Blog Post 4

After reading all of the various works of Murakami's that we have had the opportunity to enjoy this semester, I feel as if his writing spans and blends numerous genres.  Almost in line with my idea that Murakami's stories are written for the reader to take their own meanings and interpretations from, I also think that his genre is so 'in-between' specific, pre-existing genres that it's almost up to the individual reader which genre it really is.  For example, taking 'Norwegian Wood' at face value one might label it as 'realism,' but if one chooses to think that the sanatorium is Murakami's 'other world' trope, and that Naoko and Reiko are already dead when he meets them there, the genre changes to 'magical realism' or 'magical surrealism'.  One could even say it's a mix of 'realism' and 'magical realism' if they wish to interpret it as such.  Murakami's individual works have so many possible interpretations that even the genre of a piece as a whole is difficult to define, but I also think that aspect gives each work a unique charm too.