Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

ISBN-13: 9780679743460 / Angielski / Miękka / 1993 / 416 str.

Haruki Murakami; Alfred T. Birnbaum

Opis

In this hyperkinetic and relentlessly inventive novel, Japan's most popular (and controversial) fiction writer hurtles into the consciousness of the West. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World draws readers into a narrative particle accelerator in which a split-brained data processor, a deranged scientist, his shockingly undemure granddaughter, Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, and various thugs, librarians, and subterranean monsters collide to dazzling effect. What emerges is simultaneously cooler than zero and unaffectedly affecting, a hilariously funny and deeply serious meditation on the nature and uses of the mind.

Recenzje

Murakami s bold willingness to go straight over the top [is] a signal indication of his genius . . . a world-class writer who has both eyes open and takes big risks. The Washington Post Book World

He has become the foremost representative of a new style of Japanese writing: hip, cynical, highly stylized, set at the juncture of cyberpunk, postmodernism, and hard-boiled detective fiction. . . . Murakami [is] adept at deadpan wit, outrageous style. Los Angeles Times Magazine

Fantastical, mysterious, and funny . . . a fantasy world that might have been penned by Franz Kafka. Philadelphia Inquirer

Rich in action, suspense, odd characters and unexpected trifles . . . [a] provocative work. The Atlantic

Murakami s gift is for ironic observations that hint at something graver. . . . He is wry, absurd, and desolate. Los Angeles Times Book Review

[A] mix of American fun and Japanese dread. Esquire

An intertwining DNA model of seemingly contrary elements . . . a combination of Kafka s castle, Borges s library, and the Prisoner s TV village. Village Voice Literary Supplement

Off the wall . . . hilariously bizarre . . . splendid . . . a remarkable book . . . Alfred Birnbaum . . . has captured the crazed, surreal feel of Murakami s Japanese. The Times (London)

His novels . . . are set on fast-forward: raucous, slangy, irreverent. Details

O autorze

Haruki Murakami is a best-selling Japanese writer. His works of fiction and non-fiction have garnered critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Franz Kafka Prize, the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and the Jerusalem Prize, among others. Murakami's fiction is humorous and surreal, focusing on themes of alienation and loneliness. He is considered an important figure in postmodern literature. The Guardian praised Murakami as "among the world's greatest living novelists" for his works and achievements. Murakami is the author of 1Q84, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, Men Without Women and many more.