Pens and Places

Murakami always has this kind of essence to make the stories more immersive rather than a decisive ending. This collection of short stories, “After the Quake”, I guess was the need of the decade for those people of Kobe, and their neighbors to cope up with extremities. Everything about all the six tales scripted by the author has something to deliver, something that either urges for a closure, or hopes for mending something exceptionally fictional to realities.  I find all the narrations very different from each other and yet united by the seriousness of the earthquake that happened in 1995.  The first one “UFO in Kushiro” will give a unapologetic vibe, “Landscape with Flatiron” will wrap you around the coziness of freedom, “All God’s Children can Dance” will certainly enlighten with some power above all, “Thailand” will offer a feeling of rejuvenation, “Super Frog saves Tokyo” will let you think about the dreams more often, and my favorite “Honey Pie” will hug you with ...

  The title itself will give a sort of “mystery” kind of thrill to start over the short story. And believe me, it's worth a shot! Everything about the story is bound to highlight something to the middle class family and its consequences. How money can transform the outer appearance, but never the nature behind the fleshy walls - you can see every layer of humanity clearly through the eyes of the author. This is a kind of tale where everything happens for a good reason, but then nothing becomes good eventually because behind the bars, it is creating loopholes in the mindset too. Readers will see the kind of childhood one has to spend when there is very little to share but a big heart to cherish the memories. And on the other hand, how one will be alone in a big mansion owning a huge pile of fake responsibilities and dependent work environments. The author has created such an aura for the head of the family - not the one who outcast everyone with age, but the one who earns bread for ...