Exploring Two Sides of Murakami

My wife is an avid fan and reader of Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, and while I have tried to get into his book Norwegian Wood a few times, his work has just never quite grabbed me as a reader. And, yet, currently I find myself immersed in two of his works, and I am intrigued. 

I began by delving into his 1200 word opus 1Q84, which is a fascinating play on George Orwell's masterpiece of dystopian political literature. Murakami's work is set in Tokyo and follows two distinct and divergent storylines which seem destined to collide. The high school library where I work has not one but two copies, which I found rather surprising. And I opened one up earlier this year during the times that I'm on the floor, casually monitoring student behavior. During these times, I've slowly read several books, a few pages at a time. I figured I could be through 1Q84 by the end of the year.

I am also reading one of Murakami's two forays into non-fiction, What I Think About When I Think About Running. Murakami is a long-time distance runner, and I got to talking about the book when I discussed Chris McDougal's Born to Run with a colleague who is a runner and a reader. I was familiar with Murakami's title, and I was actually kind of intrigued by the idea. So, I picked it up a copy and have enjoyed the calm meditative prose. 

So, that's me this week -- looking at two sides of Murakami.