Surrealism as an Escape

     When comparing a Wild Sheep Chase to the Long Goodbye,  one of their biggest differences is Murakami's surrealism and use of magical realism. While the Long Goodbye is rooted entirely in the realm of conventional reality, Murakami chooses to make his own realm, different from conventional reality. This has become a defining characteristic of Murakami's style, and one of many reasons why he is so beloved. To many, reading is a way of escaping reality, transporting oneself away from the real world. What makes Murakami especially appealing is that his work is still tethered to the real world. It has one foot in the real world, and one in the other world, and in some stories, such as Sputnik Sweetheart, it is that binary. 

    In an interview with the Guardian, Murakami elaborates on this, expanding it to his global popularity: “I was so popular in the 1990s in Russia, at the time they were changing from the Soviet Union – there was big confusion, and people in confusion like my books...In Germany, when the Berlin Wall fell down, there was confusion – and people liked my books.” In times of distress, people gravitate away from the harshness and difficulty of reality by escaping to a new, fictional world. Murakami's worlds are not too far; they're far enough to serve as an escape, but not as far as to feel lost.

    I was thinking about how I got into Murakami myself. Like most teenagers, I went through a phase where I didn't read much for pleasure. I always said that assigned readings in high school had killed my once fervent love for reading. In college, I committed myself to reading again. I was discovering more and more who I really was, and wanted to return to my past hobbies while still looking ahead. When I started reading again, I gravitated towards more realistic books, as I felt that fantasy had no application in my life. However, through Milan Kundera, I discovered what I'd now (maybe?) call postmoderism, and through some internet list, I found Murakami. His books appealed to me as I navigated the inherently confusing and stressful world of being a teenager. When I introduced Murakami to my friends or discovered friends who also knew him, we all bonded over how his works were so relatable, so good at displaying the truths of real life while suspending real life at the same time.

    In that same interview, Murakami says that "the reader and I have a secret meeting place underground, a secret place in the subconscious," and I think that describes it best. His appeal, both universally and personally, is understood as a mysterious sense of reality. In times of confusion, people gravitate towards Murakami's more polished and friendly confusion. He connects us to the parts of us that we cannot see nor understand. 

 

John