after the quake (lowercase intentional throughout) is a deep, profoundly poignant response to the tragedies of the Kobe earthquake and the Tokyo gas attacks in 1995. In "ufo in kushiro," Komura realizes that after the earthquake and the departure of his wife, he has irreparably lost a part of himself, a part that feels strong emotions like love and passion. This reaction must have been a common one after the quake, but Murakami presents it in sobering fashion in this melancholy story. "landscape with flatiron" demonstrates the thoughts of one's own death that inevitably occupy one's mind in today's world; death is shown to be inevitable, and it is even appealing in certain senses, but it's a harsh and frightening reality.
"all god's children can dance" is a confusing story, one that both celebrates and mourns life, love, and family. In "thailand," Satsuki learns to deal with embracing death, a concept that she's been putting out of her mind in order to avoid dealing with it. "super-frog saves tokyo" is a surrealist piece of literature that emphasizes the importance of inner healing and acceptance after tragedy, rather than embracing hatred and bitterness. Finally, "honey pie" shows how to form strong bonds in the wake of disappointment and tragedy, even on the personal level. It's the most optimistic of the bunch of stories, and "honey pie" and "super-frog saves tokyo" demonstrate how to properly move on from tragedy, holding on to the hope of life.
These stories are unique in Murakami's canon. For one thing, they incorporate far fewer supernatural elements, which generally characterize his work. This is more in the vein of light magical realism, more like seeing reality like it's magic than placing magic into reality. This subtler style fits these types of stories well, which are contemplations of tragedy and life itself in a slow, thoughtful, realistic way.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, these stories have a personal importance to Murakami. The Kobe earthquake in 1995 directly impacted his own family, destroying his parents' home and forcing them to relocate and rebuild their lives. From watching the terrible effects of this event, Murakami wrote this collection of stories as a way of examining the issues and coping with his own experience. These stories certainly reflect this heightened sense of personal experience: they are moving and touching in their brilliance.
