Further To The Previous Post

[poliphilo]

That we live in many different dimensions- that's a modern insight but not new. Joyce, Eliot- all that crew- had a firm grasp of it. 

That we live in many different dimensions at once- that's a little more advanced, but still 20th century. It's what Finnegan's Wake is trying to say, isn't it?

That the boundaries between the many different dimensions may be smeared - that we may not notice our passage from one to the other- that's on the cusp. Most modern fiction has gate-keepers in place.

But that the dimensions may smear into one another in ways we do not understand-  that things may happen in this multi-dimensional universe for which we have no explanation, not even a far-fetched one-  that's a quantum way of thinking, a 21st century way of thinking- and that's what sets Murakami and a very few others ahead of  the pack.  

Comments

Are you reading Kafka on the Shore?

[pop-o-pie.livejournal.com]

I just looked 'Murakami' up on wiki... I think I need to get a book and try him out.

I was going to suggest that perhaps William S. Burroughs tread on some of the multi-dimensional ground of which you speak, especially in his later works such as the trilogy written in the 1980s: 'Cities of the Red Night', 'The Place of Dead Roads' and 'The Western Lands'. But Burroughs and Murakami are of different generations and it seems that part of the responsibility carried by writers born toward the second half of the 20th century would be to pull us into the 21st century. That would be Murakami's job...

Re: Are you reading Kafka on the Shore?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've been reading Kafka on the Shore. Now I want to read everything else of his I can get my hands on.

I think the difference between Burroughs and Murakami is that Burroughs' univerese is chaotic whereas Murakami's is ordered but incomprehensible.

Re: Burroughs vs. Murakami

[pop-o-pie.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing that Murakami's work is less drug induced. I'm willing to predict also that Murakami may not be as amusing to listen to as Burroughs when reading his work aloud.

I have a gift certificate to use at Barnes & Noble Bookstore, I think I'm going to pick up on of Murakami's books.

Here's a little Burroughs on Thanksgiving...

tp://www.youtube.com/v/Z7_MYrVzU-Y&rel=1">

Re: Burroughs vs. Murakami

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That's magnificent.