První osoba jednotného čísla – Murakami Haruki (2022)

It has been more than four years since the Japanese release of the last novel, The Death of Komtur. Haruki Murakami now comes with a new collection of short stories, aptly titled: First Person Singular. The author has long been known for writing in the first person. He only began using the third narrative person in his later works. With this element, as well as his style and themes, he returns to his roots. He also reflects on his past. We have eight texts here that we can savor. Murakami writes about student life in the 1960s, speaks of his love for jazz, and his admiration for The Beatles; after all, the writer has already named two older stories after their songs: Drive My Car and Yesterday. The stories feature both random and mysterious encounters, and the author lets his imagination run wild: the famous jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker, according to him, did not die in 1955 but lived into the 1960s. In the amusing story A Monkey's Confession from Shinagawa, the narrator finds himself in a small inn during his travels, where he encounters a talking monkey who loves the music of Anton Bruckner and is willing to wash his back. Haruki Murakami also reflects in this collection of short stories. He says that there is nothing unusual about a person aging as the years go by. What is surprising is…