The Underground World of Murakami

The Underground World of Murakami This book examines the literary landscape of the Japanese writer Murakami Haruki , as shaped by the author's depiction of time and space and his application of language. Incorporating what can be described as post-national cosmopolitanism, the book highlights the transformation of notions of individual and communal identity in the context of Murakami's own cosmopolitanism by using two perspectives: 'The Underground world of Murakami' , in which a new type of literary landscape is created, and 'Murakami in the world', in which Murakami might be described as a cultural provocateur through his literature. For 'the world of Murakami', the book conducts a narrative analysis, focusing on Murakami's language, construction of space and treatment of time and history in narratives of his protagonists' search for identity. For 'Murakami in the world', the book approaches the subject of social criticism of cultural politics firstly through the author's position as a new type of Japanese writer within the discourse of world literature and secondly via a survey of writings by three Japanese critics on Murakami's novels which analyzes their cultural politics versus Murakami's writings.