The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami – Reviewed by Guy Portman
This compilation of seventeen first-person short stories are set for the most part in Japan during the economic boom of the eighties. These tales, which blend banal normality with surrealism, explore the human psyche. One is about a young man who mows lawns for a living, another centres around a couple who rob bakeries in Tokyo. As the title suggests, elephants also make an appearance. And there is even a magical, dancing dwarf.
Themes encompass relationships, loneliness, confusion and the regimented, working-orientated nature of contemporary Japanese urban life. Young male professionals with penchants for drinking and fantasising about females feature prominently. It is unclear whether this was due to the author reminiscing on his early adulthood, or rather that he was living vicariously through these characters. Maybe it was a bit of both.
Overall, this reader was impressed by this curious and comical Kafkaesque hotchpotch of a collection.
