After the Quake: Stories (Vintage International) by Haruki Murakami (EPUB)

Description

Set at the time of the catastrophic 1995 Kobe earthquake, the mesmerizing stories in After the Quake are as haunting as dreams and as potent as oracles.An electronics salesman who has been deserted by his wife agrees to deliver an enigmatic package— and is rewarded with a glimpse of his true nature. A man who views himself as the son of God pursues a stranger who may be his human father. A mild-mannered collection agent receives a visit from a giant talking frog who enlists his help in saving Tokyo from destruction. The six stories in this collection come from the deep and mysterious place where the human meets the inhuman—and are further proof that Murakami is one of the most visionary writers at work today.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐these particular used books difficult to find at local used bookstores or my usual online sources.. These arrived as advertised, totally readable, unmarked. already being consumed. Usual timely shipping, faster than my reading.

⭐I’m afraid to say that this book will be a classic because that turns people off of some books — but this book is a classic of the short story genere. If you have never read Murakimi, you might think that reading a translated work by a great Japanese author is something that you ought to do, rather than something that you will enjoy. Sort of like yoga or ordering a healthy vegetarian concoction rather than a nice juicy steak. The opposite is true, this is great literature because he effortlessly grabs your attention and keeps it for the whole story. Just when you think you have the author figured out he sneaks up behind you and whaps you over the head with a completely different angle, making you question just about everything you ever thought that you knew. The last story even made me cry, which not many stories do and certainly not other stories by this author. Every story should be read many times, or at least I find that I do. I frequently reread stories from “The Elephant Vanishes” and plan to do the same with this one.In some reviews I find that people overanalyze the books; don’t forget that just because the author is writing in the first person doesn’t mean that the author is presenting the hero as somebody who you should emulate. If you spot a character flaw, with an author of this caliber it is pretty likely that you were intended to — and if you read it again you might question your assumptions.This is the first book I have bought on a Kindle and I’m not too sure about the experience. With this author you should probably get the physical book so you can reread the stories. Also, the book is a bit smaller than I expected.This book was a nice antidote to the “Girl with the Dragon tattoo” that I finished reading just before.

⭐Murakami writes at his straightforward best in this collection of six short stories. Using the tragic 1995 Kobe, Japan earthquake as his jumping off point, Murakami beautifully and eloquently captures moments in the lives of a handful of Japanese citizens- none of them actually living in Kobe at the time of the quake- and illustrates how catastrophic events affect us all, even if we are not directly impacted. An unhappy wife becomes obsessed with news of the earthquake and suddenly decides to leave her husband, inspiring him to undertake a spiritual journey of his own. A young man, raised to believe that his father is God, decides to seek out his real father. An overworked business woman takes a much needed vacation and undergoes a spiritual reading that would profoundly change her life. Although none of the characters are directly impacted by the devastation in Kobe, the existential questions that such a disaster raises impacts each of their lives in a compelling and meaningful way. For the most part, Murakami abandons his surrealistic ways and keeps the stories grounded in reality, with only a hint or two of unexplained weirdness (a Murakami trademark). The main exception is “Super Frog Saves Tokyo”, a story about a man who comes home from work to find a giant frog in his kitchen requesting help to save Tokyo from the Worm. Apart from this, the remaining stories occupy a Japan as normal as anything Murakami has written about, portraying the unsettled consciousness of a nation dealing with a disaster of historical proportions. “After the Quick” may be Murakami at his simplest, but it is also Murakami at his best.

⭐I’ve been a fan of Murakami’s novels since a co-worker gifted me with “Wind Up Bird Chronicle” three years ago. This is the first time I’ve read any of his short stories though, so I’m glad I stumbled across this collection.There are six stories altogether, each one of them set after the Kobe Earthquake of 1995. I’ve listed them below in the order of my most to least favorite:1) Superfrog Saves Tokyo2) All God’s Children Can Dance3) Thailand4) Honeypie5) UFO in Kushiro6) Landscape with FlatironIf you’re looking to get a firsthand account of the natural disaster that claimed the lives of thousands: look elsewhere. Nearly all the characters are tangentially related; their experiences secondhand.Even so, the fallout affects them in subtle and surprising ways, mirroring the small tremors or “after quakes” that often happen after an earthquake of that magnitude — its seismic activity was, at one point, officially measured at the highest intensity (Level 7) against the scale by the JMA (Japanese Meteorological Agency).Still, all six stories bear all the hallmarks of Murakami’s style: clean prose, sparing detail and surreal flourish.At the end of the day, After the Quake is a deeply meditative piece on how we cope with disaster. Murakami paints, with broad and economical strokes, the psychological repercussions of the choices we make as we wait for the dust to settle.

⭐This is probably my favourite of Murakami’s short story collection that I’ve read. Perhaps it’s the central tie-in, the connection to the Kobe earthquake, that makes them stand out, hold them together. And the final story, Honey Bear, is Murakami’s finest piece of short fiction.There’s a sense that the Kobe earthquake was such a catastrophic event that, no matter how small the connection, it affected the entire of Japan. I think that is what Murakami is aiming to explore. Whether directly or indirectly, this event affected you if you’re Japanese. The result is a thoughtful, intriguing collection of stories that are melancholic yet hopeful.

⭐I loved this collection of six short stories, which he make up my favourite of Murakami’s short story books. Each of the stories touches on the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, although only gently- none of the stories are based there and none of them feature the earthquake as a main part of the tale.As always with Murakami there are themes of love and loss, solitude and friendship and some of the stories include surreal moments which seem entirely believable when you are reading them.This is a short book – only 132 pages – but if you enjoy Murakami’s novels you will surely love this little collection of short tales too

⭐I have read many of this author’s work. Quirky, unusual long yarns. I didn’t realise this one was just a SHORT collection of lesser quirky stories. Very poor.

⭐Despite my addiction to Murakami, this is actually a collection of unrelated short stories linked – somewhat tenuously sometimes- to the Kobe earthquake. Short stories are not my favourite form of the writer’s art, I have to be hones. but not bad.

⭐I love Murakami H. books however I prefer the novels than his stories, maybe because I read most of his long books and many of the shorts stories are part of his bigger novel. Don’t know, I love the frog story though.

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