Almost Transparent Blue

Almost Transparent Blue (限りなく透明に近いブルー, Kagirinaku tōmei ni chikai burū^?) is a novel by Japanese author Ryū Murakami, published in 1976. Murakami directed a film adaptation in 1979. [1]

Plot

Narrated by the main character Ryū (possibly Ryū Murakami himself) the novel focuses on his small group of young friends in the mid-seventies. Living in a Japanese town with an American air force base, their lives revolve around sex, drugs and rock 'n roll. The near-plotless story weaves a vividly raw image intensive journey through the daily monotony of drug-induced hallucinations, vicious acts of violence, overdoses, suicide, and group sex.

Characters

• Ryū – Narrator. 19-year-old bisexual substance abuser.
• Lilly – Ryū's prostitute friend and casual sex partner.
• Reiko – From Okinawa, friend of Ryū and girlfriend of Okinawa.
• Okinawa – From Okinawa, drug addicted friend of Ryū and boyfriend of Reiko.
• Yoshiyama – Unemployed junkie friend of Ryū and abusive boyfriend of Kei.
• Kei – Friend of Ryū and girlfriend of Yoshiyama.
• Kazuo – Male friend of Ryū.
• Moko – Substance abuser friend of Ryū.
• Jackson – African American Airman at the local AFB, he arranges for group sex escapades with his base comrades and Ryū's group.

Awards and nominations

Murakami submitted the novel to the literary magazine Gunzo's debutant contest, in which it won the first prize. It also won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize the same year.

English-language editions

• Ryū Murakami, Almost Transparent Blue (Kagirinaku tōmei ni chikai burū), translated by Nancy Andrew, 1st hardback ed., Tokyo ; New York : Kodansha International : Distributed by Kodansha International/USA through Harper & Row, 1977, 126 pages. Tokyo ; New York : Kodansha International : Distributed by Kodansha International/USA through Harper & Row, 1977, 126 p. ISBN 0-87011-305-4
• Ryū Murakami, Almost Transparent Blue, translated by Nancy Andrew, 1st paperback ed., Tokyo; New York : Kodansha International, 1981 (reissue, 1992), 126 p. ISBN 0-87011-469-7
• Ryū Murakami, Almost Transparent Blue, translated by Nancy Andrew, 1st trade paperback ed., New York : Kodansha America, 2003, 128 p. ISBN 4-7700-2904-7

External links

• Extensive review by author Tao Lin at Thought Catalog
• Short J-pop.com review