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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “The last two stories, "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" and "Honey Pie," are by far the best in this collection. I especially liked "Super-Frog."” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “After the Quake is a book of short stories: “UFO in Kushiro,” “Landscape with Flatiron,” “All God’s Children Can Dance,” “Thailand,” and “Honey Pie.” |
Newest Reviews
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“It was okay. That's all I got.”
Jon D wrote this review 21 hours ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“An interesting series of stories that all have the Kobe earthquakes as a backdrop. Otherwise the stories are all quite different in theme and plot. Each story is engrossing, and there is not a weak story amongst this collection.”
Alex D wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Essential Murakami. A great collection of shorts with a unifying backdrop. From meditative to surreal to humorous this is representative of all of Murakami's glorious techniques. There are some stories here that you will enjoy over and over again.”
SeaBattles wrote this review Wednesday, December 9 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“BOOK NOTES:
Rei wrote this review Friday, October 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
FIRST PUBLISHED: 2000
AFTER THE QUAKE IS A COLLECTION OF SIX SHORT STORIES WRITTEN IN 1999, FIVE OF WHICH WERE FIRST SERIALLY PUBLISHED IN THE JAPANESE MAGAZINE "SHINCHO". THE ORIGINAL TITLE IN JAPANESE IS "ALL GOD'S CHILDREN DANCE", WHICH IS THE TITLE OF ONE OF THE STORIES IN A BOOK. ALL SIX STORIES REVOLVE AROUND THE CATASTROPHIC HANSHIN EARTHQUAKE THAT KILLED MORE THAT 6,000 PEOPLE IN THE HANSHIN AREA, SOUTHWEST JAPAN IN JANUARY 1995, ALTHOUGH THE STORIES ARE ACTUALLY SET IN TOKYO OR ITS SURROUNDING AREAS. NONE OF THE CHARACTERS DIRECTLY EXPERIENCED THE EARTHQUAKE, BUT MOST OF THEM ARE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY RELATED TO THE HANSHIN AREA, AND FIND THAT THE CRISIS OF THE EARTHQUAKE SUDDENLY RETRIEVES THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE AREA, PEOPLE, AND THE PAST. THE NAMELESS CHARATER KOMURA'S WIFE IN "UFO IN KUSHIRO" IS EXPOSED, LIKE MILLIONS OF OTHER JAPANSE AT THE TIME, TO THE TELEVISION REPORTS THAT MERCILESSLY KEEP REKONING THE NUMBER OF NAMELESS DEAD. "LANDSCAPE IN FLATIRON" EVOKES THE IMAGE OF FIRE DEVOURING THE HOUSES SOON AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE. THE FIGURE OF "FROG" MAY REPRESENT THE SUFFERING OF THE DEAD.
THE WRITER'S SIMPLE, PARED-DOWN STYLE EFFECTIVELY DEPICTS THE AMBIGUOUS FEELINGS OF THE CHARACTERS, AND GRAPS THE SUBTLETY OF THEIR INNER LIVES AND ACTIONS. WITH ITS ARRESTING MIXTURE OF REALISM AND FANTASY, THE COLLECTION PRESENTS US WITH A SERIOUS YET ENJOYABLE READ... KK”
“If you have not picked up any of Murakami's work, you should try his books as soon as you can. This was the second book of his that I read, the first being Sputnick Sweetheart and it was fantastic.
Caitie F wrote this review Thursday, October 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This is a collection of short stories that all deal with the earthquake in Kobe indirectly. It shows how a great tragedy can affect an entire country, even if the character knew no one in the effected area. Whether it is a young child who is scared of the Earthquake Man or a teenager questioning morality and purpose, everyone is impacted by the catastrophic event. There are also fantastical events, most noticeably a man who gets visited by a giant frog who needs his help to defeat Worm so that Worm will not cause an earthquake in Tokyo.
What stuck with me the most is how much I cared about the characters even though I was just shown a small part of their lives. I finished the story wanting to know more about what happened to them. Did the young man ever find his father or his purpose? Did she wake up after the bonfire and kill herself or did she realize all the good things in her life? Did they live happily ever after when they finally got together or did life happen and it was more difficult than they thought? By not giving a conclusion, Murakami made me try to decide for myself what I thought what would happen to the people. Since he showed real life in his stories, I saw that they did not all end up happy, that maybe she did kill herself or he never figured out what he was doing. The stories did show some hope though, so maybe they ended up okay. In these quick twenty page stories Murakami manages to show a slice of what life is really like and all of its complexities.
”
“Entirely decent, but I prefer the novels to his shorter stories...he needs room to spread out.”
Leif wrote this review Tuesday, September 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I know I've given some of his works less than 5 but I just realized I'm evaluating them based on my favorite Murakami like this collection... Really you can't go wrong...”
Anna B wrote this review Friday, August 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Absolutely mystifying. ”
Gospel According to Bat Hewitt wrote this review Saturday, July 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“What is there in Murakami stories that make you breathless and thoughtful at the same time?”
aarondimaano wrote this review Wednesday, June 17 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
