Where do I go from here?

Where do I go from here?

Isn't it good?

Kafka on the Shore

hard boiled wonderland

then realize you've read every murakami book, and move on

Can anyone here recommend me some better 21st century Japanese authors?

It's interesting, very conversational.

Thanks.

I do get the feeling his works are samey.

Ishiguro?

>Ishiguro

he is British.

Kobo Abe

Start with Kangaroo Notebook. His best known book is Woman in the Dunes, but I honestly thought it dragged on and wasn't too interesting.

Kafka on the Shore is a good shout. If you want more of the same tone though, where the magical realism is kept low to non-present, check out Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki. It's another bildungsroman but it actually explores the protag's present moment and, if anything, the novel's central conflict is in the narrative's present moment as well

6 fingers lmao xDD

Wind-Up Bird is easily his best. His short stories are also really good and pretty comfy. Maybe start with The Elephant Vanishes and then move on to Wind-Up Bird.
This is also a good rec. Although I did like Woman in the Dunes a lot.
Hard-Boiled is pretty good if you don't think you're that smart and need an explanation for Murakami's "dude magica realism and dreamy landscapes lmao xD"

>Kobo Abe
Forgot about this thread but thanks. For anyone really, does anyone still alive come to mind? I was trying to think of anyone good around Murakami's age or even younger.

yukio mishima is technically 20th century but still great. i'd recommend sailor who fell from grace with the sea, and the sea of fertility series.

didn't even look at your picture. check out kenzaburo oe or kazuo ishiguro if you haven't i suppose.

What movie ?

The other Murakami.

I am aware of the better of the Murakami Bros.
I don't know but if anyone does please share. Oe was alright but just that. Ishiguro is British, shesh.

からっ風野郎

...

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, it's a masterpeice.

Murakami books are very comfy, I don't enjoy his wacky surrealism tho

How did you get past the "your penis is warm" part?

By the way, I just want to know why the protagonist's friend killed himself, if it's explained by the end.

I imagine it was very hard for him.

Read Underground.

It's true to real life. Have you ever watched Hentai? it's pretty much a staple trope. In my country if you dont have that, you are nothing.

I'm hentai addict, but the point is that I don't want those things mingled with literature. I don't want boners to distract me while I'm reading.

>How did you get past the "your penis is warm" part?
Chalked it up to Murakami's style (my first read of his) and that sex is very casual in NW.
Kizuki - unexplained.
Naoko - think she just gave up and chose death.

Honestly though, I expected better. I gather this isn't his usual area, but if the rest of his works are like this I might skip him.

Kizuki's suicide is the only reason I liked that book.
But Naoko too? Ok, glad I didn't finish it after all.

I mean, if you look at the audience, the properties of the author will become obvious, especially if he's still alive.

I remember I've met two people who've read 1Q84. They were both attending Japanese course with me. One of them was 30yo tasteless self-pronounced geek, the other one was 14yo pretentious girl who though she was more mature than the other of her age and didn't watch any anime and called people weebs, but she thought herself a real otaku because she read Murakami.

And I also began reading the famous 1Q84, but it seemed like Fringe rip-off.

Then you need to straighten yourself out bucko.

After Murakami you go back

to the sadness dungeon
but, Kafaka on the Shore is very good...or Wild Sheep Chase
or to Borges, who probably inspired Murakami to an extent, he's at least preoccupied with similar weirdness...congrats

Banana Yoshimoto.

I just bought this book and really looking forward reading it. What am i in for? No spoilers, but feelings? I get affected easily by depressing themes, so might this happen to me, did it for anyone else?

Soeseki, Kenzaburo Oe, Raymond Chandler, Raymond Carver.

I've seen Yoshimoto being praised a lot. Can someone tell me a bit about her writing?

Kinda slice of life-y, often with a mysterious twist. Unusual family constellations and probably a few dead people.
Some critics say she draws influence from shoujo mango, but kinda inverts it, by making it more mature. Especially in Japanese, you can tell she uses writing/sentence structures resembling shoujo.

It will likely depress you.

Read two more of his books. Like the other anons in here said, once you've read three, you've read them all. Sputnik Sweetheart and Hard-Boiled Wonderland are both pretty good.

Bittersweet.

i tried to read the ruined map and it was so fucking boring i couldn't finish it

Cool, better get a cup of coffe and a rope to finish it all with!

Not going to spoil you much but yeah, it could be depressing. In my case it was for the wrong reasons.

To hell

Wow so fucking edgy.

So her writing is sort of anime I guess you could say?

Off yourself

Jokes on you, I already have.

Are these any good?

They're okay

No