How Haruki Murakami writes his books

[@shree2710]

This should be made into a series featuring other authors!!! This was hilarious;;!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Think I’ll do just that :)

[@shree2710]

@@WillowTalksBooks 🥳🥳 hurray!!

[@gmcclary5878]

Seconded. I would love to see Willow lampoon Sayaka Murata

[@GentleReader01]

@@WillowTalksBooksI am here for the slagging. The Anglosphere needs more high-grade slag.

[@Rotwood]

Whenever I feel the temptation to read another Murakami novel, I will rewatch this video and remind myself of how I felt reading Norwegian Wood before going off to read translated fiction by another author instead. I won't say that Murakami is a bad writer, but I think you captured all the quirks that make his writing Not For Me.

[@calj9035]

Japanese cat novels are basically a genre on their own now.

[@vacantlots]

And I'm here for them all.

[@tequilasunset4651]

measuring in cats and jazz records is incredible

[@groofay]

"I'm not like other authors."

[@RoundSeal]

...so this means I can mark all his books on Storygraph as 'read' now, right?

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Absolutely!

[@pamloh3399]

Hahaha I was already cracking up from the first sentence. I’m mentally crossing off all the bingo boxes. I’ve read a bunch of Murakami and honestly I’m getting a bit tired of the same old themes. Thank you for this!

[@mxlio]

This made me laugh out loud! The accuracy! Love these new humorous videos you're publishing - more please 💜

[@vanessatool4346]

This is sooo funny, because I really loved Murakami when I was like... 15.... And now I understand, that there are SO MANY phenomenal japanese authors, and I just liked the magic realism and some elements to it.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I really feel this

[@patrickcroteau3928]

Lollllll STAPHHH, I still love Murakami but your bit is funny af.

[@max-reads]

Haha I love this! Never read a Murakami but I understand exactly what you did!

[@max-reads]

Also I wanted to add that I discovered your channel last week while searching for queer horror and I must say that I’m obsessed with your content! You critique so well and your enthusiasm is contagious. You also have wonderful recommendations. I mostly read genre fiction but you make me want to pick up literary fiction. Also, as a neurodivergent, nonbinary and queer person myself, I really appreciate your place in booktube and I can relate to you. So thank you for being here and giving center stage to diverse literature 🫶

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Wow, this is all so kind, thank you! You’ve just made my day 🖤

[@Christine-jg2ch]

You don't need to now, Willow just told us every 'plot' (of the ones I struggled through anyway) 😂

[@davidwillems9904]

Gotta have a long description of cooking pasta and drinking a beer. While listening to jazz.

[@GentleReader01]

Mix it up: have him cook beer, listen to pasta, and drink jazz albums for which.l the answer is “yes, it will blend”.

[@martinelanglois3158]

Burst out laughing! Thank you! ❤

[@alices.9186]

Loved it!!! Perfect timing, I'm reading Kafka on the beach right now 🤩

[@badfaith4u]

I will never read any books by this author so thank you for making this video.

[@dimitrisdimitriadis5306]

Why not?

[@saaimfarhat9810]

@@dimitrisdimitriadis5306 He writes about women pathetically.

[@dark.and.planty]

I’ve never read this author, which is a good thing I believe. This was hilarious 😆

[@06Yvonne06]

I laughed so hard I startled the neighbours passing outside my door 🤣, straight into the face - not without a cat and an overweight woman to disrespect

[@robirb_]

I kid you not, my Japanese Literature professor made this same point by featuring a "Murakami bingo" in the slides for one of her classes to show that once you've read one of his books you've read them all. This was about 10 years ago, mind you, and it's insane how relevant it still is.

[@danielaweberdani]

I went so far to try three and hardly finished one but you captured his industrious uncreative process / goldmine (Id love to read your version: fantastic sense of irony) 🙃

[@barbaralemon4170]

So funny! Watched this twice, laughing both times!

[@rita.sotero]

This is the best video ever

[@KymriDaniels]

Fantastic Video! Someone should definitely send to or let Haruki Murakami know of this genius, I'm sure he'd find it informative and enlightening (but probably not.....)

[@starstuffpuff]

This is too funny 😂! I’ve never read a Murakami novel (I dnf-ed Norwegian Wood after a few pages, so it doesn’t count), but all I’ve heard about his writing through the years made me not interested in reading his books. The misogyny seems to be on a level I couldn’t stomach.

[@roxannemead2827]

Okay if this is Murakami I'm in lol😂😂😂😂😂

[@パンダの死体]

No idea where this aversion against him comes from in the recent years. I read a bunch of his novels and would consider none of them as bad. Maybe Afterdark was kinda redundant, but thats it. Looking forward to his next ones.

[@tequilasunset4651]

I think it's mostly people who enjoy his books that make fun of him, some of the Murakami-isms are what make his stuff brilliant, other times it can be a bit grating.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

It is a puzzle how so much unforgivably creepy misogyny can make readers so averse to his works. I guess we’ll never solve this mystery 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@Ali94749]

I read the wind up bird chronicle many years ago and found him a fascinating author. Everything else was just either the same book recycled and worse or brought the misogyny I ignored in wind up bird up a notch (honestly Norwegian Wood is so mind bogglingly creepy that you should probably avoid anyone who unreservedly liked it). Safe to say I will not be reading anymore murakami and probably won't read wind up bird again because I will probably notice even more creepiness than I did as a teenager even if reading it was a good memory. Ugh I hate that this author got me back into reading.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I had a very similar experience. I loved that book but, now that I see how revolting his misogyny is, I’ll never touch it again

[@georginatoland]

I’m dipping my toe into the works of Murakami and recently acquired The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle & Kafka on the Shore. Which should I start with? And will I need a talking cat to help? ❤😂❤

[@WillowTalksBooks]

If you still think I’m the best person to ask, the video didn’t do its job 😅

[@vacantlots]

Kafka on the Shore

[@Unpotted]

Start with A Wild Sheep Chase. You’re inexperienced, so you should ease into his fiction slowly. While Willow is amusing, and this video is great satire, one can love and hate his works in a single thought. He can be repetitive, but also provocative. I recommend you give it a go and decide for yourself. This life is your own journey. 😺✌️

[@azhairving]

A Murakami tsunami 😂😂😂

[@johndoe-rq1pu]

Reading Murakami is like talking to your rambling old neighbor who just keeps using the same vocabulary, the canned phrases, the boxing-in of whole people, the uncomfortably specific things about his sex life, and then right when you're about to fall asleep--it's been four or six pages since the last time--he says something that punches you right in the literary dick (or equivalent). You write it down and then you can't even figure out later exactly why it was so impactful. Why do you remember "I didn't want to lose tonight" ten years later as if it's some profound statement. I hate him and I read all his books.

[@harkonen1000000]

Sounds like a stray line from an average battle shounen thing.

[@phoebegee54]

Suggestion: Bernard Cornwell. Ian McEwan.

[@sofiyabozhyk]

No way! I just saw a Star Trek cup! Sorry, I'm a fan of ST, so it's always exciting to see someone who likes this show too❤

[@ninjasonic8921]

Such a quirky author!

[@micaelagonzalez71]

Oh please, do go on with these! XD

[@Unpotted]

Oh, Willow. I love you, but I still enjoy Murakami. Is that so wrong? 😺✌️

[@tirarosaurioreads]

Hahahahahaha. I mean, I do like Haruki Murakami (as guilty a pleasure as it gets I guess) but I still find this HILARIOUS cause it's true lol "I didn't feel attracted to her..."

[@Gen-yh1jz]

😂😂😂😂❤❤❤

[@rachel1021]

Poor missing wife and fat girl 😢 This is hilarious and accurate though 😂

[@robinpenn7167]

Good video. It made me angry at Murakami and male writers who do this. Ugh.

[@claudiabottom4086]

Ha ha. Very funny

[@johnsmith8906]

It does seem that thanks to Murakami all Japanese novels displayed at Waterstones MUST have a cat on the cover. Still got the new book on pre order though...

[@tomatobee1768]

Needs more sandwiches

[@M.elissa.M]

🖤📚

[@bex262]

goddd soo funny

[@tananario23]

🙄

[@WillowTalksBooks]

😘

[@countnu4166]

Oooooh the Murakami stans are gonna hate this one Willow (I’m ready to defend you don’t worry).

[@prabhatranjan4431]

Do you hate his works, just because he has been labeled as misogynistic!!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

No, no, not at all! That would be silly. I hate his works because he IS misogynistic 😌

[@WillowTalksBooks]

That’s a silly reason to hate something! #books #murakami

[@cristiangdc618]

Well, Murakami gets published, and you don’t; he constantly gets proposed for the Nobel Prize of Literature, and surely you don’t (and won’t). That should tell you a lot about your own literary judgement.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I made a video on TikTok recently about the weird men without personalities who come to Elon Musk’s defence when people with personalities criticise his behaviour. It speaks to an emptiness in their lives where they project their own self-worth onto the men they admire. They don’t have to examine the emptiness inside themselves if they can obsess over successful men and insult or berate their detractors. This feels oddly familiar to that. Wouldn’t you agree?

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Boring men who defend rubbish people are SO WEIRD!