Reviews
Through this book, faint memories of my father—a Vietnam War veteran who suffered for a long time from Agent Orange and passed away at a relatively young age—are revived. This book is a story about memory. It is a story about memories that become increasingly blurry as time passes, making it unclear even whether they are the truth or not. I am currently painting a picture of that fading truth. Now that I have reached middle age, I find myself looking back at both sides: as a father and as a
Although it is a short piece, it contains amusing content filled with childhood memories of the father, particularly the anecdote involving a cat. While I did not fully know or understand my father when I was young, the act of researching materials and tracing memories to understand my parents' lives as human beings has led to reflections on the lives of my father and me, which were inevitably lived differently due to the generational gap. It is a quiet reflection that makes me realize how
Since it is a very small, thin, and lightweight hardcover, I think you would be surprised when you see the actual product if you ordered it without properly checking the specifications. Not only is it just over 100 pages long, but it is also as small as a mini-book. However, it is indeed a proper hardcover with a bookmark ribbon and a separate dust cover. It also includes 13 illustrations by Taiwanese illustrator Gao Yan. It feels more like a fancy product than a book meant for reading.
It's a must-read for Haruki fans.
Who else could unravel their roots so simply and weave them together so softly? I appreciated the earnest contemplation 'on memory' and the reflection 'on existence' that sought to capture historical truth entirely; it is a book that is neat and tidy both inside and out.
I enjoyed reading it.
[Book Sponsorship][Free Book Support][Book Review Event] The father, Chiaki Murakami, participated in three wars, including World War II. Now, at the age of ninety and facing death, he vividly conveys those memories to his son, Haruki Murakami. At the beginning of the book, the father and his elementary school-aged son return home after placing a pregnant female cat, who had been living in their house, in a box and leaving her on the beach. The cat they had just abandoned greets them warmly at
This is an essay by Haruki Murakami that was recently published. It is the first time he has opened up about his father. Mr. Murakami turned 72 this year in Korean age. As he enters the second half of his life, he has finally decided to write about his late father, a topic he had been putting off for so long. Raised as an only son to a father who was a Japanese language teacher and a mother who was also a Japanese language teacher until her marriage, Mr. Murakami reportedly spent the last 20
Haruki Murakami's essay *The Cat I Don't Have*. A book imbued with a strange sense of longing. *The Cat I Don't Have*. By the time I picked this book up, something heavy was pressing down on my chest, as if I had swallowed a stone. Whenever that happened, I used to open up to Murakami's essays. Just then, Murakami began to talk about his father. Throughout the book, I recalled my own childhood, missed my father along with him, and thought about the children who would inherit a part of me. As
The book is thin and easy to read.
Haruki Murakami: Abandon the cat
Author Haruki Murakami, who has largely distanced himself from the "I-novel" style of narrative characteristic of Japanese literature, has finally opened his mouth for the first time to speak about his most private theme: his father. Beginning with a recollection of going to the seaside to abandon a cat with his father—true to its title—*Abandoning the Cat: When Talking About Father* is a non-fiction work that retraces the personal history of his father, Chiaki Murakami, covering his childhood adoption and subsequent abandonment, his youthful participation in the Sino-Japanese War, his middle and later years as a teacher, and his battle with illness in his old age. Through this, Murakami reflects on his own ontological foundations and confronts the literary foundations of his role as a writer. Throughout the book, the author preaches that no matter how much one wishes to forget history, it must be remembered and passed down exactly as it happened. He courageously conveys his father's history—which is not entirely a source of pride—in the form of a non-fiction story, as a duty of a writer. Reading this book will deepen your understanding of *The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle*. One can sense that the cruel scenes in the novel—such as the appearance of Wataya Noboru, the cat who goes missing for nearly a year before returning, as well as the skinning of living people—originated from fragments of the author's own life. The same is true for the starting point of *Slow Boat to China*, the gentle recollections of *Fuwa Fuwa*, and the Nanjing Battle episode in *Killing Commendatore*. This work is likely to deeply resonate with anyone, not only fans of Haruki Murakami but especially Koreans who have experienced the painful history of colonialism, directly or indirectly.
Korean title: 고양이를 버리다
Korean author: 무라카미 하루키
Korean publisher: 비채
ISBN-13: 9788934992097
Reviews
Through this book, faint memories of my father—a Vietnam War veteran who suffered for a long time from Agent Orange and passed away at a relatively young age—are revived. This book is a story about memory. It is a story about memories that become increasingly blurry as time passes, making it unclear even whether they are the truth or not. I am currently painting a picture of that fading truth. Now that I have reached middle age, I find myself looking back at both sides: as a father and as a
Although it is a short piece, it contains amusing content filled with childhood memories of the father, particularly the anecdote involving a cat. While I did not fully know or understand my father when I was young, the act of researching materials and tracing memories to understand my parents' lives as human beings has led to reflections on the lives of my father and me, which were inevitably lived differently due to the generational gap. It is a quiet reflection that makes me realize how
Since it is a very small, thin, and lightweight hardcover, I think you would be surprised when you see the actual product if you ordered it without properly checking the specifications. Not only is it just over 100 pages long, but it is also as small as a mini-book. However, it is indeed a proper hardcover with a bookmark ribbon and a separate dust cover. It also includes 13 illustrations by Taiwanese illustrator Gao Yan. It feels more like a fancy product than a book meant for reading.
It's a must-read for Haruki fans.
Who else could unravel their roots so simply and weave them together so softly? I appreciated the earnest contemplation 'on memory' and the reflection 'on existence' that sought to capture historical truth entirely; it is a book that is neat and tidy both inside and out.
I enjoyed reading it.
[Book Sponsorship][Free Book Support][Book Review Event] The father, Chiaki Murakami, participated in three wars, including World War II. Now, at the age of ninety and facing death, he vividly conveys those memories to his son, Haruki Murakami. At the beginning of the book, the father and his elementary school-aged son return home after placing a pregnant female cat, who had been living in their house, in a box and leaving her on the beach. The cat they had just abandoned greets them warmly at
This is an essay by Haruki Murakami that was recently published. It is the first time he has opened up about his father. Mr. Murakami turned 72 this year in Korean age. As he enters the second half of his life, he has finally decided to write about his late father, a topic he had been putting off for so long. Raised as an only son to a father who was a Japanese language teacher and a mother who was also a Japanese language teacher until her marriage, Mr. Murakami reportedly spent the last 20
Haruki Murakami's essay *The Cat I Don't Have*. A book imbued with a strange sense of longing. *The Cat I Don't Have*. By the time I picked this book up, something heavy was pressing down on my chest, as if I had swallowed a stone. Whenever that happened, I used to open up to Murakami's essays. Just then, Murakami began to talk about his father. Throughout the book, I recalled my own childhood, missed my father along with him, and thought about the children who would inherit a part of me. As
The book is thin and easy to read.
