First-person singular

More than four years have passed since the Japanese publication of the last novel, Killing Commendatore. Haruki Murakami now presents a new collection of short stories, identified by its very title: First Person Singular. For a long time, it was typical for the author to write in the first person. He only began using the third-person narrative in his later works. Not only through this element, but also with his style and themes, he now returns to his roots. And he also takes stock. Here we have eight texts to be savoured. Murakami writes about student life in the 1960s, speaks of his love for jazz, and his admiration for The Beatles; indeed, the writer has already named two earlier short stories after their songs: Drive My Car and Yesterday. The stories feature both random and mysterious encounters, and the author lets his imagination run wild: according to him, the famous jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker did not die in 1955 but lived into the 60s. In the amusing short story Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey, the narrator, on his travels, ends up in a small hotel where he meets a talking monkey who likes the music of Anton Bruckner and who willingly washes his back for him. In this collection of short stories, Haruki Murakami also takes stock. He says that the peculiar thing about getting older isn't that you yourself are ageing. What's more surprising is how terribly old the people of his generation have become, especially the women... Don't expect a message, an explanation, or a resolution, not even surprising twists. The stories have a different quality – they will stay in your head for a long time. Perhaps you'll never get rid of them.