U.F.O. In Kushiro by Haruki Murakami, 1999
The magic trick:
Showing how the presumption of shared experience can veer very quickly into alienation
I really like this story. It’s quieter than most of the Murakami I’ve read. Less voicey and perhaps deeper because of it.
It was particularly meaningful for me reading this during a time in the United States when everything seems to be filtered through some form of groupthink. “U.F.O. In Kushiro” kicks off Murakami’s After The Quake collection, stories set just after the 1995 Kobe earthquake. And a disaster of that magnitude obviously is a shared experience. But “U.F.O. In Kushiro” illustrates how that kind of universal pain can be especially difficult for an individual to navigate when that individual feels as if they are the only person not feeling the situation the way everyone else is.
Groupthink, shared trauma, anything presumed to be understood by thousands? It’s never as simple as people would have you believe.
And that’s quite a trick on Murakami’s part.
The selection:
Sasaki shook his head. “Not at all,” he said. “Strictly personal. I just don’t want it to get knocked around, which is why I can’t mail it. I’d like you to deliver it by hand, if possible. I really ought to do it myself, but I haven’t had the time to fly all the way to Hokkaido.”
“Is it something important?”
His closed lips curling slightly, Sasaki nodded. “It’s nothing fragile, and there are no ‘hazardous materials.’ There’s no need to worry about it. They’re not going to stop you when they X-ray it at the airport. I promise I’m not going to get you in trouble. The only reason I’m not mailing it is I just don’t feel like mailing it.”
As always, join the conversation in the comments section below, on SSMT Facebook or on Twitter @ShortStoryMT.
Subscribe to the Short Story Magic Tricks Monthly Newsletter to get the latest short story news, contests and fun.
Short Story Magic Tricks 