Book Review ‘Killing Commendatore, Book 1 & 2’ by Haruki Murakami, Shinchosha, 2017 | Jean-Michel Serres, Composer-pianist (Apfel Café Music): Website

Book Review

Killing Commendatore is the 14th long novel by Haruki Murakami, 2 volumes 1000 paged books, and a story of a painter paints portrait as a job. The main plot is the fantastic events dururing his staying at famous Japanese Art painter Tomohiko Amada’s former atelier as a temporary home for 9 months. The 36 years old portrait specialized painter suffered a divorce, affairs with married women, encountered mystic men (white Subaru Forester man, Wataru Menshiki and (a) ‘idea’ named ’Commendatore’) and a girl Marie Akikawa, and was involved in an enigmatic incident according to Amada’s unpublished excellent painting Killing Commendatore. Some incidents ore events such as 1. To paint portraits including of Mr Menshiki and of Marie. 2. Killing Commendatore and the Amada’s past according to the Anschluss Österreichs by Nazis. 3. A mystic man Wataru Menishiki and his pursuit to his daughter Marie Akikawa. 4. The fantastic experiences with the ‘Commendatore’ and a spiritual adventure in the ‘metaphor path’, the place like underworld or Valhalla. 5. The divorce with wife and her mystical pregnancy. 6. The memory of his younger sister Komichi. and so on, they mingled intricately and involved in the painter and he suffered and got over difficulties then he grew up, take his wife back and got a child whom the painter can’t comprehended his real biologically child or not.

The characteristic and the excellence of this novel various themes, elements or episodes such as oil painting, portrait painting, Japanese art, IT business, journey, sorrow of divorce(s), pleasure of solitary life, car driving, music especially opera of Mozart, Puccini and Richard Strauss, mystic power by godlike being(s) and Genius Loci, senses of time and memory, Nazis’s Anschluss and the Nanking Massacre are combined splendidly by Murakami. One of interesting and outstanding point a fusion of the ordinary real world and the plentiful fantasy. Murakami has described mystic incidents or enigmas in his novels, but this novel fusion our real world and them not to ’see phantoms or dream(s)’. Because, probably Murakami collected vast materials about oil painting, the Anschluss, the cars (especially Mr. Menshiki’s Jaguar), the landscapes and the places, and he describes the real world minutely and realistic, so that the materials saves fantastic elements.

One of key elements is to paint portrait or tableau, and its process(es). I can read this novel as a story of to paint portrait or tableau, to create art work including to compose a sheet of music and to make something, or to do job by a man. Murakami described a lonely painter’s creative processes and a state of mind occurred by them in detail. I read them excitingly and admirably. Like Henri Bergson’s concepts of ‘creative evolution’ and ‘élan vital’, to create arts is not reversible and causally thing, is the intuitive thing and a kind of magical thing. (And descriptions of sense of time and memory in some parts imply Bergson’s philosophy especially the concept of ‘durée’.) Murakami well described it and it’s the real pleasure of this novel. On the other hand daily routine works sometimes moves others’ hearts. In this novel the painter do the jobs of portrait painting by the art agent like routine work or automatic writing, but his job impressed his customers.

To paint portrait in this novel is a process or a method of initiation, meditation, reflection or a kind of a psychoanalytic therapy between persons who are painted and the painter. The painter dug up person’s unconscious mind and real aspect by interview, and shaped them by painting through his inner process. So that the painter said to paint portrait is a ’finding a story’ of a person. But painting is a visual thing on a plain tableau, that’s why the converting process words to a visual image make a worth and a meaning. To paint portrait in this novel is equal to or metaphor of writing novel. So, also to describe painting portrait might be a meaningful challenge or process to Haruki Murakami as a novelist.

The climax of this story is a adventure in the ‘metaphor path’ the world of collective thought or subconsciousnesses, or inner-space of collective minds. The experience of the painter in it is a bigger meta-initiation or meta-therapy to him and readers. I think, the experience and the trial in there break the past and shuffled connections among phenomenons and among consciousnesses and minds of persons in the real world. So, some problems were solved for the present, and the painter got back his ordinary life in order to painting portrait. This story contains a structure of two phases of initiation or therapy of mind or spirit.

I should point out the weak points of this novel. I think the development of this story is convenient for the painter and Murakami. Characters do like that the painter and readers expect. And the painter was involved in the situations and he was passive, but he was justified by the persons and events. The same is true of other Murakami works. Another weak point is there are no relevances to other episodes. I can’t comprehend the necessary connections among the episodes such as 1. the painter and wife 2. Tomohiko Amada, his life and the Anschluss. 3. Mr Menshiki, Marie Akikawa and Shoko Akikawa. 4. Appearing Idea ‘Commendatore’ and the adventure of Metaphor path. 5. The Man of Subaru Forester and the woman he chased.. Each episodes are separated and unconnected each other originally. I feel the author might merge 3 to 5 long or short novels in one story. I can’t understand the whole necessity or consistency of this story.

I simply feel good and motivated by this novel. The lifes and the simple life styles of the painter and Mr Menshiki are beautiful and dreaming. The descriptions of creativity of the painter and Tomohiko Amada are very impressive and pleasant. Affairs with a married woman are sensual. Descriptions of Shoko Akikawa, Mr Menshiki’s house, his Jaguar and the paint titled Killing Commendatore are excellent and inspiring. I think you can just enjoy Murakami’s descriptions. Another excellence of this book is there are philosophical thoughts about time, memory and will, like or probably are affected by Baruch Spinoza, Henri Bergson, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Ludwig Wittgenstein. The thoughts consistent with the story and its theme.

The last chapter (64) is suddenly tinged with a taste of sequel and the story finishes in a haste. Some mysteries and riddles still unresolved and doesn’t clear up. Who is the man without face? What are details of the incident occurred to Tomohiko Amada? The child of Yuzu is the painter’s child? What is the real thing about Mr. Menshiki? What does the painter draw on the portrait Mr. Menshiki? What’s the mean of the name of Mr. Menshiki (escape from colour, avoid colour)? Who is the man of white Subaru Forester? What happened woman being chased by man of white Subaru Forester after that? The mean of the second divorce? What’s the mean and what happened to the penguin amulet and the bell? What’s the mean and the consequence(s) of the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in the last chapter…
Thus, this novel might continue to Book 3…