little too stiff, Birnbaum too slang-y (but he retains the flow of the stories really well), both did good jobs. I forgot the translator for Sputnik Sweetheart… Phillipe Gabriel I think? was fine too.

The translated version of Kafka on the Shore is out in January 2005. Can’t wait. (Afterdark is already out for quite sometime in Japan, and apparently it’s a departure from that first-person narration.) Oh, If you like Murakami (Haruki), try Jorge Luis Borges or Raymond Carver.

Banana Yoshimoto

People (at least in English-speaking world) often draw similarities between Murakami and Yoshimoto. And I guess if people say they adore one, I’d recommend the other for a start. They do share similar characteristics in their nonchalant, emotionally-void first-person narration, simple stories, simple language, without any obvious morals to be drawn, and the seemingly disconnected events (which I’ve read is the characteristic of Japanese post-war lit?). I hate to parrot reviews, but I’d say Murakami has the more Kafkaesque, surreal qualities–he paints on bigger canvas. Not to say that Yoshimoto is of an inferior quality. Instead of surreal events, she has better grasp in turning simple everyday situations into charming, nostalgic stories. Sometimes I couldn’t help but recalling Ryo Ikuemi (especially for Goodbye Tsugumi and Asleep), Kiriko Nananan, George Asakura and Mao Hashiba.

If Murakami’s works are peppered with Western references (literature, history, music–from Classical to rock), Yoshimoto stays within Japanese realm, and her Western culture reference is not as vast as Murakami. To a certain extent, I find her stories… warmer, at least, than Murakami’s. Not as bleak. Josei-ish perhaps? Female/female undertones. Lovely.

As for Yoshimoto, I can’t really pick a favourite, somehow… I like all of hers rather equally. Lizard and Asleep are her short story collection, both enjoyable (although if I should choose I’d pick the former). While out of her novels: N.P., Amrita, Kitchen and Goodbye Tsugumi… Goodbye Tsugumi is perhaps the weakest (and the most badly translated), but nostalgic nonetheless. Michael Emmerich should be skinned by Boris the Manskinner and his Mongolian goon for slandering Yoshimoto’s prose into some vulgar Americanization (gasp!) in Goodbye Tsugumi and Asleep.

Yeah well, try her short stories first, if you like them, then try her novels. They are the kind that you can read in a breeze, pick up again when you feel like it and binge. Like fingerfoods.

And I’m curious for this: Banana Yoshimoto x Yoshitomo Nara.

Kobo Abe

If you’re looking something even more ’strange’ than Murakami, go for Abe. I’ve only laid my hands on Beyond the Curve and Kangaroo Notebookbut God I love his stories! Way more bizzare, with more melancholic, a lot of times comic, fleeting ambience, kind of like children stories somewhat (Intruders really reminds me of The Trial, not to mention the main characters share similar names). Abe’s most popular work is The Woman in the Dunes, but I still couldn’t find that anywhere. It’s been made into a movie, apparently–I definitely would want to watch that. (Dear good ol’ Santa, if you give me the book and the DVD, I promise I won’t make fun of the Holy Communion ever again… and I’ll get you oreos with peanut butter instead of some measly shrubs. XXX)

Ryuu Murakami
Someone who shares Murakami’s namesake but without any relation whatsoever. Almost Transparent Blue: A Newsweek review at the cover said it’s “A Japanese mix of A Clockwork Orange and L’Etranger“, “raw”, “violent”, “brutal”, “won an Akutagawa prize”, “enfant terrible of Japanese literature”, you know, yada yada, so I thought, OK, why not, I like Clockwork and The Stranger anyway. After finishing the book though, I was mildly disappointed, and wondered to myself, ‘Violence? What violence?’ OK, graphic use of drugs (come to think of it, the book reminds me more of Burroughs than Camus or Burgess) and sex, maybe, but what violence? (The description of the orgy is a bit nauseating, but nothing really slamming. Oh, desensitization!) Perhaps, written in 1976, it’s showing its age, considering the horde of ‘violent’ books churned out thereafter (read: Palahniuk, Welsh, etc.). Nevertheless, it’s still better than American Psycho–Bateman should just gouge out some eyeballs and proceed on a killing frenzy instead of musing on his tanning bed.

He’s produced some (SM-themed?) films too–Tokyo Decadence and Audition. Anyone’s ever watched them?

Fumiko Enchi is recommended as well. But if I write every single one of them, I’d bore you shitless (I think I already did anyway).