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Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the…
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Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche (edition 2001)

by Haruki Murakami

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2,573605,681 (3.81)141
Covers the 1995 Tokyo Gas Attack, during which agents of a Japanese cult released a gas deadlier than cyanide into the subway system, as documented in interviews with its survivors, perpetrators, and victim family members. In March 1995, agents of a Japanese religious cult attacked the Tokyo subway system with sarin, a gas twenty six times as deadly as cyanide. Attempting to discover why, Murakami conducted hundreds of interviews with the people involved, from the survivors to the perpetrators to the relatives of those who died. Underground is their story in their own voices. Concerned with the fundamental issues that led to the attack as well as these personal accounts, Underground is a document of what happened in Tokyo as well as a warning of what could happen anywhere. This is an enthralling and unique work of nonfiction that is timely, vital, and as brilliantly executed as Murakami's novels. From Haruki Murakami, internationally acclaimed author of the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Norwegian Wood, a work of literary journalism that is as fascinating as it is necessary, as provocative as it is profound. It was a clear spring day, Monday, March 20, 1995, when five members of the religious cult Aum Shinrikyo conducted chemical warfare on the Tokyo subway system using sarin, a poison gas twenty-six times as deadly as cyanide. The unthinkable had happened; a major urban transit system had become the target of a terrorist attack. Attempting to discover why, Murakami conducted hundreds of interviews with the people involved, from a subway authority employee with survivor guilt, to a fashion salesman with more venom for the media than for the perpetrators, to a young cult member who vehemently condemns the attack though he has not quit Aum. Through these and many other voices, Murakami exposes intriguing aspects of the Japanese psyche. And, as he discerns the fundamental issues leading to the attack, we achieve a clear vision of an event that could occur anytime, anywhere. Hauntingly compelling and inescapably important, Underground is a powerful work of journalistic literature from one of the world's most perceptive writers. Concerned with the fundamental issues that led to the attack as well as these personal accounts, Underground is a document of what happened in Tokyo as well as a warning of what could happen anywhere. This is an enthralling and unique work of nonfiction that is timely and vital and as wonderfully executed as Murakami's brilliant novels.… (more)
Member:dirkudo
Title:Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche
Authors:Haruki Murakami
Info:Vintage (2001), Edition: 1st Vintage International Ed, Paperback, 384 pages
Collections:Your library, Favorites
Rating:*****
Tags:None

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Underground by Haruki Murakami

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English (53)  Spanish (3)  Danish (2)  French (1)  Catalan (1)  All languages (60)
Showing 1-5 of 53 (next | show all)
'Wild Sheep Chase' was the first book I bought at university - the cool cover design and trip blurb was to be an icon for the new chapter of my life entitled 'student'. The studies are somewhat behind me but in the years since, I have worked my way through Murakami's offerings and this is the latest in my sojourn. 'Underground' is a journalistic catalogue of the personal accounts of the survivors from the Tokyo sarin gas attacks in 1995, perpetrated by the infamous religious cult Aum Shinrikyo. Murakami saw the tragedy as an opportunity for Japan to take a good look at itself - to understand why the attack happened, to review the city's response to such an attack and to prevent it fading from public consciousness without lessons being learnt. The book is in two parts. Part one presents verbatim accounts of the fateful morning from as many victims as would speak to him. The second part of the book uses a similar format but this time Murakami presents accounts of past and present Aum members about how they came to become followers and their thoughts about the attack and the future of their religion.

The book is good but hard going in the sense that the accounts follow the same format and there are many. I don't mean this to trivialise the suffering, just that the repetitive nature can be hard to read in big chunks. The second part however I found to be increasingly interesting - is it bad that I found more in common with the Aum interviewees than the victims?! To explain, the religion is in essence based around an existential disillusionment with 'normal' society and its followers come together and find solace in like-minded individuals who are unable to make relationships with people in the 'real' world who share their beliefs and interests about the impermanence of life and the yearning to cleanse their spirit in preparation for an anticipated afterlife. They are sensitive, thoughtful, some lonely and pained, questioners and philosophers who I can't but help but think show traits that I like in people. To explain further, the religion is also very hierarchical and it is quite apparent from the testimonies that these Aum members were pure in the beliefs stated and not of the mindset of an 'inner-circle' of practitioners led by Shoko Asahara. It was he and his trusted 'masters' that abused and manipulated the original tenets of the religion to justify punishment, shock therapy and sending people to the afterlife (mass murder).

Murakami has created a rich topic of discussion and successfully brings to the fore issues that are prevalent in the modern world: disillusionment, fear, prejudice and a lack of understanding and communication between nations and groups. He deftly illuminates the Japanese psyche being part of the problem - of saving face, brushing things under the carpet, of wanting to forget and pretend things are ok. I was surprised at how few of the victims hated or spoke badly of the aggressors but this in turn spoke volumes about the problem Murakami saw and wants to address. He says that the problem is everyones and needs to be acknowledged to be solved. This isn't a book I'd necessarily recommend but then I think it is very well done and I'm glad I've read it - make of that what you will! ( )
  Dzaowan | Feb 15, 2024 |
Murakami deviated from his usual fiction diet in a quest to find out the truth behind the gas attack i.e. the stories behind the victims and the perpetrators. Some of the stories were very tragic and it was very brave of the family members and the victims to share with the public. Other than providing insights into the attack, the book is also unwittingly an intimate look into Japan's culture and its people through the reaction of the public to the gas attack on the day itself, and the reasons why members join the cult. ( )
  siok | Oct 20, 2023 |
Being a big fan of Haruki Murakami's fiction I opened this book with high expectations but unfortunately, was disappointed with the outcome. The first part of the book consisted of Murakami interviewing victims of the 1995 terrorist attack of the Tokyo subway system by the Japanese religious cult Aum Shinrikyo. Murakami set out to get as many as first hand accounts as he could, and you'd think reading all these accounts would be fascinating. But as insensitive as it may sound , after awhile the accounts started becoming very repetitive and frankly I became bored with them.
The second part of the book was even worse because Murakami wanting to give a fair an even account of the attack, interviewed members of the Aum cult. But the problem was, that in my mind, these people who allowed themselves be brainwashed by this cult, were complete idiots and I had absolutely no interest in reading about their sad pathetic lives. Boring with a capital B. ( )
  kevinkevbo | Jul 14, 2023 |
Finally, read a Haruki Murakami book from beginning to end! Sure, it's non-fiction and made up of entirely from interviews of victims/members from the 1995 Sarin Gas subway gas attack by the by members of the cult movement Aum Shinrikyo. But I am counting this as my Haruki Murakami book, because I find myself agreeing with him, in that the media and these types of books focus entirely too much on the perpetrators of these crimes and not enough on the victims.

Shocking how under prepared Tokyo was for disaster at scale, considering the likelihood of catastrophic events striking Japan. The lack of help or authority during the attack was appalling. You can't help but think that while the number of victims may have remained unchanged, perhaps the severity and health outcomes would have been less serve if the authorities had acted with authority. The refusal of treatment by hospitals is particularly upsetting, and the number of willing bystanders in the face of the something like this is tragic. I hope that lessons learned from this attack will be applied for effect in the next event.

The second half focusing on the cult is interesting. The members and the rationale of their actions before and after the attack is enlightening. Perhaps playing them up as victims too, which sure cults are bad, that doesn't excuse them of individual culpability. I could live without this part. ( )
  stretch | Jun 30, 2022 |
Racconto a più voci dell'attentato alla metropolitana di Tokyo
  marisamo | May 20, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 53 (next | show all)
"Citing examples from recent and ancient Japanese history, Murakami establishes a pattern of a traditionally proud culture that discourages examining or accepting shame. It is precisely this painful examination that Murakami has undertaken."
 
"Like ''Sputnik Sweetheart,'' which begins with a straightforward love-triangle plot before developing an odder geometry, the cult members describe humdrum personal histories that suddenly lurch into the bizarre."
 
"Like Mr Murakami’s novels, “Underground” makes for an unsettling read."
added by Edward | editThe Economist (May 17, 2001)
 

» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Haruki Murakamiprimary authorall editionscalculated
Birnbaum, AlfredTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gabriel, PhilipTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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PREFACE: Leafing through a magazine one afternoon, I found myself looking at the readers' letters page.
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Autonomy is only the mirror image of dependency on others. (p. 200)
Yet without a proper ego, nobody can create a personal narrative, any more than you can drive a car without an engine, or cast a shadow without a real physical object. But once you've consigned your ego to someone else, where on earth do you go from there? (p. 201)
Now, as one psychoanalyst defines it: "Human memory is nothing more that a 'personal interpretation' of events." (p. 203)
...we had still not begun to deal with, let alone solve, any of the fundamental issues arising from the gas attack. Specifically, for people who are outside the main system of Japanese society (the young in particular), there remains no effective alternative or safety net. As long as this crucial gap exists in our society, like a kind of black hole, even if Aum is suppressed, other magnetic force-fields -- "Aum-like" groups -- will rise up again, and similar incidents are bound to take place. (p. 214)
Reality is created out of confusion and contradiction, and if you exclude those elements, you're no longer talking about reality. You might think that -- by following language and a logic that appears consistent -- you're able to exclude that aspect of reality, but it will always be lying in wait for you, ready to take revenge. (p. 308)
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Covers the 1995 Tokyo Gas Attack, during which agents of a Japanese cult released a gas deadlier than cyanide into the subway system, as documented in interviews with its survivors, perpetrators, and victim family members. In March 1995, agents of a Japanese religious cult attacked the Tokyo subway system with sarin, a gas twenty six times as deadly as cyanide. Attempting to discover why, Murakami conducted hundreds of interviews with the people involved, from the survivors to the perpetrators to the relatives of those who died. Underground is their story in their own voices. Concerned with the fundamental issues that led to the attack as well as these personal accounts, Underground is a document of what happened in Tokyo as well as a warning of what could happen anywhere. This is an enthralling and unique work of nonfiction that is timely, vital, and as brilliantly executed as Murakami's novels. From Haruki Murakami, internationally acclaimed author of the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Norwegian Wood, a work of literary journalism that is as fascinating as it is necessary, as provocative as it is profound. It was a clear spring day, Monday, March 20, 1995, when five members of the religious cult Aum Shinrikyo conducted chemical warfare on the Tokyo subway system using sarin, a poison gas twenty-six times as deadly as cyanide. The unthinkable had happened; a major urban transit system had become the target of a terrorist attack. Attempting to discover why, Murakami conducted hundreds of interviews with the people involved, from a subway authority employee with survivor guilt, to a fashion salesman with more venom for the media than for the perpetrators, to a young cult member who vehemently condemns the attack though he has not quit Aum. Through these and many other voices, Murakami exposes intriguing aspects of the Japanese psyche. And, as he discerns the fundamental issues leading to the attack, we achieve a clear vision of an event that could occur anytime, anywhere. Hauntingly compelling and inescapably important, Underground is a powerful work of journalistic literature from one of the world's most perceptive writers. Concerned with the fundamental issues that led to the attack as well as these personal accounts, Underground is a document of what happened in Tokyo as well as a warning of what could happen anywhere. This is an enthralling and unique work of nonfiction that is timely and vital and as wonderfully executed as Murakami's brilliant novels.

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