Down The Rabbit Hole

The Great Gatsby meets Japanese art to create the augmented reality that is signature Murakami

- Carlo Pizzati

Once in a while the world of literature is roused by a novel that divides critics and raises heated debates of what makes for legitimate narrative. Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami, his 14th novel, is that book.

Let’s first ignore the fact that a couple of sex scenes caused the book to be shelved as indecent in Hong Kong — they describe what one commonly finds in world literature or run­of­the­mill TV series. But what has ruffled the feathers of critics is that Murakami has dared to re­awaken his world of magic realism, which seems in strident conflict with current autofiction and non­-fiction trends.

The power of mood

The hypnotic lure of Murakami’s writing comes from subtraction, his Zen capacity to take away the superfluous. The novel starts with an artful set­up; Murakami grabs the reader with a simple story and a balanced tone.

Some shallow minds see this as emotional flatness, not realising that the Japanese master (yes, he is a master) with his parboiled vegetables, classical music, lost cats and domestic life is creating an irresistibly robust emotional state, which constitutes the secret of many great novels: the power of mood.

The plain conversations, the minute descriptions of stylish wardrobes and Jaguar rides are all part of creating a world you belong to as a silent voyeur. What else are we as readers if not players of a high­tension, full­immersion, augmented reality video game called reading?