This one of the best modern allegories that I have read. Most horror and weird fiction is content to shock and boggle the mind. Murakami is not content to just spin a tale of a man's decent into the dark abyss of insanity. There is much more happening in this story just below the surface of the action.
However, the action is well written and moves both the plot and the underling meaning to a fruitful end. It starts out with a long strange introduction to the TV People. The way they look, "...--slightly smaller. About, say 20 or 30%." These TV people begin to haunt the main character and slowly begin to take over his life creeping into every aspect of his life.
It took me a few reads to understand that Murakami is telling the story of Japan's relationship with the introduction of new and foreign technology. This comes across in the reactions that the main character has to the new TV that is place in his living room and how TV people coax him into submission.
Find this story and read it. You won't be sorry. It is one of my all time favorites.
Todd, thank you for showing this one to me.
Murakami, Haruki. "TV People." The Elephant Vanishes. New York: Vintage, 1994. p. 196 - 216
1 comment:
I read this story last night and really enjoyed it. But I like every I read by Murakami. I may have to read "TV People" again, because I didn't get underlying meaning that you say it has.
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