Dance Dance Dance #
Author Haruki MurakamiDate November 2, 2026Rating 5/5
I got this book on a whim, seeing it at a used bookstore in DC, where Murakami’s books are typically quite rare to see. Even more luckily I found this particular one was translated by Alfred Birnbaum. Previously I have remarked upon my preference for Birnbaum’s translations of Murakami’s works over others, notably in “Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World”, which I was surprised to find that I enjoyed more over his other works. Needless to say, I was rather excited to start reading this.
Given the spontaneity with which I found this book, I was rather surprised to see that it is a sequel to “A Wild Sheep Chase”, the last Murakami novel I read, also translated by Birnbaum. In following that book, I continue to be surprised by how much I like Murakami’s earlier work. It may be true that some of his later work, like 1Q84, Kafka on the Shore and Norwegian Wood (which I am yet to read), are more well regarded, or at least more well known in the public consciousness, I find these books to hit something I guess much more relevant to me.
This book, like the last, feels quite different to the classic Murakami book, in a way I like. At times it feels like not much is going on, but truthfully I’m not that bothered with it here. Murakami can take his time between action and intrigue, and I find it oddly acceptable.
Two other things stand out to me. One is that this book feels like it could be personal, one of the characters I believe is an anagram of his own name, mirroring perhaps his own view of himself, though at a different point in his career perhaps. Second is that this is surprisingly political? Not socially, but economically and economically in relation to culture. Continuous references to late capitalism, and the way money is needed to be perceived as serious in certain lines of business or, really, life. I guess this current must exist in some of his other books, but I maybe just didn’t notice it before, mostly they have felt about you and your inner self. This is way broader than that, there’s a lot about society, and I guess just living, or being, and how hard it can be to just be. The main character has a lot of leeway to himself and his mode of living, something other characters catch upon and remark to him, but to him, it’s all rather unremarkable, and he too feels things missing.
I love reading Murakami’s books when I’m traveling or in transit. I think subconsciously it maybe mirror the characters of these stories, certainly there is often a lot of travelling and transiting done in these stories, but the characters feel like they are in transit through their lives in a broader sense. Not sure, it’s just curious. I guess it’s particularly obvious with this story, the main character dancing and all.
I really liked this, it’s a great story, I’m hoping I can find the other books in the trilogy of the rat. This appears to be the epilogue to that trilogy, but I think I probably enjoyed it more thanks to having read “A Wild Sheep Chase” before it.