Category Archives: Literature

Convenience Store Woman-Sayaka Murata

Published: 2016 (Bungeishunju) Setting: Tokyo Summary: Keiko works at the Smile Convenience store in an office district, and it is what defines her. She has worked their eighteen years, and the rhythms of her life match the sound of the bell, the speech patterns of her coworkers, and the hours of her shift. Keiko hasContinue reading “Convenience Store Woman-Sayaka Murata”

A Wild Sheep Chase-Haruki Murakami

Published: 1982 (Kodansha) Setting: Tokyo, Hokkaido, Niigata Summary: In the third book of the “Trilogy of the Rat”, Murakami decides to blow it all up, in a good way. Our unnamed protagonist, I, meets a beautiful part-time call girl with magic ears, the secretary of the underground Boss of Japan, as well as the SheepContinue reading “A Wild Sheep Chase-Haruki Murakami”

Pinball, 1973-Haruki Murakami

Published: 1980 (Kodansha) Setting: Niigata, Tokyo Summary: In the second book of a tetralogy, and second in the “Trilogy of the Rat”, our unnamed narrator, “I”, is obsessed with pinball. This time, instead of a girl with nine fingers, he is seeing identical twins. Sweatshirt-clad and always willing to cheer “I” up, these ladies holdContinue reading “Pinball, 1973-Haruki Murakami”

Hear The Wind Sing-Haruki Murakami

Published: 1979 (Kodansha) Setting: Niigata, Japan. Summary: Its 1970, and an unnamed narrator, “I”, goes home to Niigata for summer vacation, hangs with his buddy, “Rat”, and his bartender, J. J is a cool customer, and his bar is where most of the action takes place. “I” starts his vacation by waking up next toContinue reading “Hear The Wind Sing-Haruki Murakami”

The Sun Also Rises-Ernest Hemingway

Published: 1926 (Scribner) Setting: Paris, Bayonne, Burguete, Pamplona, San Sebastian, Madrid Summary: A bunch of lost souls galivant around Paris and the Basque country, drinking themselves into the ground, only to pick themselves up after a tight four-hour nap to party the next day. Jake is a cool customer, he may have lost his abilityContinue reading “The Sun Also Rises-Ernest Hemingway”