Popular Hits of the Showa Era

September 6, 2010
Violence aficionado Murakami (Audition) drops a motley cast into a late 20th-century Japan that's all decadence and social ineptitude. Though six young men have nothing in common except for having "given up on committing positively to anything in life," and are incapable of sustaining meaningful conversations, they get together often to drink, peep on an unsuspecting neighbor, and put on extravagant karaoke shows at a deserted spot on the coast. But when one of them impulsively slits a woman's throat, he places his gang in opposition to the friends of his victim, a bevy of divorcées known as the Midori Society. The women exact revenge, the men respond with another blow, and the cycle of vengeance continues with ever-increasing gore and giddy nihilism. As it turns out, murderous revenge is just the thing to bring meaning back into life, and nothing nourishes friendship like a common cause. Murakami's crackling prose makes the sickest human instincts seem fun.

November 1, 2010

Award-winning author Murakami's (Audition) latest offering is a mix of humor, satire, and conflict that begins with a random act and escalates into hilarious devastation. The battle is simple--six aimless boys take on six battle-tough, divorced, career-thirsty women in their late 30s and early 40s all with a common link, the last name Midori. The result is irreverently epic. The six young men spend their time drinking, snacking, peeping at the naked neighbor, and enjoying extreme karaoke. During a long night of partying, one of the young men commits a vicious attack on one of the "aunties," and the battle begins. The Midoris unite to seek revenge for the death of their close friend and strike back. It isn't until the twenty-something slackers immerse themselves in physics (creating a secret weapon) that we realize the significance and the hilarity of the gang war at hand. VERDICT Darkly humorous and volatile, this offbeat book blows apart the generation gap. Sure to appeal to the author's fans and readers who enjoy cutting-edge fiction.--Ron Samul, New London, CT

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2010
Murakamis deviously captivating novel about class and gender roles in twentieth-century Tokyo recounts the tale of six disaffected teenage boys and their attempt to satisfy an incomprehensible inner longing. Seemingly innocent, charmingly aloof, the boys spend evenings laughing uncontrollably for indeterminate reasons, belting karaoke tunes, and settling important matters with paper-rock-scissors tournaments. But their detachment turns disturbingly real when one of the boys dispassionately murders a member of the Midori Society, a group of six middle-aged women, all divorced mothers who cant seem to find love or happiness without one another. Once the Midoris seek their revenge, one of the funniest and strangest gang wars in recent literature ensues. As the battle becomes increasingly violent and the body count rises, the surprisingly optimistic opponents seem incapable of distinguishing the difference between defending a friends honor and satisfying a lust for vengeance. Murakamis characters can seem unfeeling, nihilistic, and self-indulgent, but the moral weight of this darkly comic tale is rooted in a crucial era in Japans history, characterized by alternating periods of peace and extreme violence.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)