Tags
Anthony Swofford, book review, Coin Locker Babies, Haruki Murakami, in the miso, japanese, Japanese literature, Miso Soup, ryu murakami
Almost Transparent Blue by Ryu Murakami
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is a story about a bunch of disaffected Japanese youths who waste their time with gratuitous sex, drugs and violence. ‘Almost Transparent Blue’ is the other Murakami’s debut novel which was received to critical acclaim and won the coveted Akutagawa prize. It is also one of the must read books on the 1001 list. This is not an easy book to read and I’m sorry to say that it’s not as good as ‘In the Miso Soup’, although it has its moments. Favourite bits include the opening chapter and the bit where they are at the American air base during the thunder and lightning sequence.
The strongest aspect of the book is its gross imagery and the unfathomable sadness of lost youth. The characters (of which the narrator shares the same name as the author) are all stuck in their own desolate vacuum of apathy, moving from one moment to the next in a haze of indifference. Murakami’s image of post-war Japan drags the reader down the dark alleyways of an insular and unyielding culture. His characters allow us to penetrate the stereotypical lacquerwork of strong Japanese moral values and gaze at the ‘other japan’, the one that lives side-by-side with Western ideals. This drug-like cocktail is at once fascinating and repulsive.
Maybe it’s just me, but there were times when this novel didn’t make any sense, but then again this is a ‘mood heavy’ book, and there is not a pronounced plotline, so the narrative sort of echoes the tumultuous lives of decadent Japanese youths. This book reminds me of ‘Exit A‘ by Anthony Swofford which had a better storyline and is also set around an American airbase in Japan. Both novels contain a central theme of degeneration and crime, but ‘Almost Transparent Blue’ is decidedly more corrosive and far more bold than Swofford’s offering.
This is an R-rated book so beware. There are many alarming scenes but nevertheless it is a daring exploration into wordsmithery by Murakami. Considering it was his first novel, (and written when he was still only a student!) it deserves some applause for its pluck. Can’t wait to read ‘Coin Locker Babies‘!
For more on Ryu Murakami, see my review of ‘In the Miso Soup’.
Rating: 2/5 stars.
Related articles
- You: ‘Cool Japan is over’: a sociologist looks at Japan’s art world (japantimes.co.jp)
- Budo Ryu: School of the Warrior Way (anshuchristajacobson.wordpress.com)
- Takashi Murakami “Flowers & Skulls” Exhibition @ Gagosian Gallery Hong Kong Recap (hypebeast.com)
- Recent reads # 17: GOODBYE JAPAN! (despatchesfromtimbuktu.wordpress.com)
Wordly Obsessions 
I read Miso Soup and I seem to remember liking the concept of it more than the actual book.
I have Coin Locker Babies staring at me unread on one of my shelves. I’ll try this one as well.
I love Haruki, so that’s how I found Ryu!
Me too 🙂 By all means give it a try. I’d love to get into ‘Coin Locker Babies’ but have far too many books to deal with at the moment. Maybe towards the end of the year.
Good luck!
Actually I haven’t read this book yet, but some say this piece has la ot in common with Less than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis, including the fact both are written in first-person narrative, that there’s no real plot in the story and the sense of emptiness, loneliness and the suppressed anger you see throughout the story, and of course, lots of explicit depiction of sex, violence and drug abuse.
I only read the latter (Less than Zero) but felt pretty depressed, because, despite that the character portrayal was done in a detached manner and seemingly indifferent attitude of the protagonist, the story was peculiarly profound and melancholic. Although the time setting is different, the vibe of two books seem very similar. I’ll definitely give it a try.
Welcome Foo Min 🙂 Yes, I can see how Murakami’s work bears a resemblence to that of Ellis. I really enjoyed ‘In the Miso Soup’ and that had echoes of ‘American Psycho’. I have ‘Less Than Zero’ sitting on my TBR shelf waiting for the day when I eventually come round to it.
I think both authors do first-person really well. It’s not an easy POV to do because it does limit the scope of what you can describe. But both manage to make that scope wonderfully interesting.
On a side note, can’t wait to get ‘depressed’, and yes, you should give this a try. Can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it. You have insightful views into books!