After reading this conversation, I felt like my view of Murakami got changed. I used to treat the Western references in his books as more of a label: very pop culture heavy (well, western culture) maybe even a little bit intentionally anti traditional. But in this discussion, it became clearer that these details aren't decoration. They're part of how he builds a believable everyday world, where loneliness and detachment don't need dramatic explanation because they already feel natural inside that setting.
What stayed with me most was Murakami's point about language that he had to invent a new kind of Japanese for his fiction. That helped me understand why his writing can feel light and accessible without being shallow. It's not just emptiness but more of a choice to strip away a heavier, more ceremonial literary voice and replace it with something that travels across cultures more easily.
The contrast with Mishima also made the stakes feel real. Mishima is described as intense and grand. Murakami feels quieter, more skeptical, and closer to ordinary life, even when the plot turns surreal. For me, this talk showed that a writing style isn't just about how sentences sound. It's about what kind of world the author wants to make, and who they want that world to be able to speak to.
Wendy
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