This is the first time I read a novel by Haruki Murakami. I always see his book on the shelf of the nearby bookstore I frequently visit but I never did borrow one. Then I chance upon his name on one of the blog I read recently. I became curious and search for him on-line. Luckily, I was able to download all his works.
“There’s no such thing as perfect writing. Just like there’s no such thing as perfect despair.”
This is the first line on his the first novel he wrote “Hear the Wind Sing”. Maybe every writer or those who, like me, aspires to be one suffers the same problem. Always attempting to write a perfect story but only ends up writing nothing.
Writer’s Block! I always hear this among writers. No matter how hard they try to rack their brains out, they cannot come up with a single word to write. Maybe it is not that they can’t think of anything to write. Maybe it is because they have all these thoughts and feelings inside them that they cannot find the exact words to express it.
Writers need to be inspired and constantly motivated to come up with a good story. But I don’t think there’s a writer out there who would praise their own work. They are their own critic and for them their work is ain’t that good enough. They would make a lot of revisions before finally settling with what they think would be acceptable to their readers.
But writers are the fans of their own works too. They write with convictions… they write only things that they believe and feel that is real… even if it is only real for them. The first person they want to entertain with their work is their own self. When they read their work and realize that their feeling is not in sync with what they have written, then they have failed. It’s either they will abandon the project forever or re-write it until they are satisfied with what they are reading.
I can’t truly say that I want to become a writer. I just want to express my feelings and my thoughts through writing. And I want the story of my life to be perfectly written. But Murakami thought me one thing, that writing is a fun process. You can do anything with a pen and paper in your hand (or a laptop). You can create your own world, change it according to your whim. If it feels good… what’s the problem?
I’m no writer and I’m no critic. I can only tell some of my friends to read a certain book because I enjoyed it a lot. But I cannot tell them how it was beautifully written or if the writer sucks! I can only see that most authors have their own patterns in writing. And I cannot say that my observations on their work are correct.
So, what can I say about the first novel of Murakami “Hear the Wind Sing (Kaze no uta o kike)”? It was his first attempt at writing so maybe he just wrote whatever comes to his mind at that time. Without a particular direction, it starts with one story then go to another one. Non-linear? Some parts will make your eyebrow crease a little. There are characters in the story I didn’t quite follow. Maybe it is part of the mystery… or maybe only intelligent people would know it. I like the part where the main character and he’s sort-of leading lady were talking about their zodiac signs. I wonder if in his latter works, Murakami would speak of being a Capricorn. Is he as obsessed as I am? Like a true blue Capricornian?
Did I like it? I like most part of it, I’m confused with the others. They say if you have read other books of Murakami, the first novel is must read! Not because it was well written, but more of understanding the writer himself. Reading his first work made me crave for more. Can’t wait to read his other works. Maybe I would get to know the man more and would remind me that writing is fun!
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