Haruki Murakami: The Elephant Vanishes (first published in Japanese in 1993)
Haruki Murakami is one of the most famous writers of our time in Japan and around the world. His works, which have won numerous awards, are considered modern classics. His style is characterized by magical realism and surrealism, and he is most often concerned with themes of loneliness, alienation and love. He narrates his works in first person. He was greatly influenced by Western culture: Kurt Vonnegut, the Beatles, Nat King Cole, Elvis and the Beach Boys. He wrote his first work (Hear the Wind Sing) at the age of 29. He had never written anything before, but the idea for this book came to him during a baseball game. He achieved major breakthrough and international recognition with Norwegian Wood, published in 1987, the title of which itself refers to a Beatles song. Before moving back to Japan, he traveled around Europe, lived in the United States and taught writing at Princeton University, among other places.
The Elephant Vanishes contains the author’s short stories written between 1983 and 1990, which already foreshadow the complex world of his later great works. His stories are often sad, but at the same time mystical and fairy-tale-like, in which the reader is easily immersed.
Murakami himself is a literary translator, and his translations include F. Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Carver, Truman Capote and John Irving. In his spare time, the writer is a long-distance runner. He had already run an ultramarathon and is a committed supporter of triathlons. In his memoir What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, he reports on the impact of running on his creative process.
