Underground
The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche

Potent oral history (with some incisive commentary) by Murakami on the Sarin Gas attack in the Tokyo subway - 34 commuters detail their experiences, with much of the shock focusing on the mundane (a man still buying milk after he's badly poisoned). There's a metronomic beauty to the repetition of th......more

Absolutely heartbreaking. I had no idea about this event in history until reading this. Insane.......more

On March 20, 1995, during the morning rush hour, five men dropped 11 bags of sarin on five subway trains in Tokyo. They punctured the plastic bags with the sharpened ends of umbrellas and exited the cars as the deadly liquid leaked onto the floor and evaporated into the air of the crowded trains. In......more

In 1995, some members of the Japanese religious cult Aum have released toxic gas in the Tokyo underground system. While there were a number of deaths, the survivors' horrible mental and physical scars in the aftermath left a much darker impression on me. The first part of the book contains interviews......more

Murakami’s partial attempt to explain why people joined Aum left me dissatisfied. Could it really be that some people want someone to watch over them and spare them the anxiety of confronting life situations on their own? A one way ticket delivering them from the need to ever have to think for thems......more