{"product_id":"dances-with-sheep-the-quest-for-identity-in-the-fiction-of-murakami-haruki-paperback","title":"Dances with Sheep: The Quest for Identity in the Fiction of Murakami Haruki - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMatthew Strecher\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs a spokesman for disaffected youth of the post-1960s, Murakami Haruki has become one of the most important voices in contemporary Japanese literature, and he has gained a following in the United States through translations of his works. In \u003ci\u003eDances with Sheep\u003c\/i\u003e, Matthew Strecher examines Murakami's fiction--and, to a lesser extent, his nonfiction--for its most prevalent structures and themes. Strecher also delves into the paradoxes in Murakami's writings that confront critics and casual readers alike. Murakami writes of \"serious\" themes yet expresses them in a relatively uncomplicated style that appeals to high school students as well as scholars; and his fictional work appears to celebrate the pastiche of postmodern expression, yet he rejects the effects of the postmodern on contemporary culture as dangerous.Strecher's methodology is both historical and cultural as he utilizes four distinct yet interwoven approaches to analyze Murakami's major works: the writer's \"formulaic\" structure with serious themes; his play with magical realism; the intense psychological underpinnings of his literary landscape; and his critique of language and its capacity to represent realities, past and present. \u003ci\u003eDances with Sheep\u003c\/i\u003e links each of these approaches with Murakami's critical focus on the fate of individual identity in contemporary Japan. The result is that the simplicity of the Murakami hero, marked by lethargy and nostalgia, emerges as emblematic of contemporary humankind, bereft of identity, direction, and meaning. Murakami's fiction is reconstructed in \u003ci\u003eDances with Sheep\u003c\/i\u003e as a warning against the dehumanizing effects of late-model capitalism, the homogenization of the marketplace, and the elimination of effective counterculture in Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMatthew Carl Strecher received his PhD in modern Japanese literature from the University of Washington, Seattle. He has taught at the University of Montana and at Northern Illinois University. He is Associate Professor of English and Japanese Literature, Toyo University.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 254\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.58 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 19, 2021\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51788755271968,"sku":"9780472038336","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/b96a8509aa7e4974a065dde8b65ca93a.webp?v=1780659231","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/dances-with-sheep-the-quest-for-identity-in-the-fiction-of-murakami-haruki-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}