Product Description

When a man's favourite elephant vanishes, the balance of his whole life is subtly upset; a couple's midnight hunger pangs drive them to hold up a McDonald's; a woman finds she is irresistible to a small green monster that burrows through her front garden; an insomniac wife wakes up to a twilight world of semi-consciousness in which anything seems possible - even death. In every one of the stories that make up The Elephant Vanishes, Murakami makes a determined assault on the normal. He has a deadpan genius for dislocating realities to uncover the surreal in the everday, the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21901 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-08
• Original language: Japanese
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

About the Author
Haruki Murakami was born in Kyoto in 1949 and now lives near Tokyo.

Customer Reviews

Funny, moving and thought provoking
I couldn't believe the average rating for this book when I looked it up on Amazon either and just had to comment. I've just finished this book and have thoroughly enjoyed it. In any collection like this there will be some pieces that are stronger than others but I suspect that different readers will realate to/get more out of each piece than others. The thing that really fascinated me is that some of the stories cover a fairly long period of time and are presented in the form of snapshots: specific scenes or observations that capture an emotion or a scene in such an effective way.

I was really drawn in to this book and couldn't put it down. The only reason I haven't given it five stars is that there are a few stories I didn't really get a lot of out but it certainly wasn't a chore to read them all the same.

I'm definitely going to go out and buy another book by this author. I hope that this is helpful to you!

All things Japanese
It's late at night, I'm very tired but while looking around Amazon and seeing this book only getting one star, I had to put in my 5 cents, 2 dimes, 3p- whatever (I'm tired ok?) I recently read this book and it reflects exactly how the Japanese culture represents to me. Watching anime cartoons or meeting Japanese people, anything Japanese- brings a feeling in me that is encompassed in this book. The style of writing is simple, and unembarrassed- by that I mean it isn't over littered with psychologial, intellectual condescending tidbits here and there to please people who want to think they're reading something clever. Any intellectual musings you have about the stories, Murakami allows you to do for yourself. Overall, you've got to expect the eccentricity of some of the stories. Sometimes the endings are open, sometimes the conclusion is perfect. 'On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning' was one that definitely brought back that unique type of sadness that some Japanese animated films have- a sad, inexplicable melancholia. It made me think and is definitely one of the best short stories I've ever read not only because of it's originality, but also because of it's structure, it's form- jumping from present to future to past back to present again so seamlessly. In some ways, the simplicity of the narrative reminded of the novel 'Naive. Stupid' by Erlend Loe so expect a kind of scandanavian essence to his story-telling. Another notable aspect of this book is the way that Haruki Murakami makes the narrative so filmatic. Not only in describing his characters- but also the scents, the scenery, the colours- every nuance of the characters' environment is described poetically and again with that Japanese 'thing' that I can't put into words. Better get this book yourself and have a go if you're open minded and don't mind that haiku feeling in a story. I'm very interested in Japanese culture (this is a Chinese person speaking) so that probably helped but otherwise, it is a good book that I would recommend if you want to break away from conventional novel forms.

the elephant communique
This is the first Murakami I've read and I'll admit to an unfamiliarity with Japanese fiction. I've only ever read Kazuo Ishiguro whom I suppose might better be described as Anglo-Japanese but I'm not here to debate national identities.

The Elephant Vanishes is quite a mixed bag. Some stories are grounded in a definite reality (Family Affair, The Last Lawn of the Afternoon); some flirt with surrealism (The Second Bakery Attack, The Elephant Vanishes); and others are horror stories (The Little Green Monster, TV People). There is even, in the most bizarre story in the book, a dystopian fairytale (The Dancing Dwarf). Murakami seems fascinated by contemporary alienation and loneliness. He doesn't offer many explanations but instead presents disparate snapshots of mostly-unnamed characters inhabiting their solitary worlds. Quiet, minimalist, and constructed with absolute precision this is the type of book to read whilst travelling alone on a plane flying high in the twilight ether.

p.s I listened to DJ Krush a lot reading this. Perhaps Japanese electronic music isn't for everybody but it made an extremely appropriate soundtrack.