2013: The Year of Murakami

2013 is the year I discovered Haruki Murakami.

I read Norwegian Wood cover to cover on a Sunday in March. The words left the pages, seeped into my skin and sunk into my heart. I became obsessed with his writing. I wanted to devour every word he ever wrote and I couldn’t do it fast enough. Immediately after Norwegian Wood, I read Kafka on the Shore, followed by Sputnik Sweetheart, South of the Border West of the Sun, Windup Bird Chronicle and 1Q84. It was only after I finished the mammoth 1Q84 that I was somewhat satiated and ready to take a break. 

I've been a voracious reader since the age of 10. In my extremely satisfying journey as an ardent book lover, I have discovered and loved many writers. But none so far have had the overwhelming impact that Murakami’s work has had on me. 

In a very difficult phase of my life, I felt like someone had glimpsed the very depths of my soul and given words to my longing, loneliness, existential angst and inexplicable sorrow. Of course, I am not alone in feeling this way about his work; he is popular primarily because millions across the world feel exactly the same way I do. And this once, I don’t mind being one among multitudes.

I've found that reading a Murakami book can feel like lying on cool grass, on a warm full moon night and having a conversation with a soul mate. You know that feeling, when you finally gather the courage to open up about your deepest, darkest fears to a close friend and the infinite joy you experience when you find the other person echoing the same emotions? Through his books, Murakami reaches out to you and soothingly whispers, “I know how you feel; I feel the same way. You are not alone.”

And it’s not just the emotional quotient of his books that appeal to me, the fantastical elements too, blew me away. Almost all his novels except one or two push the boundaries of reality. His books are full of alternate universes, flying fish, talking cats and more. He incorporates these into the regular narrative in such a way that there is no way of knowing what is real and what is not. It is as if, in Murakami’s world anything is possible. Who says cats can’t talk and fish can’t fly? He is like a child who is yet to learn the truths of our world; doodling flying cars and dancing animals completely ignorant that his imagination is out of sync with the boundaries of reality. He doesn’t think out of the box; he refuses to acknowledge the existence of the box. As a reader, to step into his world and experience such freewheeling imagination is exhilarating.

I was lost in Murakami’s world for months, much to the chagrin of my loved ones. One day, when my brother found me completely engrossed in one of his books, yet again, he said, “What will you do if this man stops writing?” I felt his words like a punch in my gut. I shot back at him, “He will never stop writing”. In my head I think of him as a magical weaver, sitting at his spindle and loom, endlessly weaving words, forever more. Remember, in Murakami’s world anything is possible :)

"He is proud, She is prejudiced; it works." - Sheldon Cooper

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's true what they say about how you learn something new each time you read a book. I've read this book several times, in different phases of my life. This is my favorite Jane Austen novel; and Jane Austen is one of my all time favorite authors. Sometimes I wish I knew her in person and we were friends because she is my favorite kind of woman; witty as hell, with oodles of dry humour and an ability to laugh at people and situations that would depress the best of us.

Like most people, the highlight of Pride and Prejudice for me has always been Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy's chemistry, intellectual sparring and sigh inducing romance. Sheldon Cooper put it aptly when he said, " He is proud, she is prejudiced; it works." However, when I read the book this time round, it filled me with melancholy. Sure I laughed at the funny parts, Darcy's proposal to Lizzy gave me goosebumps yet again and I smiled through their courtship in the final few pages, but this time round I saw beyond the sparkle and could truly appreciate what a commendable woman JA really was.

So many women wish they were born in Regency England and lived the romantic life depicted in Austen's novels. I've learnt from her books that being born a woman during that time, in that setting, was one of the worst fates imaginable. Women who don't snare a man, any man are better off dead as the life of spinsters belonging to the gentry of that time is nothing short of the most evil curse. My heart went out to Charlotte Lucas who in complete awareness chose to spend her life with the utterly insufferable Mr. Collins than risk remaining unmarried. The Bennet estate is entailed on Mr. Collins for lack of a male heir and if the Bennet girls are not married in their father's life time, they are sure to be destitute. Little wonder then, Mrs. Bennet is shameless and most uncouth in her attempts to get husbands for her daughters; their survival depended on it. Imagine not being able to inherit property or have a career, so a woman can support herself. A woman is validated and deserves to be part of society only if she is chosen by a man for a wife. And after marriage, she will have to depend on the man for the rest of her life, even if she has a decent fortune, because her fortune is at the disposal of her husband. In desperation, if a woman chooses the wrong man, then she suffers for the rest of her life but still feels blessed that she is married and not a spinster.

Jane Austen died a spinster in her mid thirties. One can only imagine what life must have been like for her. Despite this, she managed to laugh at the injustices and absurdities of people around her. She wrote stories of love with happy endings. She taught many of us the correct use of English language. Her life may have been far from ideal but she has left a legacy that will be cherished for all times.





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