Literature’s postmodern condition: representing the postmodern in the translated novel

摘要

This thesis offers a close reading of some of the texts of Haruki Murakami through apostmodern lens, offering a new perspective on how the Japanese writer corroboratesLyotard’s notion of the ‘Postmodern Condition’ and in turn offers a new postmodern spacethat is neither exclusively Anglo-European or Asian, but encompasses both.Through exploration of both Eastern and Western postmodern thought, this thesistraces where Murakami, as a translated writer, can be conceptually situated, withoutsubjecting him to a western orientalist prejudice. It aims to show that postmodernitycannot be pinpointed to either a specific spatial or temporal location, but is a paradigm thatevolves in, and impacts on, all first world societies.Analysis of Murakami’s postmodern perspectives on identity, connection, and workinglife offers a more substantial understanding of a first world postmodern mood which iscentral to his writing. Representation of the postmodern female with Murakami’s work isalso examined, and suggests how feminism and postmodernism interact and mutuallyinform each other’s perspectives.Finally a comprehensive comparison with Franz Kafka details how, despite theirixgeographical and chronological differences, both writers reinforce elements of Lyotard’snotion of the coexistence of modernism and postmodernism. In conclusion, this thesisattempts to deepen understanding of Murakami and of postmodernism as an intellectualand cultural phenomenon