Farewell to Ryu Murakami, enfant terrible of Japanese literature

The debut with "Almost transparent blue"

Born on February 19, 1952 in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, Murakami achieved notoriety in 1976 with "Almost Transparent Blue" (Atmosphere Libri), a debut novel that addressed drug use and promiscuity among young Japanese without filters. The work won the Gunzo prize for debutants and the prestigious Akutagawa prize, bringing the author to the attention of critics and the public: the first to grasp the essence of the new contemporaneity and to be born under the influence of Western cinema, music and literature of the 60s and 70s, it is an essential point of reference in the recent history of Japanese literature.

A writing focused on social contradictions

His writing, characterized by harsh atmospheres and an explicit representation of social contradictions, earned him the definition of "enfant terrible" of Japanese literature. In 1980 he published "Coin Locker Babies", the story of two children abandoned at birth who become protagonists of a journey marked by alienation and violence. The novel won the Noma Prize for New Authors in 1981.

His themes: loneliness, rebellion and disintegration of human relationships

Throughout his career Murakami has explored themes of loneliness, rebellion, desire and the breakdown of human relationships. Among his best-known works are "69. Sixty-nine", a manifesto of a youth who dreams to the rhythm of arthouse cinema and rock and roll, "Audition", a breathtaking psycho-thriller, "Exodus in the land of hope", on globalization and its dangers, "Piercing", "Tokyo Soup", "The greatest hits of the Showa era", "Love & Pop". His work is translated into Italian by Atmosphere Libri.

Cinema and music

Ryu Murakami also dedicated himself to music and cinema, playing drums in a rock band, writing several screenplays and directing some films based on his novels. He directed the films based on his books "Almost Transparent Blue" (1979), "Good Friend" (1983), "Raffles Hotel" (1989), "Tokyo Decadence" (1991) and "Because of You" (2000). His works have also inspired films made by other filmmakers, including Takashi Miike's "Audition" (1999), Hideaki Anno's "Love & Pop" (1996), Lee Sang-il's "69" (2004) and Nicolas Pesce's "Piercing" (2018). An essayist and observer of contemporary society, Murakami has also addressed economic and cultural issues, keeping the transformations of Japan and the anxieties of the new generations at the center of his research.