The Forbidden Worlds of Haruki Murakami

As a Haruki Murakami devotee it's difficult to be objective about a new book of criticism. This work by Strecher (Japanese, Winona State Univ.; Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Reader's Guide) is sure to satisfy both Murakami fans and critics alike. Rather than tackle the novelist's work as a whole, Strecher here provides an in-depth examination of "the other world" aspect of Murakami's writing. Some might think of this as the play of the subconscious or psyche in both his fiction and nonfiction. The approach taken to explore this world is not via psychological theory but the internal narrative of the individual, consisting of language and memory. Although this scope is narrower than that of Jay Rubin's Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words, it is not limited and brings the reader up to Murakami's latest novel. Strecher uses the conventional Japanese naming mechanism and original Japanese titles of works referenced, which lead the reader deeper into Murakami's world.