Book Review: Erste Person Singular (First Person Singular) by Haruki Murakami, translated by Ursula Gräfe

 

I must confess that I have a complex relationship with Murakami´s writings. As I was preparing to spend one year in Japan, I started to read more Japanese literature and Murakami was recommended as more Westernized but because I abhor Beatles, I rejected most of its literature. Also the dreamlike girls disappearing, eventually looking for a sheep didn´t resonate with my literary choices. At the time, I was told that one needs to reach adulthood to understand Murakami. Since then, I aged a bit and I´ve read more Murakami but his nonfiction such as What I Talk about when I Talk about Running and particularly Underground about the 1995 sarin gas terrorist attack in the Tokyo underground appeals to me. This is exactly what the hardcore fans of Murakami will disagree with.  

Searching for some commuting reading and permanent German learning, I´ve picked up the semi-autobiographical collection of short stories Erste Person Singular - a translation into German of First Person Singular by Ursula Gräfe.  

Even for someone who´ve read just a couple of books by him, there are a lot of sources of later fictional writings, especially the disappearing women and the volatility of human relationships in general. The time is diluted with minutes dropping slowly as the notes of a slow jazz song. In the realm of imagination it is very possible that Charlie Parker not only played Bossa Nova but also recorder a vinyl on it. Words do give power to dream and open the gates to layers and layers of imaginary worlds. How it is to live in such a state of world admiration, never giving up to feel instead of logically translate the movements of the souls? I don´t know and probably will never know therefore I am not necessarily Murakami´s audience, although I do my best to be part of it sometimes.

Another important aspect of this short collection are the memories of Japan in the 1960s and the impact of the world turmoil on a society still long way to recover after the WWII.

The German translation flows seamlessly. An additional element of praise is the beautiful cover, fluid and indefinite as the world of a dream in colours.

Rating: 3 stars