Modern Social Science Research

Haruki Murakamis works are highly favored by readers and have garnered widespread attention in academic and intellectual circles. Particularly, the novels "Norwegian Wood" and "Kafka on the Shore" stand out as the most representative. As evidenced by a Murakami research symposium held in Tokyo in 2008, nearly half of the presentations focused on these two novels. Although there is a plethora of studies on Murakamis works, the majority of these analyses approach from the perspective of work studies, and the analysis of the changes in his 44-year creative career mainly focuses on thematic shifts. This paper, centered on "Norwegian Wood" and "Kafka on the Shore," analyzes the texts from the perspective of the changes in Murakamis narrative voice, revealing a significant transformation in Murakamis works: the transition from first-person narration to third-person narration. This shift has endowed Murakamis works with a sense of otherness and historicity, marking a move towards the path of "composite novels" in his creative journey.

Risk; "The Book of Changes"; Risk strategy; Risk awareness