12 Problems Only Haruki Murakami Fans Will Understand

10. Trying To Explain To People That Making Spaghetti Is Beautiful

Haruki Murakami Spaghetti

No, it's not about the spaghetti per say €“ it's more about the beauty in mundanity, you know? The sounds, the smells, the simple pleasures afforded just by living...hey, wait, where are you going?

Murakami's stories centre around average lives that become less than average. Sometimes this is achieved by dropping an oddity into the protagonist's life €“ like a disappearing woman, for example €“ and other times it's achieved by holding a magnifying glass up to what we perceive as normal, noting its alien yet somehow rhythmical qualities. This makes things difficult for Murakami fans, who only want to explain the beauty in watching old foreign films all day, or popping down to the shop for some milk, or even cooking up a big old pot of spaghetti
Contributor
Contributor

Commonly found reading, sitting firmly in a seat at the cinema (bottle of water and a Freddo bar, please) or listening to the Mountain Goats.