Reflection on a Year of Reading Japanese Literature
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
After Dark by Haruki Murakami
The Roads to Sata By Alan Booth
Reading Japanese literature for a whole year seemed like a task that I could do well on, but it was easier said than done. In books I chose to read, there were many common themes throughout with many useful life lessons. One thing I learned about Japan is that there are often two sides to their culture. One that is more reserved and traditional and one that is uncensored and provocative. Common topics within the books I chose were of life and sexuality. Both of which can sometimes be either a curse, a gift, or even both. Haruki Murakami portrays these themes very well in all the works of literature that I read from him. For example in Norwegian Wood he portrays the meaning of life when Toru has to deal with the loss of his love interest.
What I learned about life from Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami was that life is valuable and should not be taken for granted. In this novel, Toru’s best friend commits suicide and he ends up hooking up with his widowed girlfriend, Naoko, though not yet in the right mental state. Toru addicted to Naoko’s presence and body ends up devastated when he finds out that she later on commits suicide as well. This depicts the idea that life is valuable in that many close people to Toru commit suicide when he least expects it and he learns to appreciate the people he has and love in life.
What I learned about life from Kafka on the Shore was that sexuality is a burdensome evil that everyone faces. In the novel, Kafka embarks on a journey to find his mother and sister and runs away from his father who foretells him of an oedipal curse that were to happen to him. After some adventuring, Kafka finds himself a quaint home in a library run by the mysterious Miss Saeki and rather cool Oshima. Kafka also meets a woman named Sakura who helps him later on in life. Further into the story, Kafka has sexual relations with both Sakura and Miss Saeki who are hinted to be Kafka’s sister and mother. Kafka could not control his lust when it came to these women and he fulfilled the prophecy on his own.
During the year of reading Japanese literature I learned many things about myself that I did not realize. My busy schedule between working and school made it difficult to schedule time every night to read without compromising sleep. Personally I’m not a very fast reader and often times I would have to reread some things to get a better understanding of what is going on. Furthermore, if i try to read too fast I miss what happens and need to reread again to understand the development of the events that unfold. I also learned that I’m not very good at time management and when it comes to priorities procrastination comes first. As for book choices, I would have to be fully invested and interested in a book to want to keep reading it, which I would assume most people would do on a normal reading basis as well.
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