Haruki Murakami and the Search for Self-Therapy - (Soas Studies in Modern and Contemporary Japan) by Jonathan DIL (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Haruki Murakami, a global literary phenomenon, has said that he started writing fiction as a means of self-therapy. What he has not discussed as much is what he needed self-therapy for. This book argues that by understanding more about why Murakami writes, and by linking this with the question of how he writes, readers can better understand what he writes. Murakami's fiction, in other words, can be read as a search for self-therapy.

In five chapters which explore Murakami's fourteen novels to date, this book argues that there are four prominent therapeutic threads woven through Murakami's fiction that can be traced back to his personal traumas - most notably Murakami's falling out with his late father and the death of a former girlfriend - and which have also transcended them in significant ways as they have been transformed into literary fiction. The first thread looks at the way melancholia must be worked through for mourning to occur and healing to happen; the second thread looks at how symbolic acts of sacrifice can help to heal intergenerational trauma; the third thread looks at the way people with avoidant attachment styles can begin to open themselves up to love again; the fourth thread looks at how individuation can manifest as a response to nihilism.

Meticulously researched and written with sensitivity, the result is a sophisticated exploration of Murakami's published novels as an evolving therapeutic project that will be of great value to all scholars of Japanese literature and culture.

Review Quotes

This is the first-ever book of its kind, exhibiting both excellent journalism and insightful criticism that reveals Murakami's biographical and textual secrets. It is a miraculous book made possible through Jonathan Dil's extraordinary talent.
Kojima Motohiro, Associate Professor, Kyoto University, Japan

Through thorough analysis of key Murakami novels, Murakami Haruki and the Search for Self-Therapy convincingly presents what seems to be highly possible connections between the author, his life and his works. This is not an easy task, yet Dil delivers his arguments with high levels of respect and self-reflection. A significant contribution to Murakami studies...
Dr Gitte Marianne Hansen, Senior lecturer in Japanese Studies, School of Modern Languages, Newcastle University, UK

About the Author

Jonathan Dil is Associate Professor of Foreign Languages and Liberal Arts at Keio University, Japan.