The Elephant Vanishes: Stories (edition 1994)

Most memorable one is Barn Burning, the one about sleep was also part of Murakami's other short story collection. Actually I could not finish the book, some 5-6 stories were remaining but I had to return the book. ( )

Un paio di racconti mi sono piaciuti ma in generale mi hanno lasciato un po' così.... se pensati come schizzi possono andare. Lo stile è il suo e a me leggere Murakami piace sempre. Dance Dance Dance resta per me il miglior romanzo ( )

I'm kind of on a Murakami kick...the first three I read- Hardboiled Wonderland, Norwegian Wood, and Kafka on the Shore were all experienced about a year apart. Then, two years after that, I read Wind Up Bird Chronicle when I was sick in bed with Pertussis/Whooping Cough. Oddly enough, I haven't read any of his novels since then and that was 3 years ago. Now, I've read about three in a row in the past two weeks but haven't had as much time as I'd like to catch up.

I think when you read Murakami back to back, you get this odd sense of how similar many of his characters are in terms of their brandy drinking, Russian novel reading, spaghetti eating sense but how different they can be as well. This one is filled with disappearing women and elephants (as well as an elephant factory), a newly married couple who attacks bakeries (and a McDonalds as a fall back plan), the 100% perfect girl and matches that weren't ever made, lawns that are mowed, dancing dwarves that get into your dreams and your soul, the was a feeling of fear that everyone will think him dishonest can infect the heart of a boxer, and a marriage that just can't continue after the husband requests lederhosen. You meet a whole cast of very interesting characters at all different points of their lives.

I can't say for sure if any of these stories changed my life or my viewpoints on life but they are memorable and I can see them creeping up on my memory from time to time. Still, he doesn't write the kind of stories that I love absolutely best: Flannery O'Connor #1, #2 John Cheever Ray #3 Bradbury #4 Roald Dahl #5 O'Henry.

Still, these are not too shabby to say the least. ( )

I didn't enjoy this collection of stories as much as I've enjoyed Murakami's novels. Part of the problem, I think, was that I was listening to the audio while I was driving. I know I miss bits of the story that way and I think it matters less with a novel than with a short story. But also I just wasn't interested in some of the stories. It was interesting to hear the story that The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles seems to have grown out of, as it's interesting to follow the evolution of a writer's work. I'm going to try After the Quake next, a collection of six stories all connected to the same subject matter. ( )

have ebook version