I’m not quite ready to dive back into Murata yet but I also don’t want to miss the next pick either, so a hiatus sound perfect! I am itching to read some of Murata’s non-fiction though—maybe we could pick and choose from となりの脳世界 in the interval?
I’m thinking of exploring some Murakami later this summer if anyone wants to get an informal thing going—probably either 1Q84 or Wind Up Bird Chronicle. I’m a bit jealous of the folks in the ABC experiencing Kafka on the Shore for the first time.
I don’t mind time off, either. I still want to read しろいろの街の、その骨の体温の in the near future but definitely feel like taking time to read something from a different author would be a welcome change (and there’s enough I’m interested in haha) 
I still have your promise on that one, right? 
nah, just kidding
I’m up for reading the second part of book 1 together with you but only after Kafka is over because I don’t want to read two Murakami books in parallel 
Sorry, but… nope
I have a buddy who was looking to read Wind Up Bird with me, but he hasn’t fully committed yet. I will definitely end up reading both eventually though!
And why a no to Wind Up Bird? Was it you who mentioned a certain phobia that would not go well with it?
I’m sorry
I personally am really invested in a project for the next 3 months (trying to get a certification, and I have lab access for 90 days), so I don’t really have time to participate until middle October. So I am all in for a hiatus
Yeah, so that phobia is definitely a factor, not gonna lie. Although I think I could try to overcome it little by little… but another point weighs much more for me: Last year or so I watched an interview with Ursula Gräfe, the German translator of Murakami’s works, and she recalled how she talked to another Murakami translator (don’t remember which language, though, maybe Italian??) and there is this one scene where a person is skinned, I think (and probably alive? forgot the details) and the other translator said she could not translate this scene when she was alone, and on top of that she had to get drunk before working on it, because it was so horrible. I mean, translating of course has a whole other level of intensity to it compared to just reading, but still.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of Murakami’s way with words! His descriptions are so vivid and suck me straight in. Also I don’t really take offense in depictions of sex or violence, as long as they serve as a vehicle to carry a message across. But I’m not exactly a fan of excessive violence, especially not of the disgusting kind. So I would rather explore some other authors instead, I guess 
More off-topic on Murakami (sorry):
I’ve read most of Murakami’s books that are available in translation, although none of them recently. I remember that I enjoyed them, that there was some element that made me want to keep reading, a constant mystery, and that said mystery was never really resolved, even at the end of the book. For the life of me, I couldn’t tell you what any specific book was about - I don’t remember a thing, apart from 1Q84 which was the most recent one. I keep seeing people mention horrible scenes from his books and I’m shocked - how is it possible that I have no memory of such scenes? I almost certainly need to reread at some point… 
Wind-Up Bird is certainly the most violent the most violent. The particular section of the skinning and the well are really tough to forget. Murata violence can get pretty bad, but often in a way that’s over-the-top to the point of absurdism which kind of dulls the immersion to make it more stomachable. Not so in Wind-Up bird. I listened to the audiobook in English, which is probably a level or two of immersion below reading in Japanese, so I would expect the scene to hit even harder when I read it.
I really don’t think it’s violence for the sake of violence. [mild thematic spoiler]The vivid descriptions really drive home the anti-war messages in an extreme way, and I think that section really makes up much of the thematic core of the book. It was difficult to read, but it still feels like it was important to read.
So I looked on Wikipedia for a plot summary, and I’m now doubting I ever read the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle at all (I feel so sure I have, though!). In any case, I was rather surprised to see that 25000 words were cut off the translation to make the book shorter, and other parts were either rearranged or summarized. That’s some very heavy editing, and a very good argument for (re?) reading the book in the original.
I do feel like sometimes Murakami’s worlds can blend together, but Wind Up Bird stands apart for me (maybe because it’s the first I read?)
But holy crap, which translation did you read?
It’s possible I only think I read it. It’s a long time ago, and I had been reading all Murakami I could get my hands on, which certainly helped with the worlds blending together problem. The cut scenes and rearranging information comes from Wikipedia though. But apparently even the paperback and hardcover Japanese editions have differences? This kind of thing makes me anxious, why not keep a book as is?
授乳, 殺人出産 (read by the Book Club), and マウス, 丸の内魔法少女ミラクリーナ, 星が吸う水 (not yet read by the Book Club) are currently offered on discounted price on Bookwalker, until August 24. Along with the current coinback campaign, they may be worth checking out now if you’re interested in reading them.
An interview with Murata:
I am reading 生命式 and finished the second story last night. I am in the middle of the 3rd story and kind of feel like this is a book to read when I want to read something but not something I should read every day until I finish… I just borrowed 可哀想な蠅 too. So I feel pressure to get started on that one.
I’m ‘cleaning up’ my TBR this read and my 村田沙耶香 books have been jumping out at me!
I polled over at natively for help deciding and will probably start reading マウス soon, and probably 星が吸う水 and しろいろの街の、その骨の体温を sometime this year. Also maybe となりの脳世界 if I’m in the mood for essays.
I won’t be following a schedule for this first one, but I thought maybe having an unscheduled discussion thread about it might be nice. If anyone feels like discussing or also reading any of those (now or later) there’d be a place for it.
If we want to keep this to scheduled bookclubs that’s also fine of course. ^^
Since there doesn’t seem to be a need for a separate thread, I’ll just leave my impression of マウス here. 
The story develops very slowly, but in the end I can say it became my favorite of her works I’ve read so far!
It’s a story of friendship and acceptance and animal metaphors. 
Speaking of animal metaphors; I loved how Murata tied them into the story and how everything came together in the end.
I wrote a more complete review on natively, which can be found here: