10 Common Themes Of Murakami Novels - And What They Mean

A storytelling device that's typically found within the pages of Murakami's novels is embedded narratives - essentially meaning stories within stories. 1Q84 revolves around the fictional novel "Air Chrysalis" and A Wild Sheep Chase sees the protagonist read a history of the small town he visits. One common thread that surfaces within these embedded narratives are those dealing with (fictionalised) war events.

Arguably, the best examples of these can be seen in Kafka On The Shore, which accounts for an event known as The Rice Bowl Incident in WWII, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle whereupon protagonist Toru meets former soldiers who recount horrific incidents that they witnessed during their service - one sequence detailing a graphic description of a man being flayed alive.

While there's definite, cliched undertones of the horrors of war here, being Murakami, these inclusions go a lot deeper. According to critics, Murakami is using these narratives to criticise Japan's brutal military regime throughout the century leading up to the end of WWII.

In fact, Murakami didn't earn much critical acclaim in Japan until The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle where he began to be more politically engaged within his writing.