Haruki Murakami, the prolific author of bestsellers including ¡°Norwegian Wood¡±, ¡°Kafka On the Shore¡± and ¡°After Dark¡± is one of the most popular Japanese writers in Korea. His magical novels that often forsake his own country¡¯s tradition in favor of American pop culture influences have been published in 31 languages since his debut work ¡°Hear the Wind Sing¡± in 1979. When the nostalgic and atypically realistic novel ¡°Norwegian Wood¡± was published here in 1990, it sparked a Haruki Wave in Korea that has now seen about 80 of his works published here, with ¡°Tokio Blues¡± his latest offering. The Chosun Ilbo caught up with the literary legend.
Why do you think people like your novels?
It¡¯s a difficult question to answer. I just write what I want to write. I don¡¯t think more than that. But I hear my fans around the world say that they are addicted to my novels.
You are regarded as one of leading Japanese and Asian writers. But you have never written a novel rooted in a strictly Japanese world view.
I have no idea what can be described as Japanese. As a man who was born in Japan, grew up in Japan and writes in Japanese, I can¡¯t imagine how I could be any more Japanese. What else can I do?
In a poll of must-read books for the summer by Korea¡¯s largest online bookstore Yes 24, your book ¡°Kafka On the Shore¡± topped the list. Your work grips readers with sensitive observations on life and a lyrical but postmodern style. Yet you have praised hardboiled realists like Raymond Chandler. Why the gap?
Reading is reading and writing is writing. The two things are different. That said, I learned a lot from the novels I admire.
In almost all of your work, you focus on alienated people in modern society. Why do you refuse to take the positive view that loneliness and loss can be overcome?
I¡¯m basically an optimist. I¡¯m astonished when I hear my work called nihilistic. The protagonists in most of my novels suffer confusion, loneliness and loss. But I want to show them how to achieve things that are essential to save them, not the spectacle of their salvation. People have to go down into the deepest part of darkness alone to be saved. That¡¯s the rule of the game.
Are you a liberal or a conservative politically?
I¡¯m definitely a liberal. I¡¯m a progressive.
Why?
Because freedom is important to me. That¡¯s the way I¡¯ve lived. I value freedom not only in politics but also in my everyday life. I don¡¯t like returning to the past. That¡¯s why I¡¯m wary of Japanese society¡¯s current drift to the right. Sometimes I feel I can¡¯t bear it. Aren¡¯t there conflicts between conservatives and progressives in Korea?
You ran the jazz bar ¡°Peter Cat¡± after graduating from Waseda University in 1968. What is the link between literature and jazz?
I have bought some 10,000 albums and still own some 6,000 recordings. I learned to write novels from the music. They have a lot in common in terms of rhythm, harmony and improvisational quality.
You once wrote an essay in favor of men as housewives. Why?
I was a housewife myself at one time. The experience helped me a lot. Being independent is important in real life, which means doing housework like cooking, cleaning and doing the laundry.
How often do you travel?
It¡¯s different from year to year. Usually, I¡¯m abroad for three or four months. I can work wherever I am, so I don¡¯t need to live in Japan; very few people like me live in Japan¡¦ (laughs)
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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